Clean

While we were in Dallas this weekend, the subject of "cleanse" diets came up. Wait, don't run off, I'm not about to get gross, I promise. But if you are unfamiliar, these are the diets where, for a certain number of days, you either fast, drink only some very weak kind of soup, or only certain kinds of juices. The goal is to essentially clean the toxins out of your system, making your body run more efficiently. Oh, and of course, there's the happy side effect of losing X number of pounds.

Personally, I don't really buy into these. Our bodies work pretty damn efficiently when we let them, and I don't think I need to drastically change my eating to get my system "clean." Laying off the fast food and sugar will probably achieve just about the same thing, without the accompanying light headedness and irritability. And losing a few pounds really fast typically means you're gonna find them again just as fast.

We ate out a lot in Dallas this weekend. My relatives don't really cook at home a lot; it's just not their lifestyle. So I ate a lot more "heavy" foods than I normally do. Fried chicken, bigger breakfasts, a lot of really dense food and more of it than usual. Driving back home yesterday, I could see and feel the effect of 5 days of abnormal eating, and it was slightly depressing. For a brief moment, the idea of a cleanse diet sounded almost appealing - but still not enough to make me want to seriously consider it.

Instead, I ate a light dinner last night, and went back to my normal habits, despite still feeling extremely sluggish. This morning, I went out for a slow and comfortable 4 mile run. I listened to the running podcast I enjoy so much, and it might have been my favorite episode yet. It was extremely thought provoking, and I may write up a post about that episode later today.

At the end of the run, having sweated a ton in the humidity, and having just spent 40 minutes engaging my brain and body, I felt clean. Like I'd cleared the toxins out of my system from the last five days, and jump started my brain. As I stood by my car after the run, dripping with sweat, it occurred to me that it might be a bit incongruous to feel clean at that exact moment. But that's the best word for it. Clean. Light. Content. Endorphins are a wonderful thing, and I didn't have to drink any funky tasting soup.

But now if you'll excuse me, there is a shower with my name on it. After all, I might feel clean - but other folks are gonna think I smell like a gym rat. And that's not good for anyone.