It all started with Kris Carr’s book, Crazy Sexy Diet. I ordered it on Amazon a while back and it sat on my bookshelf for about a month. In 2003, Kris was diagnosed with a rare and incurable stage 4 cancer, which motivated her to embark on a healing journey of clean eating and wellness that brought her back to health. Her story is super-inspiring! I’d been reading her blog and was signed up to her newsletter. So, I consciously knew that at this point in my life I needed and wanted to make some major changes in terms of the way I eat, getting regular exercise, and drinking more water. I was starting to feel tired all the time, which I knew was probably because of all the processed junk I was putting into my body - cakes, candy bars, ice cream, soda (love my bourbon and coke!), plus eating out a lot. But I didn’t yet have a strong enough catalyst. (Nope, not even my mom, a.k.a. DC’s Toughest Trainer had been able to convince me! You know how moms are. Naggy!)
A few weeks ago, I finally picked up the book and started reading one night on my couch. Within the first few pages, I could already tell that it was gonna be a MAJOR game changer for my life. In fact, I actually put it down for a few more days after that because I was honestly afraid that Kris’ words were going to make me change my eating habits! Even though that was what I said I wanted. Weird, right?! Yep, that’s self-sabotage at its best. Avoiding learning new knowledge that you KNOW will improve your life is a huge stumbling block we often put in front of ourselves.
Thankfully, I picked the book back up a few days later and started reading a little bit every day. The great thing about Kris is that she explains the importance of eating healthy from a 360-degree perspective - mind, body and soul. As I read things that I knew I wanted to do or remember, I wrote them down and started doing them right away. The first thing was drinking more water. I went out and bought a bunch of bottles to get me back on the wagon. I used to drink a few glasses a day thanks to my Brita water filter, but I fell off a few months back 
. I slowly got up to drinking an entire 34-ounce bottle of water over the course of the day, which is HUGE for me. I am not a lover of water or the drinking of it. Never have been, but that is definitely starting to change!
The 21-Day Cleanse
The Crazy Sexy Diet Kris advocates is a plant-based, low-fat, low-glycemic vegetarian diet. It’s mostly raw and there is NO meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol or even animal products like eggs, cheese or milk. At the end of the book is a guide to embarking on a 21-Day “Adventure” Cleanse with tips, tools and recipes from Kris. It immediately spoke to me and I decided to start with the first phase of the cleanse, which is what Kris calls “wean week.” It’s where you wean yourself off the junk and slowly eliminate meat, caffeine, sugar and dairy. I was surprised I was able to go a week without meat! It actually felt good to me.
Now, I’m not trying to lose weight…I’m thin enough as it is. But I AM what my mom calls, “skinny fat,” meaning that I’m not overweight, but I’m also not fit and healthy by any means. So I’m using the cleanse to begin a new culture of self-care in my life, starting with my body.
One huge lesson I learned during “wean week” is that eating healthy isn’t about food. Making healthy choices isn’t even about willpower.
It’s about whether you love yourself enough to take care of your body.
So for me, this cleanse is about self-love more than anything else.
The toughest part for me to face (so far) is realizing that I can’t say I love myself but then continue to put harmful stuff into my body! And what I love about the Crazy Sexy Diet book is that it doesn’t just tell you what food to eat, but addresses the need for inner work as well. The emotional junk inside of us that needs to be dealt with in order to create new habits. I’m ready for all the physical and emotional stuff that’s going to come out of the cleanse. I’ve already begun to make significant mindset shifts, so I’m excited to see how the next three weeks will transform the way I treat my body.
The book? HIGHLY recommend it. It’s less than 15 bucks on Amazon, but it’s already proven to be priceless to me!
A Day in the Life of a Cleanse
Here’s what a typical day looks like for me right now:
- Early morning: Wake up early (between 6-7 am). 15-30 minutes of meditation, prayer and affirmations. Tall glass of purified water with fresh lemon (8-12 oz.) 8 oz. of warm herbal tea.
- Breakfast: 8-12 oz. of green juice. Bowl of berries or sliced apples. Dietary supplements.
- Snack: Baby carrots + hummus, or sliced apples or celery sticks with almond butter. (I’ve fallen in love with almond butter!). Water.
- Lunch: Big salad of butter lettuce, mixed greens or kale with some combination of grape tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, jicama, avocado, or mango. Water. If I’m not at home: Chipotle’s vegetarian bowl with rice, black beans, fresh tomato + corn salsas, guacamole. Whole Foods’ salad bar always wins – sesame tofu, garlicky kale and couscous salad are my current faves. Or: lentils over basmati rice at pretty much any Indian restaurant.
- Snack: Handful of almonds or other nuts. Green juice, lemon water or herbal tea with a little agave nectar.
- Dinner: Stir-fry with tofu + vegetables over brown rice – I like searing firm tofu in garlic + ginger, then adding bell peppers, onions and mushrooms with a light sprinkle of soy sauce + cayenne pepper. Water. Dessert: 1 oz. square (or less) of 70% dark chocolate (not every night!), sliced apples with almond butter, a bowl of berries or a simple fruit salad. I like fresh strawberries mixed with fresh lime juice and agave nectar, topped with crushed
pistachios. Yummy! - Exercise: 30 minutes of brisk walking or light jogging outside or on the treadmill. Baby steps!
- Late evening: Go to bed early (before midnight – very early for me!). I have found that I fall (and stay) asleep more peacefully by playing my Lifescapes “Ocean Waves” CD in the background. Very relaxing!
Right now, I’m on Day 3 of the 21-day adventure cleanse and the journey to loving my body the way it deserves to be loved. I’m thankful that my cravings for meat have greatly diminished (thanks to wean week!). The hardest part is kicking my dangerous addiction to sugar and getting used to regular exercise. My goal is to incorporate yoga into my regimen as well. I’ll try to write more about what I’m actually eating, products I’m trying, etc. over the next few weeks. You can also follow my updates on Twitter @happyblackwoman.
Have you ever done a cleanse? Was it useful for you in helping you get on the road to healthy habits?
i dont mean to be condescending in any way when i say this but it sounds to me like this isent a vegetarian diet but a vegan diet. vegetarian is when you still eat regular honey,dairy products, and eggs. Vegan is when you cut all those out. I am a vegetarian myself (slowly but surely transitioning to vegan!) and your review on this book (as well as your example diet regime posted above) have been quite helpful to me already! i believe that, based off of what you have said, this book will be quite helpful to my overall journey to becoming a vegan and even furthering my journey to a more profound state of health! thank you so much for this post and furthermore this blog in general i love coming on ere and reading everything that you have to say. it helps me discover my own truth and inner strength (which only being 19 i struggle with quite frequently) as well as accelerate in my life journey and skip the madness! And might i say i appreciate that very much!!!
I so admire your work and appreciate your generosity for offering the 31 day reset program. I am enjoying it immensely. All the best to you and your readers.
Hey can not seem to vote for you on the Blogging while brown awards..pity.must my geographical setting..but am rooting for you.
Hi Rosetta,
I really enjoy reading your blog and recently becamse a subscriber to your newsletter. I think I am exactly the type of person whom you can reach with your words. I live alone, have recently lost a very many close connections in my life(family and friends) because I made a decision to not be a catch all for other people’s negative outputs. I made a committment to myself to begin caring for myself deeply and thats when I came across your inspirational site!
I now feel like it’s ok to put my emotional, spiritual, health, and financial well being ahead of others. I never felt like that before! I am psyched about trying out the cleanse so I can get back to the formerly healthy lifestyle I led before so many toxic things invaded my life. I am especially excited about the meditation and physical excercise as I have found in the past that these are things that almost instantly center me.
Thanks for your blog, it’s encouragement and its ability to reach so many of us Black women who have let our well being fall by the wayside in the name of loving and helping others. I look forward to reading more!
Sincerely, Ayoka
Hi Rosetta,
congrats and lots of heartfelt encouragements to you.I have never done a 21-day cleanse or such but I have stopped eating meat 2 years plus now! I try to maintain a balance in what I eat, more fruits and veggies less dairy and processed foods, but it is hard to do. Exercising regularly helps me a lot in maintaining an overall balance.
Good luck to you and all those who are striving for a healthier life!
Hey Rosetta,
Love your blog, especially the 31-day reset plans. I have also read the Kris Carr book and have been afraid to try the 21-day cleanse even though I am sure it will jumpstart my weight loss and the healthy lifestyle I am seeking. I am afraid of the changes that I need to make, but know that this would help me in all the ways you mentioned: mind, body and soul. Thanks for posting…I think I want to try this with you! Good luck!
Interesting post, Rosetta! Coincidentally, I am currently reading Woodson Merrell’s book “The Source”, which deals with pretty much the same concept. He explains very scientifically what food is made of and how we get energy from it. He strongly encourages eating raw foods, and talks about eliminating meat (especially red meat). I have been reading it for a week, and the way I think about food now is really changing… I want my body to actually use food to create energy, rather than using up energy to burn junk. Being a scientist, it was really refreshing for me. He also has a 21-day program which includes healthy foods, meditation and exercise – body, mind and spirit, just like you mentioned! I plan on following through with the 21-day program… giving up meat will not be an issue for me, as I have never liked it anyway, but I do have a sweet tooth! Sigh! Thankfully, I LOVE dark chocolate; don’t care for milk or white chocolate at all. I will see how this goes… Congratulations for starting and Good luck on your journey!
Sly
I’m on day 11 of a month-long raw food feast — I prefer the word feast to cleanse, diet, or fast as it doesn’t make me feel deprived (it’s all about the mind tricks…). I’ve been on and off the path to wellness for at least 3 years and finally decided to make a longer term commitment to myself and my wellness. I tried the raw food cleanse back in October using The Garden Diet (www.21daysraw.com). I lasted about 6 or 7 days just because it was getting colder and I wanted something warm in my belly. This time around, with all this heat, I really don’t want anything but salads and cold fruits full of water. But I also make raw milkshakes, cheesecakes, spaghetti, fettucine alfredo, etc. There’s really so much to raw foods that I can’t believe I ever ate anything else! I am blogging about my experience at http://www.garlicandlemons.wordpress.com.
Read my latest blog post…8 Days Raw- Sometimes I just need a piece of chicken
I like the word feast as well! Makes it sound like you’re giving your body a treat, which you actually are. I’m finding that I enjoy so many fruits + veggies out there that I normally don’t even eat on a regular basis. But I love my hot brown rice + breads! I do wanna try more raw recipes, though, just to experiment. I have one for a raw, vegan peach cobbler I might try this week: http://byanygreensnecessary.com/09/05/fresh-peach-cobbler-recipe/
I have done a cleanse and that’s actually how I gave up eating meat. I’ve been looking for one to do and randomly met a holistic nutritionist last week so I’ll be starting on hers soon. I will definitely check out this book though it’s right up my alley.
Read my latest blog post…make the best of things
So glad to hear the outcome of your cleanse! That’s the direction I’m moving in now – hoping to be meatless at the end of this journey.
So what happens after 21 days? Do you plan to keep up the vegan diet permanently?
At first I was planning to just use this time to get back to healthy eating habits overall. But I’m liking it so much (and learning so much about food and disease from the book) that my new plan is to continue past the 21 days to become vegan or at least vegetarian.