Detox on the Weekend

I leave the office early today to drive to our weekend house in the country. I am in the passenger seat as I have a weekly conference call that needs my attention. After the disappointment of day four, I have decided to leave my weigh-in to next week. I don’t want to discourage any of my self-motivation currently getting me through the Grande Jade Mint Green Tea and Water filled days by the supremely depressing reality of minute weight loss. “This is not about weight loss”, I lie to myself. “This is all about getting healthy and cleansed!” Lie, lie, lie.

Detox Mistakes

Mistake number one: we arrive at the weekend house with no provisions laid out for snacking and hunger-sating. No celery, nor carrot sticks nor rice cakes available. Nor do we have a supply of non-sugar, non-glucose-based fruit juices to satisfy the sweet tooth cravings.

Mistake number 2: I forget to consume my daily 8+ glasses of water, and so I quickly dehydrate and spend the weekend light-headed and wobbly.

Detox with Friends

Test number two and three approaches: We are eating out at friends and neighbours’ both Friday and Saturday evening. I have sent them background information about the detox and food and alcohol consumption and both invites replied with “No Problem, see you at 7”.

We arrive at dinner on Friday night to sparkling water and lime ‘cocktails’. Our hostess has done her homework and serves an excellent dinner of seared salmon, side salad with lemon juice dressing and a brown rice and veggie stuffed squash that she researched on with Mr. Google.

The interesting social observation here: our Friday evening hosts were well into celebrating the beginning of the weekend by the time we arrive. Dinner and socialising are very different when you are completely sober!

Saturday comes and goes with the only hitch being a lack of at on-hand provisions for snacking or proper eating. Since we are out both nights for dinner, there seemed no point in doing a large shop for food at our local Indedendent Grocer in St Marys.

Saturday evening and 7 pm arrive with a lovely, unseasonal thaw. Tonight’s dinner is a lovingly prepared South East Asian selection of hot and spicy curries that we have been looking forward to for months…Yum!

Same dinner and the socialising comment above apply to this evening as well….hmmm…the wonders of dear friend Alcohol.

Sunday is sunny, warm and spent puttering around the weekend house. We are packing and planning a vacation next week to the British Virgin Islands where our old friend alcohol will be front and centre. One week into the cleanse, and all systems are a go.

Our Family Day weekend detox ends with our usual rendezvous on Monday late afternoon between 5-6 pm. Dubbed the Sunday Afternoon Blondes, a group of us get together over two beers and catch up of our previous week’s personal and professional escapades before heading our own ways for Sunday night dinner. This week, the meeting falls on a Monday because of the holiday and in a show of support, all attendees drink pint glasses of Soda Water with slices of lemon or lime. Such good friends, we have!

Detox well, my friends.