I hope everyone had an incredible Fourth of July! Celebrate your independence with this 4-Week Challenge and truly transform your life...it is true freedom! This week we will purge and cleanse the body with a natural detoxification eating method. The Detox diet will cleanse your body and your palette so that you can avoid those hard to handle cravings for high glycemic foods that have been standing in the way of your weight loss success.
As part of your overall metabolism, your body has mechanisms to rid your body of harmful toxins. But these mechanisms may not work at their best because of imbalances from years of abuse with food, alcohol, and medications. You may already take supplements, but when you continue to eat poorly it is like never changing the oil or oil filter in your car. If you're looking for additional support through your detox & cleanse,
click here.
Detox Rules
1. Eat only the cleansing foods on the lists. Arrange these foods into three meals a day, plus snacks.
2. Eat as many vegetables as you like, but limit fruits to three servings per day.
3. Do not add any fats: no oils, butter or margarine.
4. Keep it simple. You may use spices and herbs. Small amounts of low sodium soy sauce,
salt, pepper, vinegar and mustard are allowed, but avoid mayonnaise.
5. Drink at least 8- 8oz. glasses of water. Herbal teas, distilled or filtered water or mineral
water are extra and will assist in the flushing of impurities.
6. NO coffee, alcohol, soda, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine-containing beverages.
These are substances we want to purify from your body.
7. NO JUNK food – remember, this is a cleansing, detoxification diet, and avoiding these now
will help you get unaccustomed to the taste of sweet or fat.
8. If you have been taking a multivitamin/mineral formula, continue to do so, but do not start
to take supplements during this detoxification step if your body is not accustomed to them.
9. Get plenty of rest and sleep because this helps with the detoxification process. The naturally
occurring plant compounds in the fruits and vegetables will help accelerate the cleansing
process. You may feel a little more tired than usual the first few days. By the end of the
week, you should feel energized.
Note: Some other symptoms may be headaches, fatigue, irritability and nausea. This can
be a part of the withdrawal of JUNKY foods.
10. Do not engage in strenuous physical activity, even if you are used to it. Instead of a
vigorous workout, take more yoga and gentle stretching. This is also a great time to
meditate, listen to relaxing music, and engage in other stress-reduction activities.
11. Your first action every morning: Cut a lemon in half or a Lrg. slice and squeeze the juice
into warm water, then drink. Lemons are naturally diuretic and have antioxidants. They are
also very soothing and will help with your cravings.
Note: If you are heating your water with the microwave, heat your water first and then
squeeze your lemon into the water.
12. Think about the commitment you are making to yourself, what you stand to gain, and how
accomplished you will feel. Look at this as cleansing out the old and getting ready for the
new.
Taming Hunger
1. Eat more vegetables.
2. Drink more water, tea, and fat-free vegetable broth. Hot water and lemon is
a great soother.
3. Get out of the house and take a walk or find some way to occupy yourself to
take your mind off food. Clean out a closet or engage in some other activity
that is absorbing but not stress provoking, and that will also give you a
sense of accomplishment.
4. Add a very small amount (3 ounces) of clean, lean protein to either lunch or
dinner, such as fresh or canned water-packed tuna or salmon, lean chicken
or turkey without skin, tofu or plain soymilk, but no dairy.
5. We do recommend that you try to sustain from eating protein for as
long as physically possible in order to completely reap the benefits
from the detox.
For a Shopping List, click here.
Sample Menu:
Pre Breakfast:
Lemon juice in warm water all three days
Breakfast:
Cantelope & 1 Egg White
or
Grapefruit sections(fresh) Herbal Tea
or
Orange slices& nonfat yogurt/herbal tea
Snack:
Banana/Detox or other herbal tea
or
Papaya/Detox or other herbal tea
or
Green Beans/Detox or other herbal tea
Lunch:
Vegetable juice/Veggie Burger-no bun
Cucumber salad, carrot sticks/ apple/ Herbal tea
or
1 Serving skinless Chicken/mixed green salad with olives, red& green pepper
celery, cucumber slices, artichoke hearts/ cherries, herbal tea
or
Consomme'/ Large fruit salad tossed with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice/ herbal tea
Snack1
Green beans/Detox or other herbal tea
or
Cooked Spinach./Detox or other herbal tea
or
Mixed Green salad/Detox or other herbal tea
Dinner:
Baked Tofu/Vegatable soup/mixed green salad with mushrooms, asparagus, tomato
and beets/ Strawberry and blueberry medley/ herbal tea
or
1 serving grilled fish(snapper, trout, tuna, or salmon)/ lightly steamed broccoli/ grilled vegetable plate with red peppers, eggplant, onion and zucchini/ herbal tea
or
1 serving skinless Chicken, Fat free dressing with carrot slices, raw or lightly steamed Vegetable soup made with celery, onion, cabbage, leafy green vegetables, peas and tomato/ herbal tea.
Snack:
Fresh cucumber, red and yellow pepper or fruit/ detox or other herbal tea
or
Strawberry and blueberry medley/detox or other herbal tea
or
Papaya or grapefruit/detox or other herbal tea.
*Detox Tips- Cooking - try to eat as many of your vegetables that you can raw. Lightly steaming, however, will not destroy them, but be very careful not to over steam. If your vegetables are limp and lack their vibrant color more than likely you have over cooked them and you are better off drinking the water.
· Energetics of food – Eat Greens– The color green is associated with energy and refreshment. Asian medicine relates green to the liver, emotional stability and creativity.
· Greens contain calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. They are full of fiber, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.
· Benefits of eating greens:
-blood purification
-cancer prevention
-improved circulation
-immune strengthening
-lifted spirited, elimination of depression
-improved liver, gallbladder, and kidney function
-clearing of congestion, especially in the lungs, and reduction of mucus
· Try something new- (bok choy, nappa cabbage, kale, collards, watercress, mustard greens, broccoli rave, arugula, endive, mesculn
→ Hot Towel Scrub
The skin is our body’s largest organ of elimination. More dead cells, toxins, and waste products get eliminated through the skin than anywhere else. Stimulating the pores of your skin with a rubbing action allows them to eliminate better. A hot towel scrub rejuvenates the skin and the heat and the friction helps melt away subcutaneous fat and cellulite.
Take a washcloth and dip it in hot water or hold under running hot water. Wring it out and rub your entire body for 5-10 minutes. Whatever feels right - it doesn’t matter which direction you rub it in. It can be invigorating in the morning and calming at night before bed. This exercise can also have a balancing effect on the mind.
