I
completed a seven-day Ayurveda cleanse. What is Ayurveda, you ask? It
is the sister science to yoga or in Sanskrit “the knowledge of
life.”
The
University of Maryland Medical Center defined it as follows:
Considered
by many scholars to be the oldest healing science, Ayurveda is a
holistic approach to health that is designed to help people live
long, healthy, and well balanced lives. The term Ayurveda is taken
from the Sanskrit words ayus,
meaning life or lifespan, and veda,
meaning knowledge. It has been practiced in India for at least 5,000
years and has recently become popular in Western cultures. The basic
principle of Ayurveda is to prevent and treat illness by maintaining
balance in the body, mind, and consciousness through proper drinking,
diet, and lifestyle, as well as herbal remedies. (Source:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ayurveda-000348.htm)
At
first I thought, “Seven days, no problem.” The third and fourth
days were the most difficult and I did sneak some protein bars and
dark chocolate in a few times, but overall I think I did really well.
My diet consisted of kitchari, fruit, veggies, steal-cut oatmeal, tea
and water. Kitchari is actually pretty good and I will incorporate it
into my meals moving forward. I had some friends try it and they
agreed; it reminded them of Spanish rice. You can find the recipe
here.
I
have never done a cleanse before and have been wanting to try it for
nutritional value. I don't think I eat badly, but I know I can do
better. I considered this a jump start to healthier eating and I
really think I accomplished that. I'm not putting a label on
anything. No vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free here. I'm
just being more conscious of what I eat and if I want a treat every
once in awhile, that is just fine.
Here's
what I learned on my cleanse:
- I have a bigger sweet tooth than I thought.
- I can go seven days eating basically the same thing.
- It wasn’t as difficult to give up dairy and bread.
- I love fruit!
- I now like to eat carrots/celery like I used to eat chips/crackers (and I don’t need ranch dressing).
- Food is our fuel and we need to give our body the best!
- Yoga really helped curb my hunger.
- Slow down and chew food thoroughly.
- Not a big fan of green tea, but I do like soy milk in my lattes.
- I had a weird sensation with the neti pot, but I am going to stick with it.
- Tune in to what your body needs. Maybe it’s just a night off.
- I still had energy to run and do yoga, just had to keep eating.
- I turn to sweets when I get stressed, frustrated, sad – it’s the instant gratification.
- You can do pretty much anything you set your mind too.
Goals
moving forward:
- Cut out the dairy as much as possible. I usually eat a greek yogurt/granola in the morning for breakfast. I’m going to replace that with a smoothie. Check out my first smoothie recipe below.
- Cut back on the gluten. Something small each week, like instead of bread for a sandwich do a lettuce wrap.
- Buy organic when I can. Start with chicken.
