Hello and happy Friday (by the time most of you read this)! I hope everyone had a good week…mine seemed to fly by. Tomorrow kicks off another weekend of yoga teacher training (only three left – can’t believe it) and we have it again next weekend. I’m really looking forward to having two weekends in a row and want to take full advantage of it.

I debated on whether to share this on my blog but I want to be honest with you guys. In an effort to totally honor my body and focus on my yoga practice, I am going to abstain from alcohol, sugar (like dessert and added sugar in things), meat (including seafood) and coffee for the next 10 days (Friday through the following Sunday). I am also going to practice yoga every day during this period.

I want to be clear that this is NOT a diet. I am NOT trying to lose weight and I’m NOT “cleansing.” I just want to get back to eating the things that make me feel good and treating my body well. I really want to soak up all I can during these last few weeks of yoga teacher training and get the maximum benefit possible. I’m interested to see how this is will impact my practice.

So that’s that. I’ll keep you guys updated and let you know how it’s going. I anticipate giving up coffee is going to be the hardest thing! I’m going to keep the details light on the blog but let me know if you have specific questions about anything. And yes, apparently I have have morphed into a crazy yogi! 😉

Moving along…I practiced ashtanga before work but my practice was not so great today. It’s okay though. Tomorrow is a new day! I ate breakfast when I got into work.

Overnight oats in a Trader Joe’s peanut butter jar. In the jar overnight…Bob’s Red Mill Muesli, plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, chia seeds, banana and cinnamon. I topped it with Crofter’s and strawberries this morning.

I came home for lunch despite my mile long to do list at work. I needed a break!

I had a TJ’s Veggie Burger with avocado, spinach and colby jack on freshly baked Dakota bread from Great Harvest. Brandon picked it up on his way home and it was still warm! I had a kiwi on the side and it was so sweet and delicious.

My routine at work is to make a mug of hot tea every afternoon when I finish lunch.

Years ago I used to always have a Diet Coke when I finished lunch but made the switch to hot tea when I gave up soda. I now crave it as soon as I walk in from lunch. It’s so comforting.

I needed a snack today because I was teaching BodyPump after work.

I had a Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar. I love Larabars! I think they will have to be my “candy bars” during my clean eating challenge.

I taught BodyPump tonight and it was awesome! I just really love teaching it and my Thursday night class is my favorite – I feel so much joy when I’m there! 😛

I had my “last supper” tonight.

Pad thai with shrimp and tofu with mixed veggies.

We also shared a bottle of one of my favorite cabs and had ice cream for dessert. I’m really not stressing about cutting these things out of my diet for the next couple weeks…it just feels like the right thing to do for my body.

So I hope you don’t think that I’ve completely lost it. Please know that I still promote a happy, balanced lifestyle over everything else and I don’t think it’s necessary to eliminate things from your diet in order to do that. This is really the first time that I’ve ever embarked on any kind of challenge like this. (And a shout out to Nicole who just went through a gallbladder cleanse and made me realize that if she can make it through that then I can certainly manage this for 10 days!)

Have any other coffee drinkers ever given it up for a period of time? Please tell me I’ll survive!

Happy weekend!