Detox Diet: A Healthy Way to Kick Off the New Year!

You've seen my New Year's resolutions and that one of them is to lose weight and eat more healthily. So, starting on Monday, I'm going to revisit a very successful detox meal plan that I practiced this summer. I put it together from several things I found online--trying to synthesize a variety of ideas into something that would not actually accomplish my goals, but also that was practical enough that I'd actually keep up with it. (No crazy diets of nothing but water, lemon juice and cayenne pepper for me!) It worked. I lost weight (and inches around the middle), had lots more energy, slept better, my skin was healthier...all good, good, good. Here are the details if you'd like to play along at home.

First, the disclaimer. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist and you should never go on a diet without checking with your medical professional first. That said, this one is really not crazy...just a jumpstart to a healthier lifestyle.

Overall Guidelines:
Here are things you should do throughout the program, regardless of which week you're in.

• Get moving. You should exercise regularly as a part of this plan. Gets your metabolism going and you can sweat out some of the bad stuff. No need to run marathons though. If walking for 15-20 minutes four or five times a week is all you can accomplish, more power to you.
• Drink lots of water. It not only makes you feel fuller, but helps to flush the toxins you're trying to get rid of out of your system.
• No alcohol. The longer you can stick with this the better. (However, I usually add wine back in about ten days into the program without ill effect.)
• You're going to be eating more than you think you can. Three meals (probably a little smaller than what you're used to) and at least four snacks. Here's the schedule I follow: Breakfast when I get up at 7:00 a.m. Snack at 10:00 a.m. Lunch at 11:30 a.m. Snack at 2:00 p.m. Snack at 5:00 p.m. Dinner at 7:30 p.m. Snack right before bed at 10:00 p.m. Adjust to fit your schedule, but don't skip snacks. You want your metabolism running high. Just means you'll need to plan ahead and have Zip-loc bags of healthy snacks on hand. (I'll have some tips for healthy snacks in a couple of days. Update: Here they are.)
• No caffeine or sugar. Although you can have green tea (as much as you want!) sweetened with honey.
• If you want to go "whole hog," use a cleansing kit that you can find at your health food or grocery store. The one I use is a three week program that includes fiber and a mild laxative, as well as milk thistle--which is supposed to stimulate your liver to work overtime.

Week One

First week is tough, but you should see dramatic results. I lost eight pounds of what I call "trash weight" when I did it last summer.

• The basic rule is fruits and vegetables only. (But no potatoes or corn--too high in carbs for the first week.)
• You can cook with with some olive oil and even a pat of butter (but don't go overboard).
• Your snacks should be healthy fruits and vegetables, and the over all ratio of fruits to vegtables should be no more than two to three. More veggies than fruit. You don't want to rely strictly on fruits..they're high in natural sugars. A So grab anything from carrot sticks to cherry tomatoes to an apple to dried plums. As I said above, I'll have a whole post on suggestions in a couple of days.
• You've got to have some protein in your diet, so I have a protein smoothie in the morning for breakfast and right before bed as my snack. But you can't make with dairy like milk or yogurt. Just throw some frozen or fresh fruit (banana, berries, peaches, whatever your favorites are) into a blender with some crushed ice. Add a scoop of whey protein powder (I buy mine at WalMart!) and whir until well-blended. Toast yourself and your new healthiness!

Warning: You'll feel like killing someone on Thursday. I joked that I would have tortured someone for a crouton. No worries; by Saturday, you'll feel fantastic and be craving nothing but more healthy food.

Here's foreshadowing of what you have to look forward to: In the second week, you'll add back in all the fish you want. Nuts. Healthy grains. And beans.

Third week welcomes back chicken and turkey. Eggs. And low-fat dairy. After that, you'll keep eating healthily. I have a great resource I'll share to keep you on track during your ongoing maintenance. But more on those next weeks later.

To prepare, hit the produce section of your grocery. Think creatively so you'll keep your taste buds satisfied. And keep visiting this blog for some great full-flavor vegetarian recipes that won't leave you feeling deprived at all.