I know its been a while and I'm waking this page from the grave, so what better way to do it than with a revival detox...... That's the excuse I'm sticking with so get used to it.
By all means, turn away now if you're like me and you don't buy into cleanses.... Or at least I wasn't.... I still might not be.
I never really believed in the whole "detox" craze, but after lots of hours of work making me too tired to cook, and some poor dietary choices becoming more and more frequent, I started reconsidering things. More than anything the recommended diet is what does it for me. The supplements, sure, if they work they work, if they don't, the diet is enough to get you kick started on a healthier routine. I'm on day 6 of the 12 day detox, and I think it says something if I'm feeling inspired enough to write about it.
First, a little about it, for those of you who aren't familiar.
The Dealio
This cute little package sets you back $40 from whichever grocery store carries the products. Inside this box, are 4 bottles. 3 bottles of pills, and one with a dropper for the tincture.
- Cleansaherb - "Traditionally used in herbal medicine, with secondary action of a mild diuretic."
- Biliherb - "Helps stimulate the production of bile."
- CL Herbal Extract - Helps keeping UTI's at bay, and general health of that area...
- Laxaherb - Well... you know.
You're instructed to take 2 of each pill and 40 drops of the tincture with breakfast, and then again with dinner. This is helpful because it forces me to eat breakfast, which in turn keeps my metabolism happy.
The box also includes this booklet with information about Dr. Terry Willard, the creator, more details on how the cleanse is meant to work, and the best part, a super easy to read chart listing the recommended foods.
The Hard Part
The diet does not allow any sugar, wheat, dairy, processed foods, or fermented foods. This is most challenging for me when trying to dress salads as you can't have any vinegar. It recommends a LOT of water, lots of veggies, millet, nuts, etc. (80% of your diet), and 20% proteins like poultry, eggs, and as much fish as you want. And NO. WINE. Which was daunting. The whole list goes into more detail in the booklet, but thats the main thing. It sounds more restricting than it actually is.
In Real Life
Again, I'm on day 6. Halfway there! To be honest, it sounded a lot harder than its felt for me. A lot of people had some pretty difficult experiences with the Laxaherb, or severe food cravings, but besides a couple of mild hankerings for a piece of toast, or a cookie here and there, I haven't felt much of that pain and suffering at all. The booklet warns of some detox side effects, which are much like flu symptoms. These things are meant to be brief as the body gets all the toxins out and adjusts, but then you'll feel like a million bucks. I had a little bit of fatigue, and a few brief moments of muscle aches, but all in all, I haven't felt that bad at all.
Hunger hasn't been much of an issue. It took a little research to get my grocery list down before I started. The biggest game changer for me was buying groceries for the week, portioning, and freezing fish, veggies, chicken, or whatever else you may want to have on hand. Making it easy to grab and cook is key to making things work for me. If I have to dig through a messy freezer without knowing whats in it, I'm DEFINITELY gonna go for something easier like a frozen pizza or something.
As for my body, I noticed a HUGE difference just in the first 2 days. Everything is totally less bloated so even without weight loss, I fit my clothes SO much better. Having said that, I've lost 7 pounds in 6 days. Can't beat that. I haven't been hungry at all, and the food I'm coming up with has been awesome. One thing this detox does is make you think outside the box, recipe wise. I also have a lot more of a normal sleep pattern now, my energy is definitely improving, and my general day to day motivation has increased a LOT, which may have more to do with having to plan the day more with meals and such.
All in all, don't let it scare you. If you're feeling blah, or heavy, or sick all the time, its worth a try. Its relatively cheap, and all the scary side-effects really aren't 100% going to happen. Everyone is different, but for me, it's been a breeze. That's really saying a lot too, because I was NOT on a healthy train before this. It's not like I made a minor change. My ENTIRE day to day has changed from start to finish, and no, I haven't wanted to die yet. I may even extend it and do the optional extra 3 days.
I'm going to write a food post of the best things I've eaten on this cleanse, but the food definitely gets its very own post.