Reassessing and Detox - maybe

Whoops - I've been MIA on the blogging I guess.
I just found out that I don't have school today - I guess we're not going to get above freezing to melt the ice in time for the buses to run...??? I'm not sure. We've been out all week (MLK Day and the rest for weather), but today I just don't get it unless a water pipe broke over a bridge or something....
I've lived in Tennessee for almost 4 years now and I still can't get used to what qualifies for a snow day. Growing up in Chicago, we got so much snow that they couldn't call school for it - plus, the city is flat with no winding, hilly, dangerous roads - and, of course, the city is prepared with fleets of salt trucks and plows. It's just different here. I'm having guilt about it though! :) I hope parents have solid alternative plans - maybe at the Y or at their church....I hope my kids don't get left home alone.

I always get thrown off on my eating plans when my schedule changes and this week has been no exception. Yesterday was better than Monday and Tuesday when I finished a pint of ice cream and a bunch of cookies. Today, I already packed all my food to go to school, so I might just eat that. Or...I might keep it for tomorrow when there's no way we'll be out. We'll see....

I've been trying to focus on other things besides food. I know that, for me, managing my stress and anxiety levels is crucial for being healthy, and that if I feel out of control in my life, I don't have a prayer in my diet.
My plan has now become to take on 1 or 2 healthy habits a week instead of trying to do everything at once. Thinking about it that way has helped me see how far I've come in changing my life - even though I haven't been successful with weight loss yet. I used to have trouble with even the smallest routines, like remembering to take my prescriptions on time every day, keeping the house from becoming a disaster zone, flossing...etc....
I feel like I have a really good handle on those things now. As of this morning, my house is clean and organized (redid my closet yesterday), I've had enough sleep, I'm all caught up on schoolwork, and I've had a pretty good week with my exercise. I also finished ALL of my paperwork-type things for work (until you've worked for 3 years in the district, teachers have to do a 'comprehensive evaluation' every year). Yesterday I did my nails (not painted, just neat and groomed toes and fingers) and shaved...I was going to pluck my eyebrows but my tweezers are missing. New good habits for the past few weeks also include reading before bed which I think helps me sleep more restfully and taking my multivitamin.

I feel well set-up for success now. I also feel the physical effects of the crap I've been feeding my body and am thinking of doing a detox as a jumpstart to adding healthy foods to my healthy habits. About a year ago I did the Fast-Track Fat Flush Detox - from one of Ann Louise Gittleman's books. It's an 11 day program with 7 days of getting your body ready to fast, 1 fasting day and 3 days of 'recovery'. I lost 6 pounds in the 11 days last year - Ryan lost 9. I felt great - he was hungry and crabby, so if he does it this year, he's going to add more food.
It's basically a pretty sensible combination of including certain types of foods to support your liver and intestines in cleaning up and avoiding crap.

You HAVE to eat cruciferous veggies; leafy greens; citrus; 'sulfur-rich foods' (I choose garlic and daikon radishes); 'liver healers' (I choose artichokes, celery, whey protein, nutritional yeast, beets and dandelion tea...which tastes like dirt, by the way); fiber from carrots, apples, pears, berries, and/or flaxseeds; protein (for me, the vegetarian, this is pretty limited - I can have whey protein, and blue green algae in smoothies, I can have beans, but it will slow weight-loss, and I can have tofu but not more than 2-3 times); lots of room-temp water (half your body weight in ounces), and 1-2 tbsp. of healthy oils (flaxseed or olive)

You CAN'T eat non-healthy fats or too much fat; any sugar including honey and maple syrup; artificial sweetners; refined carbs; gluten; soy-protein isolates like in fake meat products and protein bars; alcohol; caffeine; over the counter drugs; cheese and milk

That's the first 7 days - I have to go back and read the book again, but I think the last 3 days are the same, but you get to add in yogurt. There's some supplements I need to review as well.

I'm not clear about this - but I think if it's not on the 'avoid' list, you can have it. Oh! And you're supposed to drink unsweetened cranberry juice mixed with water on the fast day and the rest of the days too.

So, I think we're going to start that Saturday.
Right now I'm going to take advantage of my snow day and get myself off to the gym, come home and do some classwork and then go to class this afternoon.