Day 20....
Wow, almost done the cleanse, can't believe it's been three weeks already.
I don't want to post any overall results just yet as I'm sure Angie and I will do that soon but I wanted to go over a question that has been following me from coworkers, friends, and family from the last three weeks.
"How can you be doing this without meat?! You must not be getting all your protein, we NEED protein to live!"
Okay, well to start off, yes it's true, the body does need protein to operate, and yes, one of those sources is meat. But really when it comes down to it it's that it's a giant myth that we need to eat copious amounts of it to make us big strong foodies. After doing the reading we've found that the 'recommended daily allowance' for what the body actually needs is only 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. Which really isn't a lot when you look at it. Using myself an an example I would need roughly 61 grams of protein a day (works out to about 170 pounds).
Just to make it more visual, a 4oz burger comes to 28 grams of protein and a 6oz steak has 42 grams. So even just right there if that is is two of your daily meals (and I admit, had been mine on occasion) I'd be looking at over my daily allowance, not even counting everything that went with it.
Okay, back to my point here, one of the greatest things I've learned about this cleanse (aside from fresh morning juice) has been that you can find protein elsewhere, and it really isn't hard to incorporate it into a daily routine and meal plan.There are a tonne of other sources out there to get what you need.
Some examples of our favorites so far:
1/4 cup Almonds - 8 grams
1 cup Cooked broccoli - 5 grams
1 cup Cooked brown rice - 9 grams
1/4 cup Cashews - 5 grams
1 cup Chickpeas - 15 grams
3 Tbps Hemp seeds - 15 grams
2 Tbps Flaxseeds - 4 grams
1 cup Lentils - 18 grams
1 cup Cooked Quinoa - 6 grams
1 cup Tempeh - 30 grams
1 oz Walnuts - 4 grams
So really there are other places to look then that massive medium rare steak or that burger from Wendy's to get your daily dose. All it really takes is a little planning and some fun recipes (which there are thousands out there that don't make the end product taste like cardboard). It really has changed my mind on the way I look at meat and what we put into our bodies.
Now I can't say that I'm giving up meat altogether after this cleanse. I still do enjoy a good lamb rack, medium rare bovine, or a chicken breast as much as the next person. But it will no longer be a 'need to have it on the plate' come dinner time. It will be treat for us, something we can enjoy every now and then. Next adventure for us will be to find a local butcher that has locally sourced product...
-Cody
