post christmas detox: step four – DETOX

I was going to do a video about this, but honestly? I feel like shit. If you saw me typing, every second word would be an error and I can barely string a sentence together. Therefore my clients are dealing with the brunt of my detox considering I keep getting elbows and knees confused. Not good!

I haven’t done a proper detox in about 2 years… Long time hey! I have done some where I juiced and ate super clean for 3 or so days and then reverted back to eating crap. Not really a detox considering I started off toxic and 3 days later am filling my body with the garbage that I started with to make me toxic in the first place. So really, only one success detox that happened to be a juice fast but then it was also only 3 days, this time I am doing it for 14. This time I wanted to try something a little different that incorporate eating as well as juicing as I know I would be able to stick to it a little better and still get to eat my raw chocolate too.

The thing is though detox can be dangerous. Especially if you are on medication that affects your diet choices and have a lot of digestive issues. There is a little bit more to it than juicing some greens and drinking them.

I am lucky enough to be doing this under the guidance of my Naturopath at Inspirational Health. We started last Friday with Hemaview to see how my cells were looking. As you know I had already started dramatically cleaning up my diet and although I wasn’t detoxing, I was limiting the amount of toxic substances that I put into my body. Also with my Naturopath we were required to take three supplements to aid the detox and help us expel all of the crap that was built up in our system.

My last detox was a juice fast which contains minimal fibre, I didn’t realise to fully detox the body you have to still consume this fibre to help get rid of the toxins that lay dormant in the body, basically you need to poop. I can’t really remember if I pooped back then, heck it was 2010? Who can remember even what happened last week. But without going into too much detail, I feel like now every day I am losing a kilo mass by going to the bathroom. Great huh!

The amazing samples Joanne from shopnaturally.com.au sent me when she found out I wanted to change to a more natural skin care brand. I am LOVING La Mav, and that brand is part of the fully certified organic skin care range.

An organic grocery shopping consisting of a Vegan detox lunch, stuff for juicing and a salad for work.

As well as changing my diet choices and adding supplements, I have also completely changed what I am doing in terms of being conscious of chemicals with the everyday products I use. Point form for all of this stuff is always easier, so I am going to list below, in short, exactly what I am doing. Like I said, I really recommend a PROPER detox under the guidance of a Naturopath. I’m one of those people who wants their Liver to be cleaner than Ethan Hawke’s body in Gattaca. So I have clearly taken this to the next step. I am going to list exactly what I am doing, following it by what I think you should do if you don’t have access to a Naturopath

Me today before morning cardio. I look a tad vague but that’s okay, it doesn’t take a whole lot of brain power to put on my running gear and get on the treadmill. 

1. Water:
2 litres no exceptions. Headache usually means not enough water consumption so bottoms up baby. Water with lemon first thing in the morning and this is when I take my probiotic. You would be easily able to do this at home. I recommend though steering clear of plastic drink bottles due to the research coming out from all the chemicals that plastic leaches. Use a good quality water filter too.

2. Supplements:
I am taking a protein based supplement, a green supplement filled with natural goodness like Spirulina and other superfoods and a probiotic for a happy healthy gut! You can only get these through a Naturopath, so there is no point listing what I am taking. Superfood powders can be purchased from any natural store. I keep some Barley Grass at work and when I’m feeling sluggish, I often chuck a teaspoon of this into some water. Go to your natural foods store and see what they can recommend. Everyone should be on a probiotic. If you live in Australia and watch TV, you will see adds for Inner Health Plus which is a probiotic. When your gut health is good, your whole system will work better. It’s a must for me and other people with food sensitivities as it can make your reaction less severe.

3. Focus on the food going in:
Rather than focussing on what you can’t eat, focus on what you can. Crowd out the crap with a rainbow of fresh produce to aid your detox. Raw food is best for nutrients but if you have some cooked food that’s fine, I have had some cooked pumpkin already. Juicing makes it easy to get in lots of vegetables easily so if you have access to a juicer ensure you have at least one daily.

4. Temporarily cut out:
I have gone to the next level and have cut dairy and most grains out of my diet. In the detox I am doing we are allowed to have things like quinoa and rice, only one serve but for me it can sometimes make me feel a little sluggish. I am having a lentil patty each day though which still keeps my tummy rather happy. If you haven’t already, avoid stuff that makes you feel like crap. Refined sugar? Cut that crap!

5. Sleep:
I won’t reiterate everything you’ve been told before but make sure you get 8 hours shut eye. Especially going to bed before 12 too. If you are able to and can sleep in sometimes this is nice. I indulged and woke up at 8am today. It was delightful.

6. Move:
Exercise a little everyday. But you already know you should be doing that right! Sweating helps to eliminate the toxins. I like getting into the habit of exercising and sweating it out. Dry body brushing the dead cells off and following it by a nice detox bath.

7. Be conscious of other toxins:
I’m so proud of myself! Every night I have been having a bath with homemade bathsalts (made by a client mind you!) filled with Himalayan sea salts, epsom salts, macadamia oil and aromatherapy. It makes me skin feel so nice and delicious. I have also had a temporary break from Clarins and am trying La Mav which is completely natural and organic. My skin LOVES it! I’ve thrown out all of my chemical laden deodorants and am using a natural one I purchased a while back. No microwaving and no plastics either!

8. Relax:
Avoid things that stress you out and take measures in order to manage stress. This can be in the way of just stopping and focussing on your breath, meditation and focussing on what you are grateful for.

Things I am making a conscious effort to have in my diet on a daily basis has been almond milk, coconut water, chia seeds, raw cacao, any coconut product (coconut oil too), kale, citrus and nuts. I try to eat organic food where I can. This is an extremely condensed list but easily manageable if you make a conscious effort to want to change your health. I have really come to realise that we are blessed with one body and that I was lucky enough to have one that’s already healthy. I want to keep it that way!