Being Good Isn't Always Easy...

As I threw on my black clinic dress pants, I noticed they were a little snug. As I lifted my face up from washing it before bed to face the mirror, I noticed a couple of little red friends on my chin. I'm feeling pretty sluggish and have come to the realization...I need to cleanse. But when there are various summer invitations to patios, dinner parties and other outings, is it really possible to be good when its so much easier to be bad?

In the last week, I've been stressed out a bit and have had several excuses to be bad. The other day, I had to go back to suburbia to sign my house away since it closes at the end of the month. Not to mention, I also had to swing by my old home to pick up the last remaining bits of my old life from none other than the Ex. As the garage door lifted slowly, he was revealed to me once again. For a moment feelings rushed back...well...until nausea hit right after. It was confirmed - I had made the right decision. Nonetheless, after signing the papers at the lawyer’s office, I finally got back into my car, threw my hands over the steering wheel and cried. By the time I got home, I really could have used a stiff drink. Now I know I wrote about 'Breaking Up & Breaking Free', but signing off the house truly marked the end of my old chapter in suburbia.

With all the unhealthy variety of drinking, smoking, eating dirty food and staying up late...it's far too easy to get caught up. Before we know it, we look back and wonder where we lost ourselves and decide enough is enough. It's time to cleanse.

The key to cleansing is purely in the preparation of it. Yes, you can spend hundred of dollars on supplements or score a boxed cleanse for a mere $19.99, but without the food component, the supplements do us little good. I've always recommended people to see someone, get a cleanse tailored to your needs. My cleanse is just that, tailored to me. My objective? Support and cleanse the liver, remove toxicity from the bowels and blood and clear out as much bad estrogens that lurk in my system. Gyney issues such as cysts and painful menses have haunted me, so I'm always trying to keep myself in check. So here is my plan:

Supplement Plan
Just Barley (1 tsp first thing in the moring) - detoxes and cools the liver
LIVER - by New Roots (2 caps x 3) - detoxes the liver
EstroSense - Lorna Vanderhauge (2 caps x 3) - removes bad estrogens
Triphalax - AOR (7 caps at night) - an Ayurvedic herb that helps to remove toxicity from the blood & bowels.
Adrenal Px LOBP - WTS Med (1/2 tsp daily) - supports the adrenal glands from the evil stress hormones and increases my blood pressure (since mine is low)
Floressence (2 oz x 2 in hot water) - blood cleanser and bitter herbs also good for the liver and heart.

Dietary Plan
No alcohol (yes, no wine), coffee, or refined products
Smaller meals - overeating is bad during the spring and summer months when we need to take care of our liver.
As many greens as possible - good to facilitate the function of the liver.
1-2 L of water daily (room temperature only). Lemon water is always beneficial to cool the blood (since I'm hot blooded) and to reduce dampness (a Chinese Medical term for a heavy, thick toxicity that consumes the body).

Morning:














Warm lemon drink with sprigs of mint - to help alkalinize and cool the system down
Grains with shredded apple or pear that pull out dampness: Job's Tears, real oatmeal, rye

Lunch:
Cooked greens, or dark green salad with either soup or grains with damp removing beans: adzuki and mung are best
Grains or soups

Dinner:
No grains. More greens followed by lean protein like fish or chicken. Beef can only be eaten during my menses since blood deficiency is present.
Snacks: Fruit - cooked is better (raw food creates more of the dampness that I meniotned earlier)

Lifestyle:
Meditation for 1/2 hour every morning
5-10K jog twice a week
Iyengar yoga twice a week

During a period of rain this week, I threw on my Asics and ran outside to attempt a 10K. About 2 months ago, before Toronto was hit with it's walking-through-liquid humidity; I was running religiously 2-3 times per week. But once the weather took a turn for the sticky worst, I decided to hang up my shoes and take a bit of a break. That's when everything went downhill. I find that when we're active, we're less likely to cheat, because being good feels so good. So as part of any cleanse, the other key to sticking to it, is to begin to exercise, even if it's as simple as a 20 minute walk. As I tore down the street listening to All Night by Janet Jackson, I was determined I was going to show the rain whose boss. After about twenty minutes, I started to lose steam. I just didn't get it. Didn't our bodies have memory? At this point, I felt mine had Alzheimer’s. Nonetheless, I was still determined even though I walked for almost half my run, it felt good to finally get out again.

As for diet…I can never leave an entry without a leaving you a recipe of mine. Since we've had more rainy days in the past week than sunshine, I felt I needed to retreat and make some comfort food...soup. So here it is:

MUNG BEAN, BROWN RICE & VEGGIE SOUP
(The Anti-Damp Cleansing Soup)

1 cup brown basmati rice (not white!)
1/2 cup mung beans soaked overnight
1 red onion minced
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
6-7 button mushrooms
Small handful arame sea vegetable
2 small cubes of organic vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt as needed

Add olive oil to a large pot on medium heat and add in onions until caramelized. Add in dried mung beans, rice sea vegetable, stock and water. Cook for about 20 minutes then add in all veggies and stir. Add salt as needed.

I realized this last little while that despite the fact that I'd walk around saying, "I'm fine!” I really wasn't. I still was grieving over the past...even if it was through glass after glass of wine. Things like alcohol, cigarettes and partying till all hours of the night is sometimes a person's way of numbing themselves to the real issue at hand.

Now that the last piece of the chord is cut, there are no more reasons for me to continue this way. Out with old...in with the new.

The devil on my shoulder has officially been given the boot.

Wish me luck...