I decided that maybe I needed to break the cycle by "jump-starting" my body and cleaning out all the toxins and crap that are most likely floating around in there. I'm not normally a fan of any kind of cleansing fast, partly because I like food, and also because I think our bodies work just fine for the most part when it comes to cleaning things out. But I thought it might do me good to get off the sugar rush a bit, and tone down the coffee drinking. And the drinking in general...
Dr. Oz's Three Day Detox intrigued me because it was only three days, included real food products (not lemon and cayenne drinks-disgusting!) and seemed to be something I could manage. I figured I'd give it a shot! I'm going into this hoping I will come out on the other side with reduced sugar cravings and a plan to really eat clean. Here is my day-by-day review.
Day 1
First off, when I purchased all the ingredients for the detox, I knew I'd have to do a couple substitutions. One of the items on the shopping list is Almond milk, which makes me gag. So I bought coconut milk, which is palatable for me. Same with the almond butter, can't eat it (which is weird because I do like almonds by themselves!), so I got some freshly ground peanut butter from the natural food section at the store. Another ingredient that I am dreading is coconut water. Unlike the creamy goodness of coconut milk (which is like normal milk) coconut water is HORRIBLE. I always think I want to drink it, but when I take even a tiny sip, I remember that its HORRIBLE. I did get a couple small bottles of it, but I don't know how that's gonna go down.
So here's my day-
I got up and rather than my usual morning coffee, I had the green tea. I'm glad we are allowed some caffeine. I had a big cup of it, worried about a potential caffeine headache.
Breakfast smoothie. Everyone else who reviewed this said this was the best tasting of the three smoothies you get every day. Its pretty good. This was easy for me because I often have smoothies for breakfast.
I went to the gym after breakfast and did a moderate workout with one of my girlfriends. I didn't feel low energy, but afterwards I was hungry!
Lunch smoothie: I was initially excited by the Kelly green color and the addition of pineapple, which I love. The taste really wasn't bad at all, and it smelled very refreshing. But the texture-oh Sweet Mother of God-the texture. I couldn't finish it. I drank (ate?) most of it and the rest went down the sink. My boyfriend said I tasted like lawn clippings when he kissed me.
I didn't get to do the snack smoothie. I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and by the time I got home it was close enough to dinner time that I decided to forego it and just have the dinner smoothie. By the time I got home I had a headache that was giving me blurry vision. I probably shouldn't be putting medication in my body, but I took an ibuprofen anyway.
Dinner smoothie: This smoothie has the dreaded coconut water. I only put in half of the amount called for because I hate coconut water that much. I added some ice and a splash of coconut milk. The blueberries and the iciness of it with the added cubes made it okay. But just okay. Barely...barely okay.
So far I don't feel overly tempted to eat "real" food. I made dinner for my son and didn't even want a taste of his lovely and delicious looking chicken....seriously, I was fine.
I took my super-detox bath before bed, and had some herbal tea (I am not restricting myself with tea, even though it doesn't have it on the list other than breakfast.) I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed a relaxing bath, and while I couldn't find lavender oil, I found a pre-made Epsom and lavender soak! Perfect!
I felt relaxed and slept great, which isn't always easy for me.
Day 2
I'm up and while I feel a little weak, overall I am good. No headache this morning and I actually looked forward to my green tea. Its not coffee but it will do!
The breakfast smoothie was still pretty good. I'm not as enthused about it as yesterday, but I drank it. I confess, I added a touch more coconut milk and a smidgen more of peanut butter....
Its almost noon and I am procrastinating about the lunch smoothie. I'm not sure if I can do it. Seriously. I think I may just make myself a big salad from all the ingredients. Does it really have to be blended? I think not.....
And that's what I ended up doing. Every time I thought about the lunch smoothie, I would literally start gagging. I have a high sensitivity to texture and I just can't get past it. So I created a salad. I used all the ingredients except the coconut milk. I diced everything up, and then I used the lime juice and coconut oil, along with a touch of balsamic and some dried herbs, to make a dressing. Quite delicious!
Its probably messing up the whole dynamic of the cleanse, but I figure its better to at least ingest all the required ingredients as opposed to my other option, which was to not eat anything. Or to eat a burger. I miss burgers....
By dinnertime I was dreading the dinner drink almost as much as the lunch. I tried to choke it down but the texture thing...ugh. It isn't as horrible as the lunch smoothie but almost.
I had a little bit of clear soup....so shoot me.
I took my relaxing bath and had some herbal tea. I didn't sleep as well tonight, because I kept having dreams of cheeseburgers....
Day 3
I feel fairly energetic today, had my tea and while I'm looking forward to coffee tomorrow, I do feel good about being able to skip it for a few days. I weighed myself this morning and I'm a little disappointed that I haven't lost much weight. But I'm going to the gym today to do my normal workout. I'm going to try to stick to the regime as close as possible today, all gagging aside.
My workout was fine, I felt a little lightheaded on the stairstepper but nothing major. I do feel like my body has adjusted to the detox. And I am not craving sugar anymore, which was one of the main reasons I did this. The breakfast smoothie was fine, I could have one of them every day.
Then came the EPIC FAIL.
I had to work at my other part time job, so I took off at 11am with no thoughts of my lunch smoothie. I didn't get out of work until 230pm. The chef always makes lunch for the staff, and when she asked if I wanted to eat I asked her to make mine to-go. I figured I'd have it for lunch the next day. I left work and went to pick up my son from school, with my to-go box sitting quietly and oh so innocently next to me on the seat.
By the time we got home, it was 4pm and I was ravenous. I'd consumed nothing but a breakfast smoothie all day, AND I'd worked out that morning. I stared at the to-go box for about a minute after I got home, before tearing it open and eating the contents.
It wasn't an unhealthy lunch by any means-small piece of grilled fish, some sliced red potatoes and sautéed greens. I didn't even feel that bad about eating it and ruining the detox. Because at that point, I just.didn't.care. I was over it.
The end result
I went into this detox to lose a few stubborn pounds and maybe give myself a kick-start for getting back to healthier eating. While I am a little disappointed in myself for not sticking to the plan for the three days, I do feel like I reaped some benefits from it, regardless of my cheating heart.
I lost 3 pounds.
I have still not had a glass of wine.
I have only had a few small bites of chocolate here and there.
But this guy....oh how happy I was to see this....
All in all, it was a good experience and something different to try. I probably wouldn't do it again, because I think that healthy eating should be a way of life-not something packed into a three day event.
I did, however, realize a few things about myself during the detox, namely that I can live without tons of sugar and I can survive without coffee. Oh and I hate green smoothies. With a passion.
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