May 19-June 1, 2019 - Whole Body Cleanse
For the last year, specifically the last nine months, I've been focusing on my health - both inside and out. I've lost over 25 pounds, decreased a lot of stress and am just happier overall (perhaps turning 40 was just the motivator I needed!) Even with the weight loss, I'm still feeling a bit sluggish/foggy brained sometimes though. Not sure if it's just chalked up to aging or if my body just needs to finish shedding toxins. So, I decided to give a complete body cleanse a try. I've heard good things, and after researching a few, I ended up just picking one from Whole Foods that had good reviews.
I could have chosen a 3-day, 7-day or 2-week plan. Something told me the 3-day one would either hit me hard and fast, or it wouldn't do anything. And I figured why just stop at 7 days when I can do a full two weeks? Might as well do this right. If this works, maybe I'll stick with a 7-day cleanse in 6 months.
So, here's what the box says about the whole body cleanse: "Every minute of every day your body is cleansing itself to minimize the effects of toxins. Along with stress, inflammation and external substances that we inhale, ingest or absorb, simply "being" creates toxins that need to be eliminated. The human body naturally works to keep itself in tip top shape. Various metabolic processes work to cleanse the body of impurities, many that are the result of normal, healthy metabolism. The liver, kidneys and digestive system work together to keep your body running right. Support their natural function with an occasional cleanse."
Within the kit is "a proprietary fiber blend to support the body's natural cleansing functions", "herbs traditionally used for liver support, including milk thistle", and "an herbal regularity formula with herbs traditionally used for gastrointestinal support." So, basically, just some fiber and laxatives wrapped up with a pretty bow?
While doing the cleanse, I really just need to drink a crap ton of water (I already do that), eat a healthy diet (already do that too), limit caffeine and alcohol (I don't drink caffeine, and rarely drink booze anymore) and avoid intense exercise (hmmm, this one will be hard for me). It says I will soon find myself feeling lighter, cleaner and more focused.
Week 1 - 4 fiber capsules in the morning and 4 at night, 3 herbal regularity tablets at night, and 1 milk thistle liver cleanse capsule at night. Yes, that's EIGHT pills before bed.
Week 2 - 4 fiber capsules in the morning and 4 at night, 2 herbal regularity tablets at night, and 1 milk thistle liver cleanse capsule in the morning and two at night.
Day 1 (Sunday) - Initial thoughts: Damn, this is a lot of pills. 4 in the morning, and EIGHT at night. I drink a pretty hefty amount of water, but after downing those four pills and a boat load of water this morning, I feel like I'm swimming around a bit. No real thoughts for the rest of the day, but I waited wayyyyy too late to polish off the night pills. Eight freaking pills, three of which should have their own gravitational pull, they're so big. So, not only is my belly full of water, but all of these added pills gave me the worst indigestion now. I'm going to have to try taking these earlier in the evening and spread out a bit more, because of course, with that much liquid so late, I had to pee in the middle of the night.
Day 2 (Monday) - Didn't really notice any significant changes, though I wouldn't expect any with only a day of the detox so far. I was pretty tired from my interrupted sleep last night. So, one of the biggest benefits of this detox is better/more regular BMs, but I'm prrreettttty sure ya'll don't want to hear about those every day. So I'll just say, mission accomplished. I did my normal workout routine today, but I think I'm going to skip it for the next week. For my evening regimen, I spread out the pills for a few hours before bed instead of all at once. Still didn't help, because I was once again up to pee around midnight. :(
Day 3 (Tuesday) - Felt fine all day until after lunch. I had a work lunch and didn't have control over the restaurant. It wasn't super unhealthy, but it was definitely not my normal veggies/protein/minimum carbs menu. I felt like total crap afterwards. Not sure if it was strictly due to the food or if my symptoms were exacerbated by the detox help. Either way, my tum tum was feeling pretty dumb dumb all afternoon. Once again spread out my evening pills a few hours before bed, but I'm seeing a trend. Looks like I'm going to have the night pees for 2 weeks.
Day 4 (Wednesday) - Nothing really different for today. Good BMs? Check. Up to pee at night? Check. I did miss out on my normal intense workout, not because of this detox, but because of some work-related things. I've been doing some running/walking, but it's probably a good thing I missed my usual hardcore stuff.
Day 5 (Thursday) - On the struggle bus today. Not only did I have to get up in the middle of the night again (despite trying to finish the pills earlier in the evening), a storm blew through and woke me up around 3am. Sadly, I never really fell back asleep, so I'm pretty dang exhausted today. If this detox is supposed to give me more energy, it's doing a crap job.
Day 6 (Friday) - Went to bed a bit earlier last night, but I'm totally spent today. I just want to take a nap under my desk at work.
Day 7 (Saturday) - Finally got some decent sleep last night and am feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Went for a hike this morning (which made me a bit nervous since I drank all that water for breakfast, plus I've been having some pretty regular BMs), but no major crises happened. Whew!! Had a decent amount of energy though, despite coming off of a few days of bad sleep.
Day 8 (Sunday) - Started the new pill regimen of 4 fiber capsules in the morning and 4 at night, 2 herbal regularity tablets at night, and 1 milk thistle liver cleanse capsule in the morning and two at night. Feeling pretty good today, but not sure if it's because of the detox or the fact that I'm getting more sleep. Thank goodness for the weekend!! I did completely forget to take my pills tonight though, and remembered at 10pm when I got ready for bed. So, I pounded 8 pills and a bottle of water before bed. Terrible. Idea. I had the worst indigestion and it took me awhile to fall asleep. Thankfully, I don't have to work tomorrow.
Day 9 (Monday) - Woke up today to my lowest weight since I started my weight loss journey last fall. Woo!! It's not a significant decrease or anything, but it's nice to continue to lose. I had sort of plateaued recently, and while I'm not using this detox as a weight loss tool, it's nice to know I'm not gaining anything. It could just be less inflammation and bloating too. Also didn't do my training session today due to it being the holiday. Went for a run and cut the grass instead.
Day 10 (Tuesday) - Another new low for my weight! It was a full pound less than yesterday. I realize that's not normal (or probably healthy) to lose a whole pound in a day, but 1) I ate my normal amount of calories yesterday, 2) Went for a run and did yard work, but nothing too strenuous, 3) I drank a ton of water. So, I'm guessing that after 9 days, this detox is doing it's job. Like I said before, I didn't buy this for weight loss, I did it to rid my body of extra toxins, bloating and inflammation. The added weight loss is just a bonus, and to be honest, it'll probably go back up tomorrow. Which is okay too.
Day 11 (Wednesday) - So, the weight didn't come back, but stayed low like yesterday. I'm getting used to the 5 pill mornings and 8 pill evenings, though I'm still not enjoying the late night rendezvous with my toilet. I also skipped my intense workout that I normally do. While I hated missing those heavy lifting days, I adhered to the box's instructions and stayed away from the super intense workouts.
Day 12 (Thursday) - Another few ounces lost. I can't say that I'm necessarily feeling lighter or more focused, like the box says, but my mood has improved. That could also be because I've had a great week. Between scoring a phenomenal contract at work (my first big one on my own), booking my big 40th birthday trip (EEEEEEE!!! Details coming soon), and hitting a total 30 pound weight loss, I'm on cloud nine. I doubt the detox has anything to do with that, but it may have helped?
Day 13 (Friday) - Nothing really new, just holding steady at or near my new weight. Feeling good, and ready to head in to the weekend!
Day 14 (Saturday) - Went for a run this morning and felt great. Ran for longer than I have in a really long time, didn't feel especially winded, and just felt strong the whole time. Perhaps it's because of the cleanse? Or perhaps just a combination of diet, exercise and the cleanse. Whatever the cause, it felt amazing to have a good run. And those of you that know me know I've never liked running, so this is really saying something.
Next Day (Sunday) - I totally meant to weigh myself the first day after the detox was complete and I totally forgot. :( I was really hoping to see what the total weight loss was after the two week cleanse, thought it might not have been great this morning given I splurged at my friend's wedding last night.
Overall Thoughts: Good BMs. I need to figure out my daily fiber intake because even though I'm eating fiberous foods, it's clearly not enough. This detox has been great to better regularity. (Sorry, TMI.) I didn't notice much in the way of results that first week, so I'm not sure a 7 day detox will work next time around. Or perhaps it will since I've already done this one. All I know is that the loss of sleep due to night time pee pee time probably cancels out the energy I'm supposed to get by doing the detox.
I'm glad I tried it, but I can't say I feel any big huge differences. It's only been a day though, so maybe the positive effects will continue to build over time.
