Day 1: Beginnings

What: The Dr. Joshi 21 day detox diet

Where: Montclair, New Jersey

Who: Just me

Why: A long, cold winter of inactivity and an itchy sugar tooth has left me feeling pretty shitty. Cleaning house for spring seems like a good idea.

I was inspired to do this after seeing my friend Cara's blogs about it. Ok, I admit the food she was photographing looked bareable and I was like "shit, grilled chicken and veggies with rice pasta? I can do that."

This isn't a traditional detox in that you can have meat. It's mostly a no-wheat, no-dairy (excepting yogurt), no sugar thing that's supposed to make you feel amazing when it's over. Losing weight is probably a side benefit, but I'm not even in it for that. I hope to accomplish two things on this detox:

1. To stick to a regimen for a fixed period of time for the first time in my life

2. To observe the physical changes (if any) that will take place, i.e. shiny hair, clearer skin, more energy, etc.

Can I do it? I guess we'll have to see. This is the evening of Day 1 and the first day in a very, very long time that I didn't consume refined sugar. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: Yogurt with rice cereal and half a banana

Snack: Rice cake with hummus

Lunch: I skipped lunch because a friend trapped me at his house talking for 5 hours---bad, bad way to start.

Dinner: Pictured above. Grilled chicken and escarole over brown rice pasta

Dessert: NONE! A cup of licorice tea is sweet and does the job of the would-be sugar.

The nice weather was a boon--rode my bike today and walked the hills. Yesterday I gymed it.

The big challenge will be tomorrow and all the work days--ugh. But I've done my shopping and I'm prepared.

Wish me luck!!