21 Pounds in 21 Days (22 page)

T
here is a story told in holistic circles about four women who attended a retreat to participate in a 21-day detox. Following the cleanse, they apparently were not told or did not “get” how important it was to come off their detox properly. Instead of gradually adding one food group at a time and avoiding foods laden with synthetic chemicals, they celebrated their success by going out for pizza and beer. Pizza is greasy and toxic with rancid, preservative-filled fats. Beer contains alcohol, which can be a poison or allergen, as well as toxic preservatives. All four of the women got sick. Two ended up in the hospital, one in anaphylactic shock, the most serious type of allergic reaction because it affects entire body systems including the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system. Three of the women recovered, but the one in shock lost her life.

That reaction is a severe response to an extreme case. But I've had clients tell me they have experienced lesser reactions such as itching, scratchy throat, belching, nausea, and vomiting when they ate toxic foods too soon after a detox. You will experience reactions such as these only if you ignore the rules for breaking your detox.

Twenty-one days into the detox, you look and feel younger. Your body is lighter and more energetic. You feel better in your body. The cells in your body will be cleaner, lighter, and more open than they have been in many years. As long as you feed it healthy food, you will continue to look and feel vital and energetic.
But now that your body is clean, though it may have withstood processed and junk foods before you detoxed, it will no longer tolerate them afterwards. Every time you ingest toxic substances you will experience a noticeable physical reaction. Depending on how toxic the food is, your reaction may range from merely losing energy or feeling sleepy to burping or getting gassy or bloated, to itching or developing a rash, to getting a headache, to developing mild indigestion, to even becoming sick to your stomach. Returning to toxic eating habits will also cause you to gain weight, particularly if you do so immediately upon ending the detox, when your cells are clean and wide open. These reactions are a gift from your body, which now has the opportunity to teach you what foods it does or does not want to eat. My clients are shocked to discover just how poorly they had been treating themselves all along without knowing it. The fact that your body will react to toxic foods will make transitioning to a healthy diet much easier.

Awakening Your Digestive System

Whether you engage in a 21-day, 7-day, or weekend detox, it's very important to come off of your plan in a very specific manner that protects you from reintroducing too many toxins to your body too quickly, prevents you from regaining the weight you just lost, and helps you transition into eating habits that are healthier than you had before detoxing. Exactly how you break your fast depends upon the length of your detox. During this time you will awaken your digestive system gently by slowly adding all the food groups back into your diet, starting with a protein powder supplement and ending with animal protein. Protein plays an essential role in the body, from making enzymes to supporting the immune system. So you're going to get protein; just not in the form of meat. If you're a 21-day detoxer, I want you to drink one protein shake daily. Any flavor you want to drink is fine. If you detox for 7 days or a weekend, it is less important to resume protein immediately. Follow the instructions below for breaking those fasts. During this transitional period it will be important to eat modest amounts of
food and not overeat. I'd like you to eat more slowly than you may be used to, taking the time to enjoy your food. I recommend chewing each bite a hundred times rather than scarfing it down, as we so often do because we spend so much time eating on the run. Also, pay attention to any reactions you may experience, such as indigestion, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or itchy skin, after eating certain foods, as you may uncover food intolerances or allergies you did not know you had.

Warning:
DO NOT consume any alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, cigarettes, or any other highly toxic substances for 11 days, if you do the 21-day detox; 4 days if you do the 7-day detox; or 1 day if you detox for 2 days. (The rule of thumb is: avoid noxious substances for half the number of days you detoxed.) You could land yourself in the hospital if you do not follow these rules. Here is a safe, day-by-day approach to breaking your fast.

Breaking the 21-day Detox

Day 1

Continue consuming your juice, cleansing soups, broth, and all of your supplements. By now, you may be craving protein. Add one protein shake today. For lunch, eat a very small cup of raw vegetable salad or cooked vegetable with no dressing, oil, or vinegar.

Day 2

Continue eating the foods and supplements you ate on Day 1. You may also eat a small cup of fruit as long as you eat it two hours away from meals.

Day 3

Repeat Day 2, adding one serving of a whole-grain cereal like oatmeal, whole wheat, or brown rice.

Day 4

Repeat Day 3, adding an essential fatty acid liquid or flaxseed oil. For example, try one teaspoon of flaxseed oil or an essential fatty acid liquid or capsules with a salad, vegetable dish, or a protein drink.

Day 5

Repeat Day 4, adding other proteins such as eggs, soy, nuts, legumes, and beans (pinto beans, black-eyed peas, and/or kidney beans).

Day 6

You may now add three to four ounces of boiled, broiled, or baked fish and chicken to your diet. Try not to consume animal protein more then three times per week. Continue to drink protein smoothies or rice-and-bean dishes on the days that you are not consuming meat.

Day 7

If you wish, you may add red meat to the list of foods you ate on Day 6.

After breaking your fast by completing Day 7, you now transition into your maintenance diet, a wholesome diet that is ideally synthetic-chemical free but at least should contain far fewer toxins than you were eating in the past. You will continue to lose weight while on the maintenance program. Follow these maintenance principles:

• Cook and serve foods in healthy ways.
  
• Continue drinking plenty of water, drinking your supplements, and using enzymes.
  
• Take one enzyme with each chewing meal to assist with digestion.
  
• Consume one protein shake on days you are not consuming animal products.
  
• Eat one serving of non-fat organic yogurt with live cultures to add friendly bacteria to your system.
  
• As you transition back into your life, make a point of engaging in at least one weekly detox treatment, such as getting a colonic or massage, brushing your skin, or taking a detox bath, to continue to rid your body of new toxins.
  

Days 8–11 Are Examples of Maintenance Days

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Breaking the 7-day Detox

When breaking a weeklong fast, follow these instructions:

Day 1

Continue consuming your juice, cleansing soups, broth and all of your supplements. You may also eat a small cup of fruit, as long as you eat it two hours away from meals. For lunch, eat a very small cup of raw vegetable salad or cooked vegetable with no dressing, oil, or vinegar.

Day 2

Continue eating the foods and supplements you ate on Day 1, adding one serving of a whole-grain cereal like oatmeal, whole wheat, or brown rice.

Day 3

Repeat Day 2, adding an essential fatty acid liquid or flaxseed oil. For example, add one teaspoon of flaxseed oil or an essential fatty acid liquid to a salad or vegetable dish. Today, you can also add protein to your diet in the form of protein powder. For example, try making a protein smoothie, adding flaxseed oil or an essential fatty acid liquid to it.

Day 4

Repeat Day 3, adding other proteins such as eggs, soy, nuts, legumes and beans. You may now add 3–4 ounces of boiled, broiled, or baked fish and chicken to your diet. I recommend selecting organic. You may add red meat the next day if you wish.

Breaking the 2-day Detox

When breaking a weekend fast, follow these instructions:

Day 1

Continue consuming your juice, cleansing soups, broth, and all of your supplements. You must be careful today to eat only healthy foods without chemicals and toxins. I recommend that you chew well, stay hydrated, and move your bowels daily. Tomorrow, you may begin the maintenance program below. I suggest following it until you detox again.

 

Whether you are breaking the 21-day, 7-day, or 2-day detox, it is important that you continue drinking six to eight ounces of water between meals, totaling forty-eight to sixty-four ounces daily.

What Should I Eat Now? The Maintenance Program

Now that you've invested in losing weight and cleaning up your body, doesn't it make sense to keep it healthy? Who wants to go back to living in a body that was heavy and felt lousy? Instead, why not use this opportunity to build upon the good habits and feelings you've developed over the past three weeks, using the detox as the catalyst to help you create a healthier, lighter-weight lifestyle? I recommend that you keep exercising daily, using the maintenance menus from Days 8 through 11 as examples of healthy eating, and follow these healthy-eating guidelines and schedule repeated detox. Now that you've completed one, it will be easier to do another. I suggest that you engage in one 21-day detox once a year, a 7-day cleanup each calendar season, or a weekend detox each week.

Eat More

• Eat a balanced diet containing nutrients from each food group—protein, fruit, vegetables, grains, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, following the food-combining concepts below.
  
• Focus on eating natural foods since the body recognizes and metabolizes them more easily, helping you avoid digestive discomforts and maintain your lighter weight.
  
• Eat as many whole foods in their natural state as possible; for example, unprocessed brown or wild rice instead of white; old-fashioned, instead of instant or flavored, oatmeal; whole-grain cereal instead of processed or presweetened; fresh fruit and vegetables instead of juice drinks or fruit roll-ups.
  
• One-half to three-fourths of your diet should be comprised of living foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, where the enzymes are alive.
  
• Consume maximum nutritional supplements in small doses. Examples: green drinks, antioxidant berry drink, and protein shakes.