Detox My Socks
Hey friends! <3
How’s your day going?? Hope it’s been fabuloso.
After the great breakfast debate, eggs won in the end.
I munched 2 pieces of brown rice toast with sliced goat cheese, 3 egg whites with salsa verde. Hit. The. Spot.
After b-fast, catching up on blogs, and planning out my day, I packed up lunch and snacks:
The tower o’ goodness:
A salad beast with quinoa (from yesterday), mixed with chickpeas, red bell pepper, grape tomatoes, oregano and fresh dill
Balsamic on the side, blackberries and an amazeball for snackage
That amazeball didn’t stand a chance- I ate it in the car an hour later 
So as you guys know, I’ve been seeing a homeopathic doc to help with some hormone irregularities. When we first started working together, he sent me an eating plan that I kind of blew off. It was boring and I didn’t feel like eating that way (or making you guys read about it). As the last stage of my treatment, he sent me a box of new supplements, along with THIS:
That’s right friends, it’s detox time.
I’ve never done a detox, so I’m interested to see how it goes. It’s a 30-day plan, with the first 10 days being entirely vegan, the next 10 adding in fish, and the last 10 days adding in chicken and fermented dairy (I’ll be using goat’s dairy, per usual).
Detoxes have a bad rap because they’re often associated with unhealthy weight loss strategies (PS. If you detox to lose weight, you will gain it back—the best way to get to a healthy weight is through healthy eating and moderate exercise), and I really believe that the body is an intelligent machine and can take the *trash out* on its own.
However, I think that it can be a good idea to give your body a rest every now and again by giving it easily-digestible whole foods, which is why I’m going to roll with it. I’ll be altering the plan because I’m super active and will be making sure to get enough fuel to support my lifestyle. I’ll base my meals on the ones the doctor gave me, in addition to recipes from Crazy Sexy Diet and Dextox for Women. I’m really thinking of it as 30 days of squeaky clean eating more than a *detox*.
Since I have the rest of this week’s food to get through, I’m going to wait and start next week after I plan my eats, grocery shop, and then it’s go time.
Have you done a detox before?
My friend Ashley is doing her own detox thang and blogging it. I’ll share tidbits as I go along with my own experience, but will be writing about the usual stuff too- not too much will change around here
Well I’m back to work!
See ya in the morning <3
xoxo
Gina
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i want to do a detox, but i’ve never found one that looks ‘healthy’ – they all seem to be geared towards weight loss which isn’t what i want. i’ll be interested to see how you feel on yours – i might follow suit!
I too have detoxed very virtuously in the past, and I do think it brings distinct benefits in terms of overall ‘wellness’. And I am absolutely with you on the recourse to alternative methods to correct imbalances: I have consulted the same practitioner for various reasons for the last 15 years,many in line with what you mention you are currently experiencing, and she has a gift that transcends anything conventional medicine has ever been able to point me towards.Hormonal problems, bad skin, digestive problems… holistic is best. And, yes – conventional medicine most certainly has its place too, of course!
That said, the body is a curious machine. I broke up my 3-year-long relationship last weekend and have been a wine-drinking, nutritionally-abhorrent, over-wired insomniac mess ever since. And my skin is truly radiant. Is there a lesson to be learned from that, I wonder?!
My attitude towards detox have been the same, especially coming from an eating disorder I just saw it as something either women do to lose weight because they cant get themselve to maintain a healthy eating pattern (detoxing for xx days is easier to eat/live healthy for the remainder of your life, imo) OR as something people do because they have no understanding of human physiology e.g the liver and kidneys and their detoxing powers.
HOWEVER
lately I have been thinking about doing a very mild, no fuzz detox, on my own terms, since I am going through some changes in my life and I feel a detox (more a symbolic one actually) would aid me in that. I just know I have to be careful because I used to have an eating disorder but I feel I am healthy minded enough these days.
ps Gina I had a Q for you: after drinking my first ‘juice’ yesterday (made in a vita so tech a smoothie) I got super intense stomach cramps… is this normal? maybe my body is just not used to such a concentrated dose of veggies:p?
x sabine
and sorry for the short novel…
I think the detox sounds like a great idea and you’re doing it a healthy way rather than the 20-days-on-lemon-water detox. I’m doing one of my own at the moment as of today, because my stomach issues are going crazy. Suprisingly after weeks of ongoing stomach muscle spasms, I have had no pain whatsoever! So I do think there are huge benefits to giving your body a rest from processed foods.
I cannot wait to hear about your detox experience. I’ve detoxed before, and it usually leaves me feeling better…after a few days. I basically did it to get over my addiction to arficial sweeteners, and it worked!
Hello Gina
Good luck for your detox and have fun!
I have a question: you wrote “(PS. If you detox to lose weight, you will gain it back—the best way to get to a healthy weight is through healthy eating and moderate exercise)”. I agree 100% with you, but I don’t really understand the “moderate” part. I have read in the past that people training really hard, ie for a marathon, tend to gain weight, but that most of them actually ate more, which totally makes sense. But I also heard that some people didn’t eat more because they didn’t want to or didn’t feel hungrier but actually gained weight as well! How does that work? Where does their body find the calories to achieve weight gain? How come people suffering from anorexia are really skinny then (! I don’t want to offend anybody by stating that, I might be wrong).
Lots of questions, I know…
it works like that because muscle is more dense than fat, so when you build muscle, you’ll gain weight. if you’re training for a marathon, chances are that you’re using muscles you haven’t before, and building muscle to accommodate the high distance.
if you don’t eat enough to fuel your body, it will go into a catabolic state, using your muscles as fuel.
Last March I wrote a post about “Spring Cleaning.” I hope you don’t mind me linking to it: http://purewellnessamy.com/2010/03/18/spring-cleaning/. It’s not a strict detox plan, but I provide some tips on how to “budge the sludge” that may have accumulated over the winter. Tips such as skin brushing, avoiding alcohol, drinking green juice, etc…
Have a good day!
I have done a detox before and I received a lot of flack for it on my blog! They really do have a bad rap. But it worked for me, and I had amazing results.I love a good detox and think they are SO beneficial to finding optimum health. Good luck!!
xo
I’ve never done a detox, mostly because I’m a recovered anorexic. “Detox” seems too close to restriction for me. I always feel cleansed and “detoxed” after hot yoga, so I guess I understand the impulse.
Good luck with the detox! That quinoa dish looks great! 🙂 (Just wondered if you’d got the emails I sent you recently as I think mine is playing up a little?)
See, this is why I read your blog and recommend it to my friends… I feel the same way about detox diets! Because I’ve lost a significant amount of weight people talk to me about weight loss a lot! And I’m always coming down on the side of no detox for weight loss. I feel similar to you, there’s nothing wrong with eating a very clean and healthy way to give your body a break but ultimately our bodies can take care of themselves!
The one “detox” type thing I do is every once in a while (usually when my sweet tooth has gotten the better of me for a while) I cut out all unnatural sugars from my diet. I’m not super strict about it but it does help to make me have more energy and feel better after a few days.
Good luck with the 30 days… I’m looking forward to reading about it!!
Also, those eggs look awesome! I’ve recently discovered the joy of green salsa and OMG!
Interested in seeing how this goes! Like you I am totally against weight loss detoxes or ones that promote starvation. But a healthy, whole food detox sounds really interesting. Best of luck! 🙂
Yes, I did the evil Master Cleanse about 6 years ago for a week. It was hard as heck and I felt dumber than rocks. Yes I did lose 7 lbs but I gained most of it back within a couple of months. So not worth it…
I just finished reading “Clean” by Dr. Junger. Have you happened to read that and if so, what are your thoughts on it?
Good luck with the detox! I did a juice fast (feast?) for 5 days and I enjoyed it. I would love to do one again, but probably just 1-2 days this time. I need to buy a new juicer first!
But, I have been trying really hard this month to eat healthier- lots of salads, fruit smoothies, fruit, veggies, with only 1-2 days a week where I cheat/go out/have martinis. It feels great and I can already tell a difference.
Ughhhhhhhh, detox?! Hopefully it won’t be too painful! 😉
Once, I was curious about the Beyonce detox and made a big batch of her cayanne, maple syrup and lemon juice concoction, took one sip and threw the whole thing out. NAs-tayyyyy!!!!!!!
I would actually like to detox, maybe not for a month, but a week would be good. It just isn’t possible when I live in a sorority house. Maybe in the summer though!
Hey chica. Thanks for posting this. From a biochemist’s point of view, there really is no evidence that eating only certain food groups can unplug arteries/veins, cleans organs, detoxify, etc. Scientifically, there is no research/peer reviewed studies, only pure speculation.
That being said, if you are detoxing for the right reasons (to get back to clean eating roots) then I think it’s not a bad idea. In fact, I (speaking as a scientist that questions everyyyything) would even try this. Last year I did the Eat Clean Diet (Tosca Reno) for 1 month to see how it would help with my migraines. Since completing just 1 month of clean eating, I have yet to go back to eating chemical-infused foods and fake sugars I was addicted to. Ever since that month, I don’t have a ‘taste’ for the unnatural crap. However, it has been a year since that cleansing month, and I have slipped back a little bit to my old ways (eating processed deli meats when rushed for time, etc.) and I think another month of clean eating would do the trick to get me back on track. And get me back to a 100% migraine-free lifestyle 🙂
So enough rambling, haha. I hope I didn’t offend you by my first paragraph. I meant to say that even though I think all of the “unplugging arteries, cleansing organs” is BS, the reasons for why you want to detox are legit.
Have a good weekend,
Lauren
Hey Lady! I HAD to comment this time (cause you KNOW I read you every day!) because you mentioned my fave girl ever Kris Carr’s book Crazy Sexy Diet! I have ordered the book on Amazon and am [im]patiently awaiting it’s arrival. I have her first two books, Crazy Sexy Cancer and Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor…which, I tell you, have helped me go from cancer victim to Cancer Babe;-) I have changed so much about my eating habits since my diagnosis and treatment. I was blindsided with my diagnosis of breast cancer at age 30 and I am determined to do everything I can to increase my chances that it NEVER happens again. Kris Carr is such an inspiration to me, as a cancer thriver and survivor AND as an awesome person. I’m looking forward to getting her book in the mail and incorporating even MORE whole-food goodies into my diet. Good luck on your detox…it will do your body good:-) (hugs)
thank you my friend <3
you will LOVE the book
and just so you know, i think about you at least once every single day. i'm so proud of your amazing strength and beyond thrilled you're doing well 🙂
Have you heard of the program “Eat, Stop, Eat”? If so, I’d love to hear you thoughts about it…if not, please google it and let me know what you think. It is a form of detoxing your body…allowing your digestive system to rest.
hmmm – i’ll have to google that
I did a very hardcore detox to get rid of arthritis – and it worked. It was geared toward healing the gut and is only six days. I do it about three times a year now. Email me if you want more details. Basically it’s very low in LECTINS.
As regards hormone imbalances, I’m doing a lot of research for university at the moment about Maca. There is a lot of great science coming out about its ability to balance hormone regularities through action on the hypothalamus and pituitary (that is, it does not contain hormones itself, but acts on the endocrine system). You need to be using the Lepidium Peruvianum Chacon genus to get the effect, according to the studies, not the meyenii version.
Also, I’m not sure how much Stevia you use, but it doesn’t come out that well as regards the male hormonal system in humans. I can’t really find any studies done on females apart from it reducing the size of litters in hamsters (i.e. might be stunting ovulation somewhat).
🙁 with the plan, i’ll be cutting out stevia, too. i put it in EVERYTHING
maybe try a little real honey instead. I went from mucho stevia to using a little real honey (raw, unheated) and it did only good things to my waistline and my mood.
I have to say a “detox” is how I began my weight loss. My body was so screwed up from yoyo diets and all the crap I ate I basically had to cut everything out. No sugar, fats, grains etc. I ended up eating lean meats, fruits and greens. It helped me tremendously to gauge my hunger, enjoy the natural sugars of fruit and kick start my metabolism. I have done every diet imaginable and never had results. Now by eating a healthy moderate diet the weight melts off! Yay of detox – good luck!