vacation detox
Like I said, Matt + I came back with a few extra pounds on our tummies. After a week of eating cereal, pita chips, M&M’s, and ice cream non-stop, I really felt that I needed some sort of detox to get us back on track. This isn’t the first time we’ve done a “detox” before. Oh, and I use the term detox loosely: we don’t follow any specific place already laid out. We just sort of figure out what we need to cut out or add in and that’s what we do for a day or 2. We’ve done a raw detox and a fruit + veggie detox in the past that we’ve both really enjoyed, so this is nothing new to us.
Since our vacation was very carb + sugar heavy, we figured those were the things we needed to eliminate for a few days and really focus on eating a ton of fruits and veggies, as well as some protein. A spin on Atkins, if you will. We started our detox Sunday and finished last night. It was a rough 3 days, but we survived and are looking forward to eating “normal” again.
In the mornings, I would make a smoothie full of fruits, protein powder, chia seeds, milk, and spinach. They were definitely a little lighter than my usual smoothies, but I always feel satisfied after, even if they might not hold me over until lunch.
For lunch, I would make a Hugh Jass salad with tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, hummus, tofu, and either an olive oil + vinegar dressing or this marinade Matt made for our dinner yesterday. It was really good!
I also had some cottage cheese with a juicy peach as a “dessert” after lunch. This was a delicious combination! Matt thinks that cottage cheese can only be savory, but I love it with fruit too!
Dinner was the hard meal of the day. I think our dinners are usually pretty well rounded – lots of veggies, a protein, and a grain. Taking out that grain killed us! We love to eat pizza, quinoa, rice, etc. So, we compromised. I ended up making a cauliflower crust pizza on Sunday night that we really enjoyed (although, not as good as the real thing). Monday night, Matt made a frittata without potatoes. And last night, I made a ton of roasted veggies with a ton of tofu (Matt had chicken). All were delicious, and I actually didn’t miss the grain portion as much as I thought I would!
Snacks were trail mix or fruit leather…
…and dessert was banana soft serve (a frozen banana blended until smooth to the consistency of ice cream). This really helped with my sweet tooth! Especially since I added natural peanut butter to it. I still missed the crunchiness of the chocolate chips I would normally have with my ice cream, but I honestly felt like I was eating ice cream for dessert!
FINAL THOUGHTS: It definitely wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to cut carbs + sugar out of my diet. Yes, I craved pita chips and Goldfish crackers, but by Tuesday, I didn’t have those cravings nearly as much. Same with ice cream. Sure, banana soft serve is pretty much the same, but at least it was healthier! I actually think I might start making banana soft serve instead of eating ice cream at night. Plus, it’s cheaper.
Do I think I’ll do this detox again? Maybe if I’m not running as much as I am now. While I have cut back on my mileage recently, not having carbs in my diet killed my running. My Tuesday morning run was absolutely awful – one of my worst runs ever. And I did it without the stroller. My legs were super tight (part of that is from pushing the stroller almost everyday for a week straight) and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It might not have everything to do with lack of grains in my diet (it is freaking HOT outside), but I think it has a lot to do with it. I am happy to know that I absolutely NEED to have carbs in my diet. It definitely helps with my running. I’m interested to see how my runs are later this week. Maybe I might actually do a true carbo load before my next half marathon.
Happy 4th of July to you! Go eat some BBQ, drink some beer, and watch some fireworks! I know I’ll be enjoying every delicious bite I put in my mouth today!
Have you ever done a detox before? How did it go? Did you realize you need to have something in your diet?