Last week, Oprah announced that she was going on a 21-day cleanse. My first reaction was - UH OH! I've heard about all of the celebrity cleansing that's going on and immediately I was sure that it was one of the crazy restrictive ones. Have you heard of the Master Cleanse? Basically it's a regimen of "lemonade" and water. No eating. And while there are mixed reviews on it's effects and benefits, the whole non-eating thing makes me a little nervous. Especially when people undertake these regimens based on "trends" and weight loss rather than good health and doctor support.
However, once I did a little more reading on Oprah's cleanse, I was really intrigued and suprised. The basic idea is to cut out the fillers and sometimes irritating calories that many of us consume daily. In this case, those include:
Sugar
Gluten
Alcohol
Meat
Chicken
Fish
Eggs
Cheese
Here's what she is eating though (sounds yummy!). And based on her blog entries it also sounds like it's been a great personal experience to be more mindful of her food and how it is affecting her body. I find that this is a reminder that all of us need sometimes.
I actually went on a diet similar to this about a year ago. I did eat meat, chicken and fish, but I almost completely cut out the rest. I'm not going to lie...it was hell. I lost at least 5 lbs but swore up and down every day of those four months that I'd take them back in a heart beat if I could just eat like a "normal" person again. Finally, I just had to stop- and broke back into the "real" world with cookies and treats on Passover. What I found out was that extreme didn't feel good either.
Luckily now I've landed somewhere in between. In general I try not to eat refined sugar, which is why you'll see me using more natural sugars like honey and agave nectar all the time. If I can avoid wheat I will. Hence the brown rice pasta, quinoa, and spelt. And you know, alcohol is a good thing to avoid, even if you don't do it all the time ;)
In my opinion. The whole idea of a cleanse or a detox is to eliminate the things that tempt or throw you off track for at least a short period of time. Honestly, I don't think I could do 21 days. I also haven't ever stuck to any diet for more than about 2 though, so take my word for what it's worth.
So what would my cleanse be? Quite honestly, it would probably exclude most of the things that I know I should be cutting back on anyways (either because they irritate me or I overeat them).
Gluten free
Corn free
All sugar free (except fruit)
Soy free
Dairy free
Alcohol free
Focused mostly on meat, veggies, and alternative grains (brown rice, millet, amaranth, etc)
What about you? What are your target foods that you would cut out for one day or 21?
As for me, I'm not doing a cleanse this Spring. But I think that being mindful of our food choices is something we could all stand to do once in a while, be it cutting back to one treat a day, not having that extra piece of bread, or just listening to our body.
I'd do it in a heartbeat if I had a personal chef! Are you kidding me? If I could eat totally healthy, and it would taste good AND had a nutritionist designing the whole thing (I'm pretty sure she does) so that I wouldn't get low in any one area (and thus suffer mad cravings) - sure, sign me up. Short of that, then no, I won't be cutting out anything for more than 2 days either!
I wouldn’t cut out anything either! But a detox is more that just cutting out certain unhealthy foods from your diet. Our bodies are often overwhelmed with toxins. It comes through the foods we eat—sugar, processed foods, environment—and our eliminatory organs often have a hard time flushing these toxins out of the system. Toxins then get stored in our fat cells all over the body. It is believed that going on crash detox diets will help flush toxins out of the system. But most medical experts do not agree with this theory. Fasting is not necessary. Besides, whatever weight you lose, is usually quickly gained! For flushing out toxins, it’s important to include plenty of fiber in your diet – at least 25 to 35 grams. Fiber helps bind toxins in the digestive tract and expels them from the system before they are absorbed by the body. I think it’s important to do a detox cleanse periodically. A comprehensive colon cleanse like
BeneCleanse works really well for me since it supports colon health, digestive health and detoxification. It is doctor-formulated and best of all – it works gently in the system.
Detox Diets and Cleanses
Posted by Amy V.
Here's what she is eating though (sounds yummy!). And based on her blog entries it also sounds like it's been a great personal experience to be more mindful of her food and how it is affecting her body. I find that this is a reminder that all of us need sometimes.
I actually went on a diet similar to this about a year ago. I did eat meat, chicken and fish, but I almost completely cut out the rest. I'm not going to lie...it was hell. I lost at least 5 lbs but swore up and down every day of those four months that I'd take them back in a heart beat if I could just eat like a "normal" person again. Finally, I just had to stop- and broke back into the "real" world with cookies and treats on Passover. What I found out was that extreme didn't feel good either.
Luckily now I've landed somewhere in between. In general I try not to eat refined sugar, which is why you'll see me using more natural sugars like honey and agave nectar all the time. If I can avoid wheat I will. Hence the brown rice pasta, quinoa, and spelt. And you know, alcohol is a good thing to avoid, even if you don't do it all the time ;)
In my opinion. The whole idea of a cleanse or a detox is to eliminate the things that tempt or throw you off track for at least a short period of time. Honestly, I don't think I could do 21 days. I also haven't ever stuck to any diet for more than about 2 though, so take my word for what it's worth.
So what would my cleanse be? Quite honestly, it would probably exclude most of the things that I know I should be cutting back on anyways (either because they irritate me or I overeat them).
What about you? What are your target foods that you would cut out for one day or 21?
As for me, I'm not doing a cleanse this Spring. But I think that being mindful of our food choices is something we could all stand to do once in a while, be it cutting back to one treat a day, not having that extra piece of bread, or just listening to our body.