The "Clean" Diet Days 19 thru 21

I am finished! Finite! Done! However you want to say it, the "Clean" diet is over. 

The last three days were tough, so much that I cracked...big time.  I cheated on Saturday eating whole grain cereal with rice milk (Oh geesh, I hope someone up there forgives me) and I had four slices of pizza on Sunday (a legitimately bad cave in on my part).  I should be upset with myself but it ended up turning into a little experiment. 

About 2 hours after I ate the cereal on Saturday, my stomach starting going nuts.  It didn't recognize what I had put into it.  The grains from the cereal (not allowed in the clean diet) didn't mix well with my body's symmetry.  The body had to instill an incredible amount of energy to digest.

Eating the pizza on Sunday magnified this issue by 2.

This isn't a representation of my stomach not recognizing something I hadn't put into for awhile, but a substance my body doesn't need.  The point of the diet is to hit the reset button.  To reveal the ins and outs of my body by cleaning it out.

There are thousands of people who went on this diet and found out they were lactose intolerant afterwards.  Other allergies became transparent to many others because the body wasn't running on bad fuel anymore.  When you clean out the body, it will dictate everything an individual can or cannot have.  The human body is so adaptive, it finds ways to run on anything after awhile.  It wasn't too long ago where I ate at a fast food restaurant at least 3 times a week.  That is not a typo.  If Wendy's had a customer appreciation program, I would have given the eulogy at Dave Thomas's funeral.  And at the time, I felt great (I know everyone's argument is "But Derek, you were really young and could eat anything and feel fine."That is a fallacy).  I was able to run and play basketball for hours without getting tired.  Then, I started to slowly add healthier stuff to my diet after I gave up junk food for Lent. 

During those 40 days, I didn't eat any fast food, pizza, Chinese food, or candy.  I started to add fruit and wholesome meals (Example: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans) to my diet.  I felt no difference to my body.  Nothing changed in my energy output or at least I didn't notice anything.

After Lent passed, I went to Wendy's for my usual order: Spicy Chicken Sandwich Value Meal (The #6), four 5 piece nuggets (non-spicy), & 2 bacon cheeseburgers (1) because I was so excited to be done with the diet.  By the way, that is not an exaggeration.  I understand a decent group of my closest friends read this blog.  If one of you could be so nice and comment on this and back me up, it would really validate and solidify the point I am trying to make.  Nevertheless, after I finished consuming this glorious mass produced, but not frozen meal, my body shut down.  My stomach started to ache.  Discomfort quickly crept in making a nap completely out of the equation.  I didn't want to move, sleep, or do anything.  It was horrible.  My skin started to tingle.  Body temperature rose.  Felt exhausted and easily agitated. 

(1) Quick Tangent:  My future wife, Lindsay, eats terribly.  She loves McDonald's Chicken McNuggets and is addicted to grilled cheese, chicken fingers, and french fries.  Trying to get her to eat vegetables and fruits is just as effective as trying to take away a smart phone from a teenage girl.  Why am I telling you this?  Lindsay does not believe me I ate worse than she does.  She is legitimately convinced this happened in an alternate universe.  She even hates it when I bring it up because she thinks I am lying.  Who could blame her?  I cringe everytime she eats chocolate for dinner (not a joke) or consumes every piece of meat dripping ribs and leaves ALL of the vegetables on the plate.  The frustrating thing is I have tried everything to get her to change.  I have presented a bunch of information proving why eating a certain way is better for your health short AND long term.  She acknowledges all of the information and is even disgusted at times, yet she won't change one bit......... Phew! Learn to pick your battles Derek, learn to pick your battles, you're in this one for the long haul (which is why I want to improve her health but, ugh, nevermind, I am wasting my energy).

Now, this was 6 years ago and I can tell you with extreme detail how I felt after I ate that meal.  I can even tell you where I was and what I was looking at when the aforementioned feelings reared it's ugly head.  I never wanted to feel like that again.  Since that day, I started to change my diet for good.  I didn't delve into organic, paleo, or juicing diets right away but did start to add fruits and vegetables into my daily intake.  Over time, I did some research.  Watched some documentaries.  Studied reactions to certain foods and read testimonials.   Then, I started doing triathlons and everything I researched became magnified.  I wanted to give myself the best chance to operate optimally during training and races.  My diet became stricter and more organic based.  Each meal, I attempted to eat at least 51% raw and even started to go to 65-70% raw for a few weeks at times.  The change in my body's overall functions were astounding.  I always felt energetic and jovial.  My performances and training improved.  My skin and overall outlook altered dramatically. 

If you are wondering if I am this disciplined all the time, you are greatly mistaken.  I still eat fast food every now and about.  Fried chicken is still delicious.  A good burger is almost impossible to resist and I will always be ridiculously addicted to fruit snacks. 

We all have our vices. I am no different.  But my vices started to become more relevant in my diet.  That's the reason I did the cleanse.  I wanted to get my body back to the point of clarity.  And it was a success.

A great success.

Everything needed to be cleaned out so I can get back where I need to be.  I forgot my ways for a little while.  A nice reminder and reset button is always useful.

I am going to write a synopsis in a few days portraying all the lessons learned from the diet while hoping to inspire any readers to change theirs, but in the meantime, I feel great and will continue to improve myself as I head into the offseason.  I am two workouts and one race away from entering a break in the action. 

Stay Tuned