A friend of mine posted something interesting the other day about how the average American consumes over 150 POUNDS of sugar per year!! Apparently a healthy amount is less than 10 pounds a year. I found this so astounding that I was compelled to question her further on her offer to help 'kick the habit' of this very inflammatory and common substance. She's an Arbonne consultant so she teaches this as not only a 30 day program but also how to make it a way of living. Of course there are some really helpful Arbonne products to assist in your success. More on that later as I try them out.
SO, I started doing some research. It didn't take me long to find dozens of detox diets online with that handy dandy google search bar. The one that seemed to sound the healthiest without starving myself was "The Total Wellness Cleanse". I didn't buy any of the products offered which were guides and recipes I believe. I liked the "5-day Natural Detox Menu" alot and wanted to start right away.
Day 1
It's the last day of the weekend, I have convinced my dear husband to get on board with the cleanse so we can be successful. It would be just too hard to cook pastas and such for him while I get to eat all sorts of raw foods...I was afraid he would get too jealous. (ha.ha.)
FIRST, I jumped on the scale. I don't want to make this completely about losing weight because I truly want to be and feel healthier. I have been having lower abdominal pain and a few other minor health concerns that my doctors just cannot seem to find a root cause for. HOWEVER, I feel it's important to also know where you are starting from to track your total health.
I follow the 5-day detox menu (link above) closely by drinking 16 ozs of water, eating a bowl of grapes and apple slices, a banana and drinking a cup of decaf loose leaf organic tea. I spent the next 2 hours in the bathroom every 15 minutes relieving my bladder.
This gets me to lunch where I make a hearty spinach salad with chopped tomato, avocado, cucumbers and slivered almonds. I threw some black beans on top and squeezed (a bit too much) lemon juice and a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
I snacked on about a handful of dried fruit and almonds.
At dinner, we were pretty hungry. It was nice out and we wanted to grill. Apparently the occasional red meat in small amounts is also ok on this diet. We picked up some Porter House steaks and had about 6 ozs (maybe a little more than we should have had but small strides!) and lightly steamed cauliflower and broccoli.
I snacked a bit on dried fruit in the evening to stop me from raiding the pantry and had another cup of decaf tea before bed.
At the end of day 1, I had dropped 3 pounds. I know it's working because my body has no use for all the excess water since I am getting the toxins and salt etc out.
*A tip I read: You should drink 1/2 oz of water per pound that you weigh.*
Analysis of day 1: I felt very refreshed, energized and excited. I also felt VERY thirsty even though I was drinking more water than normal.
DAY 2
That was today. I woke up earlier than normal with energy. I drank my water right away and followed a similar breakfast routine. We had errands to run so after breakfast I packed the kids up in the car and grabbed some nuts and dried fruit to take along in case I got hungry. As the morning wore on I noticed that I was feeling light-headed a slightly nauseous. I called my friend that sells the Arbonne products and she told me that this was normal and that if I could get through the first few days it will pass. Since I was out and about she had me stop in to try out a few products that would help give me a boost. I tried some Energy Fizz drink and a protein shake for lunch. After I was able to get those down I felt better the rest of the day.
CONFESSION: I was in the process of getting dinner prepared when we had a few last minute emergencies where we had to leave right away. After the situation was handled, both my husband and I were absolutely starving. I wanted to stick as close as I could to my cleanse but I did have a sandwich from Subway for dinner. I kept it as clean as I could, just turkey, a ton of veggies and the bread. But, there you have it. I don't feel like a failure...just trying to take it one step at a time. Someone told me that it's ok to back off a little if you take the diet too quickly so you don't go into shock!
By the end of day 2, I am down 6 pounds from where I started. I immediately noticed the difference in my face. I most definitely don't feel so bloated and the pain in my lower abdomen? GONE. I am hoping that it will stay gone. My other minor health concerns have also disappeared so far. So, that is a success in my book!
Analysis of day 2: a little nausea and dizziness is the body's way of letting you know that your are on the right track. Adding some extra protein in your cleanse diet is recommended for females since we tend to lack this anyway. Having an egg at breakfast or a protein shake (as per the recommendation of my lovely friend, Jeannine) is a good idea if you are like me and the fruit just isn't sticking with you. "You don't have to feel hungry on a cleanse" - (or something along those terms) says Jeannine.
Stay tuned. I can give you another earful if you're interested :)
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