The hardest part of a detox is not being able to eat and drink the things we normally love to consume. This is the obvious no-brainer, but consuming the actual detox meal plan isn't so bad. It's the doing things and being places while we're eating & drinking what we love that becomes the real struggle.

The Resolution Challenge detox includes meal plans based off of a strict list of clean, low-glycemic superfoods. We go out and raid the nearest Whole Foods / Trader Joe's / co-ops / farmer's markets / produce stands in our 'hood, fill our carts and then our fridges with all this clean superfood goodness. Essentially, we're preparing meals for ourselves for ten days.

Asking me to make all of my meals - everything I consume - for ten days is like asking me to shave my head.

One of the few restaurants where I'll always make a good choice for the body, soul AND tastebuds! Cafe Gratitude in L.A.

It's basically like placing a unicorn into my calendar.  I'm a 30-year-old freelancer and lifestyle blogger who lives in the heart of Seattle. I like to be out and about a lot. Working out of coffee shops. Covering events and stuff for Fresh Jess. On dates with my boyfriend. Hanging out with my Lady Aces. Enjoying my city and others! I love soaking up as much culture wherever I am, and food is more often than not the heartbeat of a city/country/ethnicity's culture.

Detoxing brings forth the stark realization of how much of my time is actually spent eating on-the-go, at restaurants or at events. Normally, I do my best to stick to the superfood diet when I'm making my own meals, and when I'm out, I try to make the best choices as possible. On the detox, I'd rather stay home because I have a ton of options here - but then cabin fever sets in quickly. When I'm out, I for real have to be that girl with special requests - or the "I'll just have water, but I'll be working in your coffee shop for awhile & will probably use your bathroom at least a couple of times" gal. Insert severe struggle face emoji here!

This isn't a bad thing, but it's definitely a lesson in restraint and persistence. Am I saving money? Absolutely (and yes, even on all organic, clean everything.) Am I spending more time in the kitchen? More than ever, and I'm actually enjoying it! Am I committed to this detox? Yes, more than almost anything! We've been challenged to "Choose our hard" during this detox - and I'd rather be the water or special requests girl for ten days than go back to December, when I was eating recklessly, out of shape, not working out and generally out of sorts. I definitely choose this temporary 'hard' over being that again. There's a euphoric sense of pride that comes from the effort of flexing that restraint muscle.

Image via Laced with Joy