Day 10: Stress Relief

Ugh! What a day. One of the most stressful in a really long time. One problem after another at work. One of them looked like it was going to be days worth of work to fix, but we accidentally discovered a relatively easy solution in the afternoon. By the end of the day my shoulders were in knots. All day I craved a cigarette and by the time I got home I was really stating to crave that bottle of wine in my cupboard, but instead I went on an easy walk, did yoga and played with Tater and eventually the cravings went away. A mini miracle!

Image courtesy of zweettooth.

Day 7: My First "Clean" Friday

I deliberately didn't make many plans this weekend because I don't feel strong enough to resist temptation around other people yet, but I have to admit that come home by myself on a Friday night with no cigarettes or alcohol or chocolate to dull the loneliness was a lot harder than I expected. Amazingly, I survived!

Ok. I admit I wasn't perfect. I splurged a little and had a piece of sugar free chocolate cake from Piece of Cake and Synergy kombucha tea because it's fruity, fizzy and has a trace of alcohol since it's fermented, but I'm still going to claim it as a victory!

Image courtesy of Bert van 't Hul.

Day 5 & 6

Day 5 - I felt like a nervous wreck and was exhausted with huge dark circles under my eyes when I got to the gym after work. I tried to work out, but only made it 20 minutes.


Day 6 - I've been nauseous all morning. Not sure what's going on. The only thing I can think is that I've been giving myself free access to fats since I've cut everything else out and maybe I'm over doing it, but I actually thought I ate really well yesterday.

Image courtesy of Rafał Walczak.

Day 4: Quiet Temptation

This morning I still had a hard time getting out of bed, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. I did crave cigarettes this morning and chocolate after my lunch, but I was surprised and how quickly the temptations flitted from my mind. I can only hope it will continue to be this easy.

Photo by Dominic Morel

Day 3: Can I go back to bed?

I did manage to survive last night without opening the bottle of wine in my cupboard or eating the chocolate bar in my freezer or treking to the gas station around the corner from my house to buy a pack of cigarettes. Truthfully, I wasn't really even all that tempted, but I'm sure that will come.

Despite my stellar behavior yesterday, I am sleepy and lethargic today. I pushed the snooze button on my alarm for an hour and a half this morning until I finally managed to force myself to get ready for work. Now that I'm finally here, I have a dull headache, I have a bit of a chill and my brain feels foggy. I assume this is part of the detox phase. Hopefully, I will start to feel better in a couple of days.

In the meantime, it turns out that my assistant has decided to do something similar with her food. We each came to this conclusion independently, but it helps to have someone who understands what I'm going through and who can hold me accountable at work.

Instead of usual snack of M & M's and diet A&W Root Beer after my Ethnic Gourmet lunch, I opted for a pear, some reduced fat Monterrey Jack cheese and a Tangerine Talking Rain Sparkling Water. I went for a walk. I convinced myself to workout on the way home. I felt much better by the evening. Calmer yet more energized than I normally do.

Image courteousy of Michael Lorenzo.

My Own Personal Food Revolution

I have several vices including: chocolate, cigarettes and wine. Turns out my bad habits aren't just killing me slowly, they're making me sick on a daily basis. See, I've been having some stomach issues for a few years now. When I mentioned them to a coworker, she recommended that I visit her naturopath. So I made an appointment and met with her doctor in October 2009.

Since then, I've discovered that my stomach problems are directly related to the amount of junk food I eat and alcohol I drink. And I know as well as anyone, smoking cigarettes is just a bad idea. It's stinky and unhealthy.

At the insistence of the naturopath, I've made small steps toward eating better over the last few months. I now eat breakfast everyday. When I eat processed meals, I try to buy organic, whole grain options. I almost never eat products made with white flour. But it's not enough. So I've decided to go cold turkey and give up all three vices for the next two weeks, until my mom comes to visit.

This won't be easy. As Mark Twain said: “I deal with temptation by yielding to it." But I'm tired of being sick and the only way I'm going to feel better is if I find a way to say no to temptation. So here goes:

Day 1 - Honestly, it was a bit of a rocky start. I managed to avoid alcohol and cigarettes, but gave in to the temptation of the chocolates in the pantry, the ice cream in the freezer and the pizza in the fridge at the house where I'm dogsitting for the weekend.

Day 2 - It's a new day. I had a lovely breakfast of raspberries, asparagus, mushrooms, whole grain toast, two eggs and Swiss cheese. I've also fueled my motivation with a marathon of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. However, as I write this, I'm reminded that I have a bottle of wine and a chocolate bar at home that I'm a bit afraid of. I can only hope I'm strong enough to resist them, until I can find a way to get them out of the house.

Image provided by: G & A Scholiers

Christmas 2009