It’s time. I need a detox. It’s time to spring clean the body – purge it of junk, toxins, chemicals and let the body get ready to work better. I’m also ready to get rid of belly bloat, slim down and prep the body to keep losing fat. Here is my 10 day journey. It’s not perfect according to plan – but it’s pretty darn close. I’ve done a test run on some of the recipes and have included a few of my own inventions, too.
How do you know that you need to detoxify your body? Here are some questions to ask yourself…If you say yes to many of these questions – it is time.
- Do you often feel tired or have a lack of energy?
- Do you have sore muscles for no apparent reason?
- Have you recently lost fat (not muscle)?
- Do you have difficulty concentrating?
- Are you easily irritated or feel moody?
- Do you have trouble sleeping?
- Do you wake up feeling unrefreshed?
- Are you trying to lose weight?
- Have you hit a weight loss plateau?
- Do you feel bloated or gain weight easily?
- Do you have digestive or intestinal discomfort?
- Do you have occasional mild headaches?
- Do you feel like you’re hot as healthy as other people your age?
- Do you commonly experience ‘brain fog’, fatigue or drowsiness?
- Do you feel like you need a kick start or a jump start on a healthy program?
We are surrounded by toxins. We ALL have toxic burden due to the environment in which we live, breathe, eat etc. It is important to cleanse your system at least 4 times a year and more often if you are trying to lose weight.
As you lose fat – toxins that were stored in your fat are re-released into your system. It is best to get them out so you can continue to lose at a steady rate and prevent hitting a plateau.
Keep in mind that as you release toxins you may experience different emotions, feelings, levels of energy and physical responses. Keep track everyday of what is going on. I had very emotional dreams every night of the detox – I wished that I kept a journal near my bead to jot them down.
I tried 2 new things during the Detox that kept it interesting for me. I’ve had lots of body work done in the past (massage, shiatsu, chiropractic work and acupuncture) but I had never tried a Reiki Session – it was great! I also signed up for a Colonic – I’ll share my story a little later – it was easy and I left feeling so healthy and light.
By day 11 (the day after the Detox) I felt amazing! My tummy has not been this flat for YEARS! I fit into the skinniest of my skinny jeans. My skin looks clear, my eyes bright, no dark circles under my eyes. My focus is amazing and I feel really great. The whole shebang. I love the quote: “Motivation comes from doing.” I wasn’t that motivated to start the Detox – but once I was doing it, it was fine. NOW…I feel so good that I want to keep making good choices and keep on the right track – so NOW I’m motivated to keep rocking.
I will definitely re-do this program. I’ve already marked it down 12 days prior to our summer vacation trip so I can feel good – but also look my best in a swim suit.
OK…Here it is…
10 Day Metabolic Detoxification Program with Metagenics
The kit includes: Ultra Clear Renew in Original Flavor, AdvaClear supplement, instruction booklet with recipes, a shaker cup and a grocery shopping bag. Here is the great news – the Ultra Clear powder tastes pretty good! It can easily be used with apple juice and ice in the shaker cup.
The Program:
The simple 10 day program is scientifically designed. It includes targeted nutrition, a modified elimination diet, simple exercise and basic recommendations for stress management. After 10 days many people notice improved energy with fewer bothersome symptoms.
The Menu Plan:
The booklet has a specific elimination plan with recipes. I followed it as closely as I could. Some days I jumped ahead and eliminated things from day one. THEN I was one day behind in my elimination (day 4) because I wasn’t prepared and I had leftovers that I wanted to use. Overall I felt that I was very close to the plan. It was a little difficult on Saturday and Sunday – Saturday was a family member’s birthday party and Sunday (the most restrictive of days) was Mother’s day. I know – poor planning on my part – but every week has something that is a conflict, so I just made it work. Plus, I hate brunch buffets anyway .
I looked over the menu plan and shopped for the items from the recipe book plus a few other items that I knew would fit into the elimination. I brought it all home, cleaned the fruits and veggies and set out the items on the counter so I could cook up 3 recipes the next morning.
Day one: The program has you eliminating the following: refined sugars-anything with added sucrose, high fructose corn syrup or alcohol (cakes, cookies, candies, pastries, beer, wine, liquor) eliminate caffeinated drinks, sodas, coffee, tea, artificial colorings, artificial flavorings & sweeteners (any packaged and processed foods).
Days 1 – 4 I also eliminated dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, corn, rye, barley, spelt, chocolate, kamut. It was easier for me to wrap my brain around this. I know – weird but that’s just me.
Day 1:
My Goal: Stick to it today and focus on self-care
30 minute walk in the AM
Take the Supplements including the ones in the kit
7:30 I started with a Fruit Smoothie
½ banana, ½ cup of frozen blueberries, 1 scoop of powder, 1 cup of almond milk and 1 cup of filtered water.
*News Flash* the smoothie was AWESOME! Yum! Great start to the program! I ate a ½ a cup of cucumbers around the same time as the smoothie
11:30 I had a networking lunch event. I ordered a salad with greens and pine nuts. I asked for balsamic vinegar and oil on the side.
3:00 I hit the salad bar at the local grocery store. Greens, lots of chick peas, avocado, veggies with red wine vinegar and oil. I also picked up some pineapple, melon, strawberries and grapes from the salad bar (about 3 cups of salad and 2 cups of fruit)
Take Supplements
6:00 I ate an apple, ½ cup of pumpkin seeds and 2 Medjool dates (don’t make that face…Medjool dates are super yummy, decadent and sweet)
I had 8 cups of water, 2 cups of herbal tea throughout the day. I shopped for the foods on the plan after work. Set up everything so I can cook on Tuesday morning (I’m home in the AM with my son – he helped me cook)
8 hours of sleep. Hunger and Energy was fine
Day 2:
My Goal: Stick to detox and make the food
30 minute walk in am
Take supplements
8am Tropical Salad from the booklet with ½ cup cashews. Then I made 8oz of apple juice with 1 scoop of the powder – still pretty tasty. I made a cup of Teeccino http://www.teeccino.com/ & one small cucumber. Very satisfying breakfast!
Then I whipped up 3 recipes from the booklet – Minestrone Soup, Vegetable Rice Soup and the Vegetarian Chili. I set up the food processor – since many of them have the same ingredients I shredded them up at the same time – put them in 3 pots and prepped them and whipped them up. I also set up my rice cooker and made brown basmati rice in veggie broth to add to the recipes that called for rice. I did not realize at this point that I could not do beans or rice after day 4. Oops. I froze some and my husband ate some, too. In the future – I’ll be sure to keep in mind that the elimination continues to include beans, nuts, rice, etc. The Veggie Chili was AWESOME!
11:00 2 bowls of Veggie Chili with cilantro and a squirt of lime
(My new favorite – veggie chili)
6:00 Smoothie with 1 scoop of powder, 1 banana, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup rice milk (add pink photo)
8:00 1 cup tropical fruit salad with pumpkin seeds
I drank 10 cups of filtered water and 4 cups of Teecheno with stevia
8 hours of sleep. Hunger and energy was fine. I was really proud that I finished 2 days of the detox!
Day 3:
My Goal: Use time wisely
40 minute nature hike
Take Supplements
8:00 Tropical Fruit Salad with Strawberries and Pumpkin Seeds added in. 8oz of juice with powder and teecheno with stevia
12:00 Big bowl of veggie chili with lime and cilantro
4:00 Smoothie with powder and strawberries and a bowl of Minestrone Soup
Take Supplements
7:00 1 cup of greens salad, Izzie natural fizzie juice, 1 cup of fruit
8 cups of filtered water and Teecheeno with stevia.
7 hours of sleep. Energy was good, hunger was fine (maybe ate too much?) Even though I was having large BMs every day I started to feel ‘heavy’ in the low gut – the first signs of constipation for me. I was sure to work on my “Keep things moving tips” (hyperlink to the list) tomorrow.
Day 4:
My Goal: Lots of water, lots of hot tea, lots of movement and walking
Today we were supposed to eliminate grains, nuts and seeds. I was not prepared for that (too many left overs at this point) so I will eliminate those items tomorrow.
Take Supplements
7:00 1 cup of Strawberries with 4 Medjool dates and ½ cup of almonds. 8 oz “Just Blackberry Juice” by RW Knudson with powder (very yummy – I just used the shaker cup with 1 ice cube.) I had 1 cup of mixed veggies on the side
11:00 1 cup of Veggie Chili (I loved this stuff if you can’t tell – really great with lime and cilantro added in) 1 cup of fruit – mango, strawberries, green grapes all mixed up
Take Supplements
4:00 1 cup of fruit mix mentioned before, 1 cup of Veggie Rice Soup, 8oz of water with powder (still palatable – with just water. Cool.)
I had a Reiki Session with Andrea K. It was really relaxing and healing. I left with a great feeling of calm and lightness. Find out more here http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html or contact Andrea at: [email protected]
8:00 VERY HUNGRY! I went too long without eating. I made a yummy salad – here is my recipe…
I sautéed green onions in olive oil, added in 1 teaspoon of Simply Organic fish taco seasoning, 1 tablespoon of lime juice 1 can of organic black beans and a bunch of cilantro. I served that over shredded Napa Cabbage and put some pumpkin seeds on top. It was very yummy!
I took a hot bath with sea salt and baking soda. My Reiki practitioner recommended it. I LOVE hot baths – but our bath tub is super shallow. I tried it anyway and it was very relaxing. She said it was a good follow up to the treatment that I had earlier that day. It is also very good for eliminating toxins.
10 cups of filtered water, 4 cups of herb tea, 4 cups of teecheno with stevia.
7 hours of sleep. I felt very relaxed and centered after Reiki and the bath. Energy and hunger is still fine.
Day 5
Goal: Eliminate the other foods and stick to it
45 minute walk and lots of house work. We also played kick ball in the afternoon.
Take Supplements
7:00 2 scoops of the powder with 8oz apple juice in the shaker cup
9:00 Apple with hot herbal tea (Not Teecheno-it has almonds so, no more for the rest of the detox)
11:30 2 scoops with apple juice. Napa Cabbage with balsamic vinegar and oil
2:00 2 scoops of powder with apple juice and apple
6:00 2 scoops of powder with apple juice, green salad and K Chips
K-Chips do not sound awesome – but I love them! I took a huge bunch of Kale, rinsed it, ripped it into bite sized pieces, took it for a spin in the salad spinner, coated it lightly with olive oil and put them in a 500 degree oven for 5 minutes or until crispy BUT NOT BROWN. I made 2 whole pans of it and ate it all myself. I sprinkle them with sea salt. If you want more kick you can add red chili flakes and garlic before you cook them.
8 cups of water, 4 cups of herbal tea
Energy is very good today. I got a lot done, really great focus. Hunger is fine but I am starting to feel a little restricted and I am wanting different foods. We had a family birthday party with burgers, buns, party foods and ice cream birthday cake – so, there were lots of temptations but I did OK.
Day 6:
My Goal: Enjoy Mother’s Day and still stick to plan. I want to stay positive and not resentful that I’m not able to eat what I want.
20 minute walk
8:00 2 scoops of powder with 8oz apple juice in the shaker cup, 1 pear and 1 cup of hot tea
1:00 Huge Green Salad from the buffet. (I was REALLY hungry and should have brought another shake and apple along with me)
5:00 2 scoops of powder with apple juice and 1 apple
8:00 2 scoops of powder with apple juice and a baked pear and a huge bunch of K-Chips
8 cups of filtered water, 1 cup of tea
Day 8:
My Goal: Finish the detox and make it to BIA day with success!
No workout – long day at the computer
Take Supplements
7:00 2 scoops of powder with 8 oz of apple juice and an apple
10:30 2 scoops of powder with 8 oz of apple juice and a pear
1:30 2 scoops of powder with rice milk and 1 cup of strawberries a huge batch of K-Chips
Take Supplements
6:00 2 scoops of powder and an apple
In general hunger and energy is OK. Started to get a little cranky around 4pm BUT that could just be from a busy day at the computer.
8 oz glasses of filtered water
8 hours of sleep
Day 9 (almost there!!!!) :
My Goal: Finish the detox, make it until tomorrow’s weigh in on plan
Lots of exercise and activity outside with Max and the dog Bel
Take Supplements
7:00 8 oz juice with 2 scoops of powder
10:00 1 ½ cups of Hodge Podge Pesto and Brown Rice Pasta with Canelli Beans
Hodge Podge Pesto:
1 cup fresh basil leaves, ½ cup cashews, 1 cup of sun dried tomatoes (from my garden last summer) 1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning, 1 Tablespoon of garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, 4 frozen tomatoes (from my garden last year) I pureed everything in a food processor. I served it with Tinkyada rice elbow noodles and Canelli Beans. This dish could have used some nice veggies like zucchini, celery, carrots, spinach – etc. but we were all out so I just had it as it was. I sprinkled it with red chili flakes and sea salt. It was pretty yummy! The rice noodles were a great texture and nice flavor – I will definitely use those again. They have a quick cooking option on the front of the bag – it worked great.
2:00 1 cup of Hodge Podge Pesto over 2 cups of butter lettuce
Take Supplements
6:00 2 scoops of powder with 8 oz of apple juice, 1 cup of celery, 1 cup of cauliflower, 1 apple and ½ cup of pumpkin seeds
Day 10 (Woot Woot!)
Goal: Finish Big!
30 Minute Walk at 5 am with the Dog.
Take Supplements
7:00 2 scoops of powder with 8oz of apple juice (the last one – the powder is now gone)
10:00 “Fountain of Youth” Colonic – find out more here: http://www.i-act.org/
(I lost 3 pounds in 50 minutes during the colonic. Wowza!)
12:00 BIA
12:05 1 cup of Hodge Podge Pasta and an apple
(I WILL finish out the day with-out meat, dairy, wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, sugar, alcohol, processed foods, fake foods, chocolate, sodas, caffeine and probably won’t eat apples or apple juice for a few days either. )
3:00 Smoothie
5:00 Brown Rice Crackers with a big serving of Hummus
I Made it!!!! Whoo Hoo! I do feel really good (not to mention proud )Now that I’ve done it once – I think it would be easy to re-do again. PLUS it had great results. I lost 5.8 pounds of fat (as proven by a BIA test. No muscle lost and hydration looks great) Inflammation is significantly less.
Elimination – aka – Gas and BMs – aka – a few things you probably didn’t want to know about me:
I’ve done many different detoxifications through the years. Usually it does something drastic to your GI track and you feel like you should stay with in sprinting distance to the Loo. Elimination is good – excess gas and emergency BMs – not good. I have a tendency to be constipated (#1 of the things you didn’t really want to know about me.) so I make sure ‘keep things moving’ with these tips for preventing constipation. The good news is that I didn’t have any increased gas (really surprising considering all the beans, legumes and raw veggies that I ate!) I was regular with my movements – no loose stools – no constipation. It did feel like I was eliminating more than usual and the consistency was different but that seems like the detox is working. It is a good idea to plan a good time for your detox. There is never a perfect time but if you can plan on being home the first 2 days, plan some downtime and see how the detox works for you. Everyone is different and everyone has a different level of toxic burden so everyone’s response is different.
Keep things moving tips:
- Start the morning with a cup of hot lemon water. 8oz filtered water with the juice of ½ a lemon. This helps flush your system and acts as a natural diuretic. Use an actual lemon – not the fakey stuff in a plastic squirter
- Drink 10 cups of water each day – sip ½ cup every ½ hour
- In the morning make a thermos of hot herbal tea 4- 6 cups and sip that in addition to the water (not in place of water)
- Walk as often as possible. Walking specifically, not spinning, not running, not weights – helps with digestion try to do a 10 minute walk after every meal.
- Take hot Epsom Salt Baths. Not only does this help with detoxification, it will help with elimination
- Slow down when you eat. Take deep breaths before your meal and appreciate your foods.
- Supplement your system. I take OrthoBiotic (a super probiotic) Digestive enzymes when I eat and Lower Bowel Formula every morning to help complete the action. Check with Dr. Chad Oler for your supplement recommendations.
- Give your belly a massage. Rub your belly clockwise to manually move things along.
- Get a professional massage and ask the therapist to focus on your belly. Tell them that you are doing a detox and they can focus on manually eliminating your system of built up toxins.
- Use heat pack on your belly when you go to bed at night.
- Finish eating for the evening earlier vs. later. If you are going to bed at 10pm be done eating by 7pm.
- When eating, really chew your food. Digestion starts in the mouth. Chew each bite 30 times or until it’s liquid. When you are drinking your smoothies, swish them around your mouth to get the digestive juices into the food.
- Get a colonic or do a series of colonics during your cleanse.
- Extra stress can back you up so try some stress reduction techniques like yoga, deep breathing, stretching, booking time with friends and booking time for yourself.
I did my first colonic. It is also known as hydrotherapy or colonic irrigation. I should start by saying that I’m a germ freak, I have a super sensitive sniffer and I have other issues. SO – with that said – signing up for a colonic seems like a pretty HUGE leap for me. I know that they are for therapeutic cleansing and that they allow your body to eliminate completely – thus – eliminating toxins.
I called The Fountain of Youth, here in Madison. The owner, Jeffry Karls explained the process to me. ((608) 516-4483)He was very kind and patient with all my questions. I booked an appointment. The process was very clean, professional and therapeutic. I lost 3 pounds in 50 minutes – pretty amazing what can get stuck in your GI tract. Considering the fact that I’ve been working on healing my gut and getting digestion working for 2 years, I’m surprised that I have not done this earlier! It was clean, not smelly, very private, easy to do and effective! Afterwards I felt very light, healthy, clean and my belly was feeling so slim. The next morning – my belly was the flattest it has been in years! I’m sure part of it is the Detox and eliminating inflammation but some of it has to do with the colonic.
Exercise:
Keep moving! Walking is essential during a cleanse! Yoga, stretching, dancing, biking, water aerobics, swimming are all great workouts, too.
At the end of your Detox you will have more energy, have better concentration, be less moody, sleep better, prep your body for fat loss, have better digestion, be healthier and feel better. All that in 10 days? Great!
Now, go do it.
