Katie does the Integrative Cleanse

Hi there! Katie here. I am the Customer Service Specialist and Engagement Manager here at Nourish, along with working as an aerial instructor, Event Manager and Customer Service Manager at Aerial CLT. With all of the hats that I wear, staying clear headed and fueled on healthy food is so important for me. That’s why this week, I’m doing the Integrative Cleanse. This cleanse is similar to our Master Cleanse but with an added bonus of either a 60 minute massage at Okra or a 4 class aerial pass at Aerial CLT. I’ll be starting out my cleanse with a massage, which I am very excited for. Being a fitness instructor is amazing but it definitely tests the limits of your body!

Since I do fitness for a living and a dedicated art, my caloric needs are a little higher than many people’s (I usually eat 3500-4000 calories a day). I will most likely be supplementing with some whole foods throughout the cleanse, such as almonds and avocados.

One other thing that I would like to mention is that one of my goals for this year is being better to myself. I can’t wait to do this cleanse (even though I am EXTREMELY nervous about giving up coffee) because I feel like it’s giving me an amazing jumping off point to show myself some love. Follow along with me this week on the Nourish IG account as I share my experience through IG stories and feel free to reach out to me atkatie@nourishcharlotte.com with any questions or comments!

1/14 evening-  Captain’s Log day one

I am feeling much better than I thought I would after a day with no caffeine and less food than I’m used to eating. I ate a Bodhi Bowl for a late lunch, had a few cups of herbal tea throughout the day and then ate a small Tom Kha for dinner. Oh, and LOTS of water! I have had pretty good, stable energy all day and I’m excited about tomorrow :)

1/15 morning 

I’m feeling great! I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning but that’s what cloudy winter days and three warm dogs will do to you. I drank 16 oz of water upon waking and then mixed my Cinnamon and Nutmeg Morning Muesli with the Seed Milk. DELICIOUS! I want to start off every day with this.

1/15 afternoon/evening -

Feeling a little foggy headed and tired. Definitely missing caffeine and broke down and had a half steeped cup of organic green tea so I didn’t fall asleep in my meeting :) Had a Bodhi Bowl for lunch and a Salad of the week for early dinner. I got home around 10 from teaching my two classes and was really hungry so I ate a small chili and half of my hummus with superseed crackers. So delicious!

1/16 morning

I woke up feeling great.  I’m feeling energetic and ready to take on the day. I have not been as hungry as I thought I would be throughout this process, which is a very welcome feeling. I also haven’t had any caffeine withdrawal symptoms that I can tell, which is both surprising and pleasant. About midday, I do get really tired and foggy but it passes after about an hour or so. I’m thinking today I might try and nap during that time and see what that does for me.

I am finding myself having cravings for junk food. I LOVE any type of fried potato so going without those has been difficult. I do miss chips….I also realize it’s only been a little over 2 days ;) I’m realizing that I have pretty intense cravings for salty foods during the day and sweet foods at night, which an interesting revelation. Last night when I wanted something sweet in between teaching classes, I grabbed one of the Viva Raw Energy Bars. It is so delicious and hit the spot.

Herbal tea has been my best friend. Warm drinks help me fake myself into thinking I’m drinking coffee, plus they are just so comforting, especially in the cold weather. I’m loving the push to eat more salads. I adore salads and I don’t eat enough of them regularly, mainly because of the prep time.

All in all, it’s a great experience so far and I am looking forward to the rest of the cleanse. Feel free to reach out with any questions atkatie@nourishcharlotte.com!

1/17 morning

I’m feeling full of energy this morning. This cleanse is making me realize that when I do add coffee back in (in a more minimal way) I should be drinking it in the late morning or early afternoon. I don’t need the caffeine at all in the early morning because my body is naturally awake.

I started the day with water, Muesli and will have a Mermaid Tonic in a bit. I LOVE the tonics. They are so satisfying and make me feel so healthy and refreshed. Each day of cleanse so far, I’ve taught at least 3 hours of aerial classes. Today I won’t be teaching but I will be taking a 90 minute trapeze class, which will be even more physically intense. I was really worried about not getting enough calories but I’m wondering if maybe I don’t need as many calories as I’m eating on a regular basis and that’s one reason I have drops in energy throughout the day. It’s an interesting revelation!

1/18

I’m feeling good this morning. Drank a ton of water and then a Green Smoothie. My energy levels are staying up for longer without caffeine and I got through another intense 90 minute aerial class with no problem today and still felt rejuvenated afterwards. I ate the Power Bowl directly after class to get some protein to help with my post workout needs and it was perfect. It filled me up and made me feel great!

1/19

The last day of my cleanse is here and I am starting it out with a high intensity Chakti Yoga class. This class has a lot of strength training and a decent amount of cardio. I drank a smoothie before class and it was the perfect option because it wasn’t too filling and had enough calories and nutrients to keep me going. When I finished, I went home and ate a Salad of the Week with a little added avocado. These salads are so delicious and I’m going to start ordering more of them on a regular basis. They make me feel so good after I eat!

To wrap everything up, I think I might have been a little healthier than I thought going into this cleanse. I didn’t have any difficult withdrawals from caffeine (the main thing I was worried about). To be honest, I am currently going through some intense grief in my personal life and the thing that I realized the most was how much I rely on food for comfort...and not always food that’s good for my body. I crave salty, fried food pretty regularly and that might have been the hardest thing about it.

That being said, I loved every bite of the food that I received from Nourish. Nothing left me wanting more and I felt healthy, full (but not overly full) and satiated after every meal. I’m feeling great on the last day and have decided that I am going to limit my fried and salty food intake more than I have been. I need to get some better food habits as I move through difficult times in my life, which is a great takeaway.

If you have any questions, please email me at katie@nourishcharlotte.com.