Detox Plan: Phase 1

The next 14 weeks are going to be some of the most stressful (and hopefully at least somewhat fun-filled) weeks of my life: thesis writing. Then 3 weeks of playing hooky (because let's get real, it's gonna happen), then one of the most anxiety-provoking and heartbreaking events of my life: graduation.

For the sake of my sanity (and waistline), I'm embarking on a 4-stage de-stressing, re-energizing, health-increasing, happy-making 14-week detox. The trick? I'm still on a college budget, with dining hall food, and a half mile of snow (and 0 degree weather) between me and the gym. Oh, and I've developed knee/back issues.

Inspired by this pictogram queen and her own detox, here's a visual plan of my own, outlining the basics of Stage 1, which will last for the next four weeks:

Yoga/stretching: Like I said, I've been having some knee (and back, recently) problems. Last week I did a yoga workshop - 2 hours of pretty intense yoga a day. And while it was awesome and made me feel so nice and relaxed, there's no way I can keep that rigor up. But some stretching and yoga a few times a week will definitely help the relaxation goal.

Cardio/lifting: I really detest running. Using an elliptical is better, but I still get tired of it. I adore biking, but that's kind of impossible with it being all snowy (and doc said to chill out on the biking until my knees are in better shape. boo.) So I've scaled my workout back to what I think will be feasible, not what my ideal plan would be (we'll get there in phases 2-4!).

Mostly: my dining hall recently upgraded to a much less limp form of lettuce, so I've definitely been piling that on. Their dressing selection is sorely lacking though, so I'm going to try and smuggle in my own to spice it up (or mayhaps try my hand at making some with dining hall ingredients??). I also just love carrots and broccoli, both super available.

Lots: pretty self-explanatory. I don't eat a whole lot of red meat up here but mostly because our dining hall butchers it (HA!) but like in a bad way. I've finally started liking tea too (especially the Moroccan mint -mix of green and black teas- that a nearby coffee shop serves with a drop of honey yumm), so maybe that can replace a part of my mocha obsession.

More: fruit is hard to come by as its winter now, but that just means SO MANY CLEMENTINES, which I'm totally cool with. I love love fish, but it's also hard to come by in my dining hall. Definitely a treat I cook for myself sometimes though.

Less: Already explained coffee and bread (coffee is scheduled to make a huge come back in phase 3 though which is, you guessed it, the week before my thesis is due). I don't drink very much anyways, but when I do its often with super sugary mixers, something I'm definitely okay with cutting out of my diet. Red wine is a new traditional accompaniment when I'm cooking, but its supposedly good for your heart and I don't cook frequently (unfortunately) anyways, so no huge changes there.

Little: Sighh. I don't want to talk about it. I'm the RC of my dorm (residential counselor, kinda like an RA but not) so always have dorm candy. I need to figure out how to make it less tempting.

Dairy: Last summer, on more or less a whim, I started "Vegends" (think like Dracula pronouncing "weekends"). On Saturdays and Sundays, I was vegan. Vegan + weekends = vegends. Cheese, yogurt, and carbs are my favorite things, perhaps besides chocolate and mochas/lattes. And while I could never ever ever cut them completely out (dairy's health benefits have been showing up all over the news recently!), cutting back on them definitely couldn't hurt.

Etc: I also take vitamin A (for my skin and hair) and iron (because I don't eat a ton of red meat and blame my frequent fatigue on slight iron deficiencies) supplements.

And that's about it! Four weeks ain't so bad. Let's go!