Fruit Detox

I myself have tried a Detox Diet, and I lost a few pounds but not compared to the girl who lost 12 that I got the idea from. I did it to lose weight fast than to cleanse my body from nasty toxins. So I read this on LiveStrong this morning and thought it had some good information to share! So enjoy...

The notion that you can live whatever lifestyle you choose and then undo any damage by detoxing for a few days is not a new one, though it has never been proved to be either medically necessary or even effective. But, according to research reported by the Linus Pauling Institute, fruit may offer more health benefits than previously known. No fruit blend is a magical detox cure-all, but an occasional fruit blend as part of a healthy diet and active lifestyle can help you feel your best.

 

Detox Facts

Detoxing in the sense that most people misuse the term is not physically possible, according to experts at Harvard medical School. Your body is equipped with it own detoxing system which includes your kidneys, liver and lungs. They scour toxins from your body, process them and eliminate them. No diet or combination of foods can make this process go faster. But, common sense dictates that if you stop putting harmful substances into your body you will give it a chance to clean itself out.

Vitamin C Blend

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. When you breathe or metabolize food, substances called free radicals are released into your system. They are also released when you smoke, or are exposed to environmental toxins like air pollution. Free radicals are thought to cause certain kinds of cancer, and also to contribute to some of the physical difficulties you face as you age. Vitamin C helps your body fight free radicals. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit are high in vitamin C, Apples also contain high levels of vitamin C. Blueberries, blackberries and pomegranates also contain powerful antioxidants, so mix and match them for snacks, desserts or blended into smoothies.

Fiber Blend

Fiber helps fill you up and also aids in healthy elimination. Constipation is one symptom of eating fatty foods that don’t move through your system as they should. Apples contain high amounts of fiber, especially if you eat them raw. Watermelon and cantaloupe contain soluble fiber, which helps keep you feeling full. Soluble fiber also helps lower the levels of low-density lipoproteins in your blood. These are associated with increased risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. Soluble fiber helps remove LDLs from your system, so in that sense they can be considered beneficial to detoxing.

Warning

It is not possible to speed up your body’s internal methods of detoxing, nor is it possible to undue weeks or even days of unhealthy eating with a juice fast. But, occasionally drinking nothing but fresh juices and eating whole fruits for one to three days should not harm you and can help you break bad habits. Plan your detox for a quiet time when you don’t have to do much and make sure that you take in enough calories to keep you nourished. Aim for 1,200 calories for men and 1,500 calories for women.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/555216-fruit-blends-for-a-detox/#ixzz1mScGqH9A

Detox - Day 3

Another 2 lbs. down! In three days I've lost a total of 3 lbs and 9 lbs overall in the last 11 days. So I am pretty excited. It definately gives me the motivation to keep going. When you are actually making healthy choices every day you don't realize how many un-healthy choices there are available, or who around you is eating poorly, and how hard it is to say no. I ran into that today....

Breakfast was easy. I had a bowl of blackberries & raspberries at home. And I prepared my lunch for work the night before so I knew that I would be okay - usually if Im unprepared and hungry I buy junk or eat McDonalds (which is right next door.) When I got to work though, there was a HUGE box of a dozen donuts and 8 friggin' iced coffees {which Im a sucker for}and it took a lot of will power to say no to a chocolate donut and not grab an iced coffee! I guess at drug rep brought them in for us, which isnt unusual- they always try to "sweet talk" us, literally.

This all fruit & vegetable diet though with only brown rice is coo-coo. So I give up! I failed yesterday anyways and since I've been losing weight just by making healthier choices, why do anything different? So consider this the last day of my 7 day detox diet, maybe Ill try again {or something similar} another time.....

 For lunch I had a small bowl of flax cereal and some berries over cool whip. And for late lunch, our store manager bought a Subway platter because we did such a great job the past month in our execution (which is like our report card) So when I went into the break room for dinner tonight, I made myself a nice little smorgashboard of onions, peppers, pickles, and lettuce ontop of some honey oat bread ( I took a roastbeef sandwich and took out the roastbeef sandwich so I could use the honey oat bread haha ) Needless to say, it wa delicious and I was fufilled. Normally I could eat a whole 12 incher, but today my stomach felt full after 6 inches and some water. I was pretty proud of myself....

So... that is the end of tonight's post. I will continue eating as much fruit and vegetables as possible, low calorie juice, lots of water, green tea, and try to eat less bread, other carbs, and other stuff I was used to. xox

Detox - Day 2

Failure. Well... for the most part I did very well, I went almost two complete days without any food; only drinking water & green tea. At one point during work today I was soooooo hungry, my stomach was growling so badly it almost hurt! But all I could think about was the dissapointment of my friends, family, and readers if I couldn't pull this detox off 100% then I ate one friggin almond. I figured one tiny piece of food would fufill me enough to stop the hungry till tomorrow. Fail!

I just had a realization! OMG! I had a really rough day today. I wonder if subconciously I needed to eat something to make me HAPPY and get me through the day? Know what I mean? Not that at any point today did I think, "wow, what a shitty day, I need to eat and feel better." But was I really hungry (or was it an emotional thing?) I mean, my stomach was absolutely growling and I felt almost starved to death, but I'm sure my emotions played into it a tiny bit.

Recap; I worked 11 hours yesterday {in a stressfull, high volume, retail pharmacy mind you} and wanting to hop in my truck and leave the parking lot my car wouldnt start. I had to have a co-worker give me a jump start, then I had to drive my best friend home, needless to say I didn't get home till 8 pm. So I had literally been gone 13 hours. I was so busy at work yesterday that not eating was simple, and when I got home, I had enough will power to continue on. I went to bed around 10, watched some MTV, felt kind of funny. I was energized during the day, but once it got later into the evening I felt a little dizzy, kind of drunk-like. So I drank a glass of gatorade {to replenish my electrolites} and eventually fell asleep. I had a very strange dream. I actually dreamt (long story short) that because of my detox, I was hallucinating. And that I didn't wake up for work and ended up going in 6 hours later.

So this morning my husband woke me up (he wakes up at 4 am to get ready for work) so I only got about 5 hours of sleep. When I left the house at 7 to head off to work.... surprise! Surprise! My car wouldnt start. I struggled to get back into my apartment because the lock sucks and it needs to be changed. My cell phone is off till I pay the bill tomorrow so only because I borrowed my bestie's spare phone could I text. I had to beg my mother to drive me, which was a project all in itself. She loves to help me, with anything, any time, don't get me wrong - but it was really early, she had no gas, and I work about 20 minutes away up the highway. I arrived at work late, I ended up spilling my Green Tea all over myself, and the rest of the day just went awkwardly for me. My father in law's wife (who is actually a life long family friend Melonie) ended up picking me up and when I got home all I wanted to do was eat.

I struggled for hours not to eat. Finally, my husband got home from work, a neighbor ended up giving us a brand new battery for my truck. And I finally gave in and made a salad. So in the past two days I have eaten one little chunk of cheese, an almond, and a tiny salad. But I failed my liquid 2-day part of the Detox Diet. And I'm dissapointed in myself. And even worse, I'm too honest of a person not to admit it in my blog LOL So what's my plan now? I still have 5 days left of the detox diet. Tomorrow I wille at fruit all day, continue drinking water, and green tea. And on Saturday I will oncorporate (maybe some rice but I doubt it) and vegetables into my meals. And continue fresh fruit and veggies until Wednesday and see how I do. No carbs. No extra stuff.

{ Here's a picture of my chicken salad today - a chicken patty over a bed of salad with fresh red and green peppers and half an apple cut up in chunks. And probably the best green tea I've ever had }

So far though, I am down 1 pound from yesterday :)

Day 1 - 267 lbs and Day 2 - 266 lbs 

I just hope that I didn't ruin my entire detox from failing today, ahhhhhh we'll see!

In the meantime, I've been working hard on my blog. I used to be a web & graphic designer working from home, and actually owned a few websites (Jazzy-Jazz.net & Flawless-Space.com ) but sold them when the whole myspace extravaganza died down. So I am very skilled when it comes to layouts and stuff, but.... my desktop and just recently my laptop crashed and I lost all my programs so now I cannot be as creative as I want to, or used to be. So I aint satisfied with this layout or any of my blog's set up. But - I just redid all the sections in my top navigation link bar. So check them out, and right now I am working on my meal's page.

{ As you can tell I am rambling like crazy tonight, sorry, talk to you tomorrow, on day 3 } Muah!

Detox - Day 1

Easy. I am shocked that it went as smooth as it did for me today and was that easy.

Maybe it's the fact that I was at work from 8 am until 7 pm - with only one half hour lunch and an hour to kill at the end.... needless to say; my stomach only growled once of hunger around 1 pm. And although my co-workers tempted me with all sorts of foods, I resisted. My best friend James, brought in like 6 containers of yogurt for us and  {my favorite} cheese and crackers. I wont lie, around 3pm I ate one slice of cheese. Besides that, I drank an 8oz glass of v8 (which I dont think the detox calls for but ohwell) then the rest of the day, up until now, I had water and green tea.

The hardest part I would say is getting home, about an hour ago, and sitting on the couch now tempted to walk into the kitchen and make a bite to eat. Especially after blog browsing like I just did and looking at what everyone ate and put in their food diary, and posted pictures and recipes for! I am also worried about tomorrow, I have a short day at work and will be home by 3pm. How will I stop myself from going in the kitchen and eating anything? Im gonna have to make plans right away or lay out by the pool.

As for how I feel physically today, this DETOX DIET is nothing. I haven't felt weak, havent gotten a headache, and havent died of starvation yet. Everything is perfectly fine. And I actually had a zoom of energy through out the day. Wasnt sure if it was the green tea I was drinking {I know it wasnt the amount of sleep I got lastnight cause that wasnt much} but whatever it was - I am greatful. I have been wide eyed all day and running around like a mad woman.

I am though, looking forward to eating on Friday! I am already thinking about what to ponder up. I have all sorts of fresh fruit and a few frozen veggies. And guess what else? Since my last weigh in, I have dropped 6 lbs! The last time I weighed in {June 26th I believe} I was at 273 and today I am 267. And I haven't done much... well... except for quit soda, try to eat less, no fast food, make healthier choices- apples instead of chips or fries, fresh fruits and veggies instead of junk, etc. I am a real happy girl today :) So.... until tomorrow's day 2 post, toodles xox

Food Today, Gone Tomorrow.

7 Day Detox Diet... here I come! Thanks to Miss Haneefa over at Black Girl Gets Fit who just finished her seven day detox diet losing a total of fourteen pounds {14 lbs - yes! That's right} Anyways, I found her post during her 2nd day and followed her all the way through, asking many of questions, and then ofcourse researching for myself & making the decision last week to start tomorrow.

I chose tomorrow (which is Wednesday) because it was the first day back to work after my 5 day mini fourth of July vacation. Also, I will be working 10 hours (8am-6pm) so it'll be easy to keep food out of my mouth while I'm busy at work on the go-go-go. I am worried that I wont have alot of energy though, but the detox diet only consists of days 1 and 2 with only fluids, then days 3 on you can incorporate brown rice, fruits, and veggies into your meals. I'm more worried now about how I'll do on Thursday because I'm out of work at 2pm which makes it an early day for me... but I guess I'll just take it one day at a time.

If you are worried that this is a diet where "people starve themselves" or that its a "fad diet" and is just a waste of time, I don't care. Not only do I want to lose fourteen pounds {ha ha} but it also cleanses your body of all sugars and other unnecessary chemicals in there, given you do it correctly. If you wanna know full details about the 7 Day Detox Diet then Google it!!!!!

As for right now, I just stuffed my face with a pita bread full of chicken breast, sharp cheddar cheese, and lettuce, as well as some tortilla chips and salsa. We went grocery shopping today, knowing that I was going to do this Diet I should have gotten more fruits and fresh vegetables but we were kind of poor so I didn't have much to spend.  And I wasnt 100% sure I would even follow through. But hey, whats 7 days anyways, right? Here's what we did get though.....

Lots of delicious berries; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. A salad mix {and I have another one in the fridge} some cranberry muffins, organic flax cereal {which is delicious} some pita bread, cool whip for dessert, red, yellow, and green peppers, and some frozen veggies.

For dessert I opted out of something chocolatey and frozen {did weight watcher pops last week} and decided to grab a box of cereal, cool whip, and fresh berries to quench my thirst. It was delicious. Anyways, back to the 7 Day Detox Diet....

I respect your opinion {mainly speaking to friends and family on facebook who will be commenting like crazy and keeping up with my bitching during the process} but.... if you are only going to give me negative feedback about this diet please keep it to yourself. I understand that you might think it is unhealthy, or not good for me, but to be honest - I've seen people do alot worse. I have friends who literally have anorexia and have starved themselves just to be skinny. I know Pastors who have gone 40 days without hard foods and just drank liquids to fast for God, and I even know muslims who don't eat until it's dark out. So it's okay. 2 days of liquids and 5 days of fruits and vegetables will be GOOD FOR ME! I promise :) Love ya <3

7 Day Food Detox

First, I'd like to thank Miss Haneefa for this idea. I came across it just a few minutes ago and it gave me inspiration. She has lost 6 pounds in the last 3 days since starting her seven day food detox! Kudos to her! I will be following her next 4 days to see how she does.

Thinking about doing it myself, I needed more information first. I found what seemed to be a great explanation of the 7 DAY DETOX at The Raw Divas websites, along with a 10 Day Juice Cleanse, but Im pretty sure you have to pay to get "their secret" so.....then I found a website on every DETOX diet known to man, at EveryDiet.org which gave me way too much information that it was hard to look at- so I moved on to other websites! Here is a boy that is already two months into his raw diet, which is similar to a detox diet - Easy Raw Food Detox Diet. He has a great site with ALOT of useful information but Im not going long term with this, unfortunately.

Then finally, because I couldnt find any information quickly to help me with my own 7 day detox, I went to the same site that Miss Haneefa found found her information, over at Toca Reno's Blogspot. Which is great!

Here is a run down of the 7 day detox diet:

Days 1 and 2: Stick to Liquids

Water, lemon squeezed water, herbal teas, juicy leafed greens, or bone broth.

Days 3 to 7:  Brown rice, Fruits, and Veggies

You can add up to 1 cup of brown through out the day. Try to eat organic produce/fruits. And only healthy oils like olive, avocado, or coconut oil. Eat portion sized meals as large as your hand. Do this 6 times a day, which will give you 6 small meals per day.

Tips:  Consider herbs and supplements. And alot of vitamin c. 

Now, Im just trying to decide WHEN I actually want to DO this! Part of me says, start today? Why put it off another day? Isn't that how we all fail? Because we put things off and say, maybe tomorrow? The only problem is - starting on my day off which is Friday, I will have a short 5 day vacation. Do I really wanna go through out the 4th of July weekend and my mini vacation starving and depriving myself of what I love? No. Thats why I think I should start next Wednesday. And then..... starting on July 17th I am participating in a 14 Day Slimdown in my city with an old friend who works for Herbalife that will be our weightloss coach. I am really excited. Although, fourteen days doesnt seem like enough time for me to lose weight. But I suppose if I do the 7 day detox next week - itll give me a great kick off :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the hubby and I this year. Taken in April at his father's wedding. Not too often will PJ pose for a picture with me, so I really love these photos. I think I look great, until I look down at my thunder thighs! Uggggh. I just hate my thighs and these pictures will serve as inspiration to lose weight. So I just wanted to share them with y'all :)

This is me - weight 273ish at 5 feet tall and 4 inches

This will be a great time for me to start the 7 day detox (on Wednesday, July 6th. Because then - on Sunday, July 17th)  I am also starting my 14 Day Weightloss Challenge with an old friend, Chanel, an Herbalife constributor and weightloss coach.