Preparing for the Detox…

Why?

Good question…  why do I want to detox? I am hoping a week or so of giving up all nasties from my diet will continue to motivate me towards a healthier future. I’ve read conflicting articles to suggest either the liver and kidneys are super efficient organs which don’t need detoxing or others which strongly recommend regular strict detoxing plans with weird drinks and things to ‘clear and refresh your gut’.

As with many health ideas there is never any conclusive evidence of what is right and what is wrong however if nothing else, surely giving up alcohol and adopting a super healthy diet for a week must be a positive thing?

When?

Hmmm… another good question… I can’t start today, 1st January as I’ve already had two coffees (which are probably to be avoided). And you do need to think about and plan these things to ensure you have the necessary food in stock. You also need to consider how to manage your social life during the detox week… We have a shopping delivery tomorrow night so maybe 3rd January would be a good day?

Which one?

Following a recommendation from a work colleague before Christmas, this morning I eagerly downloaded the 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet book by Michael Mosley. Essentially this is a very low 800 calorie diet for 8 weeks which claims to reverse the negative effects of a high sugar western diet and lower one’s blood sugar levels. Apparently there is evidence to suggest that surviving on 800 calories a day is now a health benefit! I had previously understood this to be a damaging way to lose weight but the book says that as long as you follow some basic rules about eating more protein and less carbs, you will burn fat…

However after scrolling through and reviewing some of the recipes, I don’t think I can follow the suggested menu plans… firstly, they contain food items I don’t tend to eat (red meat being one) and secondly I would need a huge shopping order for all of the different ingredients and would either end up throwing most of it away or eating the same thing for 3 days running (and thus not being able to follow the different recipes for each day).

On balance with the suggestion by many that detoxing doesn’t make any difference and given I don’t want this to be all too time and life consuming I have decided to try a combination of both this diet and Juliette’s Weight Loss Resources 7 day detox plan.

I am hoping the combination of the low carb/800 calorie blood sugar plan with some of the sensible ideas of Juliettes plan will result in a healthy start to 2018. (And hopefully an additional couple of lb’s being shed this week…)

Personalised detox

So… here is my one week detox plan:

Allowed

• Lots of vegetables and salads of any kind
• Home made soups
• Low sugar fruit (blueberries, raspberries etc)
• Smoothies (small ones)
• Oily fish (tuna, salmon etc)
• Quorn
• Free range chicken
• Free range eggs
• Beans and lentils (kidney beans, chick peas etc)
• Unprocessed natural oats
• Unsalted nuts
• Dark chocolate (small amounts)
• Natural yogurt
• Occasional small amounts of wholewheat pasta
• Herbal or fruit teas
• Water

Banned

• No alcohol, coffee or tea update: will permit myself two coffees a day!
• No sugary drinks
• No processed food
• No high sugar or dried fruit (bananas, raisins etc)
• No breadcrumbed or battered food
• No pastries, cakes, biscuits or sweets
• No bread, white rice or white pasta

Organic where possible and with an attempted limit of 800 1150 calories a day… (800 is just too low for me…)