So I decided this year that I need to do a detox. Why? I just never learn and eat a whole bunch of crap over the holidays -- this year was no different. I spent the entire time loving the taste of all those goodies - but at the same time feeling totally like crap. I decided that I didn't want to wait for my diet to gradually get better in the new year - -but was impatient and wanted to feel good right away - -hence doing a detox and breaking that cycle of sweet/fat/whatever else tasted good at the time. I have never done a detox before so needed to figure out what I wanted to do. I reached out to several friends that had done this before to see what they had used and what their experience was. Of course many of the detox programs ask that you don't do too much exercise because they are super calorie restricitve- -which I didn't really like. I am at the start of my training year, so the volume is pretty low but I didn't want to give up the start of training since I had already laid out my overall plan for the year. I got the recommendation from one friend on a program that she has used multiple times (it must be ok if somebody is willing to do it over and over again) that still allows you to continue training. Its called Brett Elliotts Ultimate Herbal Detox. Basically for 10 days you take a bunch of herbal supplements and limit your diet to ONLY fruits,vegetables and yogurt -- the more raw the better. Leading up to the 10 days you do a prep phase of 3-4 days where you gradually eliminate everything else from your diet.
I am now on day 4 of the detox. The herbs are doing their work to clean me out and eating only fruits and veggies is not as bad as I thought it would be--I only occasionally get the urge for some grains/legumes - and its not that strong. I feel really good--energy levels are great, no problems with doing my training. I am eating frequently - definitely doing 6 meals/day but that is keeping me feeling quite satisfied. The purpose of doing this is not to lose weight--but it is a nice side effect. Since I started the prep phase I am down about 3-4 lbs (basically what I gained over the holidays). Not sure what will happen over the remaining 6 days but I will be paying attention.
