Detox day 5, 6 & 7!!

I finally finished my detox successfully!!!! *Pat* on the back for myself. I am impressed with myself that I reached the last day without cheating...VERY impressive!! =D So here's how my final days of detoxing turned out...

Day 5, had a 8oz piece of steak for lunch (wasn't satisfying at all and reminded me why I don't eat red meat), then for dinner I had some roasted chicken meat and broiled fish with tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. That was pretty satisfying except that I got full really fast, almost wasn't able to have a bowl of the soup but my instructions said make sure to have at least one bowl of soup this day, so I had a small one. Felt very stuffed, but I can tell my eating habits has already started to change.

Day 6, I can have as much meat and veggies as I want. Even as much as 3 pieces of steak!! There was no way I could've went for another piece of steak so I had broiled chicken and steamed fish this day with lots of leafy greens. It was a good day! Didn't feel like a deprived child, I was a happy camper! Only thing I noticed about this day was, I started craving sweets a little and I was really thirsty. Another thing noted in the instructions is that my digestive system wouldn't be regular and they were very right. I was allowed to have bran or fiber, but I didn't.

Day 7, stuff, stuff, stuff myself with brown rice, veggies, and unsweetened juice. Very weird to say, but the brown rice was more satisfying than the meat! I felt full but not sluggish and my digestive system started working again, yay!! =) I had some watermelon juice with no sugar added and that was very nice to quench my thirst while also satisfying my sweet craving. This was a good day, felt good, and very proud of myself!!

Results: I feel much healthier, a lot more energy, body feels lighter (and actually lost 5lbs!!), and acquired a new perspective towards food. I realized how my body feels according to what I eat and how most processed foods out there are either too sweet or too salty. My skin (something that I didn't mention much during this entire time) was definitely detoxing with my body. As I always say, our skin is a mirror to our health, all the clogging from the holiday festivities and food started surfacing so it wasn't pretty, but now it is in the healing process. Now most important question that is probably on everybody's mind, will I gain back those 5lbs after going back to regular food? I am trying to be more conscientious with what I eat, so we'll have to see! I hope to do this once a month...that'll be my next challenge.

I'll give you and update on my weight and skin soon, so see you next time on my journey to beautiful skin!

Detox day 3 & 4

Day 3, I've gotta say was the worst! Cravings, Cravings, Cravings!! To the point where I started smelling food while I was on the phone with one of my friends...she thought I was going crazy! This is also the day where you start to get a little bored with the soup, so I had to add a bit of hot sauce (which is allowed). They allow you to add salt, pepper, curry, cilantro, boullion, or hot sauce to the soup. To make it worst, my friends asked me to go grab dessert!! Luckily they were kind enough to choose Chinese dessert so I was able to just pick out the fruit, but what they were eating and the smell of the eggettes (waffle like dessert) was killing me! But I was half way there, so NO falling off track!! Even from all the sabotage! I'm supposed to feel 5-7lbs lighter on this day...I weighed in about 4lbs lighter! I'm also supposed to have more energy...let's see how tomorrow goes!

Day 4: Bananas and Skim Milk along with the soup. As much as 3 bananas and as much milk or water as you want. This day is necessary to curb the sweet cravings. I substituted unsweetened organic soy milk for the skim milk since I am a bit lactose intolerant. My gosh can I say...I am forever going to this solution when I have a sweet tooth! It was sooo satisfying and I seriously was not even that hungry throughout the entire day. One bowl of soup in the morning and night, 3 bananas, and several cups of soy milk and I called it a night! Definitely felt like I had a lot more energy...hope this continues to tomorrow!

Day 5: FINALLY!!! I can have meat!!! Between 10-20oz. of beef and a can of tomatoes or up to 6 raw tomatoes. Meat can be substituted by chicken with no skin or broiled fish, but I will need all the protein on this day. I don't usually eat red meat...but I might have a bit of steak for the protein, we'll see!

Thanks for following and see if I can complete this detox on my journey to beautiful skin!

Detox day 2

Day 2, was not that bad! Wasn't as hungry as I was on day 1 and barely had an urge to drink the soup. Which is probably the reason they noted to make sure to drink the soup at least once. I found a new appreciation for raw uncooked veggies, most are much sweeter and tastier than what it seemed. I had carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, arugula, mushrooms, avocado, broccoli, green and red bell peppers, canned artichoke, and beets. As you can see, I like variety. The best part was the baked potato with butter that you can reward yourself with at dinner time. I'm not a huge fan of potato, but it was very satisfying!

Day 3: As much fruits, veggies, and soup as I want. No baked potato. So far it's getting a bit tough, started to crave...but this is when I put my will power to the test! The weird thing is..I'm craving for sweets, when I'm totally a savory person. That's probably why I get to eat bananas tomorrow, it says that it will help curb my sweets craving. Isn't it weird that they know how your body reacts? We'll see how the rest of today goes...at least I'm half way thru the day!

See you tomorrow on my journey to beautiful skin!

Detox!!!

Holidays are always the time of the year when we let ourselves go a bit...until you realize all of your jeans are fitting a bit tight and you can't stop talking about how horrible your skin looks. Yes...it's that time of the year when we over indulge on just a little more fried turkey, one more bite of cake, and maybe...half more glass of champagne. So now that it's over and we look at ourselves in the mirror while setting those gut wrenching new year's resolutions, we have a choice to forget everything all together and just continue on with life like nothing ever happened OR you dive into making the first change eyes closed, jaw clenched, and nose up!

Well after many years of pretending like nothing happened (just because something called youth allowed me to) this year my body gave me a reality check in oh so subtle but super noticeable ways...such as, taking almost the entire week to recover from just one night of living my so called "youth" or seeing that extra bite of cake hang over my jeans like it never did before or that quarter inch wrinkle that one day decided to make my forehead it's resting spot! I know...I know...many of you are probably thinking "what is she talking about!?! she's still a baby!!" BUT you have to admit, the most noticeable changes happen between late 20's into early 30's. Not only do we mature mentally, but there really is a shift in our hormones once the big 30 comes along...I'm sure scientifically, everybody is different. But I think I've worked with enough clients from all different walks of life to make this statement, that our body just isn't the same anymore as we approach 30...do you agree?

So to start being healthier this year, I've decided to start my first week of 2010 by doing a detox. We've always heard about numerous different ones, healthy/unhealthy, total cleansing/fad diets, whatever people can take it as. I know myself well and I know I love food too much to go on any liquid detoxes, or apple detox, etc. so I decided to do one that my mom had given me a while ago. Her friend's doctor had given it to her friend and my mom saw great results from it so she decided to pass it along to me. When I firs saw it, I was thinking...not another crazy fad diet that probably won't work...but as I read the directions, I realized it wasn't too bad at all. You don't starve yourself in any way and every day of the detox changes so you don't get bored and fall off the band wagon. It's a 7-day detox, absolutely no alcohol is allowed only water, unsweetened tea, cranberry juice, and skim milk allowed. The main recipe is a cabbage soup that includes tomatoes, green onion, celery, and green bell pepper (it doesn't taste bad at all!) The soup can be eaten whenever and however much you like, it says the more you eat the more you lose. I am currently on my second day and will document each day as I go...wish me luck!!

First day: Only fruits! All the fruits I want (except bananas) and as much soup as I want.
I gotta say...the first day is usually the hardest! Since I was only eating fruits and the soup, it was a lot of liquids. I had to use the bathroom a lot and each time I did, I got hungry again!! But I made it through...

Second day: Only raw vegetables and the soup. No corn, dry beans, and peas. No fruits. I can have one baked potato with butter for dinner tonight. Just the beginning the day and munching on carrot sticks while doing this blog, I will update you on how it went tomorrow!

I'll see you tomorrow on my journey to beautiful skin!