Detoxing

[testing]

So, here's the deal: despite being a good cook with some knowledge of nutrition and a general desire to eat well, I get very busy at times, and recently, because it is soooooo easy, I've found myself falling back on the old white bread, mayo, and potatochip diet, with a side of vienna sausages and Jelly Bellys for dessert, washed down with a Diet Coke. (think Elvis at his worst.) Yet, I still work out regularly and stay pretty active, it's just that my eating habits tend to go from great, to so-so, to absolutely awful the busier I get.

This has to stop!!! For so many reasons!!!!!

I decided to try this detox plan I saw in Experience Life magazine: (http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/july-august-2010/weight-loss/ultrasimple-slimdown.html). <<that has all details and recipes.

It calls for the elimination of
Caffeine (except from green tea)
Processed and refined carbohydrates and sugar
High-fructose corn syrup
Hydrogenated (trans) fats
Alcohol
Also avoid processed, packaged, junk or fast foods.

Spending an hour or so chopping vegetables and cooking rice on Sunday hopefully will make healthy meal prep easier this week. I'm on day 2 now, and aside from having to wash out my blender constantly, it is going pretty well. I miss coffee. )-:

As part of the plan, you make a special smoothie, and a special vegetable broth to drink, and take hot baths with lavendar essential oil to detox. Do you believe that toxins in our bodies really do make us unhealthy and can they be washed out this way, or is detoxing what one's kidneys and liver do on a regular basis and "special" detoxing is nonsense? Thoughts? Anyone detoxed before?

 

[invisible]

i too am trying to be healthy and not always succeeding. i think the body can never be perfect but it's OK and generally works fine on its own providing we treat it with basic respect. i think it's important to try to eat healthy and treat our bodies well but i think it's ok to enjoy sugar or saturated fats in moderation. i think the best thing is to be patient and kind with ourselves and try to slowly and enduringly change the general lifestyle habits we are unhappy about, but it could be motivational and a fun learning experience to change a bunch of things all at once.

i think it's possible that when people spend their hard earned money on things like colonic irrigation or whatever they may be using the idea of their body as impure and such easy solutions as this as a way to avoid addressing deeper thoughts of dissatisfaction with themselves or their lives.

 

[testing]

^^^ 100% Agreed with the colonic irrigation!! This plan includes no such thing! LOL! :-D

 

[Norton]

I'm not sure I believe in "detoxing" per se, once you're on a reasonable diet. You essentially detox by not eating crap. But, one or two cups of coffee or tea a day isn't "toxic" in the sense that your body's natural detoxing organ, your liver, has any problem metabolizing it. The same is true for alcohol. That is, assuming your liver is healthy. In fact, there is evidence that, for women, one drink a day is healthy for the cardiovascular system. Try to get your carbs from vegetables and other low glycemic index sources (e.g., some whole grains). Get adequate protein or more, if you're heavy lifting. Aside from the caffeine and alcohol (both in moderation) I agree with the list.

The goal, though, is improve your insulin sensitivity so that less insulin does more. You do this with a low carb diet and exercise. Another thing: try taking a 15 minute brisk walk 30 minutes after lunch and dinner. This timing will tend to reduce insulin blood concentrations. High blood levels of insulin are toxic. That's why diabetics have so many problems when they get older. Even the most compulsive patients have difficulty optimizing their insulin levels.

Another approach I like is the "no s diet" (http://www.nosdiet.com This stands for: no snacks, no sweets, and no seconds. Works well for many people.

One thing we do to maintain a healthy diet is to cook in bulk on the weekends. Then we freeze meal size quantities to eat the next week or in the future. This is an efficient to avoid the ease of junk food.

 

[testing]

Thanks for the info, Norton! I've honestly never looked into the low glycemic thing, but I probably should. (I will!) I've also never done low-carb diets.

I'm hoping to use the "detox" program to kickstart (restart) healthy eating for my family. The cooking in bulk on the weekends tactic is a great idea, and literallythe only way I can see us avoiding processed junk due to time constraints during the week. If only we had a personal chef things would be a lot easier!

 

[kita]

I tried the master cleanse once, a 10 day, no food detox. I remember having a terrible headache for the first two days, which might have been caffeine withdrawal, and then something like a body trip when the 10 days was over and I had a taco with Dr. Pepper.

I've never recommended the master cleanse to anyone, but the one you're trying seems a lot more reasonable and healthy.