Doing something new is often more difficult than we realize. When we change our habits, at first, it takes a lot of time and planning. Having done the Spring Detox numerous times, I have a planned schedule, which I’ll share with you to make it easier.
Step One: Pick a start date, I suggest your next day off, so that you can devote some time to yourself.
The day before you start: Go shopping, here’s a “sort of” list;
- Seasonings: Dill, Mint, tarragon, red pepper flakes, jalapeno, cayenne, ginger, parsley, thyme, lemon, and lime juice, apple cider vinegar, Braggs liquid aminos, Spike.
- Lemons
- Essential Fatty Acid Oil Blend or Flaxseed Oil (caution – taste’s weird)
- Lean Protein (choose); Skinless Chicken Breast, Lamb, Bison, Lean Beef, Wild Caught Fish, Egg Whites, Whey Protein Powder, Albumin or Egg Protein Powder, if you are Vegan or would like a completely vegetarian option, click here for a balanced Vegetable Protein Powder and a good explanation for why I don’t recommend Soy or Hemp. The quality of the protein you consume will make a huge difference in your results on this cleanse. Your body needs high quality protein to cleanse while it builds and repairs.
- Fruits: For most sedentary lifestyles, 2 pieces of fruit per day. Choose juicy fruits that are seasonally available, that you love. Your taste buds have a lot of wisdom.
- Vegetables: Anything you love (without butter), the more colorful the better. Check out World’s Healthiest Foods website for ideas. Garlic and onions are great detox foods, full of liver supporting sulfurs. Interestingly, they are taken out of many yogic cleansing diets because they nourish the reproductive organs…. I wonder what that is about!
- Supplies for the Cleansing Tonic of your choice
- A natural fiber supplement
- Herbal Teas
- A liver support formula and/or tea
- I like sparkling water, so I stock up on it.
- Caffeine: if you haven’t weaned yourself off of caffeine, buy organic coffee or tea and limit yourself to one serving per day
- Alcohol: If you regularly drink alcohol and feel that you will be craving it during the cleanse, the herb Kudzu will help alleviate your symptoms during the cleanse.
Daily Schedule (first 3 days – or more):
On Rising: Squeeze ½ lemon into warm water. Add cayenne pepper, if you can tolerate it. This drink will alkalize your system and help your kidneys to flush out any impurities.
AM Cleanser Choose One:
For reducing puffiness, “cellulite”, and constipation: Lymphatic & Colon cleanser: Mix 8 oz water with 2 oz of unsweetened cranberry or pomegranate juice and 1 tsp. green-food supplement to the drink. You may want to add a natural fiber supplement.
For general malaise, low energy and undoing a few hundred sins or ridding your system of recent drug use: Liver&Gallbladder cleanser: Into 6-8 ounces of orange juice add on tablespoon of fresh olive oil and one garlic clove – blend well. Each subsequent day add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and an additional garlic clove.
Meals: Eat a meal every 2.5-4 hours dictated by your own hunger, starting after the AM Elixir and Special Cleanse. Each meal will consist of: 3-5 ounces of Lean Protein, fresh vegetables and fruits. If you eat your first meal at 7am you should aim to eat your last meal approximately 12 hours later at 7pm. Leave time to digest your food before bed, you’ll sleep better and allow your body to do the heavy work of detoxifying and healing more efficiently during your sleep.
Beverages: Choose herbal tea blends that taste good to you, along with a liver detoxification blend. There is an excellent tasting Peach Liver Detox formula from Yogi Teas, you can usually find it at health food stores. I also like Sleepytime, Mint and Good Earth tea.
Stay hydrated: Visualize a red blood cell, it should be rounded out, capable of caring lots of oxygen to the cells in your body. All detoxification essentially occurs at this level, the cells dump oxygen and take away toxins. Dehydrated blood cells look flat, they cannot work as efficiently… along with a lot of other systems in your body. When you sip water throughout the day, your whole system can work optimally to heal, restore and detoxify.
Breathe!! Once again, healing and detoxification happen when oxygen exchange occurs – walk, run, laugh, do yoga. During the restricted part of this cleanse, take it somewhat easy – you won’t have a lot of energy, but don’t stop completely – your body evolved to move!
Meal Examples:
Veggie Scramble: One whole egg, 3 egg whites, chopped fresh cilantro and tomatoes.
Ground Turkey Mix: Chopped Jalapenos, spinach, chopped green onions and garlic sautéed in chicken broth.
Arugula Salad: Mix Arugula, chopped green onions, tomatoes and avocado with freshly grilled fish. Season with Lemon Juice or Apple Cider vinegar and your efa oil blend.
Smoothie: Mix protein powder with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and 1 cup of fresh berries and a teaspoon of flax seed. Blend well.
Lean Bison with steamed artichokes and green beans. Season with Spike, lemon and EFA oil.
Special Notes:
Limit seasonings to the following: Dill, Mint, tarragon, red pepper flakes, jalapeno, ginger, parsley, thyme, lemon, and lime juice, apple cider vinegar, braggs liquid aminos, spike.
To avoid: This phase cleanse is restrictive but very effective. You’ll avoid caffeine, dairy, wheat , high sodium seasonings, anything not expressly on the list.
Flax seed oil tastes nasty to many people and goes off very quickly – after about 2 weeks, it will have a slight aftertaste. Udo’s blend tastes better and is a very well formulated blend, if you can find it – mostly at health food stores. Buy this fresh, from a refrigerated case and use it up.
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