I survived

My 28 day cleanse is over, bitchez!

I actually ended it yesterday since I was having dinner at le boyfriend's rents and I wanted to indulge in yummyness, but I figured, what's a day going to matter?

Anyhoo, having survived a month without caffeine, booze (um, minus a glass of wine or two), dairy, wheat, sugar, soy, corn, pop, etc, I must say I have learned a lot - and I will gladly inform you of it.

Positives
-My tummy pains have ended
-My stomach no longer sticks out painfully from bloating
-I sleep much better and wake up being more alert than before (still not bouncing out of bed though but that probably has to do with the fact that I am not a morning person and no cleanse can change that)
-I don't need caffeine
-I enjoy cooking fresh meals every day
-I like eating healthy, wholesome stuff
-I discovered rice past is as good as wheat pasta, so I may not miss the stuff (if it turns out I have a wheat allergy)
-Rice milk and almond milk aren't bad - once you forget what real milk tastes like
-Water is good stuff
-I will always make rice now instead of buying those instant packets
-I can survive social settings and parties sober
-Roasted vegetables (especially yam) are great

Negatives
-My skin isn't as vibrant and clear as I thought it would be (I was told that wheat and dairy causes a lot of skin problems)
-The detox shakes I had to drink caused me to gain some weight
-My grocery bill didn't go down (especially since two weeks worth of shakes cost $133)
-I still got some bloating from certain "OK" foods such as pineapple, certain vegetables and oatmeal

Regardless, I am proud of myself for getting through it all. I only kinda cheated once or twice in the form of a glass of wine after 2 1/2 weeks - and lets not forget last Friday where I downed a bottle of wine (HEY, my liver detox shake had run out so I figured what was the harm? I'm not detoxing my liver anymore). I also smoked some pot but hey, my doctor never told me to NOT to do drugs.

I've decided to make some changes too - I know I am probably allergic to dairy (though never cheese, strange huh?) and wheat so I am going to try and avoid those when I can. Rice instead of wheat, soy milk instead of regular. I also know that I don't NEED caffeine anymore, so I am going to drink teas or decaff coffee from now on. Both have small amounts of caffeine, so I know that's all I need to perk myself up. I've also vowed to avoid hard liqour for as long as I can, avoid Red Bull (except in my beloved Jaegerbomb), no more pop or carbonated drinks and no more fake sugar ever! I've learned that water is great, that eating purely really does make you feel good and that I have now free reign to eat whatever I want.

Funny thing is, now that I can eat whatever, I still find myself eating what I was on the cleanse. I think a lot of it had to do with "forbidden foods." On my cleanse, grocery shopping and eating out was HELL. I wanted to eat everything! But now, the mystique is gone. I had a bite of chocolate last night and couldn't finish the rest. I had a sip of sour apple slurpee and it gave me a raging headache. I looked at all the junk and goodies in the store yet found myself still going to the vegetable aisle.

Hopefully these good habits will stay with me. At least until my first Jaegerbomb, then all hell's gonna break loose.