Frozen Yogurt Versus Ice Cream

Pinkberry, heralded by the LA Times as "the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets," is a frozen yogurt chain that started in West Hollywood less than five years ago. Ever since living in LA, I've realized that frozen yogurt really is a part of the culture here. While some don't enjoy the tangy, fresh yogurt flavor, Pinkberry, and now the increasingly popular Yogurtland, has an almost cult-like following. And I'm a part of it. I thought about Pinkberry every single day I was in Boston (I just researched, and it's only available in California, New York, and Kuwait (???). I even tried some Mango Berry thing once, but it just didn't compare. I really can't get enough of it, despite its $5 price tag for a medium with three toppings.

Many claim that it's super healthy; it even has the National Yogurt Association's Seal of Approval. Still, though, the second ingredient after non-fat milk is sugar...let's not kid ourselves here.

But just look at it! It's such a beautiful concoction and you can't beat the fresh ingredients.

Yesterday Conor and I went out with some of his college friends. After a delicious tuna burger, everyone wanted something sweet. We went to a popular LA place by the name of Milk--great treats, HORRIBLE customer service. I ordered a brownie sundae (again, still working on my choices). And I kid you not, all I really wanted was some frozen yogurt! Of course, I still ate the brownie sundae, but I truly would have preferred the frozen yogurt. And no, I am not making this up. It just tastes light and natural, and I never feel weighed down and heavy after eating it. Frozen yogurt also makes me feel satisfied, but without that heavy I-ate-too-much-sugar feeling. For all of you skeptics out there, I really encourage you to try replacing the ice cream with frozen yogurt for a while. You just might get hooked.

So from now on, I really am going to eliminate ice cream from my life. I don't know if I can completely eliminate sugar just yet, but the ice cream can go. From here on out, no more ice cream. I'll take my Pinkberry instead.

My Boyfriend's Back...

And so am I! I know, I know. After a major blogging hiatus, I am feeling quite guilty and actually just had a long conversation with Conor (the bf, see above) about what I'm actually trying to accomplish with this blog. But let's backtrack.

Conor arrived in LA on August 28th. While I by no means blame my blogging hiatus and slight detour from my clean eating philosophy on him, I have to admit that I never seem to eat quite as well when I'm around him. Now that we're living together (which, after almost a year of long distance, is beyond wonderful and feels oh so good), I realize that I need to sit down and think about why this happens.

This is an especially peculiar puzzle, because Conor has really done very little to derail my clean eating. Not a big eater himself, Conor eats healthy foods, likes to cook meals from scratch, has a mildly adventurous palate (we ate tempeh the other day), and doesn't demand dessert at the end of each meal. He's even one of those impossible to understand people who claim to "forget to eat lunch" or "aren't hungry for a cookie." I used to think those people didn't exist, but let me tell you--they do.

Despite Conor being a perfectly suitable clean eating companion, I find that I simply like to eat tasty things with him. We go out to eat sushi and what sounds like the perfect after-dinner detour? Why, yogurt land, of course! Or, after a day of unpacking, what do we want to do? Go get cake and ice cream from the market! What would cap off a perfect Labor Day hike in Malibu? A pumpkin spice creme from Starbucks! And who wants to just drink tea at the tea room? You simply must order lemon cake to go with it! Now, I realize that listing all of these things makes me sound like a total hog, but it's the truth! Granted, this happened over many consecutive days, and all the while I kept saying to myself, "oh my...I need to blog about this."

But really, why does this happen? How can I go from completely not wanting sugar to wanting it when he's around? Does anyone else have this problem?

Then that's another thing. Is this even considered a problem? Or isn't life all about enjoying things in moderation? In any case, having Conor here has certainly made me re-evaluate my nutritional goals. I DO want to cut back on sugar and I DO truly believe in the clean eating philosophy. But maybe it's just one step at a time? We'll see. I need some time to think, and in the meantime I'll keep blogging about my minor accomplishments (like the fact that I'm snacking on strawberries right now instead of chocolate).

Oh! Speaking of which, it has been almost a MONTH since my last diet coke. So that's good. At least I've eliminated that.

The Reality of Fruit

In my last post, I talked about portion control. Now that I've really started paying attention, it's not easy! Granted, I do find this plan a lot easier to follow than other diets I've done in the past, mainly because it doesn't require as much measuring. It was always such a pain to be measuring out a measly half cup of carrots; therefore, I do like that eating clean relies more on "eyeballing it" and handfuls.

HOWEVER, as you can see in the picture above, not a whole lot of fruit fits in a handful! And I always wonder if my handfuls are the same as Tosca's....see how my fingers are spread out to accommodate a couple of extra berries? I also sort of have two layers--I'm not sure what she would have to say about that. But even if my handfuls are larger than they should be, that's still only eight strawberries!

I've realized that perhaps I've eaten a little too much fruit in the past. Not only were my portions larger than they probably should be, but also I was never careful about pairing fruit, which is a simple carbohydrate after all, with a complex carbohydrate and protein. This past week I've realized that it's important to do this, as it really helps slow down digestion and doesn't cause that good 'ol spike in blood sugar (like the one you get from candy).

I should also say that even though this plan calls for six servings of carbohydrates from fruits and non-starchy vegetables, it's preferable if the majority come from the vegetables, ie spinach, broccoli, asparagus, green peans, peas, etc. While I like the vegetables well enough, I just like fruit so much better! Today for example, I've had five servings of fruit and only one serving of vegetables. Oops...this is something I need to work on.

Aside from controlling my fruit portions, eating clean hasn't been terribly difficult with the exception of eating out and socializing (more on that tomorrow). I find that clean food really keeps me full and satisfied. It's also been very reasonable economically. 10 days ago I bought $138 in groceries from Trader Joe's, but my freezer is still stocked with chicken, salmon, and other clean protein options. I also have a large supply of quinoa, brown rice and egg whites on hand. I haven't had to go to the grocery store since with the exception of the farmer's market, where I spent approximately $15 yesterday on fresh produce.

So overall, I would say I'm a fan of this clean eating. I'm trying to stay away from the scale and to focus purely on how I feel, but I think I'll weigh myself on Friday to see what has been happening on the front. As much as I hate to admit it, numbers on the scale rarely lie...

Portion Control Made "Easy"

Like any nutrition plan, portion control is key with Clean Eating. As much as I would absolutely love to believe the people who say "eat whatever you want as long as it's good food," there is something to be said for the "calories in can't exceed calories out" mantra. While it's true that the quality of one's calories does count and that one shouldn't simply eat 1,200 calories a day of donuts and fast food, I know that at least my body doesn't respond well when I'm eating more than 1,800 calories a day--even if I only consume good, clean food. Unfortunately, this means that one really shouldn't eat more than 2 tablespoons of natural nut butters a day, no matter how good they are for the body. Same goes for olive oil and fruit. Sigh.

So here's the breakdown of Tosca's portion sizes that I've been trying to follow ever since stopping the detox.

• 5-6 Servings of LEAN PROTEIN. One serving can be any of the following options: 1 cup low-fat soy, almond, hemp, rice or lactose-free milk, cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt cheese, plain, fat-free, sugar-free yogurt; 1 small handful of raw, unsalted nuts, 2 tablespoons of all-natural nut butters; 1 palm-sized portion of animal meats; 1-2 scoops of good-quality, sugar-and chemical-free protein powder (does anyone know of any good ones? I'm not sure about the one I'm using). Finally, beans or tofu, important for vegetarians, also fall into this category; however, I'm not sure what the portion size is. I'm guessing the palm of your hand, though.

• 6 Servings of COMPLEX CARBOYDRATES FROM FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. This includes 1 cupped handful or piece of fruit or 2 cupped handfuls of non-starchy vegetables

• 2-4 Servings of COMPLEX CARBOYDRATES FROM WHOLE GRAINS AND STARCHY CARBOYHDRATES. One serving can be 1 small handful of high-protein, sugar-free cold cereals, such as muesli and granola; 1 handful of cooked cereal (this translates to ½ cup dry); 1 piece of whole-grain bread or seven-inch wrap; 1 handful of quinoa (also can be counted as protein since it's a "complete" food), barley, brown-rice, buckewheat, couscous, or whole-grain pasta; 1 handful-sized serving of sweet potato, yam, banana, corn, carrots, squash, kidney beans, lentils, soybeans, etc.

• Sweeteners, such as honey, agave nectar, stevia, sucanet, and rapadura sugar (have NO clue what those last three are) should be used in moderation while any artificial sugars should be avoided completely.

• Healthy fats and oils, particularly olive, pumpkinseed and flaxseed should also be used in moderation

• Juice, commercial salad dressings and sauces, and anything fried or processed should be completely out of the picture

Killing for a Chemical Lift

For one of the first times since I started this non-chemical existence, I am currently fighting a serious craving for a Diet Coke. Well, I've been partial to Coke Zero ever since it hit the market, but anything would do at this point. It all started when I was having lunch at one of my favorite Greek restaurants. Nothing washes hummus and spinach and feta down like a diet soda (or a beer, but I've already had my beer of the week). That was hours ago, and I still want one. The long list of chemicals on the can is holding me back, though. As are the articles I've read calling it "Diet Crack," and the scientists who say it only makes the brain crave more sugar.

Mmmmm. Still....chemicals and all, I keep fantasizing. I can practically feel the cold can. You know how it sweats a little when it's out of the fridge and it's hot outside? I wonder if it would taste as good as I'm imagining. And I can tell you, this purified water from the Brita just isn't the same, no matter what the purists say.

I'm going to a beach concert tonight and we're going to stop at Trader Joe's to get some food for a picnic. I guess some Pellegrino will have to do, but oh how I would kill for a Coke Zero. This is harder than I thought it would be.

Tosca's Eat-Clean Principles

• Eat 5 or 6 small meals every day (I only eat 5….I’m never hungry for six)

• Eat every 2 to 3 hours (this has been a bit tricky. I had to adjust my portion sizes at first, because I wasn’t hungry after only 3 hours)

• Combine lean protein and complex carbs at every meal

• Consume adequate healthy fats each day

• Drink at least 8 cups of water each day

• Never miss a meal, especially breakfast

• Carry a cooler loaded with Eat-Clean foods to get through the day (this is important…granted, I don’t carry a cooler, but I have a fairly large purse. I brought almonds and a pear to Julie and Julia yesterday)

• Avoid all over-processed, refined foods, especially white flour and sugar

• Avoid chemicals, preservatives, and artificial sugar (This is still hard for me...I really miss my Coke Zero)

• Avoid saturated and trans fats

• Avoid sugar-loaded colas and juices

• Consume adequate healthy fats (EFAs) each day

• Avoid alcohol—another form of sugar (I anticipate that this will be difficult as well)

• Avoid all calorie-dense foods that contain little or no nutritional value

• Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, and enzymes

• Stick to proper portion sizes—give up the super-sizing

As you can see, it’s all quite logical. Also, for my gluten-free friends out there, this plan is practically made for you!

Tomorrow I'll be discussing portion sizes and the exact breakdown of what one eats at each meal...

*This information is taken from The Eat-Clean Diet, Tosca Reno.

Eating Clean: The Un-Diet

Now that I've ended my detox (which, four days later, I still say was the best choice), I've taken a while to post again. This past weekend I took some time to read a variety of nutrition books, talk to Josh (trainer), and to really think about what my nutritional goals will be for the duration of the coming school year.

Background Info: the school where I work is a dieter's nightmare (or heaven, depending on the dieter's often-changing mental state). Almost every single day, delicious goodies line the tables of the staff lounge. And I'm not talking about tootsie rolls or Butterfingers. No, I'm talking godiva chocolates, Sprinkles Cupcakes and Dean and DeLuca Cookies, among countless cinnamon rolls, donuts, bagels, and sandwiches. It's an all-girls school, and these girls LOVE to eat. When some smart-minded parents banned the 400 calorie, fresh-baked cookies from the cafeteria, students wrote articles and petitions about it for the rest of the year. To make up for the cookies, many girls simply bring in their own treats for class. Where do these leftovers go? To the staff lounge, of course! Walking into the lounge is the dieter's equivalent of walking into a minefield. Even when one has the best intentions, it can be dangerous.

I should also add that, like many of my counterparts, I have not always had a completely normal relationship with food. I have tried numerous diets since the age of twelve, ranging from relatively healthy to borderline insanity. And, like we all know, diets rarely work. Right now I am at a healthy, comfortable weight that I'm happy with (fyi: still haven't gained back the pounds lost from detox). What I would like to do, however, is "tighten up" my nutrition (Trainer Josh uses that lingo). I really want to see what kind of effects truly healthy eating has.

The past four days I've been following Tosca Reno's Clean Eating Philosophy. Tosca is a columnist for Oxygen, and I highly respect her book The Eat Clean Diet. Unfortunately, the title is a bit misleading, as it's truly not a diet. Instead, it's a lifestyle.

This next year I will be following Tosca's Eat-Clean Principles and will be writing about the trials and tribulations of doing so. What I think will be particularly interesting is when my boyfriend Conor arrives in LA. While he is wonderfully open to at least following some aspects of Eating Clean with me (minus the lack of caffeine), I wonder how his influence will affect my ability to eat clean and how he will really feel about the lack of tasty treats in the kitchen.

As a final note, yesterday I was feeling very hungry for something sweet. This was the first time in a week that I had a sugar craving, and I wanted something truly good and rich. Of course, I have absolutely nothing truly good and rich in my apartment, so I put 1 cup of low-fat soy milk in the blender and combined it with 1 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, and a handful of ice. 30 seconds later I had this absolutely delicious shake. And I do not lie, it was as good as ice cream.

Detoxing for the Non-Celebs

When I made the decision to detox, I wanted to find out a variety of things.

1) Is detoxing possible for a non-celebrity?

2) Does it really make a person feel better?

3) Is it really necessary to "cleanse?"

4) How much time, energy, and money does such a plan cost?

5) Would I want to incorporate detoxing into my normal routine, say three to four times/year?

So, to answer Question 1, YES, it is possible. However, there is NO way I could have done this detox if I had been working. The timing completely went against my schedule, and if I were working, there's no way I could have waited two hours to eat the breakfast smoothie. In addition, it was highly inconvenient to be chopping and steaming and stewing away all day just to make a small soup, salad dressing, or broth. So unless you have someone else to cook for you or lots of extra time, I would not recommend this particular detox plan.

Question 2: Yes, I did feel better, and I felt better remarkably quickly. While I am not supporting detoxing 100%, I'm also not totally against it. After seven weeks of heavy, processed food, this was a fast and true method to feel lighter and healthier. Could I have reached this feeling by simply eating normal, healthy foods? Probably. But there was at least something psychological about this detox that made me feel like I was taking the fast-track to a healthier lifestyle. Maybe it's bogus, but it's how I felt.

Question 3: Is it necessary? Like I just said, probably not. But again, I found it soothing to detox. I can see it being beneficial even after a family reunion where, at least in the Ledvina Family, a lot of gorging takes place. And I hesitate to write this, but since I'm trying to give an honest point of view, I'm going to go ahead. If you are ever looking to lose weight quickly, be it for an event or you simply want to fit into your old jeans again, this seems like a relatively healthy way to do so.

Question 4: This was a bit expensive. Granted, I had to buy a lot of the ingredients since my kitchen was practically empty when I got back to LA. But if I include the juicer, I spent a total of $238 on the ingredients for this detox. Yes, I will definitely be using everything in the future (even the sketchy, green, probiotic powder!), but for anyone out there thinking of detoxing, it's good to know that you have to invest a bit of cash. And like I said before, be prepared to spend some serious time in the kitchen to prepare the food.

Question 5: Yes, I would consider detoxing again. I probably wouldn't do this particular plan again, but I would be interested to try the BluePrint Cleanse, which you can do for only three days and the juices are pre-made (I think). I haven't read much about it, but it seems easier to make than this one. With Gwyneth's plan, I just got tired of spending time cooking foods I wasn't all that crazy about.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you want to get out of it. I didn't start this cleanse with the idea of losing weight (but a nice benefit), but rather to see if I would feel healthier. And I do! I also have no desire to eat anything sweet and am simply looking forward to starting a new way of living. Take what you will from my experience, but for those of you interested in checking out the cleanses, here are the links:

Gwyneth's Detox: http://www.goop.com/newsletter/15/

BluePrint Cleanse: http://www.blueprintcleanse.com/

The Detox Has Died

Sad, but true: my love-hate relationship with Gwyneth's Detox Plan has officially ended. Three days early. It all started yesterday afternoon when I was creating the juice below.

Beautiful color, yes? And it was quite tasty (1/2 cup of basil, 1 English Cucumber, 1 apple, 1 lime on ice). Gwyneth may have been correct in dubbing it the "detox friendly mojito,"and I will probably make it again. But as I was shoving all the ingredients through the juicer, I kept thinking about how all I really wanted was an apple with my beloved natural peanut butter.

A couple of hours later, I went to a concert with my friend Natalia, who ingeniously called Gwyneth a "Wactress," (you know, wacky/actress). During our outing, I kept thinking about how I wanted a sandwich. No frozen yogurt, no chocolate, no chips, no junk. Just a turkey sandwich with sprouts! Then as I was going to bed, I was looking at one of my Moosewood cookbooks and craving all of these healthy items. It was at this time that I was 90% sure it was time to end the fast.

The deciding point, however, was this morning when I weighed myself. In four short days, I had already lost four pounds. While I'm not complaining, I also know that this weight loss is probably only temporary and that it's never good to lose so much weight in such a short period of time. In addition, I was reading about how Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser (LOVE her) says that detox diets generally slow your metabolism. Even though Gwyneth's detox still provided more than 1,000 calories a day on average, a slower metabolism is not what I'm looking for.

SO, I had a bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake with strawberries for breakfast this morning. It was amazing.

Sugar High

When I was little, my brother Nat and I would eat multiple pixie sticks or any other sort of candy and then run around like dorks saying that we had "sugar highs." Nat would even go as far as saying "sugar" in a super dorky voice and pointing to anything white. I think he may have even licked the cooler in the car because his "sugar high was so intense." He will probably adamantly deny this, but keep in mind that I was only ten or eleven, making Nat, who is seven years my senior, seventeen or eighteen. Dorks.

The funny thing is that I haven't had any refined sugar these past three days, but tonight I feel just like I used to with my "sugar highs" of the past . Seriously, for the past two hours I have been bouncing off the walls! I can hardly contain my energy despite having gotten up at 6:30 am and having had a pretty busy day. Unfortunately, I have not channeled this energy into cleaning the kitchen (which is still a mess due to all the prep work required for this detox), but instead have spent my time trying on clothes and coming up with new outfits for school (please tell me I'm not the only one who loves to do this?)

So maybe the detox experts are correct in saying that people feel great once they get past the hump. I certainly haven't eaten much today, but I haven't followed the detox perfectly either. I was at the Grove doing some shopping and suddenly got really hungry. This was annoying, because I wanted to see Julia & Julia, but figured I shouldn't see a movie about delicious food on an empty stomach. So I headed home. By the time I got there, I was so completely RAVENOUS that I ate a bunch of blueberries....more than three handfuls I reckon. So after the blueberries, I wasn't really hungry for the scheduled Cucumber, Lime and Basil Juice (which Gwyneth calls a detox-friendly mojito, ha!), so I just had the leftover miso soup instead. Hey, maybe I'm just experiencing a Blueberry High?

Breakfast today was oatmeal with almond milk and lunch was the blueberry almond smoothie, both of which I ate. I liked oatmeal for breakfast...I'm not supposed to have it tomorrow, but I think I will anyway. Again, maybe this means I'm not detoxing properly, but I figure if I had it one day, why can't I have it another? I'm going to rationalize that the meals are simply switched around for the sake of variety instead of some other detox theory that I don't know about yet.

So no new pictures today, but I will be writing later about my plans for next week (and hopefully the rest of my life?). I spent a good two hours reading nutrition books in Barnes and Noble and was so overwhelmed by all of the advice out there.....probiotics, low-sugar, no-sugar, no-deprivation, detox, no-detox. How is one to know who is right?

More on that later, but I also wanted to acknowledge all of the wonderful readers out there! Thank you for all of your love and support and insight into other blogs. It has been tremendously helpful. For someone who thought she knew a lot about nutrition before, I can't believe all of the new information I've found out these past few days.

Good night!

NOT in love with Gwyneth...

Sorry, Gwyneth. But today I rebelled. In more ways than one. It all started when I realized it was already 2:00 and I hadn’t even begun the marinade required for the “Detox Teriyaki Chicken.” The chicken needs to marinade for at least an hour, meaning that I wouldn’t be eating by 3:00, and since all I had eaten was the smoothie and coconut water (AND worked out), I was SO hungry.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have any other food in my house, OR maybe because this detox is working and all of a sudden I only want healthy foods (this is the theory I’m going to go with), but as I was making the marinade, the blueberries in my fridge looked so unbelievably appetizing. I’ve never wanted a blueberry more badly in my life. So I ate one….followed by three more handfuls. Now, according to Gwyneth, I’m not supposed to do this until Day Four. At the time, however, I was thinking “Screw you Gwyneth, what do you know about nutrition?” And really, what kind of diet is this if I can’t eat some blueberries, one of the top ten super foods? Does this make me a dirty cheater? Maybe...or it makes me an idiot to follow the nutritional advice of an actress.

I was starting to feel resentful. A couple of hours later, it was time to make the Miso Soup with Watercress. Have you ever used bonito flakes? I had no idea what they were, but as soon as I opened the package, my kitchen was flooded with a scent of almost-rotting fish. According to the package, “Bonito, a type of mackerel, is steamed and dried to wood-like hardness, then shaved into flakes.” I suppose it’s used for broths and soups, but I could hardly handle the smell. Again, this is when I again started hating Gwyneth, at least in my head.

The soup didn’t taste too bad, but it got me wondering if Gwyneth or any of these other celebrities who hail the miracles of detox actually cook the food themselves. They make the recipes and juices sounds so easy, but they all require quite a bit of preparation. Perhaps if this miso soup (which didn’t smell bad when I ate it) were served to me and I didn’t prepare it, I would have liked it more?

All I can say now, at the end of Day 2, is that I’m not sold on detoxing yet. I just feel hungry, tired, and anti-social since I can’t do anything that involves food. Oh, and my kitchen still smells like stinky mackerel….

This is the miso and watercress soup. I think I would have liked it more if it had more vegetables. Overall it tasted ok; I think the barley miso canceled out the mackerel.

The Detox Teriyaki Chicken was actually very good, and I will probably rotate it into my chicken recipes. The sauce is "detox-friendly" because it doesn't use sugar or soy, but instead relies on agave syrup, ginger, mirin, and balsamic vinegar.

D-Day

So, what does this Detox even entail? Like I said before, Gwenyth's plan, created by Dr. Alejandro Junger, seems quite reasonable. There are always three meals and two small snacks (granted, these snacks are coconut water and small handfuls of nuts, but snacks nonetheless). You are supposed to eat whole organic foods, and there can be no dairy, grains with gluten, shellfish, anything processed (including soy products), fatty nuts, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, condiments, sugar, alcohol, caffeine or soda.

Day 1 of Detox is officially over, or at least I've consumed all of the food for today. Do I feel light and cleansed yet? Definitely not. But it wasn't bad at all! If anything, I had a pretty good time chopping up all the vegetables while listening to the new reggaeton radio station I found. The only time I was hungry was the morning since you are supposed to wait two hours before drinking the Blueberry Almond Smoothie. Instead of eating right away like I usually do, I drank some lemon water, waited an hour, drank some herbal tea, and then waited another hour.

For the most part, the food is pretty tasty. My favorite was the morning smoothie, which I'll be having almost every day. It involves 1 1/2 cups of almond milk, 1/2 cup of blueberries, a scoop of whey protein powder, and a scoop of the probiotic greens. As I said yesterday, I was suspicious of the green powder but it was REALLY good! The smoothie smelled a bit odd, but tasted like health in a glass. In fact, I could see drinking it instead of my strawberry/chocolate protein shake.

In contrast, this broccoli and arugula soup that I just had for dinner wasn't exactly enjoyable. It wasn't bad, and, as you can see, it had a lovely, rich color, but I'm not a big fan of pureed broccoli and arugula with only a bit of lemon and salt. I would never eat this in real life and am NOT looking forward to eating it again. But maybe I just wasn't hungry enough?

Luckily, lunch was delicious and satisfying. Salad with avocado and red onion with carrot and ginger dressing. I loved it! I must say that the dressing, albeit fantastic, looked like vomit (just being honest!).

I've got to say that perhaps the hardest thing is giving up gum. Maybe it's because there were so many onions in the salad, but I felt like my body was emanating onions. I was about to eat a piece of Orbit Bubblemint, but then I looked at the chemicals and realized that it will sadly no longer be a part of my life. Yikes, that may be harder than diet coke.

I also worked out today for the first time in months. Well, I had "worked out" a bit over the summer, but I wouldn't call any of my summer sessions legitimate workouts. Let's just say that it was VERY noticeable; Josh (trainer) says that it will take at least four weeks of hard training to get back to where I was. Depressing. Surprisingly, I only gained two pounds at Explo, but perhaps it was because I lost muscle tone? Who knows.

All I can say is I'm glad I'm detoxing. In a strange way, I think my body was craving it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow....

Two hours and $150 later...

In preparation for my week of Detox, I headed to Whole Foods this afternoon. Normally I choose to shop at less expensive grocery stores, but I figured Trader Joe's wouldn't sell this plan's more obscure ingredients--agave syrup, grapeseed oil, mirin, bonito flakes, and wakame (an edible ocean plant....how can this possibly be tasty?) just to name a few.

And maybe it's just because I was out of practice with the grocery store, but it took me nearly TWO hours to find everything! I think I asked at least four different people to help me. Seriously, for being a diet where I won't be eating much food, it sure requires a lot of ingredients. Whey protein powder, lots and lots of green vegetables, coconut water, two types of miso paste, and almond and rice milk are other required ingredients. By far the most expensive ingredient is the ProGreens powder with probiotics, whatever those are. Coming in at $27 for fifteen servings, it's hailed as a 100% spoonable whole food and is "Alive with 20 Organic Greens & Fruits." I need to use 1 tablespoon per day in my smoothie along with the protein powder. I've got to say....I am not particularly excited to be eating this mixture of "20 different organic vegetables, fruits, grains and herbs." To me, it looks and smells liked powdered grass.

$150 later, which isn't too bad since I had to buy a lot of oils/syrups/powders that I am trying to tell myself are "investments" for my future cooking projects, I lugged my three bags of groceries home. Still, I have yet to buy some of the produce required later in the week along with the organic chicken and salmon that will be incorporated starting on Day 2.

See? It can't be that crazy of a detox if I can have some regular food! Yes, that's what I told myself as I celebrated "My Last Night" with some spinach turnovers I found in the freezer. Mmmmmm...they were tasty, although what I really wanted was a frozen Butterfinger (or maybe two or three!) like the ones we had in our office all summer.

Sigh....something tells me this will be a VERY long week.

The Last Diet Coke

I got the idea to start this blog two weeks ago while working at Explo, an enrichment program for 8th and 9th graders based at Wellesley College. For seven weeks, I subsisted on The Three P's: pizza, potatoes, and pasta. And that's not all--I was supplementing this diet with candy and three to four glasses of diet coke each day. For obvious reasons, I felt weighed down and sluggish. And despite the fact that I was getting plenty of sleep, I had no desire to exercise. My mouth also felt like it was constantly covered in sugar, most likely because I would turn to diet coke and atomic fireballs each time I needed an energy boost. Healthy, I know.

After eating particularly poorly one day, I remembered reading about Gwyneth Paltrow’s detox program and being intrigued. I know, I know...had it really come to this? While I had never felt the need to cleanse (and my parents will still insist that the whole idea of removing toxins from the body is complete hocus pocus; perhaps they are right), I suddenly felt the need to do something to get my eating back on track. Much to my co-workers' dismay, I printed out Gwyneth’s plan, bought a juicer on ebay, and decided to start it the Monday I got back to LA (tomorrow).

As the summer wore on, I got to thinking that I wanted to do more than just cleanse for a week. Like many people, I absolutely love sweets, so much so that I can’t keep them around. I also have a dependency on diet soda and drink at least one can a day. I got to thinking, “what would happen if I cut out all added sugar and processed food and drinks? If you look at a diet coke can, you will find a variety of chemicals including Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (to protect flavor), and Aspartame to name a few (there are more). This simply can’t be good for the body.

If I were to “eat clean,” a lifestyle philosophy I’ll later discuss in detail, for an extended period of time, would I simply stop craving diet coke and caffeine? Would I truly stop craving sweets? How many weeks will it take for me not to want soda and candy? Will carrots and apples really have the same energizing effect as diet coke? Will a fruit smoothie really suffice for a brownie like the so-called fitness experts say? Or will I just turn into a cranky witch? How will this affect my social life? Is it possible for a busy, working person to prepare fresh and nutritious meals every day, or is it only possible for someone with a personal chef? Is this lifestyle even affordable?

I am literally drinking my last Coke Zero as I type, and thinking about all of the questions I have. The ones above are just some that I will attempt to answer over the course of the next year. Fitness and health experts constantly tout the benefits of clean eating and detoxing, but I’ve never followed their advice 100%, partly because it seemed difficult for the average person.

So this is my quest: This next year I will be writing about my Non-Chemical Romance, or my life as I attempt to ditch my diet soda addiction and reliance on artificial sweeteners by eating healthy and nutritious foods every day. I don’t think it will be easy, but I hope to see if a normal, non-celebrity can actually make these changes. Stay tuned…

And just a quick picture of my colleagues who inspired me in the first place!