I’m going to make this as streamlined as I possibly can because it’s 10:00pm on my last cleanse day and even the cat food is starting to look really good. LOL! The sooner I go to bed the sooner I wake up to the world of normal eating. And although I’m talking about the cleanse, it’s not the cleanse itself that has made me behind tonight. I just hit the SEND button. The revised manuscript for THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY is in the hands of my critters!!!! This means it’s not long now until my agent has it in her hands. I’m thrilled and scared–a typical author reaction to just about everything in the publishing process.

So, obviously I’ve been cleansing AND revising, which has made me realize that both of these things are really quite similar. Both are actions that do a deep cleaning in order to arrive at a better version of the current product. I could wax poetic about all the weird connections but honestly I’d rather go drink some organic veggie broth. But since a lot of you have asked about the cleanse I thought I’d give a a few quick tips and take aways from the experience.

First of all, I used a 9 Day Isagenix Cleanse. I’ve used it before to good results. My last cleanse was probably close to two years ago. I decided to do one now because I had gotten to a place where I NEEDED to do this to feel better. I always know when I need to do it because this isn’t the kind of thing I enjoy doing, even though I enjoy the end result. If you’d like to find out more about it, I have a friend who is involved with the program. You can contact Stephanie HERE.

If you plan on doing this or any other cleanse, here’s a few tips I’ve come up with that are helpful…

*Wean yourself off of caffeine slowly before the cleanse. I don’t do a lot of caffeine and I had almost a 2 day headache and I think it was possibly from sugar withdrawal. Help yourself out by cutting back on at least some stuff incrementally.

*Go into the cleanse with the odds stacked in your favor. I timed the cleanse so I wasn’t doing it on a holiday or ski trip. I also put myself out publicly, which works for me. Making public declarations helps me to have that group mentality and it works. I also gave myself a sort of mantra to think about. I didn’t have a specific phrase, but I concentrated on mind over matter. I wanted to feel that I was driving my own ship. I also wanted to feel healthy again. I also thought about skinny people I really don’t like and used them as motivation. *grin*

*Specifically for Isagenix–after the first day and a half–I couldn’t stomach the chocolate wafers used on cleanse days. I couldn’t do another one. I opted for a teaspoon of sliced almonds and a half an apple or some organic veggie broth. Seriously, I will never eat another wafer again. Ever. Be a little flexible. I also added fresh and frozen organic fruits and veggies to my shake on the five shake days. I had no dessert all the way up until right before the last two cleanse days. I was dying for a piece of chocolate, so I had a few squares of organic 85% Green and Blacks chocolate. It helped me to not be overwhelmed by that craving during the last two days. Flexibility is cool as long as it’s not sabotage.

*On cleanse days I found that varying the temperature and flavors of my liquids helped a lot. In the mornings I put hot water with lemon in a thermal cup to sip. In the evening I used the organic veggie broth because dinner was the hardest for me to skip. I was both physically hungry and emotionally hungry at that point in the day.

*On cleanse days I rested if I needed to and if I felt good, I walked for 60 minutes (15 min mile) This was hard for me because I’m a runner and I hate toning things down, but I also knew that I’d burn through my energy too quick and probably make myself so hungry I’d cheat. The walking worked out really well and on the shake days I did my usual.

Time for the take aways:

I lost 6.66 lbs over the nine days and my BMI dropped by 1.7 Woo hoo!!! I lost weight and inches and my clothes are fitting very differently–I no longer feel like a sausage in a casing. Overall, I feel great and I also feel VERY un-stuck. Now I’m  very vested in not wasting all this effort by binging now that I’m done. I’ve shown myself what I’m capable of doing–normal, healthy  eating, by comparison, should be a breeze. Seeing and feeling results is very motivating so even though I won’t be doing another cleanse any time soon–I am really glad I did it.

Are you revising and/or cleansing? Any questions about either? I’m too tired and hungry to think of more questions–add your own.

Tags: 9 Day Cleanse, Food, Isagenix, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, revision, The Opposite of Gravity

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1.  Don’t forget–less than a week left to enter the February Goodreads Book Giveaway for one of five copies of TOUCHING THE SURFACE!!!!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Touching the Surface

by Kimberly Sabatini

Giveaway ends February 28, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

2.  As I’m writing this I’m a day and a 1/2 into the first phase of the 9 Day Isagenix Cleanse. As predicted I’m mean, crabby and hungry. Grrrrr I also have a headache. It sort of reminds me of drafting–I forget how hard it is until I’m actually doing it LOL! But I also remember how great it is to come out the other side.

My brilliant cleanse observations…

*Toxic crap is much more enjoyable going in than it is going out.

*Life is about perspective. If you told me to exchange three regular meals for  two healthy shakes and a small healthy meal I would have felt deprived. On the other hand after two days of cleansing and not eating much at all–those shakes and a small meal are looking pretty darn good LOL!

*There are people in the world who are hungry like this all the time and they never know when it’s going to end.

3.  My Friday Reads…

Yes, I’m reading them all at once. LOL! Some are on audio, some are with my kids, some are stuffed in my pocketbook and some are on my nightstand. And no, I never used to read multiple books at a time, but having kids allows you to multitask.

4.  On March 2nd at 4:00pm I’ll be doing a book signing with Laurie Boyle Crompton, author of BLAZE at Inquiring Minds Books Store in New Paltz–We’re calling it a Hair Flippin’ Event LOL! You should come and hang out!!!!

5.  I’m also thrilled to be participating in the 2013 NYC Teen Author Festival!!!! The festival (a mix of public and private events) starts on Monday March 18th and ends Sunday March 24th with roughly 90 authors participating over the week and almost 50 authors doing a Mega-signing at Books of Wonder. To get the full schedule and the most up-to-the-minute news, be sure to stop by Facebook and hit the LIKE button…

Tags: 9 Day Cleanse, Blaze, Friday Reads, giveaway, Goodreads, Inquiring Minds Book Store, Isagenix, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Laurie Boyle Crompton, New Paltz, NYC Teen Author Festival, Touching the Surface

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For awhile now, I’ve been suffering with what Chuck Wendig likes to call, Authorial Sludgebody. I love the terminology–it sounds as bad as it feels. I know of which I speak. I’ve got a stubborn case of it and it looks exactly like this…

Authorial Sludgebody

Now, because I believe in being observant to the signs around me, a couple weeks ago when one of my friends was posting about doing a 9 Day Isagenix Cleanse–I knew what I had to do. *mops forehead dramatically*

I’d been toying with the idea of doing a cleanse again (I’ve done them before) but I hadn’t really worked up the motivation to do more than contemplate it. (This itself, being an actually sign that I really do need to clean out my toxic sludge.) So, I ordered my 9 Day cleanse and began looking for the perfect time to do it.

Today is that day.

Nothing says cleanse like the after effects of a weekend with an all you can eat buffet. *moan* I am more than ready to do this!!!! I’m PUMPED!!!! But in just a few short hours I won’t be ready and I won’t be pumped. I’ll be mean and cranky and hungry. I’ll be in heavy-duty sugar with drawl.

That’s why I’m posting this on my blog. I respond to public guilt and humiliation. If I know you are watching me, or even if I just think you are, I will do what I have to do. I will toe the line. I will believe that I can do anything for 9 days and be better for it on the other side. Or something like that–seriously I think my stomach is eating itself. Plus–I always know that a healthier me is also a healthier author. It’s a fact. I’ve seen it in action. Of course the healthier me doesn’t show up until you’ve had a good dose of the mean, cranky, hungry me, but authorial sludgebody isn’t easy to shake. Friday’s blog post should be interesting LOL!

Michelle Wolfson, if you are reading this, there is to be no talk of Pop-tarts and candy on twitter for at least 9 DAYS!!!!! Thank you. *smooches*

So, how do you get rid of authorial sludgebody? And why can my agent eat candy for three meals a day and look like a pixie ninja??? Do public declarations work for you? Or do you keep your challenges on the down-low? What’s the hardest part of getting yourself in the best health? Does it help to have a specific program to follow or do you like to wing it? What’s healthy living mean to you? Are you eating candy while you’re laughing at me????

Tags: 9 Day Cleanse, Authorial Sludgebody, Chuck Wendig, detox, healthy living, Isagenix, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Michelle Wolfson

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