Detox questions

Kate_UK

I've read posts about people doing detox to help kick start weight loss. I'm down to my last few lbs and struggling to keep the scale moving so I wondered if a detox might help. Gven that its only for a short time does eating very little damage the body at all? Does it work? What detox's have you tried? How did you get on?

SHBoss1673

they help if you want to lose water weight, that's about it. Here's a pretty good article I found on it, not to long, gives some great insight, and most importantly its clinically reviewed by a doctor before being posted.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-purging-myths


The last few pounds are generally vanity weight, not easy to remove, and will take a long time. There's a good reason why this is true, because the human body likes to have a little extra fat around for those "lean" times, the only way to really get rid of them is to buckle down, work hard, be even more conscious of your food, eat enough calories (that is to say, keep your deficit very small). And expect it to take a while. When there's not a lot of fat to burn off, the body will draw as little energy from it that it can in an effort to preserve it. The only way to convince your body that it's ok to burn it, is to eat enough to let it know that you aren't going to starve without it, after a while your body will recognize that it's receiving enough calories regularly, and allow most of the fat to be burned off.

carrieberrie

I use them seasonally. They work great!!!!!

Sandeee

I read an article on msn.com yesterday. Very risky business and not worth it at all!

laDOLCEvita7

A friend of mine and I tried "the Master Cleanse" it's also called the "Lemonade Diet." It does work. Celebrities have done it. You mix in 1/2 a gallon of filtered water, with 12 tablespoons of organic lemon juice, 12 tablespoons of organic maple syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon of organic cayenne pepper. Mix it up and drink. The length of time they recommend is anywhere between 5-10 days. But do not exceed 10 days. I admit I could only last for 3 days with out eating. When you stop the cleanse on your final day, the next day the only thing you can consume is fresh squeeze organic orange juice, the 2nd day you can have soup, the 3rd day you can have raw foods. I lost 5 pounds in 3 days. so yes it does work. Because during the cleanse the only thing you can consume is the liquid that you made, they dont recommend any vigourous excersise a slow walk is about all you can do because you wont be taking in the calories needed to substain that. U can also take at night organic "smooth move" its a laxative, that will help the process along. The lemonade taste a lil strong to me, so I did not add the cayenne pepper instead I took cayenne pepper capsules/pills along with drink my lemonade. The complete purpose of this cleanse, is to clean out your intestines of stuff. Its not a primarially to loose weight, but you do loose weight. Online reports that one celebrity lost 20 pounds in 10 days of doing the cleanse. the average person looses between 10-20 in that time. I hope this helps. At the time when I did the cleanse, I felt tired, but the best effect it had was my stomach shrank, so it took less food afterwards to fill me up. I recommend taking a multivitamin too, I did.

vkpmusic

Stephanie, what you are describing is a classic fast...which I would only do for religious reasons.

AnnaPixie

I agree with SHBoss, there is no easy way to lose those last few pounds of fat. By all means you can cleanse your colon and the scale will show a loss, but thats an entirely different kind of loss

Besides, the colon is equipped to cleanse itself pretty well, Messing with it just messes up the process. I have tried it. And it took ages to get back to 'normal'.

I love the phrase 'vanity weight'....lol I think I've got 20+ pounds of it tho ..:laugh:

Good luck hun :flowerforyou:

carrieberrie

Your digestive system is your metabolism. If it is sluggish then your metabolism will be sluggish. I believe in them. They do work for me. It has jump started weightloss for me. But differet strokes for diffferent folks!

arewethereyet

I had a TIA (minor stroke) and was admitted to the hospital. Because they were unsure if they were going to do surgery, they put me on an IV drip and fluids only. Due to fear and anxiety, I wouldn't have been able to eat anyway.

I lost 6 pounds in 5 days. I had nothing left in my system...........until they did a bolus for my surgery (where they bloat your veins with a heck of a lot of saline) Well let's just say I was mighty surprised at what was still in my after 5 days of no food.

When I picked up the first sandwich, I gained 3 pounds. Within a week I gained back all 6 plus another because I couldn't move.

My point is, if you are doing a cleanse to clean your digestive tract, and not to lose weight-go at it. If you think it will help you lose FAT.........wrong in my experience.

I use psyllium husk caps to 'clean' my insides. If I ate more fresh, whole veggies I wouldnt even need that!

SHBoss1673

Your digestive system is your metabolism. If it is sluggish then your metabolism will be sluggish. I believe in them. They do work for me. It has jump started weightloss for me. But differet strokes for diffferent folks!

um, you're digestive system is NOT your metabolism. Your digestive system is your digestive system (mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, colon, and a whole lot of bacteria). Your metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy, I.E. every single cell in your body is part of your metabolism, some more than others. The closest thing you could get to a "metabolic system" would be your liver, kidneys, fat cells, muscle cells and thyroid gland, but even that would leave out a whole heck of a lot of other processes, organs, glands, and miscellaneous body parts.

There is not one single shred of scientific data that supports cleanses for fat loss, there's a whole lot of speculation, but no studies have ever proven (to my knowledge) that you lose weight, or you purge your system of "toxins", or you speed up your metabolism. Nor does modern medical science support the conclusions drawn by proponents of these techniques. Some can even be dangerous for you.

Steph_135

Walk into a health food store (preferably one you trust), and tell them you are thinking about doing a detox and ask what they recommend. I did one with supplements and lost 5 lbs. I gained them back afterward, and don't think you can have much long term success with them, but they are great to wake up your system, and make you more health in the long run! Just be aware of what you are doing, and how it will affect your body. :flowerforyou:

pkgirrl

The best cleanse you can give your body is eating lots of clean, healthy, fruits and veggies, minimal sugar and sodium, and drinking tons of water.

Going on a hardcore dietary restriction (like a "cleanse") at your point in the game, is going to do more harm than good. It will just reinforce your body's idea that it is being starved, and cause it to cling on to those last few pounds even harder.

Personally I've seen that high protein, lower carb diets work best on those last few pounds. (Not atkins, more like 75-100g carb per day) I was stuck at 145lb for a looong time, and I tried the phase 1 p90x diet, for a few weeks, and started losing like crazy again. I didn't even do the workouts. I didn't follow the meal plan, either, just the macronutrient ratios; 50/30/20, protein/carbs,fats, on about 1700cal a day, where I had previously been eating 50/30/20, carbs,fats, protein, and about 1200cal a day.

Your body doesn't need anywhere near the amount of carbs most people eat, and will use them most effectively at breakfast, and before/after working out. Any other time all they really serve to do is spike your insulin level, causing your body to store more fat.

Intermittent fasting works, and as long as fasts don't exceed 24 hours, will do a lot of good, but you really don't need that sort of extremity unless your looking to get into competitive body fat levels.