Detox cleanse - 21 days Archives

Well 1/2 way through and had a couple of urges today. Oh well, tomorrow I can start fresh and see how I make it through the last 10 days.

Breakfast
Decaf coffee with cream: I felt dizzy after drinking one cup. Not jittery, but couldn't focus my eyes very well.
water

Lunch
Watermelon gazpacho: a delightful and refreshing dish adapted from Cat Cora

Snack
Shaklee Cinch chocolate snack bar, absolutely decadent

Dinner
Grilled portabello mushroom with grilled onions; fresh green beans
Piece of homemade (and garden-grown) zucchini bread
Chai tea

I did hit a bodypump class at the gym and went for a brisk 30 minute walk after dinner. So I got some good exercise in today. Back on the bandwagon tomorrow.

I felt pretty energized today and got a lot of work done!

Day 8
protein shake
blueberries
water

Lunch
salad: fresh garden lettuce with chick peas, drizzled with olive oil and lemon
herbal tea

Snack
chai tea

Dinner
skipped dinner wasn't that hungry! took my supplements (vitalizer, 1 tsp carleson's and 1 tsp vivix) and drank tons of water

I slept in late today -- couldn't get myself out of bed. I don't know if it was the steady rain or the detox waring me out.

Once I got up, I felt pretty alert and energized. Here's the menu from today:

Breakfast
herbal tea
water

Lunch
protein shake
protein bar

Dinner
fresh green beans
roasted pork and sauerkraut

I cheated twice today (scoop of peanut butter and a chai tea with milk)...but I had a much larger victory. I took my cousins bowling today and managed to only take in the aroma of their french fries, chicken nuggets, chicken fingers and hamburger. I didn't steal one fry!

Almost a third of the way through!

I felt very sluggish this morning. I woke up at 7 am, but was ready for a quick power nap by 11 am.

I started to re-read sections of Dr. Junger's "Clean" book to get re-energized for another two weeks and contemplated why I started this journey in the first place. For me, it's all about clearing the heaviness, fogginess and lack of clarity that comes with too much sugar, pasta and bread and alcohol. I also have a dairy allergy and while I can live without eggs, milk and cheese, I really love cream in my coffee and absolutely love butter on my bread. I was working with a holistic doctor who suggested that if I can eliminate dairy from my diet for 3 months, I may be able to eliminate the allergy. I've never been able to get rid of cream and butter for 3 months!

Junger states that a "cleanse is a way of harnessing the body's natural intelligence." "The detoxification function is a joint venture of many organs and systems that work in harmony to neutralize and eliminate toxins, both the 'inner,' the by-products of normal metabolism, and 'outer,' toxins we eat, breathe, or absorb through our skin and intestines. The function involves the liver, the intestines, the kidneys, the lungs, the skin and the blood and lymphatic circulatory system." Basically, we tax our bodies to the limit when we consume processed foods, sugar, alcohol, as well as dairy and wheat which can cause inflammation. Detox is a way to give our digestive system a rest by consuming liquid and lighter meals, allowing the body to naturally get rid of excess toxins and heal itself.

Day 7

Breakfast
1 cup millet
1 cup blueberries
decaf tea
water

Lunch
Shaklee cinch shake
Water

Snack
Watermelon
Few tablespoons of "Go Raw" granola. I picked this up at my health food store, it's a new product. Gluten free, dairy free, no GMOs, hand made. However, watch your serving. 1/4 of the bag is 442 calories!

Dinner
Stuffed peppers: grilled peppers stuffed with grilled chicken and sauteed onion. Swap the rice for millet. Very tasty
Water

This is the furthest I've ever made it on a cleanse. I usually cave by the fifth day. Last time I tried Junger's Clean program, I cheated with pepperidge farm butterfly crackers and then it was all over.

It's day 6 and I'm still going strong. No desire for bread or butterfly crackers today.

Breakfast
one peach
couple slices of watermelon
decaf tea

Lunch
Shaklee cinch shake with a scoop of protein mix, blended with ice and rice milk

Supplements
1 strip of vitalizer; 2 nutriferon, 1 tsp Vivix (resveratrol for cell re-growth) and 1 tsp Carleson's fish oil (extra dose of pure omega 3s for more brain power)

Dinner
I heated up some soup I found in the freezer -- homemade lentil and spinach soup. Yum!

Today is all about getting organized -- clients, business and life in general.

I was really craving a cup of coffee with cream this morning, but I released the urge and made a cup of herbal tea instead.

And I've got another challenge this evening -- we're going to Olive Garden for my aunt's birthday. Parties with my family are always huge -- involving tons of food and drink. I guess I'll be ordering plain lettuce with olive oil and vinegar and a glass of water among a table of pasta, bread and wine!

Breakfast
cup of herbal tea
cup of oatmeal with cinnamon

Lunch
Bowl of millet topped with leftover pesto from yesterday
--Lightly brown 1 cup of millet in a saute pan. Then boil two cups of water. Pour toasted millet into water, simmer for 30 minutes. Makes plenty of leftovers.

Snack
1 peach before dinner

Dinner
I made out OK at the Olive Garden -- their salmon and steamed broccoli was delicious. It wasn't organic, Alaskan salmon...but it will do. Add that to one bottle of san pelligrino and I left completely full. It actually felt pretty easy passing up on the bread, wine and fried calamari...even the cheesecake looked plastic-y. I finally feel like this detox is making a dent in my cravings!

Today did include 3 solid meals, so I'll have to make it up with 3 liquid meals tomorrow.

I get a breather today -- no meetings, no travel...and I even have time to grocery shop!

Day 4 Menu:

Breakfast
water
decaf tea
couple slices of watermelon

Lunch
Diver scallops with homemade pesto
--Saute fresh scallops in olive oil, 1 1/2 minutes each side.
--Blend the following in a food processor: fresh basil, pine nuts (no parmesan for the detox version!), garlic and a little olive oil.
Top scallops with pesto and serve warm.

For the detox purists, scallops are a "do not eat" food, but they looked so good at the fish market and I only ate 5.

Snack
Shaklee lemon and cranberry snack bar
Decaf iced tea

Dinner

Chickpea salad (adapted from Cooking Light)                           
                                                                  

1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsely
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup of banana peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons chives
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
2 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained
3 TBL fresh lemon juice
1 TBL olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl. Combine juice, oil and garlic, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over beans; toss to coat; chill and serve.

I had a little headache this afternoon and feel a little groggy right now. I guess the toxins are working their way out -- or I'm feeling the effects of the "unpure" scallops!

Another crazy day -- 100 miles of driving and 5 hours of meetings. I'm doing pretty well, just craving my morning coffee. But it's not for the taste, it's more for the comfort of a warm drink with cream. But I managed to avoid the coffee stop this morning, as well as the coffee/danish/bagel table at the meeting. And it felt empowering to say no!

I packed my herbal tea bags, just in case. Good thing, because they offered hot water without the tea!

The menu is getting old, so tomorrow I'll have to spice it up a bit, since I'll have some time to shop and cook.

Here's the Day 3 menu:

Breakfast
cup of blueberries
herbal tea
water

Lunch
Shaklee shake
And a bite of a lemon/cranberry bar, delish, but it's got honey and some other ingredients on the "no" list. So just a bite won't hurt :)

Dinner
a cup of brown rice (finished the leftovers, so on to something else tomorrow)
steamed green beans with a drizzle of olive oil and salt; and I picked them right out of the garden, can't get any fresher than that!

Dessert
A juicy peach!

My head feels pretty clear. And I do feel sluggish, but it may be the 80+ degree heat and humidity. I'm also getting bored of the menu, I'll add some chicken or fish tomorrow...yum!

I had a 6 hour drive today and managed to avoid the lure of the fast food rest-stops along Routes 15 and 78 in rural PA. The key? I planned my meals ahead of time and really want to commit to this detox for 21 days. I've also put it in my head how disgusting fast food is -- even the salads -- lord knows where the salad comes from and the idea of injecting salt and oil into the grilled chicken is repulsive. (Good visuals when you start to cave...)

Here's my day 2 diet:

Breakfast at the hotel:
1 cup of plan oatmeal
1 green apple
herbal tea (apple-cinnamon)

Lunch (enjoying the warm breeze out on a bench on the National Mall)
1 cup of brown rice (kept cold in the cooler)
2 cups of fresh Jersey blueberries
bottle of pellegrino water

Snacks in the car
mix of pumpkin seeds, almonds and goji berries
1 fresh peach
more water mixed with a Shaklee energizing tea (yes, this has caffeine, but just a tad)

Dinner
Shaklee shake with rice milk
more blueberries

I felt pretty energized all day, didn't have any major cravings and no sign of a caffeine headache (the tea must have helped.) And slept like a baby.

I'm motivated to cleanse, again!

David Kessler's "The End of Overeating" is motivating me to try a 3-week (yes, 21 day) detox cleanse. His book describes how the food industry manipulates fat, salt and sugar content in processed foods so it's at a level where we keep can't help ourselves and keep coming back for more. According to Kessler, we've rewired our brains so we're hooked on processed foods.

Taking things into my own hands, I'm going to see if I can get rid of my sugar and caffeine cravings once and for all. Or at least get them under control. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so here's my experiment to see if I can reverse my coffee, bread and pasta habits for veggies, fruits and whole foods.

Day 1:
I made it through my family's weekly trip to the coffee shop sans java and cream and sans bagel. Instead, I sipped on an herbal tea - Tazo's Passion tea.

12:30 pm
Shaklee protein shake with rice milk. 110 calories and 14 grams of sugar.

3:30 pm
Mid-afternoon snack. Hungry, but not ravenous. Munched on some home-grown cucumbers and Jersey Fresh blueberries.

5:00 pm
Dinner. Again, hungry, but not ravenous. 1/2 cup of brown rice and green beans fresh from the garden, drizzled in olive oil.

It's 6 pm, and I'm not even craving my evening coffee. Whoo-hoo!