21 days later, I am finished with Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet and while at times it was tough, I’m happy I did it. For 21 days, I ate a vegan diet (which I already do) but no gluten, sugar, alcohol, or caffeine. I am a sugar addict so I thought that was going to be rough, but in all honesty, I missed the gluten more. I really wanted bread. I was also wary of eating a mostly raw foods diet. Was I going to be hungry all the time?
POSITIVES:
1) I became a lot calmer. She advises 15 to 20 minutes of meditation a day. I tried a meditation podcast that I loved since guided meditation is much easier for me. 2) I ate more vegetables than in my entire life. 3) I became a fan of green juice. I’m not gonna lie. I thought green juice was pretty gross the first time I tried it, but I found Kris’ signature green juice (a blend of cucumber, kale, romaine lettuce, pears, and broccoli stems) to be the best one. 4) I loved that each day in the book that there was a different focus, something new to try, and guidance. 5) It was the first time in a long time that I actually took time to take care of myself.
CHALLENGES:
1) I work at VegNews magazine and we regularly get wonderful vegan food deliveries for review. On the second day of my cleanse, no joke, three large boxes of bread arrived. 2) I spent a lot more time in the kitchen juicing, prepping veggies, and getting my lunches together. It wasn’t bad, but it’s more time than I devote regularly during the week. 3) Going out with friends was a little tough especially meeting up for drinks. Since I wasn’t drinking, I would have a tonic water with a slice of lime.
THE FOOD:
It may seem like a restrictive diet but on the contrary, I ate a lot of good food and got out of my comfort zone. I tried kelp noodles and made a pad Thai with it (using a recipe from Choosing Raw’s Gena Hemshaw that will be in the upcoming January+February issue of VegNews). I ate a lot cleaner and while I missed my favorite seitan dishes, I wasn’t ever hungry. The strange thing is that today, my last day, is the only day I felt really hungry.
I used to eat dessert every night. Instead I learned to choose sweet but not sugary desserts. Apple slices with almond butter, frozen bananas blended in a food processor, and a piece of fruit became my new sweet treats. It’s helped me to realize that I don’t need to have sugar every single day.
I wanted to share some of the meals that I ate over the course of the 21 days so you can see that this is different type of cleanse.
Got questions? Ask away!
