Many of you know (probably as much from my silly instagram posts of food glorious food) that I’m gluten intolerant and have kept to a very strict no wheat/gluten diet for well over five years now. My Gluten free B.A.B.E. page has lots of information for anyone wanting to venture down that path, or try it out.
Well….I love a challenge!
So I recently took part in Nat Kringoudis‘ five day gentle cleanse (yes only five days!) and it was all kinds of wonderful. If you want to kick start a healthier life, this is a great way to do it. You get stuck into five days of eating mainly raw vegetables and salads with juices, as well as berries and coyo yogurt (made from coconuts, not cows). There is no dairy, meat, coffee or alcohol.
The great thing is this five day gentle cleanse is over in a heartbeat so it’s not a huge amount of time to be off all the good stuff (wink wink – I do love a glass of wine). You may ache for a tasty biscuit treat or some cheese on a cracker, even if you typically don’t crave that sort of thing – well at least I did.
One thing I found was that I was extremely tired for the first two days as my body was detoxing and getting used to not having the usual stimulants to keep it going. Stimulants, like coffee, really do act as a diuretic. They also trick your body into thinking it has extra energy. I’m a coffee fiend. I am not ever going to be permanently off it, though I did try that once for six months after seeing a kinesiologist. So given that coffee is part of my daily routine, it’s a nice change to not have it for a few days and force myself to be tired when I am tired, and alert/focused when I’m energetic.
By the end of the week I actually felt incredible. I was naturally more energetic. I had more energy and more focus and my skin felt amazing. I have continued to try and eat less carbs and more fruit since. Oh and the other thing was I actually rather enjoying having an excuse NOT to drink for five days. I need to do that more often. I really earnestly do struggle because I’ve become accustomed to having a glass of wine whenever I am out seeing mates, or going to the theatre. It’s just my thing. And it’s so important that it doesn’t own me.
My business partner on the World Acting Summit, Steve Trister, took a humongous step 18 months ago. He watched Earthlings (the most incredibly saddening and affecting documentary I have ever seen on animals and mass food consumption) and he decided to become vegan. Steve is an incredible, humble, honest and inspiring guy. He isn’t judgy about the fact that I still eat meat (mainly seafood and a little white meat) and he also is great at sharing his knowledge and inside experiences. He has also offered to take me to an animal farm here in the UK to meet a few legends like Gary the goat, pictured here. I can’t wait! Right now he is doing a huge detox and learning a bunch about his own body in the process. If you want to catch more about what Steve does, you can see his YouTube channel.
So you see, food changes are a journey not a destination. Some people will battle weight their whole lives and constantly balance their fitness with their eating habits. Others, like me, have to worry about their skin getting angry if they eat junk food. We are all different little silly billy human beings with loads to worry about.
I know this is less acting, and more general well being, but this is SO important if we want to be healthy good looking, energetic actors.
p.s. Rich and I made it through our 5 day cleanse. It was an effort not getting to sip a coffee each day, but I felt wonderful afterwards. Your challenge is to consider if right now it might be of benefit for you to give your body a little detox or cleanse. If your gut (ha see what I did there) says yes, then see if you can do the same as I did two weeks ago. And if you do, let me know how you go.