Week One

First things first. I know you guys have been patiently waiting to find out if our sewage problem was fixed. Wait no longer. It was a little leak in the drain pipe that was fixed quickly. Whew! The septic guy did tell me we need to have the tank pumped soon because if the filter gets clogged the sewage could back up into the finished basement. The kid’s rooms are downstairs so this needs to go to the top of the savings list!

I wanted to blog more throughout the week but caught Micah’s flu-like virus, which kept me in bed for three days. I was proud of myself for taking the much needed time off work to rest and care for myself. This is a fairly new concept for me.

Despite crap and flu, we made it through the first week of our 30 day challenge! We had our week one weigh-in this morning:

 - Richard is down 6.2lbs and lost 1” off his belly.
 - I lost 9.2lbs and 2” off my belly.
 - Micah lost 13lbs (due to illness - not because he was following the 30 day detox).
 - Noah lost 3lbs. He does not need to lose any weight so we are going to make sure he gets more calories this week.

I am thrilled with our results, but even more thrilled with the way I feel. It was a rough go those first few days while getting the sugar and caffeine out of my system. Now I am having a hard time coming up with the best way to describe how I feel. Free, lighter (inside and out), energetic, clear headed, happier, in control - just to name a few!

I have tried to blogtastically (yes, I just made that up) tie this week together with a pretty bow. To convey everything I learned and experienced, but it’s not possible - there is too much. So, I will give you the highlights.

Detoxing is a physical AND emotional experience.
No shakes - with the exception of my convulsive sobs during the last two episodes of This Is Us. No cold sweats - with the exception of fever induced ones. I did have headaches, irritability, and oh lawd - the tears! I am extremely blessed with a husband who extends grace and compassion to me on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. Who knew sugar and caffeine had such a physical and emotional stronghold over me!


Kids don’t always trade gummies at lunch.
I learned how to make hard boiled eggs in my electric pressure cooker. So much easier than the old fashioned way and they turn out perfect! Noah loves hard boiled eggs so he took one for school lunch. “I bet no one wanted to trade you for your hard boiled egg”, I teased him that night. “Actually”, He said, “One of my friends was begging for it. I had already taken a bite of the egg, but he still wanted it.” I sent two eggs to school the next day.


You get what you pay for!
I’ll admit it. I used to roll my eyes at the people buying organic/ free range/ cage free foods in the grocery store. They just want to seem fancy! I highly doubted there was any difference between the apples I was buying and the organic apples - except for the sticker and the price. WRONG! Organic tastes SO much better! My grocery bill has not increased which shocked me, but I am not buying all of the processed foods we used to buy so it evens out. I am also learning so much about all of the chemicals that are sprayed on our non-organic produce. We put that in our body on a daily basis, thinking we are eating healthy! Not to mention the living condition of the livestock…(Ok, I better stop there. I can hear my brother sighing loudly from the next state over and rolling his eyes).


Beets turn your poop red!
I love beets, but I have only eaten beets from a jar/can or a restaurant salad bar. Y’all - this week...I made beets. Brought them home from the store with the greens still attached and everything. Roasted them and served them up with some pan fried cod - had this dish been served on any of the Food Network shows, I would certainly be moving to the next round! The next day - well, let’s just say I think the family was more amused than the time they ate a lot of blue birthday cake icing! We are simple people - it doesn’t take much.


Love is compromise and tug of war
Micah went a few days without eating because his throat hurt so much. He tried to drink a shake but it hurt his throat so he decided that he does not like them. Period. He will not do the shakes. He will not eat anything else we eat. We had a “come to Jesus” meeting and we both agreed to give a little. We found some foods at the store that are still free of gluten and refined sugar that he can take to school with him but he still has to do the shakes. This morning - 1 sip of the shake - NOPE. He has dug his heels in and he is just waiting for us to give in. He is SO stubborn. I don’t know where he gets that. Oh wait, yes I do. He gets it from me! GAME ON!


The biggest take away
I am worth so much more than the crap I was calling food and putting into my body. My mom asked me if I thought I would drink diet soda after the 30 days. I told her no. Honestly, I don’t want to add most of those things back into my diet. I see, now, what they were doing to my body and how they were making me feel. The chains of addiction have been broken and I am walking toward a freedom with food that I have never experienced before.