So, I did it. After watching Hungry for Change, a documentary about the food industry, dieting and what we eat, I made a mental commitment to change the way I eat and more importantly, what I eat. The documentary had many helpful suggestions on how to initiate a change in eating better with one of them being kick starting your system by “eating” nothing but raw fruits and vegetables for 3 days by “juicing”. I have read both sides of the argument that juicing (or detoxing) works, and that it does not work. Well, after doing some research on the Internet (because everything on the Internet is true), common sense just told me that there’s got to be something to this 3-day detox. I chose to believe it works or is at least worth trying. Here we go, with nothing but my trusty NUTRiBullet, I started my quest to “eat” only detox smoothies for 3 days. I thought to myself, “I can do this. I can do anything for 3 days”. Now let me preface this by saying I’ve never really dieted. I am lucky enough to have good metabolism and good genes. My dad was tall and thin and I was fortunate enough to take after him. I love my nightly glass (or two) of wine and lord knows I am not a stranger to the local watering holes. So going into this 3-day festival of fruits and veggies I knew there was no alcohol allowed. I put on my willpower hat and headed to the grocery store.
Pick a plan or make your own
There’s a lot of information out there on detox diets/cleanses. They vary in length of time, 3-day, 7-day, and 10-day. Some are strictly juicing and some mix juicing along with real food. There are also products and systems for sale that are conveniently pre-packaged and delivered right to your door. What to do? Which one to pick? It’s really a matter of personal preference and how long or short you want to make your detox cleanse. I came across Dr. Oz’s 3-day Detox Cleanse and I really liked the simplicity of his plan. Since I already had a book that came with my NUTRiBullet which contained the recipes for 8 detox smoothies, I decided to create my own plan using the recipes from my book, a few suggestions from the Dr. Oz plan, and to keep it simple and at 3 days.
Goals, detox plan and results
Keep in mind that my goal and reason for detoxing was to help me start with a clean slate as I made the lifestyle change to what I eat going forward in life. If I received any of these other juicing benefits that I have read about, well that’s just icing on the detox cake. What I was not doing this juicing plan for was weight loss. However, I decided to weigh myself just for kicks. The morning of day one my weight was at 141 pounds. Bring on the fruits and veggies. Here is my 3-day summary:
- I started each morning with cup of green tea and a lemon slice. No Dunkin Donuts for me.
- Detox smoothie for breakfast
- Drank water, water, and more water during the day. I also took a fish oil supplement and a multi vitamin after breakfast. Different plans suggest different supplements. It’s all what you decide to include or which plan you follow.
- Detox smoothie for lunch
- Water, water, water
- Detox smoothie for dinner
- Again, water, water, water
- Each night I took a detox bath. You can use Epsom salts or you can purchase a detox bath at the health food store.
That’s it. It was that simple and that’s what I did for 3 days. I did exercise by walking for an hour each day. I didn’t want to do anything that was too strenuous. Also, a few times when I was making my smoothie I chewed some celery or ate an apple slice or orange slice. You find that you just want to “chew” something. Oh, I also purchased Chlorella at the health food store and would add it to one of my smoothies each day. I learned about Chlorella when researching my plan. It is one of the world’s most nutrient dense super foods and is packed full of protein, vitamins, and minerals. As a matter of fact, I was so impressed with what I read about it, that I will continue to use Chlorella each day.
During the 3 days of my “detox”, I didn’t really “feel” anything special. I wasn’t ever terribly hungry. For me, the smoothies/juices keep me pretty full along with all the water. I was a little tired but wasn’t sleeping well so I am not sure if it was the lack of food or that I was just tired. I am sure that it had nothing to do with the elimination of my morning half pot of coffee. By day 3 though I did notice that my face looked really good. My complexion was bright and my skin smooth. Overall, I felt well. I ended up weighing 135 pounds on the morning of day 4 (game over). I am very sure that most of the weight loss was water versus fat but it was water that I was most likely retaining. My body was probably more bloated than I realized. I know I was very well hydrated so I’ll say it was most likely a mixture of both. Lost a few pounds and shed a few retained ones.
I would definitely do this detox again and I can see doing it once or twice a year. It felt really good that I maintained my willpower and that I accomplished my goal. What was surprising on day four was that even though I finished my 3-day plan, I didn’t want to jump right back into eating solid food. I didn’t wake up on day four and run to the kitchen to make a cheese omelet with toast and home fries. This was a shocker as the evening of day 3, I was madly pinning food recipes (healthy ones) on Pinterest in anticipation of my first “real” meal in days! For me, this 3-day commitment to juicing further cemented that going forward my diet would be rich in organic food and in making healthy meal choices. I am done with certain foods. I’ll never eat a frozen chicken patty or soup from a can or anything that’s processed again. I won’t be fooled by packaging or advertising. If it’s processed, I want no part of it. Going forward I will take the time to shop wisely, make my own meals when possible, and stay educated on healthy living.
photo credit- Flickr