happiness is...

....cheez-its. lots and lots of cheez-its. more specifically, a large amount of cheez-its in a variety of flavors.

i am finally done with my 14-day, 'no gluten, wheat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, or alcohol' cleanse, and i have missed cheez-its more than anything else, so my dear friend melissa has agreed to partake in a cheezy smörgåsbord this evening.

i know, i know- why even do a cleanse if i'm just going to celebrate with a buttload of processed garbage? because it was a challenge and i feel better than i have in a long time. because it was crazy hard and i deserve it. but mostly because one night of cheez-it debauchery aint all that bad...

*update*
cheez-it night was a success! the proof is in the pudding. aka, the picture below:

i am happy to report that 'four cheese' held up against our favorite 'cheddar jack',
however, 'parmesan garlic' was a waste of $. we are serious about our addiction.

...day 11

today marks the 11th day of my adventure on the be well cleanse and it's about to get a whole lot harder, with a wedding tomorrow and a bachelorette party on sunday. oy.

but... here are a few things i've learned over the last eleven days:

1. when fro yo, cupcakes and chips are no where to be found, watermelon bubblegum can almost serve as dessert.
2. grilled chicken can be made anywhere at any time of the day/night at any restaurant in any city.
3. im starting to hate grilled chicken.
4. after 11 days without it, i dont miss/need caffeine.
5. the variety of gluten free products at the local grocery stores is amazing
6. it's really hard for me to follow rules, exactly...

so yes, i've had to tweak the cleanse to fit my lifestyle and what's best for me, but that's sorta recommended. they have health coaches if you need to ask questions and i've been in touch with them all aong, making sure that i am still benefitting from the cleanse. the first couple days were really difficult and i was frustrated because i didn't have a good understanding of what i could do with the 'allowed' foods, but after pushing through day 5, i felt a lot better. i've tried to be more open minded and eat things i never would have ate before (hellooooo, garlic and oil quinoa!) and i feel like i have more energy than i have in a long time. plus, i'm not relying on a mid-day coffee to make it past 3 pm, so i'm excited for my afternoon workout.

i know it's not over yet, but i had to remind myself of all of the positive benefits of this cleanse before the weekend comes and i'm tempted at every turn... so close!

...day 4

question.

is it ok to eat an avacado every day?

i just found out that they are included in the 'allowed food options' during this cleanse, and in my current state of hunger and restlessness, i am now craving them all day long.

jumpstart my kaleidoscope heart, day 2

this cleanse is f-ing hard. just sayin'.

jumpstart my kaleidoscope heart

tomorrow i begin a 14 day cleanse and i can't figure out if i'm more nervous or excited about my upcoming challenge... i took all of the necessary steps to guarantee my success, which went something like this:

1. researched the crap outta this cleanse
2. threw out any and all snack-tastic distractions
3. ordered the cleanse
4. made one ridiculously long, organically-focused, grocery shopping trip
5. dragged my lovely friend, melissa, along, and asked her (often) 'can i really do this?' to which she replied, everytime, 'yup, definately.' (love her).

and so, i am determined to make it all 14 days, following the directions exactly, while not cheating at all. not once. not even at the bachelorette party i am throwing for my friend next weekend, when everyone else will be eating sushi and i will be drinking a yummy protein shake, pretending to be super happy with the choices i've made and not at all pissy about my horrible overlapping of cleanse vs. bachelorette festivities. not even then.

the cleanse is called "Be Well" and it was created by Dr. Frank Lipman, who works with regular folk and celebrities alike. i may or may not have been influenced by gwyneth paltrows testimony-but if i was, can you blame me? have you seen her lately, on-board steven spielbergs yacht, all "i'm 40-something, i have two kids and i stillllll look better than you could ever hope to" and what not... so yea, don't judge. i'm only human.

but- the main reason i'm attempting this great feat is because i was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and it's scary and overwhelming and i don't really know what else to do with my nervous energy right now. annnnd, again, it wouldn't hurt to look like good ol' gwynny.

so now the plan is, balls to the wall, i'm going to get as ridiculously healthy as i possibly can, and i'm hoping this cleanse will be the jumpstart i need. i'll keep you posted on my progress this week!