I am willing to bet that nearly all of us overindulged over the past few months. While I managed to make it through the holidays without gorging on sweets (like I did last year READ POST), I did eat food that was a bit more rich than usual and just plain ate MORE than usual.
I am convinced that one of the reasons I was able to have more self-control this year was because I completed a cleanse during the first two weeks of December before the holidays hit high gear.
A few months back my friend Sirica and I went to the Healthy Lifestyle Expo together and when she arrived she told me about a cleanse she did while her husband was out of town. It was so pure in that she just ate fruits and vegetables. I was drawn to the simplicity of this cleanse aka “reset and repair” as I like to refer to them.
So often I hear of cleanses that involve tons of supplements and very little food (trust me, I have done those too) and while I do think there is a time and a place for those types of cleanses (under a doctor’s care and for a specific reason), they make me really cranky and hungry.
So I took what I learned about the cleanse from Sirica and ran with it. I set-out to do the cleanse for 7-14 days (not sure how long I wanted to do it) and ended-up completing 12 days. Here were my parameters:
- Consume ONLY fruits and vegetables (aim for at least 50% raw…I think I was closer to 70% raw).
- Have the bulk of your intake be from water-based fruits and veggies, but be sure to include sweet potatoes and squash.
- Drink water, tea, fresh vegetable juice, or fruit and veggie powder drinks (I drank NanoGreens once a day).
- EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT…DO NOT GO HUNGRY!!!!!!
- NO oil
- NO grains
- NO legumes
- NO nuts
- NO animal products
- NO sugar
- NO artificial sweeteners
- NO processed foods
Like I said, I completed 12 days of this cleanse and came out of it 7 pounds lighter (all of which stayed off during the holidays) and most importantly I felt great and never once was I hungry! I really, really, really (did I emphasize that enough), don’t like to be hungry, so this was perfect for me.
OK, this may be TMI, but prior to the cleanse I was not as “regular” with my bowel movements as I would have liked to be. During the cleanse that all changed. I feel like it RESET my digestive system and everything is as it should be now.
I want to allow my body to heal from the excess I experienced last month, so I will be doing this cleanse again starting tomorrow and my husband offered to do the cleanse with me too…yay!
Would it be helpful for you / would you be interested in me posting my food log next week as I go through the cleanse?
Awesome!!! Was so excited to get your email about the cleanse, I would LOVE to do it again. Just need to get motivated to do it. Tony really is doing it???? Love it!!!
Thanks for the inspiration my friend! Tony said he is going to do it 🙂
Yes! I think it would be very helpful and insightful for those of us pondering the idea of cleansing in the same manner!
I would love to see your food log (thank you for being willing to share)! 🙂
I would be very interested in seeing your food log. This sounds like a cleanse I would love to try!
I would love to try this cleanse. I have a pretty intense workout twice a week and I’m afraid that I would be really tired. I usually have a protein smoothie after the workout. Any suggestions for that extra boost to repair?
You could definitely make a smoothie with some vegan protein powder (PlantFusion is a great one).
I was also wondering if you thing this would be a safe cleanse to do while breastfeeding?
Have you seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead? It is an amazing documentary about how a man heals himself with a juice cleanse. Their website has a wonderful Q and A section about cleanses and answers your question re: cleansing while breastfeeding…apparently it is a no no:
What if I am pregnant or breast-feeding?
You should not cleanse if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or actively planning to become pregnant, because you have increased nutritional needs that may not be met while cleansing. Additionally, a cleanse if done properly will stir up trapped toxins and poisons, and we do not want this action to occur with a baby in the womb or while breast-feeding, as the toxins may cross the mother’s placenta or enter the mother’s breast milk and harm the baby.
Here is the link for more questions and answers:
http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/about-the-film/learn-more/faq/
Woukd love more specifics like recipes or how you are preparing the fruits and veggies.
I would LOVE to see your food log! That would be so helpful! I want to do a cleanse and have been weary to do one alone. Your help would be much appreciated! Thank you for offering your tme and experience.
Sincerely,
Your fan Martha
I am glad to hear that seeing my food logs will be helpful. The great things about this cleanse is that everything is so simple…I won;t be spending too much time in the kitchen at all this week.
That sounds like the perfect cleanse for me (and I may even be able to talk the hubby into it!). I would love to read your post while you go through it a second time. How much did you workout during the cleanse?
I still did all of my usual workouts. A typical workout week for me looks like this:
MWF – either a pilates reformer class or SPX fitness class
T/Th/Sat – 45 mins to 1 hr of cardio where I alternate going HARD for 2 mins and then normal pace for 2 mins
I hope that helps!
I would definitely love to read a step by step the next time you do it. Over been feeling like a need a major cleanse but just can’t starve myself or stick to just liquids on other ones. I think this would be one I could actually do and would actually like it.
Hi!
Yes, it would be wonderful if you shared your food log. It would really help!
Thank you! I am learning so much from you blog!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer! It’s so great to hear from you. I loved the Xmas card…the kids are so big!!!
The cleanse sounds good. I would love to hear how the cleanse goes for you. I really would like to do a cleanse but i have a very sensitive stomach and i cannot eat a lot of raw food. Keep us posted. Thank you.
Hi Marianne! The great thing about this cleanse is that you can tailor it to fit your needs. If you don’t do well with raw foods, then feel free to cook them and enjoy the cleanse that way while drinking plenty of water.
Hi Grettie! Can’t wait to see the food/drink log. I’m starting to gain some of the weight back I lost last year (from not eating from all the stress -don’t want that again!) and I really need to get something going fast and steady! Looking for something good to get me started. See you around the neighborhood! Hugs. 🙂
Hey Jett…it’s great to hear from you. I agree, you definitely don’t want all that stress back in your life!!!…not the preferred weight-loss method 🙂
I am working on my recap post for Day 1 of the cleanse and will publish it tomorrow. I hope it is helpful!
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Hi! I would like to know if you can use seasonings during this cleanse? I have a salt-free one that is organic; would this be acceptable?
That salt free seasoning mix would be fine to use on the cleanse 🙂
thank you VeggieGrettie! is garlic acceptable when cooking vegetables?
Absolutely! Garlic is fantastic and fits in the cleanse perfectly.
I’m going to try this tomorrow! Sounds great. What about coconut milk? Is that allowed? Just thinking about a yummy smoothie.
Coconut milk is great!