★ My 11th Annual Detox starts January 1st

It’s a brand new year. In 2003, I was a junior in High School. School and life was semi-stressful. Many of my classmates were doing Spring Break activities and going to the beaches, hanging with friends and partying during a time of rest and relaxation. I decided to do something slightly different. I packed up my car with only the bare essentials and drove into the middle of the woods and spent my spring break alone in the woods. It was a fantastic time. Since that week, I’ve tried each year to reset my palate and start fresh. I haven’t always been successful but it’s important to try.

Last year, I took on one of the most strenuous detoxes ever. Here were my self-imposed rules:

  1. No alcohol (Beer, Wine & Liquor)
  2. No tobacco (via Hookah or Cigars)
  3. No drugs (I don’t do drugs EVER so this is very easy)
  4. No meat (Once a week, I can have fish)
  5. One fiber rich kale salad every night
  6. No milk products (includes cheese, yogurt and ice cream. I don’t currently drink milk)
  7. No caffeine (via coffee or any other supplement or energy drink)
  8. Water only
  9. Stretch Daily
  10. Meditate Daily
  11. Gym 4 days a week for 2 hours each visit (I’m already doing this)
  12. Run twice a week (minimum 1.5 miles)
  13. Complete 2 books in the one month span (A kick start to my yearly book goal)
  14. No television. Movies only if time permits.
  15. No social media. This blog will be my only outlet for 30 days. No Facebook, Twitter, Path, instant messages, etc.
  16. Disabling all desktop and mobile notifications for everything except work emails
  17. Complete one 7 day Juice Fast (“Excavation” via BluePrintCleanse which I’ve already ordered for the 10th-16th and will only do that & water for the week)

It was a challenge but I did it. This time, I’m going to tone things down a bit while maintaining a lot of the same overall challenges.

The reason isn’t that I’m getting lazy. The good news is that I’m moving in with my girlfriend in a few days so, as of the 1st of January, I will have a house-partner for the first time since August of 2009. 40 months after Laura moved out of our San Francisco apartment, I have to realize that a lot of these challenges are hard with someone living with you.

The great news is Elizabeth has agreed / volunteered to be a part of this detox. She won’t follow all of my goals but she has agreed to support me and take part in any goals that are my own and involve her. so, here are my 2013 – 30 day detox goals.

  1. No alcohol or tobacco or drugs
  2. I won’t be able to have any meat unless it’s salmon or tuna
  3. I will eat only vegetables and will follow a strict vegetarian diet
  4. Two out of my 3 meals per day will be vegetable juice. I usually do a BluePrintCleanse but that’s a lot of money for those juices so I’ll be making all juice myself. It’s cheaper by far.
  5. No dairy products
  6. No grain (this is a new one for 2013)
  7. No caffeine. I’ve agreed to make Elizabeth coffee so I’ll have to make this for her but not have any myself
  8. The only liquid I’ll ingest is water
  9. No social media unless it’s something I blog which is auto posted to Twitter.
  10. Pick back up on my 4 times a week gym routine with my new gym buddy
  11. No sexual activity at all. I did this last year but didn’t document it. I felt it was a TMI sort of promise to myself :)

After last year, one goal that I set that was completed in a big way was my book reading for the year. I did 2 books in January and continued throughout the year completing 10+ books. That was a big one because I hadn’t finished a book since I was in high school and this year, read more books than I did my entire life. I’m proud of that goal and I’m proud to have had more vegetables this year. I did continue the gym routines but not at a pace that kept up with the amount of fatty meat, dairy or beer I was drinking.

So, in 2013, I’ll be doing my best to maintain a vegetarian and fish diet alongside the pork I have in my freezer from my slaughter in the fall and drinking more water. I’d love to lose a little more weight this year but, my increasingly rising hobby of brewing, buying, collecting and tasting beer heavily contradicts with my goals of maintaining a size 34 waistline. This is something I continue to grapple with but I think the detox free of alcohol, caffeine and increased vegetable intake will help me.

The key thing about this detox is my cravings, palate, alcohol tolerance and overall approach to each day is set straight with this 30 day break. So, I’m stoked to try a reset again. It really makes a huge difference in how I take on the new year.

The 2013 detox will be a fun one. If any of my followers are interested in taking up any of these goals, let me know!

Here’s to a new year and a new adventure. Thanks for reading and for following.

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