Dudes, I feel icky.  Nothing seriously wrong, of course… just… icky.  It’s been a busy month in Casa Messy, between work, earthquakes and hurricanes, and I’ve been resorting to convenience foods more than I like to.  I’ve been overwhelmed and stressed out and pretty angsty for awhile.  I also feel like recently I’ve had a few too many glasses of wine… and I know I’ve indulged in a few dinners out.  (Well, hubby and I had an anniversary to celebrate!  But we tried to work it off by hiking and kayaking.)  I don’t regret a single glass of wine or a single bite of the amazing food we’ve enjoyed.  But I’m ready to shift my focus to clean living for a little while.  I want to treat myself to fresh, whole foods – hydrating fruits and veg, “real food” vegetarian protein, and nourishing whole grains.  So I’m declaring this week Detox Week at the Messy house.  Now, what does that mean?

• No coffee and no alcohol… duh.  I don’t expect to have much trouble with this.  I rarely drink coffee as it is (maybe once a month, and when I do I’m usually thinking about how I’d rather have tea).  And although I love wine, I’m not a big drinker and I generally only have a glass or two on the weekends, and no booze at all during the week.  I’d rather drink a little of the really good stuff than a lot of the cheap stuff.  So avoiding alcohol for a week doesn’t concern me at all.
• No cheese.  I’d say no dairy altogether, but I think that nonfat Greek yogurt is very healthy and I also happen to like it.  A lot.  This isn’t about deprivation – it’s about eating the foods that make me feel the best.  And while I adore cheese, hubby and I try to keep it out of the house because it’s not great for you.  As long as I can stay away from the gorgeous cheese plate at The Grape and Bean, I should be okay.
• No processed carbs.  Unless I process them myself!  So that means no bread, crackers or pretzels – just whole grains that I cook from scratch.  Millet, quinoa, brown rice, barley… all on the menu.  Pasta and Walker’s shortbread… not.
• No sweets.  I am going to go the week without the white devil.  Obviously natural sugars, like those in fruit and whole grains, don’t count here.  But I don’t need, nor do I particularly want, to eat sweets on a regular basis.  Every so often as a treat is fine, and I won’t be made to feel guilty about the occasional indulgence, but not during Detox Week.
• No convenience foods.  As much as it will pain me to go a week without Quorn chik’n – which I really, really like the taste of – I’m going to get my hippie protein the old-fashioned way, from beans and legumes, tofu, tempeh and seitan.  I’m making an exception for Field Roast sausages, because they’re made with real food.  (Actually, Quorn has a pretty good ingredient list too, but we’re trying to do something substantial here.)
• YES tea!  Especially green tea.  Plenty of it.  But as usual, no caffeine after 3:00 p.m., because it makes me hyper.
• YES water!  A glass in the morning, three Sigg bottles (I have the 2-cup variety at work, so it’s not completely insane) during the day, and a glass with dinner.  That works out to about eight cups per day… although if I’m thirsty for more that’s A-okay too.
• YES produce!  Back to eating giant fruit salads for breakfast and giant green salads for lunch.  As much fruit and veg as I want.  Nom nom nom.
• YES sweat!  Some sort of exercise every day, even if it’s just running a mile or two in my neighborhood or doing ten Sun Salutations.  I’m going to get moving in some manner every single day this week, and hopefully get back into the habit of exercising 5-6 times weekly like I was up until this summer.
• YES meditation!  I love meditating.  I feel so at peace and I am always rejuvenated after I finish a meditation practice.  It doesn’t have to be long, but I want to spend at least ten minutes every day this week in meditation.  It can be a sunrise meditation before I leave for work or a walking meditation on my lunch break… just so long as I take time to slow down and reset myself every day.

Obviously, this is a short-term experiment.  I just want to see how I feel after a week of totally clean living.  I expect I’m going to feel amazing.  And I hope this will be a jumping-off point for taking better care of myself going forward.  Eating a little cleaner, moving a little more, tearing myself down a little – okay, a lot – less.  Because the fact is, the only person I can really insist on kindness from is… well, me.  It has to start with me.