Detox Schmetox

Yesterday was a bit of a blip detox-wise. I ate so well all day; for breakfast I had the usual muesli, fruit, and natural yoghurt with low-fat soy milk, with my usual morning soy cappuccino, for lunch I ate an organic black rice salad with bean sprouts and cucumber, and for afternoon tea I had a watermelon and rockmelon fruit salad. I was on track until about nine o'clock when I consumed a massive bowl of porridge. 

Admittedly, the health benefits of porridge(with whole oats) are endless. Oats are high in beta-glucan which lowers the risk of cholesterol and heart disease, and they are also high in antioxidants(moreso in the organic oats). Although I am gluten-intolerant, for some reason I can eat oats without adverse side affects. In addition, oats actually assist in the detoxing process. Where I went wrong, is that I ate a massive bowl of porridge at nine o'clock in the evening. It shows a lack of control on my behalf, as I am trying to retrain myself to eat reasonably-sized portions, rather than that of a sumo wrestler.  

Alright, the porridge wasn't so bad. Maybe I should mention the chocolate cookie dough. In Nigella Lawson style, last night, armed with a spoon, I scanned the fridge and pulled out the chocolate biscuit cookie dough that I had made the day before for Shane. Oh-oh. :(  I thought that I would have felt sick in the stomach this morning from devouring said cookie dough(also taking into consideration that I am lactose and gluten intolerant), but I actually didn't feel too bad.

Today is another day - Day Three in fact. I am not going to allow the "cookie dough incident" to discourage me. Honestly, I am feeling more energised already, which is peculiar, because normally when I am detoxing, I feel incredibly lethargic for the first week. I know that it would possibly be a different story if I gave up my morning capp, but that just isn't going to happen ;)

xx

This is Day Two of what I am labeling my "detox". Really, I am just eliminating anything overly processed from my diet. I am still allowing myself my morning coffee though, and sometimes one cup of tea in the afternoon. If I was not working, I would be able to manage working without my daily caffeine hit, but, as a person whose daily routine involves waking at about 5am, going to the gym for an hour, writing for one-two hours, then working nine-ten hours a day, I reallllllly need my coffee :).

Yesterday I did not stick to my detox completely, but I was still pretty good.  In the morning I had fruit and natural yoghurt for breakfast, with a slight sprinkling of muesli. I know, muesli is still slightly processed , but I find that I need muesli as an intermediate-GI food, for a reasonably slow release of energy throughout the day. The yogurt was also Jalna yoghurt, so it was fairly natural :p

For lunch I had a salad with baby spinach leaves, mixed lettuce, carrot, red grapes, cucumber, and tomato, with a lemon-juice dressing. It was actually very filling, which is odd. Normally I need to add protein such as chicken for a salad to be filling! 

At dinner I actually wasn't that hungry for some reason - fatigue is great for decreasing appetite :( So dinner consisted of some chopped fresh pineapple and watermelon.

Where I slipped, is having some Solo in the afternoon as a sugar fix, and some low-joule cordial in the evening. Oops! I find low-joule cordial(I like the Cottees Low-Joule Apple and Raspberry cordial) great for a sugar-fix, even though it is probably full of additives and Aspartame - I should really check the ingredients list when I get home!

Hopefully today I will do a little better :)

xxxx

I have my biometrics scans in about twenty minutes - one step closer to getting my UK Youth Mobility Scheme Visa!

I have decided to ban myself from eating processed foods, including refined sugars, for awhile. I have always been a healthy eater, and never really been into fast food, soft drinks, overly processed food, or excessive amounts of alcohol.

But more than seven weeks later, and I have not been able to return to my normal eating habits after Christmas. Shane and I won a MASSIVE Christmas hamper, so we have had a lot of processed cakes and biscuits sitting in the cupboard.  I find that I eat really healthily all day(muesli and fruit for breakfast, salad wrap for lunch), and then I go home and scan the pantry for sweet food. As a result, I have put on about six kilos.

I know that if I refrained from stuffing my face with sweet food before I go to bed, that I could lose that weight in a week(seriously). I am just finding it difficulty to change the bad habits that I have developed over the last couple of months.

That is why I have banned myself from eating anything processed until I am convinced that I have returned to good eating habits, and have returned to my normal weight(57 kilos). I don't normally like to eliminate something entirely from my diet, but I think it's the only thing that is going to work at this stage, because I can't seem to stop at "just one" biscuit/cake/chocolate.  

I have done it. I become one of those stressed people. Between my marketing job, trying to write articles as well, and organise my trip to London(visa, loans, etc,) I have become one stressed lady. I am still awaiting my tax return from last financial year(my bad), and until that arrives, my loan cannot be finalised. I need that loan not only for my trip in May, but for Rhinoplasty surgery that I will be having in three weeks. To add to that, I am currently in the process of applying for my Youth Mobility Scheme Visa, which is stressful because there is the fear at the back of my mind that it will not get accepted, or that it will not arrive in time. 

Saturday was such a lovely day. Simply by overcoming my social anxieties and catching up with friends who I do not see often enough. Many people have heard it all before: I love socialising, but sometimes I get so self conscious that I convince myself to stay at home rather than face possible embarrassment. That is just one of the thoughts experienced by people with social anxiety. 

But on Saturday I caught up with several of my friends, and had a lovely time. I still experienced moments where I got nervous and would start talking quickly and go off on a tangent(lol!), but other than that, it felt great catching up with my lovely friends :)

I have decided that I am going to tackle this anxiety in two ways. Firstly, I will place myself in as many social situations as possible(taking into consideration financial and time constraints), which includes CAE courses, volunteering(something that involves a bit more than animal care) and community groups. Secondly, I am going to get to the source of why I am so self-conscious and self-doubting. There are also therapists that specialise in social anxiety, so as soon as I can afford to, I am going to book a session. This has got to stop! 

xxx