Thursday, March 31, 2011

5 Day Detox - Like Chocolate for Women & GOOP




Detox ladies: my fruit shelf during the cleanse (love the dragon fruit and pomegranate!)

Dear readers,

spring is finally arriving and I am ready to get rid of all the accumulated weight - inside and out - that I have piled up over the last couple of months. I sensed that when you are in physically or mentally extreme situations your body can sense what makes it run at an even lower pace and warns you. This has happened to me in terms of my eating and drinking habits. When I ate too much or was munching on snack foods my mind would slow down and I got disturbed from working on my tasks. Plus, I felt that I was thinking constantly about food which made me really wonder what I did wrong in terms of my eating habits.
In search for the answer to my question I became a big advocate of Cyndi O'Meara who dedicated her life to nutrition and well-being on a basis of science and common-sense. I am gonna tell you more about her books and the Healthy Living Program & Club in upcoming posts. She contributed the meal plans to an e-book by Kim Morrison & Fleur Whelligan called Like Chocolate for Women, which is basically an 28 day program for female self-care. It includes decluttering, aroma therapy, and meal planning. The first 5 days consisted of a detox phase that was so easy to handle that even I could do it. In fact, I got inspired to do a little self-experiment: At each night of the detox I added a food group that I was concerned of causing some of my most prevalent symptoms: fatigue, flatulence, increased mucus, and skin problems. Those foods on my black list were: 1. wheat/gluten products, 2. dairy/cow products, 3. processed foods (e.g. peanut butter), 4. chocolates/sweets.



I printed out the pages of the e-book and had it bound in a stationary to make it look neat.

The basic detox consisted of juicing or blending raw fruits & vegetables as well as mixing in eggs, flax-seed oil, barley powder, and drinking herbal teas and water. Sticking to only these foods/drinks made me feel very at ease and surprisingly satisfied. I did not even crave any sweets like I usually do!

However, I am a true coffee addict and the first couple of days my mind was loaded with images of hot steamy delicious coffee cups! I am off coffee for more than a week now and I haven't started again, yet, which is a big miracle to me. Needless to say I did not need to test my coffee addiction as it is one of my most apparent vices!
I experienced the biggest side-effects with wheat and dairy, which is a very prevalent phenomenon in our Western society. I could actually feel those nasty symptoms mentioned above reoccurring after eating white bread and even after having natural plain organic yogurt. I guess this is because we grew up eating these foods (mostly in a processed form) every single day and after decades of doing so our bodies just have had enough. Plus, I am a blood type O and according to Dr. Peter D'Adamo I should stick to a hunter & gatherer diet full of: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, and meat while avoiding grains and milk products. Well, there's much debate as to whether Peter D'Adamo is just a charlatan or a real scientist but in my case the reactions of my moaning gastric system provided a confirmation of his claims. Chocolate did not cause me any problems as long as I ate dark chocolate with no or little added milk but, in general, eating any kind of sweets made me wanna crave more sweets and other foods which lead to an abrupt ending of my personalized detox phase (that was extended anyway lasting for an entire week due to my vast experimenting).
I must say that even though I did a lot of "cheating" at night holding my little food group self-study, I did feel weaker than usual. I went to a lot of ballet classes, too, and I guess to keep energy levels up I just need to include meat/fish, nuts (best directly from the shell) and whole grains into my diet. However, I definitely learned that less is more and that I never want to get back to my old ways (which were: counteracting sugar-lows with coffee boosters) that made me addicted to sweets and coffee. This eating regime was a burden to my body and I am determined to change this state of affairs, especially after experiencing the unpleasant relapse following the sugar trial. I do struggle with self-discipline in all kinds of areas in life and that is why this journey is going to become a long ongoing tough task but I just keep telling myself that there is no going back!!

Meanwhile, I gather as much information on health (NOT weight loss) as possible, preferably from the Australian nutritionist Cyndi O'Meara. For those of you interested in her knowledge, you can visit her web-page: http://www.changinghabits.com.au. There's plenty to find out, even without spending a single dollar, simply by reading through the news archive, following her on facebook, or subscribing to the newsletter!

A great free detox program is available on Gwyneth Paltrow's awesome blog Goop. This woman is in the middle of everything, she is a true achiever and it is fun following her sophisticated weekly blog entries. She does detox regularly, so she posted her detox regime made up by the LA detox specialist Alejandro Junger. For each recipe you can download a printable version. Enjoy guys!

This video below is a little thank you for everyone who kept following me through my busy times:
I am as silly as always but I hope you get what I meant to say anyhow!
Much love from your gypsy, blk that is ;) xx


Do you use the spring for detox or fasting? This was my first try, I would love to learn about your experiences and maybe get some more good advices!

11 comments:

  1. Im also blood type 0. A few years ago I looked at the blood group diet and it was telling me to cut out beans, corn things (polenta etc) everything that is staple in a Croatian diet. I tried it for 2 weeks and felt so so week so never again! Not for me!
    However I do love an occasional detox. Im weak so mine only ever last 2-4 days but Im a big fan of juicing and flaxseed oil i take everyday! Always makes me feel stronger and healthier! xx

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  2. Dear Tali, I am so stoked to see you're still around! Thank you very much for your interesting comment, I value your opinion very much.
    The blood type diet is pretty radical, I would merely consider it as a general rule of thumb (it says, for example, that Avocado is not good for a type O, which I am going to ignore altogether!)
    I liked the calm and satisfied feeling I was getting from the detox but the light-headedness disturbed me. Nevertheless, I'm an official fan of juicing now and I'm taking my organic flaxseed oil every day, too. It gives me a kick-start in the morning, amazing stuff!
    A gigantic hug goes out to you, hon xx

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  3. @ Vintage Makeup: Thank you so much, I'm very glad you enjoyed reading my post! I enjoy your blog so much, too!! Best, Sam xx

    @ Melly: Aww, thank you, sweety!! I'm so embarrassed how dumb I tend to act in videos - I couldn't even speak correctly in this one, ha ha :-)

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  4. Actually decluttering, aromatherapy and meal planning sound very wise choices to me!!! ;)
    I think we should all make a bigger effort with our diets, since it's SO easy to resort to sweets and processed foods!
    I must say though I don't believe in the blood type diets at all or any diets that cut out food groups for that matter, I mean, dairy is a huge calcium and vitamin) source that us women need more than men and we usually neglect that! Clearly that wouldnt apply to those that are lactose intolerant though!
    In my opinion a healthy balanced diet that includes all food groups in moderation is the best! And of course each person has different needs, I mean a builder can't eat the same as an athlete or a student, so lifestyle pays a huge part in it too!
    I'm kinda starting to like the detoxing/cleansing idea though, but I'll go the safe juices and vegetables way, nth too hard core! As for coffee, I need it, it's more than an addiction, probably the only thing I would never give up!!! Lol!

    xxx

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  5. I totally agree with you, Tina! I would never ever cut a food group out my diet - it's not nice to be about deprivation rather than focusing on gaining health.
    I strongly believe that the vast occurring of lactose and gluten intolerance is due to the fact that we tend to consume highly processed wheat and dairy products each day and at some point the body can't cope with this anymore. Like today, for example, I ate a piece of cake at the cafeteria in my lunch break and 2 hrs later I was craving A LOT of chocolate. Now I am sitting here feeling really bloated and awkwardly full. If I only prepared a good lunch ahead of time... :(
    The blood type diet helped me to identify basic foods that satisfy my hunger but I agree with you and Tali that they are too extreme in their propositions! I could never visit my family again and enjoy the beautiful dishes they prepare for me - no no, love and tradition are more important!!
    I am exactly as you - hooked on coffee for the rest of my life - but I managed to abandon coffee for 2 weeks during and after my detox and I must say I don't experience the large ups and downs anymore. Coffee truly is an addiction and in the first week I was daydreaming about coffee all the time, it was a torture! I'm glad I did this, though, I feel a little bit more 'independent' now. My next goal is to overcome my biggest vice: sugar/chocolate addiction! Wish me luck on that one :-)

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  6. I find the idea of detoxing so fascinating, when I'm finished being pregnant (17 weeks to go) I'm going to give a few different detox plans a go :)

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  7. Being pregnant is the most amazing thing on earth!! I wish you all the best for the last 17 weeks of this incredible journey and for everything that is going to come, too, of course!! The detox helped me figuring out some things about myself (I'm coffee and sugar addicted and can't have dairy too often + fruit & veggie juices create a whole different level of energy for me). It's just so hard sometimes to stick to a healthy way of living. I enjoy my little cheats heaps but not too often :-)

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  8. Detoxing is a fascinating topic; have you ever tried coconut water and Kusmi Tea ‘Detox’? I am a big fan of both and can feel the difference when I leave them.

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  9. This was my first detox and I definitely wanna try it more often! I haven't heard of Kusmi tea before, so thank you very much for this great suggestion - I looked it up on the internet and will get some! I am really into coconuts right now as I read a lot about the benefits of this tropical fruit. I have coconut water, butter, and a whole coconut in my pantry. I have no idea how to open it, though :)

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