Detoxctober

Summer has been eventful. There may have been some or a lot of vacation and playing with friends. This may mean eating some less than healthy foods and drinking alcohol. Now that the weather is changing and life is settling down it maybe time to get back on track. For me it's time, hence, Detoxctober. I have done a detox a couple times before consisting of purely whole plants and this is what I've learned and shared with others who have wanted to try this detox;

The purpose of a Detox is to control your tummy. It will fight you. But once you win(which you will) you will be able to decide if you want to eat healthy. The pros of eating healthy:

1. You feel great mentally and physically

2. You gain peace of mind that you are being proactive to keep yourself from a sick bed.

3. You will get closer to your correct body weight. This will make you look hot.

4. It's really good for the environment....which, whatever.

5. You will likely try new foods and enjoy them, and this will impress your friends.


The Pros of Eating Unhealthy

1. It tastes really good sometimes!

2. You can be normal and eat what a lot of other people eat.

3. You don't have to stop and consider what you put in your mouth.

4. Ordering out is a snap!

I do both eat healthy and unhealthy, but the ratio needs to be on point(try to keep it at least 85/15)!

Detox is a strict(99/1 or 100%) 4 weeks of eating healthy. As your body flushes out the junk it also craves it so your tongue will want those foods. The first two weeks can be quite difficult and will be the most challenging. This is almost a promise. There however are 3 things to keep in mind:

1. It will get easier and your taste buds will adjust and stop craving the bad and start loving the good.

2. EAT A LOT OF GOOD FOOD ALL THE TIME!! DO NOT LET YOURSELF GO HUNGRY. If you don't it'll make everything harder. This is where you addiction(most people have it) to sugar comes in. When you get hungry you will inevitably crave sugar. Don't give in. Just eat something healthy and give yourself like 10minutes (to raise you blood sugar with the complex carb).

3. I forget. It was probably really important too.


Ok now that you have most of what to expect I will tell you the detox guidelines. I will explain them and you will still have questions. Use the "Comments" if you have questions or email me!


The NOs

They sound simple and easy but it's not, until you start thinking in the DO's mind set.

Meat
Dairy
Any animal products
Refined foods
Drugs (caffeine and alcohol)


The YESs

Whole Plants!
More Whole Plants!
Lots of Whole Plants!

This includes fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes. Basically you should stay in the produce isle for 80% of your shopping. The other 19% will probably be grains nuts and seeds and 1% natural unrefined sugars.


NOs Explained

1.Meat you may be familiar with so I'll let that go.

2.Dairy; Eggs, Milk, Cheese, Yogurt.
2.1 Other foods that come from animal; Things like gelatin, whey, lactose...

3.Refined Sugar; You will find it's in a lot of packaged foods, a lot; High Fructose Corn Syrup, Fructose, Sugar, Brown Sugar. The exception is fruit juices and evaporated cane juice, agave, and Molasses, but even these things don't go crazy with.

4.Refined Grains; Big clue it's refined the word "enriched". It basically means they have stripped the grain of 20 some nutrients and put back in or "enriched" it with 4 or so. But it may also just read as flour or wheat flour. What you look for is 100% whole grain(wheat, millet, or brown rice). When it comes to rice stick only to brown rice.

5.Other refined or processed foods; Although they maybe vegan I try to stay away from the fake meats. Things like fake cheese or imitation meats. Any food where you don't recognize the ingredients. (some meatless patties are good if their ingredients are simple plants like lentils or grains or a mash of veggies).


YESs Explained

I really mean it. Its way better to think in can eat terms. This can make it actually fun!
For meal ideas I will refer you to my food blog; http://www.foodinyourfood.blogspot.com/

Some ideas for breakfast are:

-BP(no sugar) on toast(whole grain) is great. I like to add sliced bananas and maybe honey (on toast).

-Oatmeal. Get dry oats and add your own sweeteners(fruit, honey, maple syrup, aside from fruit go light on them) Old fashioned oats are the ones you are used to but steel cut are better for you and in my opinion tastier. They just take a while to cook so I cook a lot at once, add all the sweeteners and keep it in the fridge and reheat in the morning the portion that I want. This actually makes them really quick.

-Left overs!(my favorite)

-Fruit smoothies(with added protein)

-Plant Protein shakes.


Snacks
-Raw fruits and veggies! As much as you want. It really helps to grab a bunch and wash and cut them up all on one day and keep them in the fridge and take a bunch to work to snack on as you go. Some raw veggies that work include; bell peppers(orange and yellow are my favorite), cucumber, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower.


-Cooked veggies. This is what has become of me. In between meals sometimes I'll just steam some veggies and eat them with salt pep and lemon(spinach of swiss chard). Whatever.


-Nuts. You can eat a lot of these because it'll be one of few places you get fat from, but remember they are packed with it. I really think it's important to go raw with nuts as often as possible. They are not usually salted so that's a bummer but roasted nuts means the oil in them is cooked and I'm not sure how hot but if it's over 300 degrees it makes the oil carcinogenic. Over cooked oil is not good. You could mix them in, raw and roasted/salted, I suppose to make the transition or use that for after you work out(salt, calories and protein!)


-Less often snacks because they are partially processed; Chips and salsa, Hummus and WW pita or veggies. whole grain chip cracker things you might find at whole foods or some place like that.Whole grain.


More pointers

Plan ahead so you don't go hungry

Buy or grow organic as much as you can(define 'can' however you like)
Important things to get organic: Berries, apples, potatoes(anything grown in the ground), Corn(and corn products) Soy(and soy product).

Make sure with veggies and fruits that you wash them pretty well, take the time, even if they are organic.

Chew your food. Really. slow down. really. It'll help with gas and bowel movements. SLOW DOWN.

You will have more gas and or bowel movements. Maybe an alarming amount but it's not "bad" it's just your body adjusting. Bowel movements could likely attribute to 10 of 15lbs of weight loss in the first week. Honestly. I don't know how you eat now but if you are normal you'll lose more weight then you would first expect. A "normal" diet of meat and dairy without a ton of fiber makes shit sit in your gut. Two things that can help gas besides chewing food and eating slowly is charcoal(in a pill, go to whole foods) and pro biotic, some kind of combo with acidophilus and Bifido(again at whole foods) and psyllium(trader joes). But you don't need need those, it will just help if you feel too uncomfortable.

The foods you will end up eating will basically burn themselves. You will have so much energy! You probably should cool it down on the work outs if you do them and build them back up if you feel comfortable. If you do work out have a plant protein shake ready to make after(rice or hemp, skip the soy) and it's a perfect time to eat fresh fruits, drink lemon water, or make a fruit smoothy to get your electrolytes back in shape the right way(suck it G2).

THe one Vitamin that you cannot get from plants(any longer) is B-12. You may want to pick up a supplement of it.

Eat a variety foods, try new foods. Sometimes instead of PB get Sunflower butter or almond. In the same vein get different kinds of nuts too; Almond, cashew, walnut, Brazil(trader joes has the best prices). Try different fruits and veggies, it's ok they wont hurt. It is important to switch it up. I mean everyone has favorites that they tend toward and eat more just don't totally get stuck there.

Ok this is a LOT of info. Let me know what your questions are. I'm ready.