I told y’all two weeks ago that I was embarking on a 10 day clean-eating “skinny cleanse” (the girl who came up with it called it that, not me) and that I would keep you updated. Well, if you followed along on Instagram (@misformama), then you probably got more than your fill of my daily meal updates (think: LOTS of colorful plates of yumminess), but, now that it’s over, I wanted to do an official results blog post.
Honestly, I pretty much don’t weigh myself anymore. I haven’t for several years now. In fact, the only two times I have weighed myself in the past year before this cleanse were at 27 weeks pregnant with Theo and then a couple of times postpartum.
However, with a definite change in my eating habits, I was curious to know how my body would respond, so I did weigh and measure before and then immediately after the cleanse.
And here’s what I discovered:
Over the course of 10 days of eating almost exclusively proteins + fruits + veggies + good fats and drinking only water, I lost 5 pounds and 9 inches from my upper arms, thighs, and waist.
To say that I was pleased with those numbers is quite the understatement, but it wasn’t until I saw the before and after pictures that I really understood the full extent of what a mere 10 days could do to my body composition.
{In all three of the pics below, the BEFORE is on the left, and the AFTER is on the right. The only editing I did was to lighten them because they were taken in a dark gym locker-room}
I was honestly surprised that 5 pounds made that much of a difference. I could definitely feel it in the way my clothes were fitting, so I knew it wasn’t water weight, but seeing that last pic with the difference in my–ahem–caboose really made me excited for the progress I’d made on losing my last 10-12ish pounds of baby weight. I think the loss that surprised me the most was 1 1/4″ off of each bicep, but looking at the second pic, I can definitely see where it came from.
I didn’t take any before and after pics of this because I didn’t anticipate it, but I could tell a difference in my skin as well. It looked more even, with fewer of the tiny, ever-present red splotches that make BB cream so necessary to smooth everything out.
If you’re curious about exactly what I ate and how it made me feel, never fear. I’ll be sharing all of those gory details (with recipes!) tomorrow.
But the short version is: I felt great on the cleanse. I never experienced any withdrawals. I had very few cravings. I ate some of the best food I’ve had in months. And my milk supply was great, thanks to lots of good fats and an average of 90 ounces of water a day.
I actually went on a girls’ weekend with my friend, Lindsay (who did the cleanse with me), and some other girls last weekend, and ate “normal” for 2 days. And, while, I enjoyed the treats (Fro-yo! Icees! Fried rice! Pizza), I definitely noticed that I felt more sluggish and bloated after meals in which I indulged.
Which is why I’m back on the clean-eating wagon, with some modifications to allow for occasional treats, some dairy, and some carbs that weren’t allowed for the 10 days.
In fact, I’m off to make my eggs with veggies now. 🙂
Keep us posted on the after results at 30-60-90 days….
That’s so good that clean eating had such a positive effect on how you felt!
Way to go, mama!!! That’s super awesome and inspiring! Looking forward to reading more specifics as to recipes, etc. whenever you write them. 🙂
Thanks, Christa!
Yay for recipes! Looking forward to that post.
Congrats! With packing and moving the last couple of weeks, I feel yuk. Definitely need to do a cleanse to flush out all the crappy food I’ve been eating due to not really cooking and way too much pizza.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s post.