Preparing for Detox

Ho, Ho, Ho GCS lovers! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, and family time holiday! We had a great time with our family and friends, and it's been absolutely DIVINE to have a real vacation from work and school.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have set out to use Mark Hyman's "The Detox Box" for a 7-day detox beginning the first week of January. (I'm actually still debating on beginning on January 1 or 2, because I have a feeling tomorrow will bring a bit of a headache that may need a greasy sausage biscuit... if you catch my drift!)

Either way, I have begun preparing both my kitchen and myself for detox. Here are a few of the easy steps I have taken, that you can also begin today!

1. While I have stuck with my morning cup of coffee, I have eliminated Diet Cokes from my diet (save for that one I had at the movies the other night... but one in a week is a huge improvement for me!).

I'm pretty sure that the caffeine detox is going to be the toughest part for me. Actually, I'd put money on the fact that this may be the cause of a few recent breakouts, honestly. However, I am working part-time this week and don't have class, so I may be taking a few cat naps. Mark Hyman's plan suggests napping!

2. I've stocked up on my supplies from our local Trader Joes.

For those of you with a Trader Joes nearby, I STRONGLY suggest going there first, before Whole Foods. While I do love my WF, Trader Joes had several of the supplies I needed for a good price AND in a convenient, ready-to-cook fashion. Their frozen organic brown rice is going to be a life-saver--- who has 2 hours to cook brown rice? Mark Hyman may not appreciate this method, but I'm a working gal with time to budget, so I deemed this ok! I also picked up a few of my supplements there for a great price. I've still got to get one or two supplements from WF, but I saved a bundle by hitting up TJ's first!

3. I've set aside space in my fridge, freezer, and on my counter for "my" supplies.

While my husband will inevitably be subject to a few vegan/gluten free/alcohol free/dairy free dinners, I can't subject the poor guy to the entire detox without him being willing (and let me tell you, nothing is going to get that man to give up Bud Light and a good turkey sandwich). So, I have made two shelves in the fridge and a corner on our counter for me to keep my food items, supplements, herbal teas, etc. That way I don't even have to open our pantry or rifle through our fridge and be tempted by the Doritos, grits, Triscuits, cheese, wine, etc. By keeping tunnel vision on my three little spaces, I eliminate a bit of temptation.

4. I've begun to lightly incorporate a few detox-esque changes to my diet already.

Nothing huge, but just to get my body used to, ahem, a vegetable after a 2-week bender of sausage cheese balls, wine, beer, vodka, bourbon, fried fish, cupcakes, biscuits, cheese straws, casseroles, grits, bacon, and fried oysters (Don't give me that face- I'm from the South). I have begun taking some of the supplements and am currently sipping on my breakfast smoothie of strawberries, ground flax seed, flax oil, chia seeds (not on Mark Hyman's plan, but they are great!), spinach, coconut milk, Vitamin C Powder, and Greek yogurt. This isn't technically the detox smoothie, but it's a heck of a lot better than Frosted Mini Wheats and gets my body used to what's ahead.

5. I've dusted off the ole yoga mat.

I've also created a space in my house where I can literally have an entire room to myself, with great natural light (the sunlight kind, not the beer!), to have my DVD and yoga area. I've got a few other workout videos (thanks to a co-worker) and an exercise ball and resistance band. This creates a space in our house entirely dedicated to me and my relaxation which is amazing!

Ok, so Happy New Years Eve to all! Enjoy the evening, and I look forward to detoxing with you come tomorrow!

Detoxing for Good Clean Skin in the New Year!

Hello, GCS Readers! Please excuse my recent extended absence. A semester of Quantitative Methods and Financial Accounting had me under a bit of an academic rock. Let me tell you something else- it also had me totally stressed, messed up my entire exercise routine, and threw me for a good five pound weight gain. I know, I know- there is no good excuse for not exercising, drinking a Thursday night martini with classmates, and eating mini-twix bars for dinner. But let me tell you, getting up at 5 am to exercise, then working a full day, and then sitting in Financial Accounting until 9 pm without caffeine or chocolate- it's harder than you think!

All this to say, my skin has had it's own reaction to all this imbalance, and it has not been pretty. Blotchy coloring, rashing around the eyes, pimples on the jawline, dry spots and greasy spots. It got bad pretty fast, and unlike me, I let it go for far too long.

If you've read many of my previous posts, you know that I believe strongly in an "inside out" beauty routine. Your skin will mirror your lifestyle, and don't let any dermatologist tell you otherwise. Smokers, heavy drinkers, tanning bed lovers, overweight ladies-- your skin will show this long before you'd like for it to!

So, I've decided to get back to basics and go "Modified Paleo" for a while. I've recently ordered a few books from Amazon to help me- including a few from one of my favorite healthy book authors, Mark Hyman, PhD. I have purchased his "The Detox Box" and am looking forward to starting out my January with a good, healthy, NORMAL detox. No- this is not a "eat lemon rinds and drink strange asparagus juice for 2 weeks to lose 28 pounds" detox. This is a true, yoga-doing, healthy-eating, no alcohol, no caffeine detox and I am DETERMINED to do it right!

So, over the month of January, I'll be periodically discussing the effect this has on my skin. And, if the holiday over-indulgence has you feeling a bit puffy and pimply, perhaps you'll join me?! I'd love to have others try this with me and post about the effect it has on their skin, as well!