Detox Time

Tomorrow is the first day of a mini-four-day-detox, and, as promised, I will break down every part of it!

I am going to attach a pyramid to give you an idea of where my mind is going... It is from Dr. Weil (one of my favorites!) and I love his thoughts on aging and inflamation. You see, the main stress on a body is inflamation...when there is something that does not feel right, your body will start to inflame as a protection mechanism... Through this, lots of your energy is wasted and your body is working over time to fix problems and function at normal capacity.

 You may start to feel sluggish, gain weight, have troubles focusing, have stronger food cravings for foods you know you shouldn't really be eating... and the list goes on.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html

My main goal for us, is to use a few days of our lives to reboot our body, minds, and tastebuds. Once you cut out junk, you will stop having cravings for it. After the detox, you are free to do what you like..but I am hoping this will help us all want to work out, eat right and maintain a health lifestyle...

The Rules:

(I do not believe in all liquid diets, so we will have some grains!)

Liquids: Water, Herbal tea (no caffine), 1 to 2 cups juice a day, veggie juice (if you have a juicer-if not you are totally allowed to get some at the store)

Grains: Brown rice (please try to buy organic), unsalted raw nuts, oats (as in any form of oatmeal you would like), millet, quinoa, spelt

Beans: Chickpeas, Navy beans, black beans, pinto beans (if any of these are canned, then drain and rinse before eating)

Fruits: At least 4 of apples, any berries, bananas, grapes, oranges, lemons and limes, pears,  grapfruits, kiwi and melons if they are still in season by you-but try not to because you want to eat close to what season. (so eat less bananas, kiwi and melon and eat more apples, grapefruits and pears) . You may also snack on dried fruit as well.  

Veggies: Any and all you want of Spinach, Kale, mixed baby greens, (really any greens minus butter lettuce and romain)  celery, cucumber, onion, peppers, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, garlic, root veggies (beets, celery root...) squash, cauliflower, cabagge,  zuchini, sprouting greens (alfalfa, bean sprouts...) - limited amount of corn, avocado, eggplant, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Seeds: Any that are unsalted and raw ( sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax...)

Vinegar: Apple cider and balsamic

*If you feel like your sugar is low, reach for fruit -grapes and banana's have higher amounts of sugar, so you may want those for a quick fix.

*If you are feeling tired, reach for seeds. pumpkin, chia, sunflower..all are great energy boosters!

*If you are so starving and cannot take it, eat some brown rice or avocado, and drink lots of liquids..but DO NOT drink liquids while you are eating. Your body needs to break down the food without any extra liquid! It helps your tummy acids work more effeciently and you burn more calories (hence the french, italians and Germans never really drink water at the dinnertable!)

Stay away from: all seasonings, no dairy of any kind...actually no animal product for that matter (no meat, fish, poultry allowed). Be sparing on your oil use, and only extra virgin olive oil if any. Anything that has not made the list stay away from!

Portions:

• Drink as much water and herbal tea as you would like. Try to drink warm lemon water right when you wake up and an hour before going to bed!
• Drink only 1 or 2 cups of fruit juice IF it is 100% juice, and make sure that it is organic..if the ingredient list is longer than just the fruit, it is not what you want (because most juice has extra sugar)
• Drink as much veggie juice as you want if you have a juicer.. I may be the only one, so if you go to the store and by carrot juice, that would be great! just mix your carrot and apple juice together for a wonderful treat! 
• Try to eat your fruits before 7 pm
• No food at all after 8pm
• You are more than welcome to have 2 grains a day (so oatmeal in the AM and brown rice in the evening as an example) but NO MORE!!!!
• Beans and nuts can be eaten once a day. NO MORE. 
• Make your lunch heavy on veggies. 
• Snacking in between your 3 to 5 meals is ok, but small snacks in the form of seeds, sprouts, veggies...
• The less heat on your food the better... so steam veggies if you need to soften them! 
• Eat less of the grains and beans and more of the veggies and liquids! 
• One of your 3 meals or 2 of your 5 meals need to be mainly liquids.

This is not a detox that is super strict, but one that will clean out our palates, clean out our colons, and give your body a jump start on new habits. Lets start on Monday and end on Thursday this time around. 

Let me know your thoughts! and if you partner friends want to join, share the invite! If there is something you have a question on ASK!

Remember, if it is not on this list, than stay away!!!