To detox, or not to detox, that is the question…
Well, it’s not really the question in this case, but I’m completely exhausted so it’s the best quote thing I could come up with. Apologies.
OK. So I managed to complete three days, that’s 72 hours, on this detox without eating solid food. My only intake was the sugared-lemon water (it really was sickly sweet), and the occasional peppermint tea and fresh juice. The detox guide suggests optimum “results” will be achieved by maintaining the fast for at least 5 days, if not 7 or 10. I think I could have gone another two days, but my body did not feel right, so I stopped it there.
Yes, I realise the tone in that last paragraph indicates perhaps negative connotations, and that’s partly correct. Despite feeling horrid for most of the time, there were several good things to come out of this detox/cleansing diet:
- It felt like a much easier way to go cold turkey on a few vices – caffeine, sugar etc. I’ve given up both of those before (caffeine for a week, sugar for two months), and it is very difficult to resist your usual temptations when you’re still eating and drinking everything else you normally would. But seeing as I wasn’t allowed any food whatsoever, I didn’t even notice I was missing out on those two things either.
- I am now commencing a healthier eating regime, which I hope to continue for a while. Prior to this detox, I had been eating way too much cheese, and food in general. So from now on, I’ll be minimising (if not excluding) my intake of: dairy, wheat, meat (obviously), sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods. I acknowledge that starting a detox or diet change before going on holidays is probably not the smartest thing to do, but if I can set some boundaries now, at least it will make it easier to not overindulge on everything whilst I’m away. And when I return, I plan on making this a weekday effort, but allowing myself the weekend to enjoy a double espresso, or perhaps a glass of wine (or two) with dinner.
- One of the most significant things to have come from the abstinence of food, is the clearing up of one of my skin conditions. I have a rash/fungus thing over my stomach and back (sexy, yes?). It’s similar to eczema in that the skin flakes off (almost like dandruff), but it’s different at the same time. Anyhoo, at least now I can ascertain that it is caused by my diet. In the past, I’ve seen a naturopath about the condition as well. And it did improve after taking herbal supplements & drops, and applying topical cream, but once I stopped that program, it returned. So now all I have to do is figure out exactly what is causing it to flare up! Simple…
Some other minor improvements were that I lost 2Kg, plus my hair isn’t as oily as it usually is. I normally wash it every two days, but on the second day it really didn’t need a wash.
Do I consider this a success? All in all, I don’t consider it a complete failure (due to the above points), so by default, yes.
Would I do it again? Highly unlikely.
Would I recommend this detox to you? I wouldn’t tell you not to do it, but I wouldn’t encourage it either. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you think this could benefit you at all. I’m sure the same results could be achieved by seriously altering your diet to include only fresh, healthy, unprocessed foods. Plus that starving feeling is not pleasant in the slightest!
And after a full day of eating normally again, I’m feeling great. A little tired from not quite enough sleep, but other than that, I feel energised and happy. It also might have something to do with the fact I’m exercising again after a 6 month hiatus – I played in a band, and practice was on the same night as dance classes, so I’ve finally gotten back into that routine again over the past three weeks.
But I could do with a coffee. I really miss that high…
I am on the 6th day of the lemon detox diet. I felt like dying the first 2 days and the headaches were awful until the 3rd I woke up with a headache but as soon as I started to move around it was gone and I felt so good. And everybody keeps complimenting about my skin… not sure why though… My best friend has decided to do it too…
Lu, have a talk to a medical doctor (dermatologist) about your skin condition. The most common physiological manifestations of dairy allergies (cheese) are skin conditions similar to eczema.http://www.allergy.org.au/content/view/205/77/Oh, and Prisqua – the elimination of alcohol, refined sugars, and caffeine; and increased water intake is the reason for your skin to look good. You should also feel good now because your body is in starvation mode: shutting down all non-essential systems: able to more efficiently break down lean muscle for energy and minimise use of fat storage. You'll feel lighter and better – euphoric even in starvation mode, but you are risking your liver, kidney, and brain through malnutrition. Also, once you finish the 'detox', your body should hoard any food you eat in fat stores, ultimately resulting in less lean muscle and more fat. Isn't this the opposite of what the programme is supposed to do?Have a read of what I posted on Lu's prologue: http://wickedweezofthewest.com/2008/09/diary-of...
Interesting, thanks for sharing your findings. So you are planning on eating vegan for a while now then, plus no wheat or sugar!? Wow, that sounds pretty difficult as well. I was vego for more than 10 years and I'd have to say that not eating dairy, wheat and sugar would be very hard. When I was vego I found that I ate too much cheese and (veg) fatty sauces. Somewhat shockingly, when I went to the doc I found I had higher cholesterol than I should have, even though I was eating a lot of other sorts of protein for protein balance. I started eating fish more which seemed to help.
Thanks, Ash. I've been to see doctors who suggested I stop taking long showers, and also recommended I use solenium solphide to help reduce symptoms. Which is good in theory, but doesn't solve the problem. I want a cure. The only other time it's worked is when I followed the naturopath's instructions and took those remedies. He suggested it could be sugar/yeast reactions. So I'll see what happens as I slowly reintroduce those foods
Hey JJ. Not sure if I'm going completely vegan (eggs are in debate at the moment!), but that's kind of the idea. I think it will be good for me to start eating more beans, legumes & pulses, which I've almost avoided entirely over the years. I rely way too much on carbs to fill me up, so this is definitely a challenge to say the least! I wish I liked fish, but the taste is not palatable in the slightest. Very surprising about your cholesterol, though! I had mine checked last year, and it was below average, so no stress there
Thanks, Prisqua
I'm glad this is working out better for you than it did for me! And I hope you can also make some of the positive lifestyle changes afterwards as well 
Congrats for going so far with it! Have you put that weight back on though?
Hey, Monnie
I haven't weighed myself in a week (due to being on holidays), but I'll check when I get home. Weight loss wasn't the main motivator for doing the detox, but a long-term goal is to slim down and tone up – which is why I've started exercising again!
Where have you gone lu_lu? Come back! We miss you!
I'm here! Stay tuned…
It's important to choose where to buy detox. a lot of fakes…
[...] Web 2.0 | So while doing the Flickr 365 Day Challenge, and the Twitter 365 Day Challenge, @Lu_Lu used an image of @RichardGiles for her daily [...]
I too suffered from headaches for the first couple of days, but I noticed that light exercise helps eliminating it.
Dieting is almost always keeping control – regardless of whether it's about eating or exercising. I have to say that healthy eating is easier said than done. For one thing, in my experience, going into a new diet can be really taxing for the body. I know people who can't sleep or who feel they are starving because they replaced their diets with veggies. And so even though tracking what one eats can be an important part of dieting, it's still a very hard thing to do, especially for beginners. But great job. You've managed to accomplish something that others haven't done.
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keep it up
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You got excellent writing skills. Awesome article. I enjoyed every word of it. Thanks:)
I find that when I reduce my intake of caffeine, I have less eczema issues. It's really the only “bad” thing that I consume, too.I also admire your dedication to concious health.Cheers!
Great post, really help me alot. Thanks.Cheers,Buat Duit Dengan Blog
It's important to choose where to buy detox. a lot of fakes…
The best way to detox is not to get intoxicated in the first place. But that is almost impossible because, even though we try to eat and live healthy, most of the food we eat contains toxic substances although we can't tell, the air and water are also extremely polluted. So I was thinking, if I'm not living healthy, at least I should look good without having to starve myself. So I started buying steroids and with a bit of exercise I managed to lose 30 pounds. I'm not detoxed but I look incredible.
how to detox your body naturally…
I can’t decide which method to use to detox my body….
Sweet, it sounds similar to something I had which was diagnosed as Psorisis. A dermatolagist said it was incurable and gave me a tar cream (gross). I then went to an ayurvedic indian doctor who told me to go on diet which I found it almost impossible to stick to, but the one thing I did stick to was stopping drinking coffee, and guess what? It worked! I no longer have the symptoms (even though I'll always have psorisis-both my Gran and sister have it too)Let me know how you go!
I'm about to go on this detox, thanks for the insight!