Oh, that word. Cleanse. It always sounded so trendy and silly to me.
But then, while I started working with Cristie of Real Life Wellness in January, I signed on to try one. She talked about how she doesn’t believe in juice cleanses, that this was more of an elimination diet that helps you discover how your body reacts to different foods. You eliminate sugar (the horror!), alcohol (gasp!), caffeine (wha?!), gluten (eh), meat (eh), dairy (eh). So basically you eat a lot of veggies, fruit, nuts, beans, and gluten-free grains (rice, quinoa, etc) for a week. The second week you start adding in each of the foods you eliminated to see how you feel when it’s reintroduced. (Who knew dairy was to blame for my stuffy nose?)
Genius. So genius that I’ve kicked caffeine (though I do enjoy the occasional latte), and now I’ve decided to do the cleanse a few times a year to remind myself how great I feel when I eat well. Luckily I have Cristie (and a group of other cleansers) joining me to encourage me and give me menu ideas along the way. So, I’m now in the midst of my third cleanse and feeling great about it.
Here comes the twist. Week two of my cleanse I’ll be in Atlanta at Coca-Cola headquarters for the invitational blogger conference—Conversations with Coca-Cola. I’m honored to be invited and very much looking forward to meeting great bloggers, learning more about an iconic brand, and discovering new ways to grow this wonderful community.
As a brand marketer, being invited to Coca-Cola is pretty much as cool as it gets. Coke is an icon, and I’ve admired their marketing for years. I’m also excited to hear about some of the brands under the Coca-Cola umbrella that have nothing to do with caffeine or sugar.
As a blogger, I’m excited to hear about their social media strategies and some of the other workshops they have in store for us.
And as a mom, I’m really interested to hear what the conversation will be. There’s no doubt that my health senses will be heightened given my cleansing state (which I will likely forgo about the time I arrive at SFO to leave town). I’m eager to hear their message for families. To ask questions.
I’d love to get your questions answered too. So please feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment and I’ll do my best to learn what I can on your behalf. Because it’s thanks to you—my incredible friends/readers who listen to me, debate with me, and trust me—that I’ve been invited to this very cool event.
Stay tuned…
Disclosure: Coca-Cola is generously paying for all of my travel and accommodations. All opinions are my own.
You’ll love it Amy! You’ll also be amazed at how many other beverage brands Coca-Cola has. I don’t really drink soda and learned a lot.
Thanks so much, Jodi! I so appreciate your thoughts and encouragement these past few weeks. I’ll let you know how it goes!
You will be so impressed. I was at their blogger conference this past summer and it was so wonderful. They are such an iconic company with an incredibly unique corporate culture. I really enjoyed my time there and everyone I met.
Have fun!
Rebecca, it’s great to hear that you went and had such a positive experience. I know you’ve attended a lot more brand events than I have and I really respect your opinion. I’m very much looking forward to it and appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
Very interesting, Amy! As you know, I recently cleansed, too. And also – dairy seems to be to blame for my frequent sinus headaches. I’m still experimenting with finding the tolerable amount. And the one thing I’m definitely sticking with is no more soda. I decided it just has too little benefit and too much of the bad stuff to earn a space in my diet. It’s hard to argue that Coke or Diet Coke are good things to drink, but others may say if they make you happy, everything in moderation. I read a great interview with the CMO, a working mom, in an airline magazine recently. I hope you’ll ask the marketing folks if they let their kids drink Coke!
I hear you. I kicked all caffeine — at least my addiction to it. I do get really bad headaches and sometimes if Advil doesn’t get rid of them, Coke/Diet Coke does. (That’s actually what my doctor used to tell me to “take”.) So I have one now and then. I will definitely ask about what products they allow their kids to enjoy. I’ve avoided soda with my kids, but no doubt it will start being more readily available at parties now that my oldest is in elementary school.
Good luck with the cleanse this week. I’m excited to meet you in Atlanta!
Thanks, Kathryn! I’m so looking forward to it!