Detoxing does not mean that you need to starve yourself and only drink juices all day so that you want to rip everyone’s (kids, husband & co-workers included) head off who get within a 10 block radius of you. A detox diet gives your body a break. While you may experience occasional cravings or headaches (especially if you have been leading a very toxic life,) by day 3 you should be looking and feeling incredible. So, stick with it!
A Life-Changing 10 Day Detox Diet
Try the “Be in Balance ’10 for 10′ Detox Diet” by nutritionist Katherine Pennington;
For 10 days, take these 10 out of your diet:
- Sugar (agave nectar and stevia allowed)
- Animal products (this includes fish!)
- Dairy (milk, cheese, dressings with dairy)
- Gluten (pasta, rice and yes, your morning bagel!)
- Alcohol
- Caffeine (Green tea or Yurba Matte ok)
- Nicotine
- Salt (sea salt & gomasio allowed)
- Soda (yes, diet causes weight gain too!)
- Processed foods (chips, processed bars, junk food)
10 days is the right timeframe to make real lasting change. But, if you can only do 5 or 7 days, then just do that. Perhaps you will choose to do 5 days during the week and take the weekend off. Any change you make is a step in the right direction!
For 10 days, commit to doing these 6 things:
#1 Take a good probiotic daily
When clients come to me, the first thing I do is to make sure they are taking a good probiotic daily. Because many of us our assaulted on a daily basis by toxins in the environment and foods we eat as well as robbed of our healthy bacteria by the antibiotics and other drugs that we take, it is essential that we repopulate the good bacteria into our gut so that we can have healthy digestion and a robust immune system. Bonus: good digestion=good metabolism= weight loss.
#2 Make one of your meals a green smoothie
So, what does this mean? Substitute one of your meals for a liquid meal. I usually do breakfast or lunch but a very close family member substituted dinner to amazing results. Green smoothies do not have to be boring! The basic ingredients are: almond or soy milk (or hemp), a handful of greens such as kale or spinach, a protein powder (I adore Sun Warrior Protein Powder, some frozen fruit (I usually use banana and maybe a few berries but you can use any frozen fruit) and a few ice cubes. That’s it.
#3 Make one of your other meals a large green salad
This could mean you could have a salad for lunch or for dinner. And, the types of vegetables you can add to it or limitless! My favorites right now are avocados and, I have no idea why, but radishes! For those interested, the seeds I have put on top are hemp seeds and my beloved sprouts, which are bursting with nutrition!
#4 Drink 64-75 oz of water daily
I cannot emphasize how important it is to drink enough water in order to detox and hydrate your body. Start your day off with a big glass of water with lemon (further detoxing) and drink throughout your day. Be careful, though, to stop or slow down your drinking around 6pm so that your sleep is not affected. Additionally, do not drink within 30 minutes of eating so that your digestive juices are not diluted.
#5 Exercise 3-4 times a week
Do this for 30 minutes minimum (preferably 45 mins+) and work up a sweat to raise your heart rate, detox and get your energy flowing! This could mean a run or intense Bikram yoga class for some, or a walk for others. Just get out there and do something.
#6 Sweat everyday
Take a steam, sauna or hot bath at least 2 times during the week. Does this mean you have to go to some expensive gym? No! Just take a hot bath at home with Epson Salts. There are few brands that are scented with essences of lavender or eucalyptus. Epson salts will help you cleanse and detox your body. Afterwards take a luke warm/cool shower to wash off. Again, this is to detox your body and I promise that you will feel great!
The first step is making a commitment to changing your body and your life and recognizing that you are going to have to make sacrifices and sometimes these sacrifices are hard to make. Scream at me through the computer, go run it out on the treadmill, write in your journal about how much you hate this cleanse (or me) but do not stray away from what you have committed to do. You will only be cheating yourself!
Via diet and lifestyle coach, writer, raw food chef, GirlieGirl Army Blogger, and teacher Katherine Pennington at Be in Balance. We love reading her blog Raw Mom and Hot Dog Kids for tips on how to raise healthy kids in a very unhealthy world.
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