Spring Cleaning

Passover brings upon us spring cleaning season, yet Jews fill them selves up meal after meal with meats, matzoh and sugary, potato starchy, processed mock foods. 

So in honor of Passover this year I partook in a 10 day detox to clean out my system, shed some extra fluff and continue my raw vegan path. If you are looking into doing a detox similar to mine read up on it somewhere else first since there is a lot more information than what I am providing for you... also you can do this for 3-10 days!

I followed aspects of the master-cleanse detox with some added twists:

Each day I had 6 cups of "lemonade"

The ingredients in my version of the cleanse (I would make 2 cups at a time so this ingredient list is for 2 cups worth):

2 Cups of filtered water- I used bottled water because I don't have a filter... sorry plastic :(

4 tablespoons of lemon juice (It is about half a nice sized lemon)

4 tablespoons of Agave Nectar (or Grade B maple syrup- I switched it up from time to time for new flavoring)

1 teaspoon of chia seed (Lots of nutrients in the seeds and also they expand to make you feel full- so you are not going into starvation mode!)

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Mix and drink!

Drink lots of water through out the day (if you are ever looking to lose weight the most important thing I can tell you is to drink at least eight cups of water a day!)

Some evenings and some morning I had herbal laxative tea- completely natural no chemicals or anything in it- just to help the cooking process ;)

This is my second time doing the master-cleanse and I really feel that it was a success! On the forums I have read to find out how other people did on the cleanse I read that people lost a lot of muscle as well as fat- I lifted weights and worked out regularly while on my detox so luckily this did not happen to me.

I really felt energized during the cleanse but I did run into some problems.

1. I got sick of the lemonade on some occasions and really wanted food, at those times I listened to my body... on night seven I was out late with friends so I ate a raw energy bar and on night eight I found myself eating an apple for an extra boost of energy (the best apple of my life!)

2. My friends thought I was going anorexic and I was crazy because they do not understand the health benefits in a detox.

3. There is a lot of extra time where you would normally be eating- and you can't help but think of all the delicious foods you are missing out on. Ugh boredom.

4. It is hard not to be able to really go out and socialize with your friends because most socializing happens over food or drinks.

5. DATING SUCKS WHILE DETOXING! (Maybe in my case dating always sucks! If you are reading this and you recently asked me out... I apologize, can't wait for our date!)

I broke the cleanse with the first day consuming organic fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and the second day I had melon for breakfast, a smoothie with melon, apple and mango for lunch, and a sprout salad (with the sprouts I grew myself for dinner) AND WOW I LOVE FOOD!  

Okay now some results...
I started at 158 lbs = 71.6 kilo (which is weird because I've weighed 155= 70.5 a few days before the detox)
After the detox I now weigh 147 lbs = 66.6 kilo
Side note: Some of the weight will likely come back, because detoxes are not meant to keep weight off they are meant to rid the body of toxins.
But since I used to weigh 200 lbs = 90.7 Kilo and I lost so much over the past two years I am not afraid of gaining the weight back now- because I know I will reach my goal of 123 lbs = 56 kilo in due time :)

Before

After

So my friends I must tell you that I feel great and have had so much energy! Detoxing is a great way to begin a lifestyle change such as raw veganism, or to quite smoking, drinking and other addictive behavior. Many of my friends were worrying that I was becoming anorexic- but I must inform everyone that after losing so much weight the healthy way and it staying off I am not looking for a quick fix... just a spring cleaning :)
Much love,
REL