Well, I finished the 10-day detox yesterday. I’ll give you the final tally, but first, a story.
If you recall from a previous post, I was really looking forward to the first day back. We had just downgraded our health-protection condition on Monday, so I’d be free to go to the restaurant of my choice by Saturday (more on that in a bit).
So this morning (Saturday), I got up wondering what to do for breakfast. I had plenty of time to plan it out over the week, but to be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do when I got up. As it turns out, as I was walking into the kitchen to grab the oatmeal, I did an about face and decided to go ahead and keep it up with the smoothies. But this time I had more freedom in my recipe.
So I whipped this up this morning: a handful of fresh spinach that we bought at the 5-day market just yesterday, a cup of unsweetened almond milk, a cup and some of frozen mangos, a banana, and a tablespoon or so of chia seeds. And I must say, it was pretty good. As a matter of fact, it has me thinking that during the week I’ll easily be able to have the smoothies for breakfast and lunch then follow it up with a light dinner. The 5-day market will keep me in the fresh greens, apples and pears quite well; and between Costco and the commissary, there is plenty of frozen fruit.
I think one of the side-benefits of the smoothie detox is that it gives you time to discipline yourself and to think through what you’re eating. So here I am on Saturday, and I’ve had my smoothie. And I’ve had some tea, and orange, and a handful of unsalted nuts. Already have dinner planned, but what’s for lunch? Well, I’m going to avoid fried and fatty foods. Micha has some potato mandu in her freezer we have to get rid of. Not the best — starchy. But here’s the deal. I would usually mow down at least eight of these before I realized I’d eaten too many. Today I took my time and stopped at five. It’s a nice day outside, maybe now I can take a walk?
But wait. I’d mentioned before that I’d get back to my Saturday restaurant choice. Keep in mind, we’d been in HPCON Charlie for a few months now (since late-October?). That means no restaurants. But I was OK when they switched to Bravo on Monday. Here I was in the middle of a detox, but I could wait until Saturday. Now yesterday (Friday) was a real bear for me. It started early with a few IT systems not working they way they were supposed to work. I had the staff running in and out of the office with their panicked demands right while I was in the middle of taking care of some other work that I wanted to get done. It kind of set the tone for the whole day, but thankfully I’d be out a bit early since I’d gotten in earlier. Had to run to the commissary to pick up a couple of things for the recipes I was planning.
Most people can’t wait to leave work. I usually drag my feet leaving. Got nowhere special to go most times, and it’s good to get as much done during the day so you don’t fall behind the next. But on this day, I was happy to punch out on time (well, a couple of minutes late). I’d gotten plenty done, and the day had kicked my butt.
So after the commissary trip, I’m sitting at home planning my weekend – a long-hoped for opportunity to finally get out to a favorite restaurant and a break from all these smoothies – when the message comes in on the phone: “There’s a confirmed case on Osan. All Osan personnel are to shelter-in-place (SIP) until further notice. If you are out, return home immediately.” The base pretty much locks down. The restaurants and gym close. The BX and commissary are open for essential item shopping.
So here I am, after nearly four months of not going out, stretching my restrictions a few additional days in order to finish the detox, and now we’re locked down again. Was it worth it? Actually, I can live with it for now. I’m certainly pulling for a steep punishment for the person who decided to attend an off-base party last Saturday (while we were still in Charlie). I’ve mused that televising his court-martial on Facebook Live would be kind of cool, but of course that’s not going to happen. But if they can get this cleared up fairly quickly, maybe I can get out tomorrow. The bike is calling. And if it turns out the SIP lasts all weekend, I will certainly take time off as soon as it’s gone.
But I do think the previous 10 days were a good thing. I can see doing it again – especially since I know pretty much exactly what I need now (I had far too much spring mix for this). The discipline it instills is as beneficial as the weight-loss and detox aspects of it, and if I ever find myself getting out of hand with my eating, this could certainly reign me in.
And what was the final tally? Ten and a half pounds in 10 days. Not bad. A good start. If I can keep it up for a while, I should be in good shape for the summer biking season. Got some good rides planned. I’ll keep you posted