So You Wanna Do A Cleanse?

I remember the trepidation I had before starting my first cleanse. I feared deprivation and was unfamiliar with a number of the foods on the list of what I could eat and instead, I focused on all the things I couldn’t have. Things like wheat, sugar, and dairy. Can I survive without cheese?

It turns out I can! This first-ever cleanse was a true life-changer for me. Under the guidance of Christine Sasche, who is the ‘house’ nutritionist at Four Forty Fitness, in beautiful downtown Burlington, I and a great group of ladies underwent this 28-day adventure and all came out enlightened, energized, and very aware of the impact of your eating habits. We met once a week over the course of the month and created friendships, shared recipes and laughs, and generally encouraged each other along. The entire experience changed from what I thought would be a huge ordeal to something I look back on as a turning point in my life.

I had found nutrition! It sounds like I found God, but it really has had such an impact on my life. The notion of staying healthy, through nutrition makes me feel incredibly empowered. Every green smoothie I drink is me giving cancer the middle finger! How about some almonds or avocado? Take that heart disease! I could go on…

The true point of this post is to invite one and all to join me next week in a 7 day cleanse. If it’s your first, I know it will be the first of many. If you are ‘old hat’ at cleansing please share your favourite recipes or tips. Creating a bit of a community is a good tool for staying on track. It gives you both motivation and that ever inspiring accountability.

Please note that I am not a Registered Nutritionist (Yet! Class of 2015!) and I won’t be giving any specific nutrition advice. What I will be doing is posting a meal plan with links to the recipes, a shopping guide, and my ‘timeline’ of when I eat, when I prep most of my food, etc. All of this will be posted tomorrow and I will be updating the blog daily with my progress and hopefully lots of positive feedback from all of you!

I do recommend having a visit with a Registered Nutritionist if your budget allows it. Christine’s insight and expertise have been so valuable to me and with every cleanse I’ve done with her, and there have been a few, I’ve come away with new knowledge and strategies for eating well.

I also recommend getting some bananas browning! You’ll need them;)

Hopefully, you are all motivated and inspired to join me!