Cleanse Days 2 and 3

Ok let me tell you, this is HARD. I would cut someone for a piece of steak right about now.

Day 2 started off pretty much just like day 1 ended, with a headache. I assumed this is part of the caffeine detox. According to the cleanse instructions I should start to ween myself off the coffee a few days before starting. Yeah, that didn't happen at all.

I miss this

In the morning I make my breakfast and lunch smoothies. They've been a combo of frozen fruit, carrot juice and coconut milk. Not all at once, that would be gross. Berries, a banana and some coconut milk has been pretty tasty. I've been putting the lunch one in a mason jar (because I live in the south now and that's what you have to do) but seriously it really does make a nice seal and doesn't make a mess when it falls over. Which it does often because I'm messy and try to carry 8000 things at once.

For lunch both days I had a salad full of assorted greens and a sweet potato. Unfortunately no pictures. For dinner each day I had a combination of either lentils and sauteed vegetables or quinoa and sauteed vegetables. Can I be honest? I don't care about quinoa.

Everyone under the sun has been preaching the benefits of quinoa and I swear I see it everywhere and I just don't care about it. I really want it to be rice and it just isn't. I want it to be delicious and sauteed with butter and no matter how hard I try, it just tastes meh. After day 10 I'm going to give up on quinoa, just like I gave up on asparagus.

I think the hardest part is that I haven't worked out since Saturday. For me that's insane, I'm usually doing something 4-5 days a week. Honestly though, I couldn't have done anything the last few days. I've been really tired and adding strenuous activity just wasn't going to happen. I'm hoping to make it out for a run on Saturday but I might have to wait until I reintroduce protein into my diet.

The past few days have definitely been tough but I'm still going!

Day 1 Purification Cleanse

I started the first day of the Purification Cleanse with a berry smoothie. It had frozen berry mix, a banana, the SP Complete and a scoop of the Whole Food Fiber powder. I took the SP Cleanse pills and drank the smoothie throughout the morning.

Afternoon smoothie consisted of an apple, carrot juice, banana, a peach, the SP Complete and Whole Food Fiber. I drane that and ate some roasted sweet potatoes. 

After I got home I had some cabbage, onions and lentils and a salad.

Thoughts on day one: I'M TIRED. Seriously, I was so, so sleepy. After I ate a passed out on the couch for  hours. When I woke up Kev and I watched Cosmos and a documentary about a hippie cult in the early 70s. It was called the Source Family. If you like documentaries, this was a great one. So many hippies, so many drugs and the leader of the cult was fantastic. I totally understand why all of those people followed him. 

Back to being tired, I know it's my body adjusting to the lack of caffeine and protein but it's definitely been rough. I also had a headache most of the evening. I am having difficulty getting in all of my vegetables. I might have to start juicing more and adding to the smoothies. I'm supposed to have 2 times as many vegetables as fruits and I wasn't quite there. I think I was closer to 50/50. Right now I think this is going to be tougher than I thought but I'm all in and have every intention of completing the cleanse. 

1 day down and 20 to go!

21 Day Purification Cleanse

Recently I went to a new doctor, she was recommended by a woman I work with who had gotten some pretty amazing results. Since conventional medicine wasn't working for me and mu stomach issues, I thought I would give it a shot.

Applied Kinesiology (AK) is an interdisciplinary approach to health care that uses manual muscle testing as a primary feedback mechanism in the body. Though muscle testing, the doctor is able to evaluate the physical, chemical, and emotional imbalances within the body. These imbalances, if left untreated, result in poor health.

I read about the practice and it definitely sounded a little strange. Seriously, they can pull on my arm and tell me that there's an issue with my liver? It sounded a little mumbo jumbo to me but why not.

Prior to the initial meeting, I had to fill out a 16 page questionnaire which covered anything and everything about my previous medical history as well as questions around my mental health and sleep patterns. At the first session she asked a lot of questions and did the muscle testing, 2 days later, I met with her for the results. At the session when we talked about her findings, she was pretty much spot-on. She identified some issues I was aware of as well as others I hadn't discussed with her. As part of the treatment plan she recommended some supplements and after a few weeks of those, a 21 Day Purification Cleanse. (There's more to the treatment plan but this is all about the cleanse)

The 21 Day Purification Cleanse is from a company called Standard Process and consists of a diet plan and a supplement regimen.

Are you hungry for good health? Experience the benefits of helping your body cleanse with the Standard Process Purification Program. The purification program combines a generous menu of whole foods with supplements that support the body’s ability to remove naturally occurring toxins. This promotes a state that allows for toxin release.

Naturally occurring toxins that build up in the body can contribute to:
A stuffy feeling in the head
Fatigue or difficulty sleeping
Indigestion and other temporary gastrointestinal upset
Food cravings and weight gain
Reduced mental clarity
Low libido

To Your Health: Cleanse to Feel Your Best:
Improved weight management
Increased energy and vitality
Better digestion
Less bloating
Clearer skin
Shinier hair
Better sleep
Clearer thinking
Better management of challenges related to natural toxin load in the body†

Well, those results sound nice, especially the Improved Weight Management. I've gained back about 10 pounds since hitting my Jenny Craig goal weight and they haven't been budging. In addition to improved weight management, the doctor said that many people lose between 8-10 pounds during the cleanse which would be perfect! Disclaimer: I'm not doing the cleanse for weight loss but it would be a fantastic side effect.

For the first 10 days you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables. You can eat as much as you want  but it should be twice as many vegetables as fruits. Anything canned is a no-go but frozen is OK and they should really be fresh and as raw as possible. On day 11 you can introduce lean meats and that's about it. No grains except 1/2- 1 cup of pseudo-grains like lentils and quinoa per day.

In addition to the fruit and vegetables there are a few other components:
SP Cleanse: 7 capsules before every meal for the first 7 days
SP Complete: Protein powder that's added to the smoothies
Whole Food Fiber (powder): used 2-3 times a day and added to the smoothies
SP Green Food: for phytonutrients - used days 7-14

The plan isn't cheap, it ran me about $200 and these products have to be ordered by a licensed provider. I'm a big fan of challenges, I did the 21 day sugar detox a few months ago and loved the results. I figured if I could do that, I could do this too.

I'll be posting my progress as I go through the plan, this should be interesting!

Has anyone else ever tried a detox? How long was it and what were the results?