As some of you guys may know, when Stephen and I returned from our Philly/NJ/NYC trip, we were in sugar comas lol. We had enough sugar to last us about a month, so we set out to make some better (less sugar-filled) choices for the next two weeks (read our actual approach here). So yeah, you know that our “cleanse” wasn’t really a cleanse per say, but it was for us! I personally think I did a pretty  good job sticking to it. While I didn’t eliminate processed foods (let’s be real here), I did eat a LOT more fresh fruits and veggies than I normally do. Also, I skipped my nightly ice cream cones and my random chocolate during the day (after all, I did say I was cutting back on the sugar). I also didn’t drink any (okay, well, I had a glass of wine once but that’s it! I swear 😉 ).

So what did I think of my “cleanse” aka basically just eating like a regular “healthy” person does haha. Well, I’ll first say this. You know when people say things like they’re cutting out all processed food, eliminating any added sugar, cutting out all alcohol, etc. and then afterwards they are like “I feel SO amazing!! My skin is better, my stomach is more toned, I have more energy!!” You know what I’m talking about?? Well, not trying to knock anyone that genuinely feels this way, but that just wasn’t me LOL. I mean, yeah, mentally it felt nice eating a more balanced diet, because ice cream 6x in three days (and throw some donuts in there) is just TOO much haha, but in general I didn’t all of the sudden feel more rejuvenated compared to my normal routine. Also, I missed having a glass of wine, I missed my pieces of chocolate through the day. I’ve realized that having a totally “clean” diet just isn’t for me. And if we’re being honest, I knew this a long time ago which is a reason why I started counting macros.

I will say though, it did encourage me get more creative with my snacks and not to just grab something packaged because it’s easy. It also made me branch out when planning dinner for Stephen and me. When I was at the store, I would try to think of more “clean” dinners I could make as opposed to just eating whatever we had at the house. Sometimes for dinner I may just have a turkey sandwich with a side of chips, or maybe ice cream afterwards. So for example, one night I made cauliflower fried rice with grilled chicken and veggies instead. I still don’t think one option is necessarily better than the other, but it was nice getting more “adventurous” with my meals.

So what did I take away from this cleanse? Overall, I liked having a little reset after vacation because I felt like I needed it. However, I don’t feel the need to do any more “cleanses” in the future, and I honestly would never have the desire to do any sort of extreme cleanse. To me, cleanses that only allow you to drink juices, or cause you to cut out carbs…I just don’t see these as productive or enjoyable. I mean, those habits aren’t sustainable so I probably wouldn’t do something to my body that I wouldn’t be able to maintain on a consistent basis. Also, interestingly enough my sugar intake was actually the same during my cleanse according to my averages in My Fitness Pal app. Granted, I was probably consuming less added sugar but it’s not as if all the sudden my sugar intake dropped dramatically for whatever its worth. Anyway! While I’m not maintaining all aspects of my cleanse moving forward, I am going to make a better effort to incorporate more of a balanced diet, and not just opt for packaged food because it’s easier. I genuinely believe that life is more enjoyable (for me at least) when it’s balanced, and so this cleanse just reaffirms that I feel good about my normal routine (which usually includes the occassional ice cream, just not twice a day on repeat 😉 ).