Detoxing: Getting ready

The Clean Week 1: Getting ready to Eliminate!

This was actually Friday's post, but the weekends are so crazy lately I didn't get time to finish it till today!

 I love this picture of my daughter, MeMe. The look on her face perfectly expresses how I've been feeling since giving birth to Harmy almost two months ago!

Lately I've been trying to get control of the bad food habits I picked up while pregnant. But cravings, binge eating, yadda, yadda, yadda....You know what I'm talking about!

Last week my depression hit an all time low when I weighed in and saw that I had GAINED 4 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight!Then I picked up a magazine at the grocery store and read about a 21 day Detox Program called "The Clean Detox " developed by Dr. Alejandro Junger. 

Now, I do NOT advocate fad diets or quick temporary weight loss solutions. 

 But this is something different. It's not meant to be a permanent weight loss program, or even a permanent eating solution, (although you can follow the list of elimination foods up to 180 days, and you will probably lose weight while you do it). 

The Clean Detox is a 21 day body cleansing program that flushes out your system with super healthy liquid meals like smoothies and soups, while also flooding your body with rebuilding nutrients. 

Food Rehab! 

Before beginning the 21 day cleanse, you start off with a 3-5 day elimination phase to remove foods that cause common food allergies, sensitivities, and digestive problems. Last week (May 29th-June5th) was the start of my elimination phase.

The "Rebuilding" manual (linked below) says that "jumping into the Clean Program too quickly can cause you to have stronger detox symptoms which include headaches, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea."  Because I have a whole lot of stuff to eliminate, (it's sad.....really sad...), I opted to take an extra week to workout some of these issues.

So last week I focused on removing many non-elimination foods from my everyday diet...

goodbye for now old friends

Coffee *sniff, Dairy, Fast food, Sugar/Splenda, Wheat/Oats, Potatoes, White Rice, Sugar, Butter/Vegetable Oil, Some fruits: bananas, grapes, oranges, grapefruits

and replacing them with things that are on the elimination list!

Herbal teas, Almond Milk, Stevia, LOTS AND LOTS of water, Lots of veggies and fruit, Kidney beans, Black beans, Turkey burger, Nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans, Brown rice, and chicken!

First Week Results? 

I feel GREAT!
I am more energetic than I have been in a long time, and my attitude is better. Part of it may be mental, but I am finding more pleasure in the little things like playing with my daughter, walking the dogs, and laughing with my husband.

But what is the best perk? I lost 5 pounds! Yea, you read right! 5 big ugly pounds, in 1 week! I haven't lost that much since the first week I started this journey back in January 2010! This has me really excited to continue and see where this whole thing will take me.

Previous weight: 269

Current weight: 264 

Total weight Lost: 41 pounds 

FEEDBACK: Has anyone else tried this eating plan? Do you have any suggestions for someone just starting out? Any foods to avoid? How did it work for you?!

Tomorrow's post: What's going on this week and more information on Clean Detox!

Click on the image below or visit the Clean Program website to read more about this program.