One week ago, I was on the last day of a 21 day programme. Inspired by some of my yogi friends at Cleveland Yoga, as well as advice I had received from my naturopathic doctor back in the fall, I decided to embark on the Quantum Wellness Cleanse. I purchased the book at the studio before leaving Cleveland, enthusiastically browsed through the contents, and set off to prepare for the cleanse.
The naturopathic doctor wanted me to follow a hypo-allergenic diet which included eliminating common allergens such as wheat, gluten, dairy products, eggs, peanuts, corn, and soy. The Quantum Wellness Cleanse took it a notch further and had me eliminate more. For 21 days, I was following a gluten free, alcohol free, caffeine free, and sugar free vegan diet. I thought it would be a real challenge, but also very doable. I was definitely looking forward to this.
Meal planning was a task on its own. While I was already mindful of what I was putting into my mouth beforehand, this cleanse made me even more mindful. I drove some of my friends and family members crazy by constantly scanning the ingredients of foods that were offered to me. I was constantly online looking for variations to some of the foods that I enjoyed and planning ahead. The book offered some recipes as a guideline. I have also looked through another book I have - The Thrive Diet by Brandon Brazier - for guidelines and ideas as this book is a wonderful resource for athletes.
Here is a brief breakdown of my experience with the cleanse, broken down by each week.
Week 1 (Week of January 17th)
The cleanse began on Monday, January 18th. I launched into it quite enthusiastically. I had all my meals lined up and I was in the grocery store beforehand. I started taking the supplements that were given to me - fibre and an herbal detox supplements. The first day was ok as I was only getting into it at this point. The next couple of days were by far the worst. I started to experience bloating and was feeling quite unsettled. I found that the only way to try to get some relief from the gas was to walk and keep myself hydrated. Lemon and ginger tea were my lifesavers. I finally had some relief by the fourth day. It was good enough for me to try and get a full workout in. I decided to head over to Element Crossfit and completed the Workout of the Day - Tabatas. The workout was as follows:
When I woke up on Friday morning, I realised right away that I shifted to having a lot more energy. For the first time in a long time, I was more alert and felt like I could do more. My day at work floated along quite nicely. I decided that I was going to spin with the group at Caledon Hills Cycling that night. After getting off the train, I immediately drove north into Inglewood where the session was being held. After changing into my clothes, I secured one of the spinners (I wasn't about to haul my road bike and trainer out of the house and go through the trouble of setting it up there as I was already pressed for time due to the commute) and proceeded to set it up and warm up. For the next hour and a half, we tortured ourselves with listening to Coach Troy guide us on a virtual ride up Mt. Lemmon - outside of Tucson, AZ. Watching the screen actually made me think of a trip back to the Southwest for another tour... hmm... During the ride, some of us started making comments on the side. Of course, being an ultra-endurance athlete, I had to make a comment of my own. I mentioned that if Coach Troy can demonstrate how to stay on the bike and pee while climing Mt. Lemmon, then there could be some excitement. A couple ladies who were in the back of the room with me looked at me and started laughing. After cooling down, I showered and prepared to head home for some well deserved rest.
Week Two (Week of January 24th)
Not too much happened here where physical activity was concerned. The only thing I did was a two hour trail run, followed by 30 minutes of running on the dreadmill back at the gym. The diet was still coming along nicely. I was discovering just how many combinations of a plant-based diet I can incorporate. I made tempeh for the first time but it did not taste too great. Maybe I should have grounded it up perhaps, or let the seasonings sit in it longer... However, the nutritional benefits of tempeh were quite vast and I did eat it throughout the week. I discovered a quaint new café in Belfountain - Tammeron's. Tammeron caters to health and wellness and I was stoked from the moment I entered the store. The foods they served catered to the raw vegan and the stuff was fantastic. I came away with some of their stuff and they also showed me how to make my own almond milk. I'm also looking forward to sprouting seeds very soon.
I had a committee meeting that Tuesday evening. I planned to have my own foods there because I knew that they would have pizza there and it was off my diet (gluten and animal products). Luckily for me, the Magic Oven was on the way there. I went there after work and ordered their potato wedges. I was quite content to nibble on the wedges and sip my apple cider and actually did not miss having the pizza (even the vegetarian one that I do eat). The next night, I went to see the screening for "Race Across the Sky." Food choices were a little tricky there. I decided to treat myself to some fries. I sneaked in my side of home-made guacamole and had it with the fries.
I did hit a snag during the week and was knocked down a few pegs from the high I was initially experiencing towards the end of the first week. I was experiencing food cravings on top of that. I even had to stop taking the supplements because I started experiencing mild diarrhoea. I then realised what was happening at that time... I had planned to do a yoga practise but that had to be put on the back burner for the remainder of the week. The rest of the week was spent at rest but the diet remained the same with the focus of boosting the iron, in addition to the calcium and potassium (in order to reduce mucous build up, I was instructed not to eat bananas but I was able to find alternative sources).
Week Three (Week of January 31st)
I looked ahead to rebuilding myself at this point. This was to be the final week and I wanted to get it done.
After being down for much of the previous week, my friend Spence invited me up to Highlands Nordic for a Sunday afternoon of cross country skiing. How could I resist that offer? I loaded up the car with my gear and headed up north. After arriving, I used the washroom and met up with Spence and his friend Gaspard before securing my rental equipment. As I was getting suited up, Gaspard and Spence ran in and told me they had skis I could use. Sold! The only thing I had to rent were boots at this point. After suiting up, we immediately hit the trails. We had to look at the time and picked our trails accordingly. We had a pretty good ski at that point in the game. The only major mishap that happened was Gaspard's fall. Spence had given Gaspard his pair of racing classic skis to try. They were waxed and they were fast. Gaspard had never been on racing skis before. In fact, Gaspard was still quite new to the sport of nordic skiing. We were going down this rather steep hill along the way. After I made it down still standing, we waited for Gaspard to descend. Upon decent, Gaspard crashed quite hard to the ground and was still moving forward. By the time he stopped, he was resting right behind my heels. A little faster and I would have been knocked right over. The impact was enough to bend one of the poles he had. The rest of the ski was a little slower because Gaspard's shoulder was really sore. At one point, Spence suggested that I swap skis with Gaspard. We ended up switching back immediately because I was too light for the skis and could not get enough weight on the skis for some grip. Basically, I would have been sliding down hills, or going nowhere on the flats. We managed to complete a round just as the chalet was starting to close up shop. I felt greatly rewarded that day and pledged to do it again soon. As for Gaspard - he is now nursing a separated shoulder and has only been able to run. No more skiing for the rest of the season for him...
The rest of the week was relatively strong. I got out to the gym for two days afterwards and got in a short treadmill run, along with some Crossfit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I got to run for 7.8K and then capped off the night with a 650m swim in the pool. I realised that as a result of the extra core training that comes from doing Crossfit, I was actually swimming a lot stronger than I was when I first started training in the pool with Lorene more than two years ago. On the final day of the cleanse, I did an easy trail run through Glen Haffy and the Humber Valley. I couldn't believe how light I was feeling, and how easy my running seemed to me.
Food wise... I did have some minor cravings but they were never overpowering. I found myself wishing for eggs and counting down. I also started mentally planning how I was going to come off this cleanse and how this cleanse was going to influence my eating habits.
Final Thoughts...
Overall, I felt the results of this cleanse. There were some trying times during the cleanse when I felt it and questioned myself. They were overshadowed by the feelings of lightness and clarity that I felt. I also noticed a shift in my workouts. I was really amazed at how light I felt during the workouts, and how easily I recovered from them. Physically, I have also lost some weight in the process. It is amazing how much one can hold onto physically. Being vegan for 21 days was a challenge but once I had a plan in place, it was not bad at all. In fact, I am planning to repeat this cleanse every three or four months.
The naturopathic doctor wanted me to follow a hypo-allergenic diet which included eliminating common allergens such as wheat, gluten, dairy products, eggs, peanuts, corn, and soy. The Quantum Wellness Cleanse took it a notch further and had me eliminate more. For 21 days, I was following a gluten free, alcohol free, caffeine free, and sugar free vegan diet. I thought it would be a real challenge, but also very doable. I was definitely looking forward to this.
Meal planning was a task on its own. While I was already mindful of what I was putting into my mouth beforehand, this cleanse made me even more mindful. I drove some of my friends and family members crazy by constantly scanning the ingredients of foods that were offered to me. I was constantly online looking for variations to some of the foods that I enjoyed and planning ahead. The book offered some recipes as a guideline. I have also looked through another book I have - The Thrive Diet by Brandon Brazier - for guidelines and ideas as this book is a wonderful resource for athletes.
Here is a brief breakdown of my experience with the cleanse, broken down by each week.
Week 1 (Week of January 17th)
The cleanse began on Monday, January 18th. I launched into it quite enthusiastically. I had all my meals lined up and I was in the grocery store beforehand. I started taking the supplements that were given to me - fibre and an herbal detox supplements. The first day was ok as I was only getting into it at this point. The next couple of days were by far the worst. I started to experience bloating and was feeling quite unsettled. I found that the only way to try to get some relief from the gas was to walk and keep myself hydrated. Lemon and ginger tea were my lifesavers. I finally had some relief by the fourth day. It was good enough for me to try and get a full workout in. I decided to head over to Element Crossfit and completed the Workout of the Day - Tabatas. The workout was as follows:
TabataI was whipped but determined to get the rounds done. And I did too! My total score was 199...
Burpees
Wall Balls 20#/16#
Sumo-Deadlift High-Pull 75#/55#
Push-Press 75#/55#
Notes: Tabata Intervals (20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest) repeated 8 times for each exercise. The score is the total of the scores from each of the four stations.
When I woke up on Friday morning, I realised right away that I shifted to having a lot more energy. For the first time in a long time, I was more alert and felt like I could do more. My day at work floated along quite nicely. I decided that I was going to spin with the group at Caledon Hills Cycling that night. After getting off the train, I immediately drove north into Inglewood where the session was being held. After changing into my clothes, I secured one of the spinners (I wasn't about to haul my road bike and trainer out of the house and go through the trouble of setting it up there as I was already pressed for time due to the commute) and proceeded to set it up and warm up. For the next hour and a half, we tortured ourselves with listening to Coach Troy guide us on a virtual ride up Mt. Lemmon - outside of Tucson, AZ. Watching the screen actually made me think of a trip back to the Southwest for another tour... hmm... During the ride, some of us started making comments on the side. Of course, being an ultra-endurance athlete, I had to make a comment of my own. I mentioned that if Coach Troy can demonstrate how to stay on the bike and pee while climing Mt. Lemmon, then there could be some excitement. A couple ladies who were in the back of the room with me looked at me and started laughing. After cooling down, I showered and prepared to head home for some well deserved rest.
Week Two (Week of January 24th)
Not too much happened here where physical activity was concerned. The only thing I did was a two hour trail run, followed by 30 minutes of running on the dreadmill back at the gym. The diet was still coming along nicely. I was discovering just how many combinations of a plant-based diet I can incorporate. I made tempeh for the first time but it did not taste too great. Maybe I should have grounded it up perhaps, or let the seasonings sit in it longer... However, the nutritional benefits of tempeh were quite vast and I did eat it throughout the week. I discovered a quaint new café in Belfountain - Tammeron's. Tammeron caters to health and wellness and I was stoked from the moment I entered the store. The foods they served catered to the raw vegan and the stuff was fantastic. I came away with some of their stuff and they also showed me how to make my own almond milk. I'm also looking forward to sprouting seeds very soon.
I had a committee meeting that Tuesday evening. I planned to have my own foods there because I knew that they would have pizza there and it was off my diet (gluten and animal products). Luckily for me, the Magic Oven was on the way there. I went there after work and ordered their potato wedges. I was quite content to nibble on the wedges and sip my apple cider and actually did not miss having the pizza (even the vegetarian one that I do eat). The next night, I went to see the screening for "Race Across the Sky." Food choices were a little tricky there. I decided to treat myself to some fries. I sneaked in my side of home-made guacamole and had it with the fries.
I did hit a snag during the week and was knocked down a few pegs from the high I was initially experiencing towards the end of the first week. I was experiencing food cravings on top of that. I even had to stop taking the supplements because I started experiencing mild diarrhoea. I then realised what was happening at that time... I had planned to do a yoga practise but that had to be put on the back burner for the remainder of the week. The rest of the week was spent at rest but the diet remained the same with the focus of boosting the iron, in addition to the calcium and potassium (in order to reduce mucous build up, I was instructed not to eat bananas but I was able to find alternative sources).
Week Three (Week of January 31st)
I looked ahead to rebuilding myself at this point. This was to be the final week and I wanted to get it done.
After being down for much of the previous week, my friend Spence invited me up to Highlands Nordic for a Sunday afternoon of cross country skiing. How could I resist that offer? I loaded up the car with my gear and headed up north. After arriving, I used the washroom and met up with Spence and his friend Gaspard before securing my rental equipment. As I was getting suited up, Gaspard and Spence ran in and told me they had skis I could use. Sold! The only thing I had to rent were boots at this point. After suiting up, we immediately hit the trails. We had to look at the time and picked our trails accordingly. We had a pretty good ski at that point in the game. The only major mishap that happened was Gaspard's fall. Spence had given Gaspard his pair of racing classic skis to try. They were waxed and they were fast. Gaspard had never been on racing skis before. In fact, Gaspard was still quite new to the sport of nordic skiing. We were going down this rather steep hill along the way. After I made it down still standing, we waited for Gaspard to descend. Upon decent, Gaspard crashed quite hard to the ground and was still moving forward. By the time he stopped, he was resting right behind my heels. A little faster and I would have been knocked right over. The impact was enough to bend one of the poles he had. The rest of the ski was a little slower because Gaspard's shoulder was really sore. At one point, Spence suggested that I swap skis with Gaspard. We ended up switching back immediately because I was too light for the skis and could not get enough weight on the skis for some grip. Basically, I would have been sliding down hills, or going nowhere on the flats. We managed to complete a round just as the chalet was starting to close up shop. I felt greatly rewarded that day and pledged to do it again soon. As for Gaspard - he is now nursing a separated shoulder and has only been able to run. No more skiing for the rest of the season for him...
The rest of the week was relatively strong. I got out to the gym for two days afterwards and got in a short treadmill run, along with some Crossfit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I got to run for 7.8K and then capped off the night with a 650m swim in the pool. I realised that as a result of the extra core training that comes from doing Crossfit, I was actually swimming a lot stronger than I was when I first started training in the pool with Lorene more than two years ago. On the final day of the cleanse, I did an easy trail run through Glen Haffy and the Humber Valley. I couldn't believe how light I was feeling, and how easy my running seemed to me.
Food wise... I did have some minor cravings but they were never overpowering. I found myself wishing for eggs and counting down. I also started mentally planning how I was going to come off this cleanse and how this cleanse was going to influence my eating habits.
Final Thoughts...
Overall, I felt the results of this cleanse. There were some trying times during the cleanse when I felt it and questioned myself. They were overshadowed by the feelings of lightness and clarity that I felt. I also noticed a shift in my workouts. I was really amazed at how light I felt during the workouts, and how easily I recovered from them. Physically, I have also lost some weight in the process. It is amazing how much one can hold onto physically. Being vegan for 21 days was a challenge but once I had a plan in place, it was not bad at all. In fact, I am planning to repeat this cleanse every three or four months.
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