Detox….What??!!!!

Seriously??!!! NEVER thought I would EVER do an all-liquid detox!!!

What would compel a person to desire to throw a bunch of fruit and vegetables in a blender and then drink it? Especially if you are a “foodie” like me!! I love the smell of a grilled steak and love pretty much ANYTHING with cheese!!!

Well…..I will tell you what would make a person do this…………It’s called desperation!!!!

!

The lunch shake…..that was quite a challenge

I have been so frustrated about the endless cycle I seem to have been on…..I don’t have the energy to work out so I’m feeling achy and lethargic……. and because I’m not working out, I’m not losing weight……and because I’m depressed about not losing weight…I’m eating. ACCCCCCCKKKKKK!

Why do I have to love food? Why do I HAVE to live near soooo many great restaurants!!!!! Why do I have a Pinterest account full of delicious, and yummy recipes??!!!

At this point, I have two options:

1.) Suck it up and do something about it

or

2) live the lie that I’m too busy; will always be overweight and should just be happy and eat what I want

But….let’s not forget….I’m desperate…….

So…..it was very motivating when this little “pin” found it’s way into my Pinterest home page.

After almost dismissing it because of the word “detox”, I found myself gazing over the shopping list and realizing that I could eat this stuff…… (click on the actual image for a printable copy)

I could do this!…..maybe?????

3 Days???!!!

I could totally do three days.

The first day I would live off the excitement of something new, the second day I would hate life, and the third day I would feel AWESOME that I did it.

And here on day 3, writing this blog after my last drink….I’m pretty proud of myself.

To give you a little “back story”…I’m no health nut. In fact, I can’t tell you how excited I get about a rack of bbq ribs or a fatty ribeye steak. (sorry….hunger pangs). I’m such a “foodie”….all my social gatherings focus around food. I’m always talking about the newest “great dish” that I either made or tried. I could order three appetizers and forget dessert all together.  I love food. Don’t get me started on  those women who can eat whatever they want and not see it on their body. Clearly we aren’t wearing the same size jeans or genes…haha.  As I am growing older…..these foods tend to linger longer than I want them to and I want to live longer and give healthy habits to my kids.

The hubs and I are trying to eat healthier in the house, so we can enjoy cheating when we go out.  I mean…I’ll give up my fatty ribeye if I can have it occasionally when I go out. =) Additionally, I have just recently joined the ” I throw some spinach in my smoothie group”. So….relax if this is all new to you. This will be like talking with an old friend…I’m going to keep it real.

So…here are my tips to get through this detox:

• make a decision to do it and stick with it…..constantly remind yourself it’s just 3 days!!!
• weigh yourself on the morning of the first day, so you can weigh yourself the 2nd and 3rd day, and see your weight loss  (I was not PREPARED to lose 6 lbs!!! It was fanastic!!!)
• make up a list of things to do when you are bored and want to eat
• be prepared to go to bed early…..when those food cravings hit late at night….go to bed!
• prep as much of your fruit/veggies as possible ahead of time
• the lunch drink is pretty bad and the pure amount is equal to two full glasses. It is your biggest drink of the day. I found some reviews that recommended knocking the celery down to 3 stalks, and uping the pineapple to 1 1/4 cups. This really helped me.
• the breakfast shake is fantastic. Repeat that drink for your snack.
• space your drinks out…I did breakfast around 8, lunch around 1, snack around 4, and dinner around 7.
• water, water, water…it’s a detox so drink plenty of water….
• don’t cheat…not even “a taste”…..it will send you spiraling...(you know I’m right)
• don’t set yourself up for failure…..no dinner plans, coffee dates, etc. during those three days.
• prepare yourself for headaches, especially if you love caffeine…..you are detoxing!!!!
• enjoy the epsom salt bath….it felt great
• to be honest, I didn’t have the coconut oil or lavender oil and I still lost weight and gained energy. ( i don’t recommend skipping those but I wanted to start the detox and wasn’t waiting to hit the health food store)
• have some good support: tell a friend, family member, etc.  that will be there to encourage you.

This detox reminded me that I can push myself and excel! I really wasn’t sure if I could do this, especially when I walked in to my babysitter making brownies!!!! But I did……

So…back to why?? why do a detox?????

A few years ago, the hubs and I lost alot of weight using the South Beach diet. We felt great and it really worked for us. However, I was not motivated enough to give up my yummy food yet. The thought of moving to a lean protein, high vegetable diet right away was overwhelming. I figured that if I could “jumpstart” my weight loss with a detox, that it would provide the motivation I needed. And…did it ever. I’m starting Phase 1 of the South Beach diet tomorrow and I’m just thrilled to be eating food!!!

With that in mind, here are some “pitfalls” I realized that I fall into, maybe you can totally “relate”:

• I snack all day
• I am use to eating what my kids don’t finish
• when you are hungry, everything looks good
• you can drink a lot of calories- more than you realize
• often times, I don’t eat breakfast til 10am when I have fed the kids and cleaned up
• when I’m emotional, I eat….
• when I’m bored, I eat….

Continue to check in on me as I am working on my weight loss journey this year, it’s bound to be a fun and bumpy ride!

God Bless,

Tammi