A Clean Me

Junk food. My current demise. Pizza, cookies, candy, milk, processed food, more candy and anything else that doesn't do a body good.

I woke up this morning feeling exhausted. Dennis and I ate pizza and cheese pull-a-parts from The Pie yesterday. Despite being utterly delicious, I feel amazingly bloated this morning. I decided a couple weeks ago, that I needed a body recharge. My body is screaming to rid itself of the daily toxins it ingests. The holidays, New Years, and my daily food intake has taken a toll on my body. My energy is depleted, I'm bloated, constipated (sorry-TMI) and never feel that refreshed upon waking up. I need a system overhaul.

About a year and a half ago, I attempted to do the "Clean" detox diet. The author, Alejandro Junger, a physician that combines western medicine with eastern medicine, designed the cleanse. I've researched the heck out of cleanse diets and found this one to be the best fit for me. I found it off of Gwyneth Paltrow's "Goop" website. She swears it transformed her body, and did so safely. I decided to give the old cleanse a try and was very, very pleased.



So yet again, I am starting the Clean detox cleanse (Dr. Junger recommends doing a cleanse annually). The program encourages you to finish three weeks, but allows you to take it one week at a time. Even a week on the cleanse can be very beneficial. I'm going to aim for one week and take it from there.

The cleanse consists of two liquid meals a day with one solid meal. The liquid meals consist of juiced or blended juices, shakes or soups comprised of organic vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices. The solid meal is purely organic and as raw as you can get it.

Other stipulations include:
Pure filtered water only--drinking enough to keep you going to to the bathroom hourly
Two tablespoons of olive oil each night (lubricates the intestines)
A clove of garlic a day-garlic is a natural detoxifier
No dairy products, including milk, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.
No red meat or pork products
No soy products
No refined sugars including pasta, bread, flour, etc.
No soda pop, coffee, processed (store bought) juice
You can drink herbal teas, but not in replacement of water
A daily bowel movement--which means if you're not doing it on your own, you use a natural laxative or enema :)
A daily 5 minute meditation
Using all organic and natural products including organic deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, soap, cleaning products, etc.
Liquid meal for breakfast and dinner, solid meal for lunch


Dr. Junger encourages:
Colonics--I tried this last time and almost died. Seriously. I wouldn't recommend it unless you talk to a doctor or do some extensive research
A weekly massage
Scrubbing your body in the shower--ridding yourself of all the dead skin
Sitting in a sauna daily--sweating is a great natural detoxifier
Exercising daily
Taking deep breaths throughout the day--breathing also a great natural detoxifier

I decided to record my cleanse on my blog. A great way to keep me accountable and motivated. So I guess I'll start with day one which is today.

Day One: Monday January 24, 2011

Exercise: 60 minute spin class

Breakfast:
Energy Smoothie with Almond Butter and Cardamom
1/4 cup almond butter
2 cardamom pods or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups of pure water
1 cup frozen peaches
1 to 2 teaspoons agave syrup
1/2 cup ice
1. Blend together until smooth.
Tahini or pumpkin-seed butter can be substituted for almond butter
Notes: This smoothie is really good. The cardamom has a classic Indian taste. If you've ever had that sweet Naan, then you've had cardamom.

Mid-morning Snack:
Handful of cashews

Lunch:
Superfood Salad with Acai Dressing & Salmon



Ingredients:
Kale
Napa Cabbage
Carrots
Red Onions
Blueberries
Cashews
Goji berries
sunflower seeds
Acai dressing (acai juice, agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, cashew, garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne)

4 oz. wild salmon, grilled, seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice

Dinner:
Green Juice
2 green apples
3 stalks celery
1 leaf lacinato kale
1 leaf Swiss chard
1/4 cabbage
1 head broccoli
1/2 medium cucumber
1/2 lemon

Blend in juicer.
Notes: This is pretty refreshing, but the thought that I'm drinking vegetables makes it a little hard to go down.





Notes for today:
I felt pretty good the whole day. Not too much hunger suprisingly. The late afternoon I snuck in a piece of gum. I'm really going to try and not eat gum, so I need to prepare better tomorrow and bring more snacks to work. No bloating, no headache. :)

From here on out, I'll record what I ate throughout the day that evening, and keep you updated as I move forward in the cleansing process. I have a feeling Whole Foods will be seeing a lot of me. Wish me luck!

Happy Monday.