Day 11.5

This blogging on a daily basis thing is getting harder to keep up with. Things have been pretty busy this week with the opening of American Idiot and all. I've been pretty good at sticking to the cleanse, but I still haven't focused enough time and energy inwards as I would like. More introspection, less computers. Perhaps.

I feel good overall. I think I'll be glad to reintroduce caffeine, as I have learned that decaf just doesn't do the trick. Although I also don't want to go back to needing a cup of coffee to get started every single day. I also look forward to dark chocolate. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for not giving into that craving even once. I'm also still being good about not eating lunch at my desk, although I should extend that to snacks as well. If I'm hungry for a snack, that means it's time for a quick break. Maybe even some fresh air (gasp!). Something to work towards.

I want to look up more easy gluten-free vegan recipes. There's one cookbook on Amazon that is called something like the Gluten-Free Vegan, but I already own too many cookbooks that I never look at. Maybe I'll hunt around blogs first.

So last night was the opening night of the aforementioned American Idiot - the night that I already knew I'd be going off the cleanse. I was still pretty good, though. I was still full from a delicious, cleanse-friendly Thai dinner, so I didn't have to worry about the food. The only thing I ate was one little chocolate mousse tart thing (bite-sized), and it didn't even taste good! The place that catered the event is generally known to be good, so I'd like to think that it would have been a delectable dessert to some, but my taste buds have changed. Either that or it just wasn't good. You know, one or the other. I did, however, partake in a few cocktails that also had some sort of sugary mixer. But for a night off the cleanse, that ain't so bad.

However, due to lack of sleep and possibly have one more drink than I should have, I felt extremely sluggish all day today, particularly in the morning when I was in at 9am after leaving at 1:30am. Blech. And watching my coworker eat hearty morning-after food was somewhat tempting. Somehow my tortilla chips and hummus didn't quite compare. But I don't generally feel like I'm missing out, surprisingly, because I feel good about what I'm putting into my body.

I was considering extending the cleanse a day longer at the end because of the night off last night. I still haven't made a final decision, but I'm thinking I might not worry about it, since I only had two of the "big five" foods. I'll also see how I'm feeling at the end of day 21. Right now I'm kind of thinking I'll keep off of animal products (almost fully) and gluten (mostly), and then cut back on sugar and caffeine. I already pretty much only drink on social occasions and I feel fine with keeping that as part of my diet.