My 2018 Cleanse And Restore 30 Day Challenge Home Stretch

It’s the final week of my cleansing health adventure and I’ve had some folks reach out with questions. This really excites me! There’s nothing I’d like more than to help others achieve their best selves and am willing to work with anyone who reaches out to me.  Here are answers to the questions I’ve been getting Maybe they’ll be beneficial to you as well…

Is the Cleanse and Restore Challenge all you are doing to lose weight?

No, it’s not. My goal is not to lose weight with the Challenge per say, it’s more to get me ready to lose weight after the Challenge is over.  I’m not trying to loose weight now.  Much of it is happening organically.  I have always been a hard running active person.  Then in August 2016 all that changed; I became completely inactive, and put on a whole lot of weight.  Now that I’m able to move without pain again I have started to slowly get back to some level of activity.  Is it a hard core work out program?  Not by any means—that will be coming shortly.  But for now I’m doing just a little bit to see how my body responds.  So I do a half hour of core activation and low weights (2lbs) 7 days a week the moment I get out of bed, an hour of Yoga 5 days a week usually in the evening, and cardio for 30 minutes 4 times a week usually early morning after weights.  What? I know that may sound pretty hard core! But we’re all different.  Our bodies all need something different.  This may seem like a lot of activity but for me it’s not.  It’s just a baby steps start.  And so far I feel fantastic.

The other thing I’d say is I’ve adjusted my portion size at meal time. I’ll admit I continued to eat like mad when I was inactive, which was a no-no, plus I only ate 2 meals a day and did lots of “pain grazing”.  So now, I’m eating 3 meals a day that are about half the size of the meals I’d been eating before, and then I have a mid-morning and mid afternoon snack to keep me from attacking innocent bystanders that have food in their hands.  Now that it’s been over 20 days  I rarely go wild with hunger mid-day, but boy, that first week was quite the killer!

What I think the cleanse is doing is helping me to purge the toxins and gunk out, jump start my metabolism, and support  absorbing a much higher nutritional value with what I eat, and take with my essential oils and the cleanse.  So far I freaking feel like an athlete reborn!

Doesn’t that Cleanse make you “bathroom bound” all day?

No, no, no, not at all. This has been a very gentle process.  I know some people have said they spent more time on the throne….others have had the total opposite effect.  I haven’t.  One thing that I’ve done consistently is take the supplements with food –literally intermixed with eating something—and I’ve been drinking roughly 64 ounces of water a day.  That may seem like a lot of water, but I count my morning coffee in there….lol….which amounts to about 16 ounces, and it’s still technically not enough water to be drinking per day just to be normal.  Perhaps that makes a difference?  I’m not sure.  But I will say that I feel like my body has been absorbing what I put in it, as though it was depleted and trying to recharge or something.

You get up at 4:45 and go to bed at 11:00? Geeze you look so good! Aren’t you getting run down? Aren’t you worried about getting sick?

Well, yes and no and thank you! I do get up early and turn in late.  Usually.  But not always.  I feel great. I listen to my body.  If I’m starting to feel tired or sore I back off of things for a day.  I meditate, too, and that bring me serious instant restfulness.  Truthfully I feel more energized and focused than I have in a very long time.  Plus I am taking fairly regular doses of essential oils internally and diffused in the air to support my immune system with all the flus and viral infections going around.  I seem to be rock solid and “healthy as a horse”, even while being subjected to sick people on a regular basis!

Aren’t you worried about taking all that product? How can that be safe?

Not worried at ALL! The decision to stop ingesting synthetic products purchased over the counter in stores was the best thing I’ve done for myself in a long time!  What I’m using now is all natural.  Nothing synthetic about it.  Our bodies only take (absorb) what they need, and, crazy as it sounds, let us know when it’s enough.  I know when I need to use a certain oil, because my body tells me.

What kinds of foods are you restricted to with the Cleanse?

There are no real restrictions, depending on what you want to achieve. The way to reach optimal results is by following a “clean” eating plan, and because I’m such an overachiever, well I went all out and decided to go somewhat Paleo/Keto.  But I’m no purist, as you will see.  I’m always going to be a food baby and celebrate awesome foods of all kinds!

What does that mean? I eat pretty much everything I did before.  It would be easier to describe what I don’t eat:

• Milk (but I stopped that 15 years ago)
• Cheese (but I have sprinkled some fresh grated Parm on a few things)
• Breads (notice I didn’t say carbs)
• Pork (but I didn’t have to)
• Chips (but I did find some that fit the plan)
• Sugar (but that doesn’t include honey)
• And anything “processed” meaning it came in a package with a list of 5 syllable words describing what’s in there.

Some specific examples of my meals during the Cleanse include:

Breakfast:

• Indie Egg Bake—chopped onion, garlic, mushroom, tomato, zucchini, green pepper and 8 eggs with curry, turmeric and s&p baked in a brownie pan and sliced for 6 mornings of breakfast.
• Italian Egg Bake
• Mexican Egg Bake

I should point out that breakfast was the most significant change for me. Prior to the Cleanse I always alternated breakfast tortillas and breakfast sandwiches with skinny bread for my normal routine.  A serious carb overload that I’ve taken a break from.

Lunch: left-overs from dinner items, or a spinach/romaine salad with chicken breast and avocado slices

Dinner:

• Steak and mushrooms with pan grilled asparagus
• Chicken soup with barley
• Baked Grouper, broccoli and ancient grains
• Spaghetti /w/turkey burger and spaghetti squash noodles
• Broiled garlic shrimp, Brussel sprouts and brown rice
• Bison taco salad (with those natural tortilla chips I found)
• Roasted chicken, sweet potatoes and pole beans
• Pan seared salmon and Quinoa kale salad

OH I could go on but I think you get the picture…..

For my mid am and pm snacks I nibble on things like carambola (Star Fruit) slices, blueberries, apple slices, banana, pineapple and mango, chopped radishes and celery, cashews, pecans and almonds, with an occasional half an avocado thrown in there.

I stop eating any food by 7:00 pm

So does it look like I’m restricted? I think I may be eating more than before!  I am never hungry.  I don’t crave much except maybe if I start thinking about it, I start to miss my late night garlic potato chips, dark chocolate and red wine….oh there I go again day dreaming…stop!

And I guess I have significantly decreased my alcohol consumption which is not a big deal to me.   I could, actually eat about anything I want with no apologies.  With this plan, I’ve lost 12 pounds in 22 days.  I’m already about half ways to my Memorial Day goal.  Do I feel restricted?  Heck no!

Isn’t that a lot of pills to take? Isn’t that a huge expense?

Well yes, at times it is a lot of pills, especially on this last leg, and it gets pretty darn confusing! But it’s only a 30 day commitment.  The purpose is to get healthier.  I don’t really look at the pills as pills.  They are natural supplements that are fresh and good for me.  I’m okay with muddling through the schedule for taking them.  It shall be over soon.  As for the cost…the Cleanse and Restore Kit was $326.67 and I needed an additional $50 bottle of TerraZyme for the month.  Geeze I’ve spent more than that per month in Caribou Coffee and going out to the bars and partying!  Seriously, I feel like my health and wellness is worth way more than that, so I consider this an investment in my wellbeing.

I’ve heard of doing Cleanses that make you dizzy, or sick. Does that happen to you?

No, I’ve been feeling really positive except for only once, but I think I understand why. I did get a touch of a dizzy spell one day early into the Cleanse.  I hadn’t eaten lunch yet and I was so hungry!  Then I smelled food from one of our local gourmet restaurants and got light headed and positively crazy for that food like a Banshee. Whoa!  I took some deep cleansing breaths, closed my eyes for a few minutes, drank some lemon water, talked myself back to civilized, and I was back in the game, feeling fine.  As my body adjusts to all the changes I’m putting it through it seems less “resistant” and more ready to go with the flow.

How do you know what to do? It all seems to be so overwhelming!

If you’re talking about just plain getting on track with improved health then, I agree. When you look at the nutrition component, the activity component, the mindset, the coordinating of things, the myriad of essential oils with countless combinations to address endless ailments, yeah, it does seem to be a bit overwhelming. I’m immersed into being an exemplary doTerra Wellness Advocate Director, so I devote a tremendous amount of time to it.  Lots of trust, patience, training, research, studying, being under a seasoned oilers wing, and of course I’ve done somewhat of a “trial and error” on my own self with amazing results.  Much of this practice is intuitive.  I’m addressing nutrition, exercise and healthy immune function, which dove tails into physical, mental and emotional health.  The resources at my fingertips or with a phone call are phenomenal .  If anything I feel empowered.  This path provides such a wide open opportunity for improved health head to toe.  Inside and out.  I’m excited to be what I consider a “life student of essential wellness”.  I’m excited to share this knowledge and freedom with others.  So, truthfully, just start small.  Tackle one thing at a time.  Maybe it’s cutting portion size.  Maybe it’s doing a 30 day cleanse first.  Maybe it’s just taking the LLV supplements for a while.  However you decide to start, whenever you decide to start, please do it with support…do it with me!  Come to one of my workshops, or we can create one for your own group, too.  What do I always say?  The opportunities are endless!

When is the best time to do a Cleanse and Restore?

Whenever you’ve decided that you are ready to commit to 30 days of something that may be somewhat out of your comfort zone, but will most certainly bring you pleasing results!  I probably wouldn’t do it at Thanksgiving or Christmas though.  That might just be asking for frustration, hehehehe!  I will likely do mine annually in January, and would be happy to have others join me next time!  That said, if you’re ready now, message me and we’ll get you started!

If you’re not seeing your question here…..well…..that means I’m sending your answer via email as the content is a little “graphic” or super personal for the world wide web!  You can also get back in touch with me and we can discuss further.

Well it’s about time for my lunch and TerraZyme. Cinna-Bean Soup today.  My attempt at creating a vegan dish.  It was going really well until I added the hamberger……………It’ll be on my website in the next week or two, once I perfect it.  I think the burger might have done the trick!  Counting down the days to completing my 30 Day Cleanse and Restore Challenge.  More soon!

Thank you for reading my post. I’d love to hear your thoughts!  All comments are greatly appreciated.  Life is an adventure—good or bad, and it begins today!  If you like what you see, please let me know by “liking” my website. You can even join my tribe to automatically receive new postings ‘hot off the press’.  There’s a place to do that right on my home page.  If you are interested in learning more about doTerra and the Cleanse and Restore Challenge, please reach out for me! I would love nothing more than to help you achieve your healthiest self too!  I also offer essential oil wellness workshops for formal and informal groups—let’s set one up for you and your friends or colleagues or department.  As always, please feel free to share with others who may find meaning and value in exploring limitless possibilities with PR Brady AdVentures. Thanks again!