5 Reasons You Should NOT Do a Cleanse While Training for a Marathon

February 13, 2015 by Slippers for Sneakers 6 Comments

I love junk food of almost any kind, this much we know. The frequency at which I bring up ice cream alone is sometimes unbearable. It seems that my eating habits as of late have gone WAY off the deep end. Any baked good, sugary treat, or greasy goodness in my general vicinity was being shoveled into my mouth. So when I saw that a friend of mine was organizing a clean eating cleanse I thought this would be a good chance to get back on the right track and stop eating so much CRAP. I jumped on the bandwagon. I am currently on day 4 of 7. As Bro-nami told me, “You just have to get over the hump of the half way point, and then stay struggling, stuck on the hump until it’s over.” TRUTH. It has definitely been eye opening and I know that I am eating healthier but the benefits end there. And so I give to you the top 5 reasons (because surely there are many more) NOT to do a cleanse, especially if you are in the midst of training for a marathon:

1. Being in a constant state of hunger. I have come to believe that there are not enough hours in the day to eat enough of what I am allowed to feel satisfied. The word hanger has been thrown about pretty much hourly. As described in the video below, I have definitely exhibited all of types of hanger in only 4 days! That must be a record!

2. Taking grumpiness to a whole new level. I think I can speak for everyone I live with, work with, or have interacted with at all in the last for days that the hanger I am feeling has made me into a supreme bitch. Anytime someone mentions a food I’m not allowed to eat, my first and only reaction is to scream, “HOW DARE YOU. I AM ON A CLEANSE,” give or take a few expletives. After making brownies in the house the other night, B-Bop is lucky to be alive. It’s best just to steer clear of me til Monday.

Look at me all excited the night before day one! Meal preppin’ like a boss.

And now I want to punch everyone in the nose.

3. Extreme amounts of tupperware. In an attempt to eat as much as possible I have been bringing copious amounts of food to work. My poor, cute lunchbox has been forcibly packed to the gills until I realized that I had to expand. It has been rendered useless…

4. No energy to speak of. I’m pretty sure I have been functioning at the lowest possible energy level just above being asleep. I’m tired at 10am, noon, 2pm, and everywhere in between. I’m not even sure I’m actually awake right now…

5. Working out is TOUGH. I went for a run today and just felt like lying down on the sidewalk. My average pace was 1:30 over my target for this run. Thing is, I couldn’t move my legs any faster. I was trying but they were giving me nothin’.

But hey, I’m over the hump right? Or I’m at least on it and riding it like a camel all the way to Sunday at midnight where you can find me here: