Starting tomorrow I will be embarking on a three-week Cleanse & Detox (C&D) diet, crafted and recommended by my nutritionist Katie Pena, and successfully completed by a number of her former clients (who testified to its success at her Cleanse and Detox Seminar back in January). I am going to share the basic tenets of the diet here, which does include some supplements that you aren’t required to take, but for which I will explain their benefits to this diet.
PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a juice diet. I will NOT be drinking some disgusting lemon-paprika-maple-syrup beverage for three weeks. It’s not the master cleanse. It’s not starving yourself day in and day out until you see some numbers drop on the scale. However, I WILL feel like crap for a couple of days. I WILL be eating CLEAN 5-6 times per day, taking in lots of leafy greens, fibrous fruits and vegetables, and unlike most “cleanses”, actually consuming protein so I don’t feel like complete crap and have some energy left to go to the gym!
Why Detox?
When it comes to explaining why someone would want to detox, Katie says it best:
Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world – including ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems – detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to maintain optimum health.
Preliminary Info
Katie’s Cleanse and Detox diet is proprietary, so while I will not be able to share it meal-by-meal, I will discuss the important aspects of it for each week, along with the recommended dietary supplements. For those of you are serious about jump-starting a healthier nutritional intake, I highly, HIGHLY recommend contacting Katie for a consultation(480) 940-6299). She will give you the tools you need to work wonders for yourself. If you don’t live in Arizona, you can look for a Max Muscle Sports Nutrition shop local to you.
Dietary Supplements
“Envygreens helps with health and activity by aiding in the fight against free radicals. Free radicals bombard athletes as a bi-product of physical activity from the build-up of lactic acid and free radicals, physical stress, poor diet, processed foods, chemicals and even pollution. Envygreens also offers pH balancing benefits. Envygreens can help reduce acidity.”
“L-TOX is for adults to help sustain maximum liver detoxification and protective factors. L-TOX contains the 20 specific and highly concentrated herbs and nutraceuticals to modulate the two main detoxification enzyme systems in the liver, known as the Phase I and Phase II pathways. L-TOX also contains important liver antioxidants and nutrients to nourish the liver for optimal function.”
“Flax Oil is a pure, unfiltered and unrefined source of essential omega-3 fatty acids (and can) nutritionally support: Heart Health*, Cholesterol Levels , Already Within a Healthy Range*, Joint Mobility & Bone Density*, Energy & Endurance*, Blood Glucose Levels Already Within a Healthy Range*, Skin, Hair & Nail Health*”
“Max Cleanse & Lean not only improves your health, but also helps you loose excess weight fast! Max Cleanse & Lean offers you a solution to your digestive issues as well as a way to remove excess water and waste from your body. … Max Cleanse & Lean is formulated to prevent bloating, water retention and irregularity so you can show off the physique you work so hard to build.”
“Cleanse & Lean Advanced specifically addresses the areas of healthy elimination, appetite suppression, thermogenesis along with water loss using high quality ingredients supported by published scientific studies.”
Week One
Will there be restrictions? You bet your sweet, fit ass there will be! Katie’s C&D diet is designed to flush your body of toxins and nourish it with vitamins and minerals, and there’s no wiggle room in there for any the following:
Sugar, sugar substitutes (splenda, equal, sweet-n-low, sugar alcohols, high-fructose corn syrup,honey, molasses, maple syrup, sugar cane crystals, pure sugar cane juice, evaporated cane juice, maltodextrin, basically all products ending in “ose”), excess fat (especially trans from margarine and processed and fried foods), refined carbohydrates (white rice and products made white flour), gluten (found in wheat, barley, oats, spell, kamut), low-carb products, soy protein isolates (found in low-carb “energy” bars and soy protein powders; and processed soy foods like soy milk, soy cheese, soy ice cream, soy hot dogs, & soy burgers), alcohol, and caffeine (coffee, sodas, most teas & chocolate), mold, milk and cheese.
You’ll note that most of the items on that list should be consumed in moderation anyway, so cutting them out completely for one week isn’t going to be that big of a hardship (except maybe the cheese – who can live without cheese?!). And frankly, I’ve already been eating pretty healthy and not consuming a ton of these things, and I am finding that when I do, I just don’t feel all that great (bloated, etc…).
Week One focuses primarily on eating a lot of fruits (apples, pears, oranges) for their antioxidants, nutrients and fiber; leafy greens such as kale & spinach for my digestive tract and liver and raw vegetables.
Week One can last from 7-10 days, and I will be aiming for 7 (3/10-3/16).
Week Two
In week two (3/17-3/23) I will be coming off my detox and slowly re-incorporating certain foods such a quality carbs (brown rice, lentils, beans, quinoa, etc…), pork (should I so desire – I eat very little pork), and fats (olive oil, unsalted nuts, avocado). I should be getting some if not all of my energy back, and will hopefully have already seen an improvement in food cravings, decreased bloating, improved digestion and increased energy.
Week Three
In week three (3/24-3/30) I will incorporate most other foods back into my diet, while maintaining some of the healthy food habits I practiced in the previous weeks. Week three sees me re-incorporating carbs such as red & sweet potatoes, whole grain bread and pasta; as well as dairy (yay!), red meat and nut butters. This last week brings me back to a regular diet, though I suspect some of the effects of the detox will find me maintaining most of the healthy eating habits from the detox.
On 3/30 I will be going out to dinner at a local steakhouse to celebrate my anniversary, so the timing is perfect. With any luck, the previous weeks will have put me in a good place to wear the same dress I wore last year.
Part of my haul from Sprouts today in preparation for the Cleanse & Detox
Stay tuned for updates!
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