10-Day Detox - The Finale

Yay, my last two days of my 10-day detox came and went and in some funny way, I didn’t want to go back to eating “normal” even though I was happy with my diet overall. The last two days were devoted to continuing to slowly introduce more foods back into my diet. For 10 days, I adopted a very simple way of eating, which made the diet easier to follow and gave my system a break from complexity.

Interestingly, I was surprised to discover how my palate had changed over the cleanse, because on day 9, I sprinkled a sea vegetable called dulse on my lunch and the saltiness shocked my tongue. I normally eat dulse quite often and I have never had this reaction. On the night of day 10, I also had a piece of a very ripe banana and it tasted sweet like candy. Wouldn’t it be great if we could turn to these foods for our saltiness and sweet rather than the overly sweet and salty foods on the market today? I found that by using other herbs and spices, I was able to satisfy my taste buds.

If you are trying to lose weight, I would recommend this detox as a primer for establishing healthy eating habits. Not only will it get you accustomed to eating the right foods that will naturally keep you satisfied and help you reach your ideal weight, but by unloading the toxicity from your cells, your fat will more easily give up some of its baggage. You may also feel clearer, calmer, and see improvements in your skin, which are all results I’ve noticed.

In my practice, I offer the 10-day detox, which includes an initial health consultation, the Metagenics® UltraClear® powder, a detox guide that includes the 10-day eating plan, recipes, tips to ensure success, phone or email support throughout the cleanse, and a follow-up meeting to discuss the results. If you’re interested, please contact me.

To your Health and Happiness…

10-Day Detox - Over the Hump

If you’ve been reading my posts this week, then you know that I‘ve been following a 10-day detox that includes an elimination diet as well as a powdered drink to support the actual biochemical processes of the cleanse.

Day 7 is the third day of the most restrictive portion of this cleanse and I have to admit that I was hungry today. This stomach growling hunger began late last night and seemed to overpower any meal that I fed my stomach. The interesting part was that I didn’t necessarily want to eat more nor did I crave anything, so I simply let myself experience the hunger.

You may be thinking, “I’m not sure I could do that!” but relaxation or keeping busy helped to take my mind off of it and often alleviated the feeling too. You may also be wondering about a couple of things at this point. Number one, have I lost any weight? The answer to that is not really. I say this instead of no because the scale says I’ve lost about one pound, but one pound could be fluids or simply less food in my system, so I don’t consider it true weight loss. That being said, I have been consistently at this one-pound-lighter weight for several days, so maybe it’s true weight loss.

Since I didn’t undergo this detox to lose weight, and because my diet before beginning this cleanse was already good, I wasn’t trying or expecting to lose weight. If your diet is normally high in fast or processed foods, then I would predict that you’ll lose more weight than this during the ten days.

Second, and maybe you have not been wondering about this, but I just wanted to mention that my digestion has been remarkably normal and regular. This is good news if you’re worried about whether you can go to work everyday or fit this into your busy schedule. It hasn’t disrupted me going about my days at all.

On day 8, I began adding back in some of the last foods that I had removed and I experienced no hunger at all today. If you’re wondering if I’m craving foods like sugar or pizza or ice cream, the answer is no. The wonderful thing about not eating addictive foods is that you lose the taste and the desire for them.

My main objective going forward is to add back in healthy foods and to continue with a clean diet. I already know how it makes me feel and I want to keep feeling that way…

10-Day Detox - The Height of the Cleanse

I’m now into the most restrictive part of my 10-day cleanse, where for three days, I’ll only be eating a subset of fruits and vegetables and drinking the Metagenics powdered drink.

My body has been primed over the last several days by slowly eliminating foods and food groups so this phase is a natural progression into the cleansing process.

I decided to ease into and through this day by giving my body a rest. No Bikram yoga today, and instead I did some simple stretching to stimulate the lymphatic system. I also wanted to see where my body was at with such a restrictive diet, although, again, I skipped a shake today because it seemed like too much for me. It’s always best to listen to your body and use any eating or cleansing plan as a guideline and this was the main rule that I followed for myself.

Seeing that I felt fine, I went back to yoga the next day. I was astonished at the amount of energy I had in class. Even more interesting was that it was a calm, even energy that I was able to maintain throughout the entire class. My balance and focus were better than normal as well. In the evening, I got hungry after dinner, which didn’t surprise me since the day, in general, was much busier than the previous day. I had a mild headache in the afternoon of these two days as well. I never get headaches, thankfully, and I'm also grateful that the headaches I've experienced this week have been mild.

One more day of limited food choices and then I slowly begin to reintroduce foods back in to my diet. You would be surprised by how quickly this six days can go by…

10-Day Detox - The Elimination Process

Onto day three and four of my 10-day detox. Each day means eliminating additional foods and at the same time, increasing consumption of a Metagenics powdered drink designed to support the detoxification process. From my perspective, by easing into the detox, we’re not bombarding the body by releasing a flood of toxins all at once, which will help our organs better deal with the job of eliminating them.

Even by day three, I was not feeling deprived and I didn’t drink all the suggested shakes. It just felt like too much for me. Day three also included a long and relaxing Thai-Swedish massage. Any additional self-care activities that promote relaxation are helpful during the detoxification process, since stress in itself is a toxin and is best eliminated during this time. Massage also helps the fat cells give up their bad stuff and stimulates the lymphatic system which is important for the cleanse to work efficiently.

I also realized how deceiving this plan can be at first, because although I didn’t feel deprived at this point (maybe I’m a little unusual : )), I did experience a slight, dull headache that night, which was an indication that my body was detoxing. This could have also had something to do with the massage. If you are used to eating a heavier diet, you may feel a little differently about the eating plan at this point and may experience detox symptoms earlier.

I eliminated an additional group of foods on day four and OK, finally, I’m noticing the difference in diet, mostly because it takes more planning to come up with meals. Surprisingly, the thought of sugar or sweets has not even entered my mind. I’m not a sweet-a-holic, but I wondered about the reduction in food groups and if I would start to experience cravings. None so far. I think part of the reason for this is the supplemental drink that is giving the body everything it needs and part of it is simply eliminating the foods that lead to an unending cascade of cravings.

Another thing I‘ve noticed. I had a spot about the size of a quarter of what looked like poison ivy on my left forearm that was stubbornly sticking around. Since going on this detox, it has begun to rapidly heal and is nearly gone! In general, my skin is one area where I’m seeing a big difference. It’s cleaner and clearer. Just think, if you begin to notice positive changes in the biggest organ of your body (your skin), just imagine what’s going on inside : )

10-Day Detox - The Beginning

Yesterday, I mentioned that I’m on a 10-day detox to clean the cells in my body of all the environmental compounds that we’re exposed to everyday. There a lot of detox programs to try and I chose a program by Metagenics, which includes an eating plan with guidelines and recipes, and a powdered drink that supports the detoxification process in two ways: it provides the necessary nutrients required by the liver detoxification enzymes to actually work during this time of limited food intake, and its formula helps prevent the toxins that are being stirred up from doing damage before they are removed from the body.

On the first two days of the cleanse, I was required to eliminate several foods from my diet that are likely sources of toxins or that are somewhat difficult to digest. This was not so hard to do considering my diet was already very much like the meal plan for these two days, so these days turned out to be somewhat easy to follow and I felt fine. On day two, I also began taking the powdered drink, which, by the way, mixes easily in water and doesn’t require a blender unless you’re adding fruit or vegetables.

One of the primary reasons I started The Daily Detox was to help people make small changes in their diets and lifestyle that over time would greatly improve the quality of their health. When following a clean lifestyle, this sort of gentle detox doesn’t have to be painful or require you to stay home for several days. It can be easily incorporated into your daily life without too much disruption.

More tomorrow….

Cleansing at the Cellular Level

I have embarked on a 10-day Metabolic Detoxification designed by Metagenics. Although I’m not trying to lose weight, this program is a good precursor to losing weight because it can assist the body in removing the build-up of toxins from the fat cells that are holding onto them. It removes them from the brain and nervous system as well, which are also high in fat. This is important since toxin accumulation has been linked to a number of neurological issues, including depression, headaches, autism, and even Parkinson’s Disease or Parkinson’s-like symptoms.

So, why am I doing this? I’m giving my body this detox because I know that despite my relatively clean diet, I’m still exposed to any number of harmful chemicals everyday. According to the CDC, there are 80,000 chemicals in use in industry and commerce and several thousands of these have the potential to enter our bodies. In their most recent National Exposure Report, they tested 212 chemicals that include:

• Acrylamide
• Insecticides/Pesticides
• Metals (such as arsenic, lead, mercury)
• Parabens
• Phthalates
• Phytoestrogens
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Remarkably, all 212 chemicals were found in the blood of individuals tested, suggesting that there are likely many more finding their way into our systems. And while many of these compounds are being implicated in disease, it is still unclear what sort of threat, if any, may of them pose. However, with the shear number of chemicals we're exposed to, it's easy to imagine how, at some point, our livers would become overwhelmed in their ability to neutralize and remove toxins, and thus these chemicals would begin to accumulate. So I've decided to do this detox to clean my body at the cellular level and to give my liver a fresh restart. I'll be letting you know how it goes throughout the week.

Have you ever done a detox/cleanse and how did it go?

Digest for Week-endng 4 June 2011

This week’s posts were all about the benefits of doing it yourself. This theme follows the idea of eating less processed foods and thus allows us to eat a cleaner, simpler, healthier diet.

Let me say here that doing it yourself is a lifestyle. I will not tell you that taking this path is always easier. In fact, there is almost always work involved. But it is a choice–a choice between healthy and not-so-healthy. However, the more you become accustomed to it, the easier it gets, and the more it becomes engrained into your way of life.

When you begin to see and feel the benefits of eating a cleaner diet, you will understand that the time spent is not time wasted–that there are real dividends to taking the time to do it yourself. Here are a few foods to start with on this path.

Thank you so much for your support and have a wonderful week ahead!

Yogurt

One way to cut back on hidden sugars is to mix your own yogurt combinations for meals or a snack.

Popcorn

Avoid the toxic chemicals of microwave popcorn bags by making your own on the stove. It’s fast and fun!

Pancake Mix

You can remove some of the bad fats from your family’s diet by making your own pancake mix in bulk.

Salad Dressings

Reduce the number of “ingredients” you feed your body by making your own simple salad dressings.

Legumes

With a little planning, cooking your own beans, chickpeas, and lentils can save money and the chemicals and preservatives found in canned foods.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Using fresh tomatoes for making a quick roasted tomato sauce helps to avoid the BPA that can leach into cans of tomatoes and sauces.