There's even joy in cleansing
Photo: Lel4nd

Challenges: Monotony of diet, occasional lethargy.

Beneficial results: Improved senses of taste and smell, radiant skin, relief from chronic hip pain, stronger singing voice, cleared sinuses. Lost two pounds in the third week, for a total of nine pounds during the three-week cleanse.

Adherence to the Diet: Complete

That’s a Wrap!

Week three of my 21-day cleanse has come to a joyful close. I am guilty of several outbursts of happy dancing, a nine-pound weight loss and a significant improvement in the stress to relaxation ratio; but no glitches in following the diet. It’s the first time I’ve achieved complete adherence, after four tries!

Yeah, there was the accidental banana bread ingestion, but my intention remained consistent. I’ve renewed my commitment to eat mindfully, choose quality over convenience, and prepare food with love, creativity and enthusiasm. For however long it lasts, it’s an improvement.

In review, here’s what I did: I eliminated caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and all other non-prescription drugs, processed food, dairy products, all forms of sugar, all grains except brown rice, potatoes & tomatoes, shellfish and chocolate for three weeks. Each day I ate up to two 4-oz portions of lean organic beef, poultry or contaminant-free fish, unlimited fresh organic vegetables, unlimited fresh organic fruit (keeping the fruit/veggie ratio to 1:2), one serving of organic brown rice or quinoa, and one or two organic free-range eggs. Two protein shakes and two doses of fiber drink rounded out the program.

Some amount of exercise each day helps the cleanse move and clear toxins, but vigorous exercise is not recommended. I played hockey during my last cleanse, and ended up with a bad electrolyte imbalance. This time I walked and did Qigong, with only two trips to the gym for my regular workout & sauna. With the elimination diet next week, I’ll start running again.

The Report

By the time week three began, I have to admit I was bored with the cleansing regimen. The breathing exercises, oil massage and skin brushing were producing some great results, but the dietary monotony was wearing on me.

Photo: thedabble

I lost some of my original enthusiasm over food planning and preparation. You can only do so many things with rice, and in the end, it’s still rice! So I made large portions of everything and ate a lot of leftovers, which worked fine.

The wonder food (dare I say “comfort food?”) of the week was Brussels sprouts. Who knew?

Even better than the tasty oven roasting technique is this recipe from The New Best Recipe cookbook:

Combine one pound small Brussels sprouts – stems trimmed and discolored leaves removed – with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ cup water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer eight to ten minutes. Drain and serve.

Delicious! No bitter taste, tender, yummy and nutritious. Add a touch of olive oil, and soak in the brilliance that is you. One of these days I will try the recipe for braising them in cream…yum.

What worked well: putting a raw egg into the blender with my morning protein shake—this gave the shake enough umph to keep me going through the morning without eating anything else until lunchtime.

What didn’t work so well: Caffeine’s last stand! My doctor ok’d drinking a cup or two of green tea per day during the cleanse, but even that small amount of caffeine disrupted my sleep (yep, even drinking it at 9 a.m.) and ramped up my heart rate in the afternoon, leaving me slightly anxious and shaky. The lesson: pay attention to things that don’t work well for you, even if your doctor or another expert says it should be fine.

During a trip to the gym I felt disappointingly lethargic. I’ve been doing ok with low-key exercise like walking or Qigong; but running, abs and light weightlifting made for a long haul. I’ve lost the energy boost I had in weeks one and two. I’m not sure why – my protein intake has remained high with two servings of meat each day in addition to protein shakes and eggs.

I continue to wonder how much of my cleansing process is due to my dietary changes & support practices, and how much is due to the cleansing elements in the protein shake I’m drinking twice each day. Could I do a cleanse without the shake mix? Would it have any beneficial effect? The elimination diet may address that question.

In previous cleanses, I’ve always taken at least one herbal supplement. This time my doctor wanted me to use only the shake, with no supplements, since I cleanse relatively easily. I’m beginning to figure out that the cleanse process for me is not so much about getting rid of toxins or garbage that’s been in me for a long time, as it is to simply quit eating things that are hard on my body; quit piling on the junk. I seem to move things out pretty quickly, once I stop piling them in.

The Elimination Diet

Now that my cleanse is over, I’m beginning a 28-day elimination diet. I first read about this diet over a year ago. It sounded like a great – if nearly impossible – way to get a better handle on what foods trigger adverse reactions in my body.

Dealing w/ food allergies can help enviro allergies
Photo: brookenovak

I’ve never had severe allergic reactions to food, but I’ve lived with a good share of stomach growls, rosacea, bloating, and other medical problems that now look to be food related. Having gone through the transition to eating gluten-free last summer, the elimination diet doesn’t seem so impossible anymore. It seems like a great idea.

My chief concern is that I won’t be eating any meat for a long period of time – a month or more. I crave meat often, especially red meat; but my Ayurveda practitioner advised a reduction in my meat consumption, cutting out red meat altogether. So maybe it will be a surprisingly great thing. I just don’t want to rehash the weak, anemic person I was during my two years of vegetarianism in my early twenties. Of course, my idea of vegetarianism back then meant I only ate french fries & soda pop from my favorite fast food joint – no burgers. Not the ideal attempt! So there is hope.

The elimination diet begins with two days of drinking green smoothies only, made with kale, spinach, ginger, pear and apple. I was originally going to purchase a Vita-Mixfor the occasion, but have since decided to wait and see how my current blender does. When putting greens into a shake, texture can be an issue. Spinach is the best I’ve found in both texture and taste categories. But keep this in perspective – I like Brussels sprouts.

Days three through ten return to a diet similar to what I ate with the cleanse, minus the meat, citrus, bananas and eggs, all of which are eliminated at first as possible allergens. Lemons and limes are added in day eleven, then wheat-free tamari. The idea is to eat the test food three times a day for three days and watch for a large assortment of sensitivity reactions, including nausea, fatigue, congestion, headaches, muscle aches, skin rashes and irritability.

The idea is that you won’t have any of these symptoms regularly by the time you reach day ten. If they arise, it will be obvious. If no adverse reaction occurs after three days, move on to add in the next food.

I can’t say I’m super excited about being tested like a guinea pig, with the possibility of getting sick every three days. But I am very excited about getting more information on how all these foods affect me. It will help me make good eating decisions every day in the future, and ward off sensitivity reactions.

The effort is truly worth it, once you realize how good it feels, at any age and in any stage of health, to eat food that works well with your body. Feeling is believing!

On the Agenda for Next Week: I’ll report in next Tuesday, after week one of the elimination diet, then finish the 28-day plan and write the last article in this series with a summary of results. In the meanwhile, may your choices be easy and your stomach aches few.

View the first three installments of Kendra’s spring cleansing process in Special Detox Series: Spring Cleansing in Action, Special Detox Series: Moving and Shaking through Week One, and Special Detox Series: Sacred Rituals of Eating and Cleansing.

Disclaimer: Kendra Mellinger is not a healthcare professional, and therefore does not prescribe or recommend any treatment for disease or health concerns. Any cleansing program should only be done under the supervision of an experienced healthcare practitioner.