Body Detoxification
To begin a solid fitness journey I always say you have to start with a clean palette. I like to work on my diet first before I work my way into the gym in order to give my body the essential nutrients to build from. Some people like to calorie count, some prefer to portion size food, try a fad diet, or detox. Personally I like to count calories and portion my food, but recently I decided to switch it up and try a detox. A liquid cleanse to be exact. I decided to go this route due to my recent unhealthy eating habits. I have gained a few pounds from over eating, fast food, and having a sedentary lifestyle. So I wanted to completely clean out my system and start from scratch. By participating in a liquid or juice cleanse you will practice discipline, support the immune system, detoxify the body and will experience some weight loss. I chose to begin with a three day liquid cleanse since this was my first experience with detoxing. I also wanted to bring you along for the journey in case you were inquiring about doing something similar to start your fitness journey.
DAY ONE was not the worse but it definitely wasn’t the best. I started off in a rush to my first day of microbiology which began at 8 o clock, so I was late per usual. I squeezed in enough time to grab a green machine and berry machine Naked juice for breakfast and lunch. I also had a herbal detox tea for a in between meal which all turned out to taste bomb! I taught an hour High Intensity Interval Training formatted class later in the evening which included with my day helped me burn 1717 calories and I took 8323 steps. My light daily goal is 6000 steps so I was happy to achieve this goal. I’ve stepped more in the past but considering the start of my sluggish day along with my first day of not eating solid food, I let it slide. By 9 pm, I was gulping down water! It made a major difference in calming the storm by filling me up because I was seriously hungry. Soon the end of the day came and I decided to make a smoothie at home for dinner.
For the smoothie, I incorporated a mango, banana, strawberries, spinach, a squeeze of honey, milk, chia seeds and a few ice cubes.
It was thick, delicious and I loved it! I was craving something that would stick and this smoothie definitely did the job. Plus having to drive home while passing Taco Bell, Whataburger, and Golden Chick was torture. There was so much temptation to eat ONE lays chip for satisfaction as I was making my smoothie, but I powered through and stayed strong with help from my support system to keep going!
DAY TWO of three was surprisingly pretty smooth at this point. Between the two days I did frequently use the restroom but I didn’t go enough to complain or alter my day. I usually had to use the restroom the most towards the end of the day and early morning. This day I started off with a coconut milk tea with tapioca bubbles to act as a treat. I absolutely love milk teas because they are so filling! Mostly due to the tapioca itself but it wasn’t a big deal for me to have as a small cheat. The milk tea pretty much satisfied me throughout the morning to mid afternoon. I like to savor my food and drinks so I typically dine tremendously slow, hence why it took so long for me to finish that one milk tea from earlier in the morning. The main point of this cleanse is mostly to detox my body instead of losing weight so I made sure to keep a herbal detox tea with me. It was my next drink choice followed by my previously homemade fruit and green smoothie. Surprisingly, that filled me until about 9 pm. I only felt hungry maybe once throughout the day but the temptation to stop and grab something was definitely still there. Especially when your house always smells like a delectable home cooked meal, but I continued to persevere though the journey! At this point, my body adjusted pretty well to the cleanse. I still had more than half of my Naked red machine juice to put something on my stomach throughout the night in case I did get a little hungry. I also didn’t have a full work out this day so I didn’t expend as many calories, hence why I didn’t feel empty and had left over juice. I did manage to walk for about 20 minutes but that wasn’t enough to change my appetite compared to my typical workout days like the day before. For this day I burned 1586 calories and took 8554 steps as well.
The final day, DAY THREE! By far the smoothest day since I was now moving through the motions of the cleanse and adjusted pretty well. My schedule began super early at 6 am so I went ahead and blended a berry smoothie the night before. I wanted to have something thick to last me throughout my microbiology lecture and lab.
The smoothie was made with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, some spinach and of course a squeeze of honey and dab of milk.
I loved the taste but next time I’ll leave out the blackberry because the result transpired into too many seeds. Great for the concept of chewing but were more of a small hassle than anything. I’d rather utilize chia seeds to accommodate for that feature, but all in all it had a great taste and it satisfied me. I drank that throughout the day then followed up with a green machine juice from Naked and a herbal detox tea. Those two went by quite quickly since they were delightful plus I knew I would work out some time later so I needed to have something on my stomach. During my workout, I taught a targeted buns, guns, and core class. This was about an hour of strengthening and toning which was a great time to check myself out, but I was definitely hungry after. I burned a good amount of calories alongside 135 minutes of that day’s activity. My phone wasn’t linked to me enough to accurately track my steps for the day, but my overall productivity was all fun and games! I also waited until I got home to finish up with a smoothie after resisting the temptation to stop and eat something along the way home.
Instead I made a carrot, mango, banana, and tomato smoothie to end my cleanse. Of course I had to incorporate a squeeze of honey, some milk and ice. Amazing if I must say!
Overall, I feel as though this liquid detox cleanse was extremely helpful in detoxing my body and placing it on a clean slate to a healthier lifestyle. Three days was very realistic to lead myself down the road of success! Honestly I could of went on longer to about four or five days since my body adjusted so well after day two. That will actually be my next goal of five days but I wouldn’t suggest anything past a week personally. I stuck with homemade smoothies, Naked juice blends, milk teas, herbal teas, and old fashion water.
The first day was hard but two and three gave me an abundance of energy! I was more focused during school work and able to multitask more efficiently at work. Absolutely great benefits! Once a month I generally become bloated a couple of days before and the week of my menstrual cycle. This detox actually helped with keeping that to a minimum since I was frequently in the restroom which aided in keeping the water retention down. Loved that in itself!
With my detox I also lost 4 lbs in 3 days. This is crazy being that a healthy weight loss is 1 to 2lbs per week. In that case, I do recommend only doing this for a short period of time especially if you are considering working out during this journey like myself. You need the balance of calories from food to sustain the expended calories during activity. Everyone is different when it come to the amount we expend. My metabolism is fairly moderate so it’s easy for me to lose and gain weight. I do see myself gaining at least 2lbs of that weight back realistically but that is not a big deal since weight loss wasn’t my primary goal in the first place. I will also be more conscience of my eating habits as this detox placed me in a position to continue down a path of healthier habits. The days after my detox I chose to ease back into food by eating more veggies and fruits. I wanted to shy away from the red meats, fast food, and alcohol until I knew my body could truly handle it. Once I knew my body was fine to proceed, I introduced it to those types foods in moderation and listened to what my body liked and didn’t like so much. I plan on continuing this type of detox every so often to cleanse my system after unhealthy habits. This worked for me to kick start my fitness journey and it could work for you too! If you decide to try it, let me know how it went for you and feel free to try some of the homemade smoothies I mentioned above.
