Welcome to the second installment of Cleansing from the Inside Out, a series about my experience participating in Amanda Moxley’s Whole Body and Mind Cleanse program. Read the first installment here.

During the first week of the cleanse, I focused on the three goals Amanda set forth during our initial phone call and did my best. I was on vacation visiting a friend for much of the week, so it wasn’t exactly easy.

Goal #1: Build personal power.

• Focusing on mindful eating – While this seems simple enough, it turned out to be a challenge for someone who eats most meals in front of the TV or computer.
• Going on an information diet – Giving up TV, radio, magazines? It just didn’t seem possible. But as Amanda discussed logical reasons why it’s a good idea to take a break from all the information we’re bombarded with, I eventually came around. I didn’t give it all up, but I did limit my exposure during the week.
• Journaling – As a writer, you’d think journaling would be easy for me, but it wasn’t. Finding time to write about what I was feeling or eating was a challenge. Still, looking back on my notes a year later, it’s clear that I learned a lot.

Goal #2: Get organized.

• Get the right supplies – I already had many of the small appliances and kitchen tools Amanda recommended and I wasn’t financially prepared to invest in any more, so I left it at that (and did just fine with what I had).
• Makeover your pantry – While I didn’t completely purge my kitchen of all things toxic or tempting, as Amanda suggested, I did look at every label in my refrigerator and pantry. I threw away some stuff I couldn’t bear to eat anymore, and vowed to avoid bringing more crap into my house. The biggest culprits, and still my biggest weaknesses: Caffeine and artificial and added sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and high fructose corn syrup.
• Stock up on nutritious foods – I love fruits and vegetables, and eat a lot of whole grains. I also try to buy local, if not organic, as much as possible, so this task was relatively easy for me once I was home from my vacation.

Goal #3: Start the cleanse.

• Replace white-flour bagels and muffins – Since I’m not much of a bagel or muffin eater these days, and I already eat a lot of whole grains, this step was pretty easy for me. To up the ante, I committed to adding oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa in place of whole wheat pasta, high-fiber cereals and whole wheat couscous.
• Replace white sugar and alcohol – I don’t drink much alcohol, so that part of this step didn’t bother me. The sugar part, on the other hand, was going to be torture. Especially if I was giving up artificial sweeteners, too. Turns out it was pretty easy to replace sugar in my daily eating, but those cakes and cookies, and chocolate of course, still called my name on occasion.
• Replace salty snack foods – I didn’t try the sea vegetables with sea salt, but I also don’t eat a whole lot of salty snack foods so I’m hoping this doesn’t become an issue.
• Eat fifty percent whole, organic foods – I was thankful for this gradual introduction to changing my diet. Since I was away most of the week, I doubt I managed to eat fifty percent whole and organic. I was more mindful of my choices, though.

After the first week, I’d learned a few things about myself and my eating behaviors:

• I can live without coffee every morning.
• Eating sweets make me want more sweets.
• Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
• I have trouble asserting what I need and want; sometimes I have trouble knowing what I want at all.
• It’s difficult to set intentions when you can’t remember to say them regularly.
• No formal exercise makes me feel sluggish.

Tune in next week for the second week of my cleanse experience. If you’re interested in joining one of Amanda’s 30-Day Whole Mind and Body Cleanse groups, you’re in luck. Her next group starts on March 4th. Sign up now!

(Image by D Sharon Pruitt)