Today's meals: Green juice for breakfast; vegan energy bar for a snack; millet risotto with chicken for lunch; carrot ginger soup for dinner
My weight is it's lowest yet and I'm pretty low on energy today. I was starving this morning so I had a vegan energy bar with my green juice for a little pick-me-up. It seemed to help, but I was still starving again by lunchtime. I can't really say I feel a whole lot better than normal -- but I also don't feel any worse than I usually do. And I am learning that I can survive on a lot less food than I thought I needed; I'm just not sure I want to.
For dinner, I tried a different recipe from the book -- carrot ginger soup -- and wow, is it awful. It has apple cider vinegar in it and the whole soup just tastes like that; so gross. I manage to salvage it by cooking it for a lot longer than what's suggested (to cook out the vinegar taste) and adding a ton of salt, pepper, and garlic. The end result is pretty good, but nowhere near the book's recipe.
Photo 14/15
Last day -- hooray!
Today's meals: Green juice for breakfast; grilled chicken, brown rice, and spinach for lunch; mango smoothie for dinner
Last day! I'm so excited this little detox experiment is almost over. I keep daydreaming about what "normal" food I'm going to eat first tomorrow. I cheated a bit last night with a glass of wine (my first in three weeks), but it was my high school reunion -- you didn't expect me to stay totally sober, did you? I do have to admit it was nice to go to my reunion basically weighing what I did in high school; I don't think I've been this light (91.8 pounds) since then.
Since it's my last day (and to make up for last night's wine), I tried not to cheat at all. And I've got more energy than I've had in weeks. Tomorrow morning I get the results of my follow-up skin analysis. I can't wait to see if I improved.
Photo 15/15
Post-detox thoughts
OK, I know you're dying to find out how I changed over these three weeks, so here are a few stats:
Total weight loss: 6 pounds
Skin improvements: Wrinkles improved by 22 percent, texture by 14 percent, and pore size by 11 percent. My sun damage and brown spots basically stayed the same (bummer). But my internal hydration (basically how hydrated my cells are) went up by a point. That may sound like nothing, but Cahitas assured me this was remarkable in only three weeks. My sense of self (based on an emotional wellbeing survey they took) also went up a point. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how this whole detox turned out and I think it will motivate me to keep up with the healthy eating -- although it didn't stop me from grabbing a burrito for lunch. And my, how that burrito tasted delicious.
Junger also shared a few tips to keep my post-detox glow going: "The main aspect of maintaining the benefits has to do with how you eat after the program. When you reintroduce foods in the right way, one at a time and correctly spaced in time, you can discover which foods you should stay away from permanently, and which ones you should consume less frequently."
Now that I've had a few post-detox meals, I'm realizing that fried foods do a number on my stomach (imagine that). I'm definitely going to keep these to a minimum and add more juices and fresh fruit and veggies to my diet. It's funny, I'm about three days post-cleanse and I'm actually craving a green juice -- did not see that coming -- but I think it's a good sign that I'll be making some permanent diet changes. I'm also feeling really motivated to work out and take care of my skin; I want to keep this momentum going. Heck, maybe I'll end up looking better at my 20-year reunion than I did at my 10th. A girl can dream, right?
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.
