NUT

I've been a bit MIA in regards to my blog for a while now...but for good reason. I've been participating in the NUTrition program through CorePower Yoga! NUT started last friday and the first part was weekend-intensive; Friday eve, Sat and Sun from 8-4p. Within that time we took 5 yoga classes and began eating very clean foods thanks to Whole Foods. We have about 20 people in our class, and then we are split up into groups of 5 with one coach. Gordon, a friend of the stores that I've known since I've worked there, is my coach and he is great. He's an ultra runner and has been through the nutrition program a handful of times.

A lot of the focus in the program is about eating for your blood type and finding out what your dominant gland is. There is a book about it 'Eating Right For Your Blood Type'...we didn't read it, but we talked about energy boosting foods, and energy depleting foods, based on what blood type we are. Interestingly, as an 'A-type'...I found out that some foods that I eat every day are definitely in my energy depleting category. One major purpose of this cleansing process is for us to test different foods to see what reaction our bodies have (to see how energy-depleting foods we eat all of the time really are). After eating clean for 4 days, and 3 homemade broth days, our bodies are now at an alkaline state, a state that allows us to clearly see what our body's reaction to particular food (headaches, tiredness, stomach issues, moodiness, sinus stuff). Soy for instance (pretty much all soy products ), is shown to be very good for 'A's' and I never eat soy...so that's definitely a food I will be testing. Cottage cheese and hummus (which I eat all of the time) are in my super energy-sucking category, so I will also be testing those.

I'm on my second day (of 4) of clean eating, which prohibits dairy, gluten, processed foods, caffine, peanuts, and any particular foods we wish to test later in the process. I honestly have not had one single sugar craving, not one true hunger pain since Friday. We can definitely have other nuts (almonds, almond butter, etc), unlimited veggies, lean proteins, some fruits, and some protein-filled, gluten free grains. I have truly enjoyed the new variety in my diet and creating new meals!

I was very nervous about giving up my tasty coffee, with my (horrible-for-me) sweet creamer every morning...but Monday has been the only day I truly missed it. Without caffeine I am now sleeping very soundly and ready to go to bed. Caffeine hides the "I'm-tired" feelings for most people and I am now very aware my my mind is ready to hit the hay. I was also nervous about my energy level, but I have honestly had very high energy since this process started on Friday. We are taking a protein/vitamin/mineral supplement throughout the clean eating, testing, and broth phase (substantially more during broth days).

Last night was the first Tuesday night class/meeting of three that we will do throughout the program. We had an amazing, yet so hard, sculpt class thanks to Heather (she is a great teacher) and then discussed more about the cleanse as we ate our clean dinners that we prepared. It was fun to catch up with everyone and see how the first day went. Honestly the people in the program are the major tool to staying focused and getting through all of the changes, the food preparation and planning, the withdrawals...because everyone else is going through it too.

When most people hear cleanse, they sometimes hear fast...and that is definitely not what this program is. We have been totally prepared for this process and I am very excited to learn more about the effects food has on my body. More to come via blog throughout this journey. I know many things will be revealed, and I can't wait to share!