Detoxing

[skinsguy]

Have any of you tried a detoxing program before? Not talking about detoxing from drugs and alcohol, but detoxing from poor eating.

My wife and I decided to embark on this detox program. It's a 21 day program. During this time, you basically eat only veggies that provides the highest form of nutrients, no potatoes (unless they're sweet potatoes), no starchy veggies of any kind. No caffeine - so coffee (unless it's organic coffee) is out, no sweet tea, no sodas - just water. No sugar except for what's in the fruit that you can eat on this detox, no artificial sweeteners, no dairy, and no salt. For the first 11 days, you cannot have any meat. So, basically for half of the detox time, you're a vegetarian. Believe me, I'm counting down to the 12th day when I can eat meat again.

The benefit of this detox is, well, to get rid of as many toxins in your body as you can. It helps to improve skin conditions and a number of other health issues. But, most certainly, the biggest benefit is weight loss. I've lost about 7 pounds since Saturday!

So, the question is, what happens when you're done with the detox? Well, the point of the 21 days is that after doing something for three weeks, you form habits. So, the hope is that by day 22, you will be more into a habit of eating veggies and fruit and less of all the bad stuff. My wife has already made a couple of really tasty veggies dishes (or they might be tasty because I'm starving by dinner, lol!)

Anyway, don't know if any of you guys have tried a detox program. Most of you are probably like me - meat and potato eaters! Give me a big ol' juice steak with a big ol' baked potato smothered with butter, sour cream, and chives any day of the week! (OK, I've gotta shut up about food now, lol!)

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Honestly, we've tried a thousand things similar to that for weight loss/feeling better and in the end it's really just about moderation. Just a forewarning, we had a friend who went totally vegetarian for 2 months and once they started back on meat they got super sick, so unless it's something you're planning on sticking with, I'd maybe only do it a few days.

One diet we tried a while back was extremely similar but only for a week and it's so brutal after losing a ton of water weight, it wasn't even worth it in the end.

Not sure if that helps, but you're right in that it takes 3 days to build a bad habit and 2 weeks to break one.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Honestly, we've tried a thousand things similar to that for weight loss/feeling better and in the end it's really just about moderation. Just a forewarning, we had a friend who went totally vegetarian for 2 months and once they started back on meat they got super sick, so unless it's something you're planning on sticking with, I'd maybe only do it a few days.

One diet we tried a while back was extremely similar but only for a week and it's so brutal after losing a ton of water weight, it wasn't even worth it in the end.

Not sure if that helps, but you're right in that it takes 3 days to build a bad habit and 2 weeks to break one.

Yeah, I would definitely say that if one goes through this 21 day cycle and then on the 22nd day, goes out and eats a bunch of burgers and fries, they're probably going to be sick. Now, I'm only staying away from meat for 11 days, not the whole 21. Once I'm able to add in meat, it won't be every meal - I'll add it back in slowly and gradually but stick with lean meat and chicken cooked healthy.

I definitely plan to continue eating more of the veggies and fruits that we're eating on this diet once the detox is over. We're getting a bunch of tasty recipes, so our hope is to continue eating this way and gradually mix in a cheat meal here and there throughout the week, which is OK. For me, I needed this because my diet had gotten way out of control, and so my weight. Same thing for my wife. We have both put on the pounds in the year and a half that we have been married. She's not a veggie eater, so I'm hoping this will help to turn her onto eating healthier - which in turn will help us both to eat healthier since she's the cook of the family.

[Schneed10]

I've never done one of these detox things, but my wife suffers from kidney stones. A lot of kidney stones. And the docs told her you may have to go entirely off animal protein completely. They ran some labs and that ended up not being the case, she just has to be on meds. But during those days where we thought we were headed for a meatless life, I found a ton of meat free recipes. I still make some of them, even though we're back to eating some meat again.

Roasted roots, red beans & rice, a bunch of stuff. I'm eating less meat now and notice I'm generally feeling better.

It's basically a common sense approach, everything in moderation. Probably the biggest factor is just the increased fiber. Motion makes ya feel better, if you're smellin what I'm steppin in.

[Chico23231]

Skinsguy first off, good for you and your wife for realizing you needed to make a change, but you went 0-60 with this detox. Your body is probably really stressed from the sudden change.

"Forming those habits" is all about lifestyle change. I would advise moderation like everyone else said but STAYING ACTIVE (sports, walking, running, working out etc.) will help the most. For diet change stay out of the middle of the grocery store, no more fast food, limited eating out, and cut out soda completely.

You may want to consult your doctor as well. They can help and point you to a nutritionist if you health insurance covers that.

[MTK]

I've tried quick 1-3 day types of detoxes and even fasting. 21 days... that would be pretty rough IMO.

It's easy to lose a lot of weight quickly, the hard part is keeping it off and making real life long changes. I agree with Chico and the approach of making small gradual changes and staying active.

Try tracking everything you eat for a few weeks even when you're not trying to lose weight, you'll be able to easily spot where your weaknesses are.

[RedskinRat]

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead | a Joe Cross Film

Highly recommended.

[mlmdub130]

Originally Posted by RedskinRat

Fat Sick and Nearly Dead | a Joe Cross Film

Highly recommended.

Could not agree more with this. Watched it a month or so ago. Me and the wife changed our eating habits about 7 months ago after seeing a nutritionalist. Watching films like that one really help in keeping you motivated. We also now juice daily and love it.

It's amazing how much better we both feel now as compared to about 7 months ago. We have cut out almost all processed foods and eat for the most part all natural. It's not the easiest thing to do, but with us talking about having kids we knew we would need some serious lifestyle changes.

Good luck to you and your wife, it's totally on a pay off in the end.

[skinsguy]

Hey guys, thanks for your input!

Yes, this detox is a sudden change, but think of it like this. It's the only way to completely turn my attention away from the pizza and burgers and focus myself on the foods I never choose to eat. When it comes to food with me, if you give me an inch, I'll take a mile. Meaning, if I'm allowed meat in the beginning of this or white potatoes, then I'll wind up eating nothing but meat and potatoes, and I'll not give the green leafy veggies or the other veggies a chance. This is as much retraining my mind as it is my body.

For instance, I went home the other night, I tore through spaghetti squash mixed with roasted bell peppers and broccoli. It was the greatest thing I've ever had! Yes, part of that was that I was hungry and my shake for lunch had long left my system, but the food tasted really good to me. Even if I was starving and had not been on this detox, I probably would have turned my nose up at spaghetti squash. Now certainly, once I'm off the detox, I have a few ideas to dress up the dish a little more (maybe add some homemade tomato sauce to it and some grilled chicken.) Now, admittedly, if it all tasted like grass to me, I wouldn't dare continue on the diet. But, I've really learned, in a short amount of time, to love some of these veggie meals!

But I agree, everything in moderation, once you have cleaned your system out, is definitely the key. The only thing is, what is considered moderation to one might be too frequent consumption for someone else. So, I think what will happen once this detox thing is done and I'm back to a "regular" diet is that I'll give myself two free meals a week that I can consume whatever I want, as long as the other meals stay within a good clean diet. So, maybe either a cheat meal Friday or Saturday evening, and a cheat meal for lunch on Sunday, and then clean eating the other days of the week.

[RedskinRat]

SkinsGuy, stay strong! It really pays off.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Chico23231]

skinsguy, i see nothing wrong with having a cheat meal once or twice a week, as long as it's not eat a whole pizza in one sitting or consume 30 chicken wings in one sitting.

Remember portion size with everything. I cook a decent amount and when I do I always consider making more than just to eat once meaning leftovers. In doing this portions tend to be smaller because the meal is stretched out between 2 or sometimes 3. This not only saves in spreading the calories across several meals from one dish, but also helps in the wallet. My thinking is cooking at night then bringing in leftovers to work, its a big win. I dont know about you, but my options at work are usually terrible health wise.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

skinsguy, i see nothing wrong with having a cheat meal once or twice a week, as long as it's not eat a whole pizza in one sitting or consume 30 chicken wings in one sitting.

Remember portion size with everything. I cook a decent amount and when I do I always consider making more than just to eat once meaning leftovers. In doing this portions tend to be smaller because the meal is stretched out between 2 or sometimes 3. This not only saves in spreading the calories across several meals from one dish, but also helps in the wallet. My thinking is cooking at night then bringing in leftovers to work, its a big win. I dont know about you, but my options at work are usually terrible health wise.

Same here! I like your thoughts Chico! What we hope to do is to cook up a bunch of healthy meals for the week and take them for lunch. That way we're not eating out and it helps us to stay on track. This has been the first full week of this, so all we've been able to have time for is the veggie/fruit shakes. I have to say, they're not very good, lol! I tolerate them because I have to "eat" something, lol!

[mlmpetert]

I did 9 days of The Master Cleanse (aka lemonade diet) about 5 or so years ago. I wasnt fat or anything, i just wanted to see if i could do after hearing Beyonce talk about it. I ultimately failed because my goal was 10 days and only went 9, but i would have missed a social event or something if i had gone the extra day.

I would very much recommend it to anyone and hope to do it again some day. The hardest parts, in order, were 1) chugging the salt water in the am; 2) the first 3 days, and; 3) the boredom because of so much unexpected free time (eating takes a lot of time each day).

Most recently ive given up fast food for Lent. Almost as hard as the Master Cleanse.

[RedskinRat]

You may also want to take a gander at this book:

[skinsguy]

Thanks RedskinRat! I'll have to get that book! I'm still going to continue doing the juicing for breakfast during the week after this detox thing. I seem to get more nutrients that way. I'll especially do it on days where I know I'm heading out for a big dinner in the evening.

Speaking of the detox, I had a little issue with it yesterday. My blood sugars seemed to drop yesterday afternoon. Apparently I didn't "eat" enough yesterday. I checked my weight this morning and I was actually up a half a pound, so that's weird! I think I'm pretty much at the point where the bulk of the detox program has done what it's supposed to have done. The last few days of it is mostly just getting you into the habit of eating healthier, which I can do. I did eat a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch today. I had to have something of substance. The bread was on a multi-grain bread. From here on out, I think as long as I eat healthy during the week and save my splurging to the weekends, I should be OK.