the detox

So if you remember, one of my "to-do" items on my 2012 list was to complete a 6 week detox. I promised to share about it...but first let's discuss this hot topic of cleanses, detoxes, juice fasts, and reboots. They are all the rage aren't they? Do you know someone who is currently or has recently completed (successfully or not) one of these?

I have a little bit of advice about it...be careful. I think it is way too easy to go a little too far with these "healthful" cleanses. In the same breathe though, I think they can be very beneficial. In our body obsessed, fat hating society, it is just easy to forgo being healthy in our quest to be thin.

Okay, got it off my chest. I will continue...

I participated in a 6 week detox using the Ultra Mind Solution. It is a book written by an MD who has researched the effects of what we eat on our brain and moods, and links many diseases and disorders to the food we are putting into our body. Which makes sense to me, good fuel, good health. Or as Mark Hyman puts it, "There is no junk food, only junk". The book gave extensive food lists, shopping lists, background information, and a complete breakdown in how and why to do this detox. The kicker...it was 6 weeks long! That seemed like forever, especially those first few days. The detox was centered around whole foods, mostly organic, and no sugar, refined or processed foods, alcohol, or caffeine. Like I said the first few days were really hard.

From the second week on, I understood the importance of doing this detox for 6 weeks. The first week was hard, I was grumpy, lethargic, and craving everything I couldn't eat. But after the second week, I started to see and feel the difference. My skin felt clearer and brighter. I was waking up earlier, which for me has always been so difficult (5 shot americano enter here). But surprisingly, without caffeine, I was alert and happy in the morning. Yes, I just used happy and morning together in the same sentence.

I also noticed that my energy didn't dip in the afternoon as it typically did. Unlike other diets I have done (believe me, I have done my fair share), I didn't have a constant feeling of hunger, of depravity, or feeling weak after my workouts. I think that is because this was NOT focused on fat or calorie intake. It was focused on eating whole, healthful, nutrient giving foods. It also schedules meals so that you are eating snacks in between meals.

I did not drop a bunch of weight, a few pounds for sure, but my body felt different. I didn't feel bloated, or "puffy". People asked me or commented on it and I really didn't have an explanation other than my body had changed, the amount I weighed...not as much.

I am now in my sixth week. I stumbled a few times in the last few days (we were in Florida, had birthday parties, and baby showers) but the setbacks didn't come with a sense of guilt or a rush of pleasure either. I will incorporate some things back in to my diet, but many things I will continue to skip...simply because I feel better without them.

Katie and I will be doing a 48 hour cleanse together in the next few weeks and we will be sure to let you know how it goes and what cleanse we follow. Again, my only (non-medical of course) advice is to do your research and choose your detox carefully. Check that it is not a "diet", not about losing weight quickly (which usually means not safely). And of course, remember that your body needs nutrients in order to have any output...you need calories, you need fat, your body needs a variety of food to be healthy and operate at it's full potential.