Well, here it goes, my first blog and my second ever detox. Why? At the age of 36, I find myself married to a great guy, the proud full-time mother of a very energetic 2 and a half year old, own my own house, just started my own business and generally very happy. BUT...and it's a big but, I find myself with a bunch of health problems I shouldn't have. I am getting more sleep than I've had in nearly two years but I have no energy and aching muscles. I retain so much fluid that I actually weigh about 4 kilos more in the afternoon than I do in the morning. For the past 3 years I have had a hideous cough (I quit smoking over 6 years ago) that I can't get rid of and I am sure it is some kind of allergy. Last but certainly not least, I am, at 173cm and 109kgs about 35kilos heavier than my recommended BMI range would have me. Something has to be done.
I have always been the type who scoffs at the health-conscious, those jogging along the beach at 5am when I was just coming home from a night out, those who counted kilojoules, drank wheatgrass juice and weighed themselves constantly, so it seems crazy and a bit humbling that I should be resorting to such an extreme measure as a complete Detox. I love my coffee, chocolate, cheese, wine, bread and red meat, and have always held on to the theory that everything in moderation is fine. However, moderation is not really my strong point and after many years of really pounding my body with a regime of rich food, alcohol and little to no exercise, I feel at least 10 years older than I am.
It was a Chinese ultrasound technician who decided my course of action really, my husband and I taught English in China for our honeymoon and had to complete extensive medical testing for our work visas. We had MRI's, bood tests and a bunch of other fun before the liver ultrasound. I was joking around and found myself interrupted by a little old Chinese lady with narrowed eyes pointing at me accusingly and saying "You fatty liver!", my husband laughed, but only until she fixed him with the same stare and said "You fatty liver too!".
So, a liver-cleansing Detox it is. I researched some of the more popular diets available and decided on Joshi's Holistic Detox. He is lauded by an almost obscene number of celebrities, which is not normally something I'd be interested in, but I feel like I am a late-adopter and all of those other people have already tried and tested this plan, at far greater expense, before me with no ill effects.
There are no supplements, pills or potions to take, just the exclusion of most allergy and acid-causing foods for 3 weeks and then gradual re-introduction of certain foods to see if you have an adverse reaction to any group of foods, say, dairy products. I can't eat any of the goodies mentioned above, along with sugar, fruit (except bananas), dairy, certain vegetables and gluten.
Joshi's premise is that a number of our health problems in Western society are caused by a build up of acid and environmental toxins in the blood and the point of this detox is to rid yourself of these before starting a healthier way of eating for life. I am almost certain that I will be unable to sustain such habits on a long-term basis, but apparently most people who have completed the Detox say their palate has changed and they are uninterested in foods they once craved and enjoyed on a daily basis. I can't imagine not enjoying coffee, chocolate or cheese, but we'll just have to see...
So, here it goes, tomorrow is Day 1- I will post my experiences tomorrow night....
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