Today's meals: Coconut/mango/pineapple smoothie for breakfast; balsamic chicken and a mix of brown and wild rice for lunch; cucumber mint soup for dinner
It's day one, and I'm feeling excited. My morning smoothie was delicious and lunch was pretty good (although the recipe was ridiculously complicated; thankfully my mom was visiting and helped me make it the night before). Unfortunately, after already feeling pretty hungry most of the day, I developed a headache bordering on a migraine. I'm sincerely hoping this little hunger headache doesn't linger for the next three weeks.
Photo 6/15
Surviving the green juice
Today's meals: Apple/spinach/lemon/ginger juice for breakfast; balsamic chicken and a mix of brown and wild rice for lunch; green juice (apples, spinach, kale, celery, ginger) for dinner
I'm feeling much better today. My headache is almost gone and I slept well last night. I was nervous about my first "green juice," but thanks to the ginger it was quite tasty. It wasn't very filling though, so I totally caved and had some almonds and a couple brown rice crackers before lunch. Note to self: juices are not as filling as smoothies. For dinner I tried another version of the green juice. This one wasn't quite as tasty as this morning's (basically, it just tasted like celery), but it was tolerable. I'm pretty surprised that I'm able to drink the green juices; I thought that would be the biggest challenge of this diet.
Around 10 p.m. I was craving a snack, but I think that had less to do with being hungry and more to do with sitting on the couch and being bored. I'm definitely learning how much of what and when I eat has very little to do with being hungry.
Photo 7/15
Detox diet + BBQ = biggest willpower test ever
Today's meals: Almond butter/peaches/cardamom smoothie for breakfast; chicken "sandwich" for lunch; pineapple/mango smoothie for dinner
Today is our company's summer BBQ, which I'm both looking forward to and dreading. This will be the first time I'm really surrounded by yummy -- and off-limits -- food, so it's certainly a test to see how my will power holds up. Luckily I'm not the only one in my office on this kind of diet. I'm picturing the detox group huddled in a corner, far away from the potato chips and beer.
In the end, I survived the BBQ and I'm actually quite proud of myself. I steered clear of the table with all the chips and drinks and instead focused on socializing. And I actually had a great time. I was able to eat a grilled chicken breast (I used lettuce leaves to make a "burger") so I wasn't hungry. And, breaking news: This may have been the first time I've ever turned down a cupcake. My co-workers assured me they weren't that great, but I'm pretty positive they were lying. I left a little early since I was feeling hungry again and I wanted to head home for my evening smoothie. Further temptation: my sister is visiting and grabbed fast food for dinner, including mashed potatoes (my all-time favorite food). I managed to stay away from her plate, but today was probably the biggest will power test I've ever had. I'm amazed I survived.
Photo 8/15
Energy surge or just the jitters?
Today's meals: Blueberry/cacao smoothie for breakfast; hummus-coated baked chicken with spinach, pine nuts, oil, and vinegar for lunch; green smoothie for dinner
I woke up pretty hungry this morning; my smoothie last night wasn't very filling. I made my morning smoothie and felt better, although now I'm feeling kind of hyper/jittery. Not sure if it's the sugar from the berries and agave syrup in my smoothie, if I just need more food, or if this is the energy surge Junger talks about in his book, but I'm rolling with it.
I tried a green smoothie for dinner -- uh, not good. It was semi-sweet but mostly tasted like avocado. I managed to down the majority but still felt pretty hungry when my "dinner" was finished. And since I'm not allowed to snack until morning, I decide I won't be whipping up this smoothie again.
Photo 9/15
Does fainting mean it's working?
Today's meals: Raspberry/blueberry smoothie for breakfast; vegetable broth, black beans, and cilantro, mango/pineapple smoothie for lunch; turkey burger and sweet potato fries (oops)
I'm six days in and officially over this diet. This morning I woke up starving and dizzy and almost fainted as I walked to the bathroom. I stopped myself by laying on the bathroom floor (fun, right?) and managed to crawl back to bed. My husband made my morning smoothie for me since I didn't feel up to walking downstairs. TMI alert: I was also feeling really nauseous and couldn't keep my smoothie down. Still shaky and weak, I drank some water and sipped on some vegetable broth and felt a bit better. For lunch I made black beans because I was still starving, and I drank a smoothie too.
At dinner I went off the diet a bit with the fries and the bun on the turkey burger. There. I admitted it. But I was still super hungry and I'm not going to lie, it was delicious.
Junger weighs in on my dizzy spell: "If you feel weak or dizzy � you should pay closer attention. Weakness and dizziness are symptoms of adrenal exhaustion, as is low blood pressure. Your adrenal system may be exhausted, in which case, cleansing and detox are not the best approach. I tell people to stop cleansing when this happens and recharge with rest, adaptogens (such as licorice, ashwaghanda and rhodiola), restorative yoga, and continue the Clean Elimination diet. A good source of info for people with adrenal exhaustion is 'Revive,' by Frank Lipman MD."
I'm going to continue on with the cleanse, but eat more food than I have been. And if I deal with another bad bout of dizziness and nausea, buh-bye, green juices for dinner.
You know how you think things out loud, and don't really realize what you're saying until it's out there? Well that's how I got roped into this detox diet. At our last brainstorming meeting, I mused aloud that it would be interesting to follow real people as they attempted detox diets. Next thing I knew my editor was handing me the book "Clean" by Dr. Alejandro Junger and telling me to take my before photo. Um, what?
You see, I am not what you would consider a "healthy eater." To me, dieting is skipping the bacon on my cheeseburger. I literally eat chocolate every day. And I can count the number of fruits and vegetables I will willingly consume on one hand. Granted, these facts are probably why I could use a body detox -- but would I survive?
My husband thought not. In fact, he laughed when I told him what the "Clean" diet plan entails: A smoothie or green juice for breakfast, an uber-healthy lunch (from a list of approved ingredients, mostly lean protein, brown rice, and steamed veggies), and a green juice or soup for dinner. That's it. No extra treats, no chocolate, no French fries. He tried to be supportive, though admitted he was eager to see if I could forgo all the junk food stocked in our pantry.
But it's amazing how much of a motivator job security is, so I set off on this detox journey. I read "Clean" so I would know how to detox, packed my kitchen with more fresh food than it's ever seen, and fired up my new Jay Kordich PowerGrind Pro Juicer.
Wondering if I survived, if I actually managed to give up that chocolate, and how I looked and felt at the end of the three weeks? Read on.
