Detox Update

My 7 day detox plan is over and it was a success! I have never eaten so healthy in my life. For 7 days I stay disciplined enough to only eat the allowed natural foods such as fruit, veggies, salmon, chicken breast etc. The only sort of processed food I had was a bit of garlic hummus, almond milk in my morning smoothie & some roasted almonds.

My main reason for doing this detox was to reset my body after my sugar excesses of March. Darn you delicious Easter candy with your Cadbury mini-eggs & Lindt chocolate bunnies. I gained a few pounds with my mini-egg addiction and I wasn't feeling great.

The first two days of my detox I felt achy and tired. By the third day I felt very good. I did fine making a healthy smoothie every morning and it was so filling I didn't feel hungry before lunch. I didn't suffer any hunger during my detox week. If I was ever hungry between meals I usually snacked on nuts or made a berry smoothie.

One of my least favorite aspects of the UltraSimple Diet was drinking 3-4 cups vegetable broth every day. I think the first day was the only day I drank 3 cups. Toward the end I was lucky to down 1 cup a day. It just didn't taste good and it felt very odd to drink a veggie broth out of my tea mug.

My daily cup of green tea

I did struggle with craving dark chocolate and red wine toward the end of the week. I rarely have much yearning for alcohol in any form so it was an odd craving for me. While shopping I went ahead and bought a bottle of my favorite red wine for when the detox week was over but the craving has since passed and the bottle sits unopened.

Overall I was surprised at the end of the week when I weighed in. I lost exactly 5 pounds and 1 inch off my hips and 2 inches off my waist. My clothes fit better, I felt great and I loved the results!

salmon & broccoli- a typical dinner during the detox

So what's next? Well so far I'm pretty much back to my regular mostly healthy eating habits with sweet treats included. In the book he recommends transitioning slowly to reintroduce the possible allergy foods one at a time but I was too impatient to do that. I wanted dairy and eggs & peanut butter too much.

He also suggests trying a 7 day detox every three months and I think that's what I'll do.

I'm calling this detox week a success and I highly recommend it!

This post was shared at: Your Green Resource, Clever Chicks, Homestead Barn Hop, Mama Moments, Small Footprint Fridays, Natural Living Monday, Teach Me Tuesday

UltraSimple Detox

I've decided to try a 7 day detox diet to clean out my system and flush toxic chemicals from my body. I've never done one before but I've been thinking about it and wanting to try one for a while. I ate way too much Easter candy so it feels like a great time to detoxify myself. 

Detoxing is based on the concept that your body needs help getting rid of unwanted toxins from contaminants in processed foods and the environment. In theory, once free of toxins, your body functions better and your metabolism soars so you can shed those extra pounds.

I choose the UltraSimple Diet because I read about it in Experience Life and it sounded short & simple at just 7 days. I also didn't want to buy or deal with anything complicated or weird like herbs, pills, powders, enemas, and other forms of intestinal and colon cleansing that are part of some detox diets. Those aren't necessary with this plan.
I also like that there is no starving or fasting on this plan. I don't like the word diet as I don't plan to restrict myself on eating. I'll follow the plan and won't eat the "bad foods" and instead I'll focus on the "good foods" that are allowed. 

It's only 7 days and I'm really excited to see if I feel better, sleep better and loose a couple of pounds. I'm starting Sunday and I'll be keeping a daily journal as the book suggests and I'll blog about it next week.

Below is a basic outline of the UltraSimple diet.


6 Steps of the UltraSimple Diet

• Get Rid of Bad Foods — (causes of toxicity and inflammation) 
• Add Good Foods — (detoxifying and anti-inflammatory) 
• Detoxify — (cleansing and detoxifying UltraBroth drink, plus herbal laxative as needed) 
• Reduce Inflammation — (anti-inflammatory UltraShakes) 
• Relax — (relaxing and detoxifying UltraBath every night) 
• Reflect — (reflect on, and journal, your learning and feelings during the program) 

Bad foods to be eliminated

(starting with the preparation week, then entirely absent during the program)

• High-fructose corn syrup and all sugars
• Trans or hydrogenated fats
• Processed and junk foods, fast foods
• Artificial sweeteners
• Foods with additives, preservatives, and colors
• Caffeine and alcohol (except green tea)

Foods to eat

• Filtered water (6 – 8 glasses per day)
• Fish (especially non predatory species such as sardines, herring, wild salmon, black cod or sable fish, sole, and cod)
• Lean white meat chicken breasts
• Fresh or frozen non citrus fruits (ideally berries only)
• Fresh vegetables
• Fresh vegetable broth (3 – 4 cups per day)
• Legumes (lentils, navy beans, adzuki beans, mung beans, tofu, and others)
• Brown rice
• Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and pumpkin seeds)
• Flax seeds (ground)
• Lemons

UltraSimple features

UltraBroth is a vegetable broth, whose recipe is included in the book. Dr. Hyman recommends one should drink 3–4 cups of UltraBroth per day, as part of a meal or as a snack.

UltraShake also has a recipe provided, and is designed to sustain you, even out your blood sugar, and help control your appetite throughout the day. UltraShake contains essential protein for detoxification, omega-3 fatty acids from flax oil, fiber for healthy digestion, increased elimination from flax seeds, and anti-oxidants and phytonutrients from berries and fruit. Variations are suggested to maintain interest.

UltraBath is a 20 minute bath before bed each night, in a hot bath containing Epsom salts, baking soda and lavender oil to the recipe given. UltraBath promotes relaxation, enhances detoxification, and improves sleep.

Have you ever tried a detox? Do you want to try one for the first time?

This post was shared at Small Footprint Friday, Your Green Resource