8 Week Cleansing Diet Starts Tomorrow.

AngelaHerself

I just blogged this but wanted to post it here too to see what other perspectives people have, experiences, etc. I am starting a cleanse to help solve some of the digestive malaise I have had for a while. The last two weeks it's gotten bad and I've been reading and talking to friends who have had similar situations. (I was laid up on the couch a whole day last week. Not good.)

The MyFitnessPal calories counts still apply, but I'll be doing this healing diet. I would like to do it for eight weeks.

Miso and a probiotics supplement are the chief supplements, along with a fish oil supplement and flax oil.I am also doing 1,000 mg of a calcium citrate/D/mag mix.

Okay, here's the menu...

Morning (first thing when I wake up)

* Water w/lemon
* Probiotic Supplement
* Fish Oil Caps

Morning (15-30 minutes later)

Smoothie with:

* Blueberries
* Flax Oil
* Spinach
* Almond Milk
* Plant Fusion Protein Powder with Enzymes (No dairy or soy. Rice protein)
* Caffix

Mid Day (As needed, no specific time)

* Raw Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts + Fruit
* Raw vegetables OR salad with olive oil
* Miso Soup
* Ginger tea

Evening (After work)

* Salad with flax/lemon dressing
* Legumes or fish (steamed)
* Miso soup
* Barley, quinoa or brown rice

Later Evening

* Rice cereal
* Almond Milk
* Ginger tea

I am supposed to cut coffee too. Uh, yeah. I don't know if I can do that. We'll see. I wil probably have to let myself off the hook on that one if I get too bad of a headache. If coffee is hurting my stomach I suppose this might help me realize it.I could try Caffix instead.

The Avoids

Dairy, grains with gluten, meat, shellfish, processed food (including soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), high sodium condiments, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, soda, artificial sweetner (except for stevia).

I would love to hear perspectives on this plan and other experiences, ideas and solutions. Thanks! ~ Angie

stringcheeze

My only suggestion would be to track your sodium while you're doing this. Depending on how much and the type of miso you use, your sodium counts could be up there (180mg for 1 tsp for white miso...I think its more the darker miso you get). The rest looks like it'll be okay, nutrition wise (most of those foods are pretty nutrition dense).

KimSchnizleinWECHANGED

I've considered doing this before, but I'm currently unemployed and so can't buy everything I would need to accomplish the goal. It doesn't sound too bad, but with your background I might have some concern over the weight loss that might occur, and the desire to keep it off. Eight weeks is a bit long to do this kind of thing continually, but it can depend, somewhat, on the individual. My biggest concern would be as to whether you have talked to a doctor or nutritionist about starting this, and the length of time that you plan to continue the cleanse. If you decide to do the cleanse without the advice of a doctor or nutritionist I would be very attuned to what your body is telling you. Back off if you need to .... You can always do it again in a few weeks.

AngelaHerself

I will definitely watch the sodium in the miso. It's supposed to help because of the live and active cultures, but I can see how one can go overboard with it. I do feel this is pretty sound - and I am not a dairy or red meat person anyway - so I think I can stick it out. My only concern is the cravings and some of the emotional use of food. I will take it easy and just continue to count calories if I fall off track. But I won't plan to fall off track. Also, the grain at dinner and later in the evening can be increased if I get too hungry.

Thanks for your comments, both of you!

kateschneider

I've been doing probiotic supplements for several months now and have found them to be very helpful. A word of warning: you may notice over the first few days some weird effects that might seem like they are doing the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing (if you catch my drift). Stick it out... it takes your insides close to a week to adjust to the new levels of good bacteria. My intestines were a bit pissy with me for a few days, but they calmed down and were quite happy there when all was said and done.

Another tip: if you use Culturelle, they have a $3 coupon on their website all the time. It's the "send to a friend" coupon. The friend can be yourself, and there's no limit to how often you can send it. Probiotics are great, but are also WAY overpriced.

AngelaHerself

Thanks for the tip, Kate! Yeah, I was quite astounded at the prices. I'll check out Culturelle.