What IS Detox anyway?

I'm halfway through my first week on Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Nutritarian Diet.  The goal of this diet is longevity...not weightloss.  However, according to Dr. Fuhrman, even our scales of "normal" are skewed too high, so if you eat according to his plan you should be somewhat underweight.  Yeah.  We'll see.

During the first 2 to 6 weeks of eating according to his plan, most people experience detox.  Detox is when your body uses all of the great nutrients you are eating to go repair your cells.  The nutrients go into the cells, and the junk comes out.  Detox is good!  But it feels awful.

In order to accomplish the goal of detox, you must:

1. Eat a diet very high in plant-based nutrients, and

2. Only eat 3 meals per day.  

This gives your body time to 1.Digest then 2.Repair.  Most Americans are consuming calories all day long, so the body is in constant digestion, and never moves on to repair. (Which is why we are getting sick and feeling lousy)

However, this first 6 weeks of Detox can also feel lousy, because your bloodstream is being flooded with all of the junk from your cells.  You have to embrace the lousy feeling, knowing that it is working in your favor.

So far, my Detox Symptoms have been:

-Cravings

-Fatigue

-Cramps in legs, back, and neck

-Arthritis in my hands

-Feeling bloated

The cramps have been so bad I thought I'm might have a touch of the flu.  I slept very poorly for two nights, so last night I took a Tylenol PM for the pain and slept like a rock!  All that said, this detox was not as bad as the one I did 2 years ago.

What's in my Kitchen?

I want to start eating Nutritarian right now. Right. Now.  

But our family has migrated back to the Standard American Diet over the past few months, so I needed to do a quick survey of the kitchen.  Here are the results:

Not too bad, all things considered.  Obviously not enough greens for a truly Fuhrman-approved meal plan, but I think I can make it work until our next shopping day, which will be next Thursday (today is Friday).  We might be able to pick up some mixed greens or spinach before then.  Ooh, and I totally forgot to add the acorn squash!  The kids have been looking forward to that as a dessert (slathered in butter and brown sugar), but I might have to steal it from them to use in our healthier menu.

(Just 2 of our 9 person family wants to eat Nutritarian.  But I know I'll be serving more salads because that's what I'll be making. Otherwise, this time, I'm not going to force them into it.  I'd rather they just be happy and let me eat in peace.)

Tonight I made the Brocolli Mushroom Bisque from the Eat To Live Cookbook.  I had to make a few substitutions, but on the whole it wasn't bad. I added a little white pepper to give it a bit more pop. And thus, my planned dinner: BBQ pork, cheddar cheese, tortilla...became brocolli, mushroom, carrot, onion, zero salt.  MUCH better!

Since this is the start...again...let's talk about the State of the Lindsey.  Not good right now.  My hands are hurting regularly with "arthritis."  My weight is the highest it has ever been outside of pregnancy.  And I've had ZERO energy and lots of brain fog.  On the plus side, I really haven't had illnesses lately.  

Mackenzie's brain is very foggy...extreme difficulty concentrating.  She's certainly not fat, but I think she'd love to slim down in the tummy.  She's very very eager to eat healthy and is already avoiding foods at school - she really wants to eat a "no artificial flavor" diet, and that can't be done with school food.  So, the challenge will be getting healthy food to school.  She loves salads, so maybe we can find some Fuhrman-approved dressings that she likes.

Tomorrow we are going to brainstorm our meals using the food in the house, and also start re-reading Eat to Live - probably jumping around and not going straight through.

Starting again, again

There is a research group doing a 10 year study on Women & the Nutritarian diet, and cancer.  I would love to be a part of it!  How cool to have my own blood tested for propensity for cancer.  How cool to have my weight and overall health tracked, and maybe to have Mackenzie join me in this ...and what if my own compliance to this not only helped my own health and taught my family healthy eating habits, but was part of the publication of data 10 years from now that prompts others to choose to eat their veggies??  

Yes, It would be so cool.

But it would also mean embracing the Nutritarian lifestyle, which I have only successfully done for about 3 months....for 10 years.                              

Whoa.

I don't know the parameters of the study, but I do know that Nutritarians don't:

Drink coffee - it is addictive and harmful to epithelial cells.

Eat any sugar - Also addictive.  Also harmful in ridiculous ways.

Eat chocolate - See above.

These three.  They just kill me. And also, I know that once I get out from under their grips, the Nutritarian lifestyle becomes so much easier. 

So.  I'm starting right now.  I don't have much fresh food in the house, but I have beans, lentils, frozen spinach, tomatoes, oatmeal....enough to make it till payday at least.

And Mackenzie is on board too!  We can make this our challenge!

I'll blog about it just for grins, and we'll see if I make it more than one meal.

My Day/Week/Year of No Sugar

I just finished reading Eve Schaub's A Year of No Sugar.

It's kind of funny, because she brings the full-full-full circle with all the health stuff I've learned in the last 2 years. 

First I watched Dr. Lustig's Sugar: A Bitter Truth

Then read Potatoes over Prozac, which pushed me toward a high protien diet as opposed to a sugar-filled diet.

Then I saw Forks over Knives then Fat, Sick, and nearly Dead and then read China Study and Eat to Live...which of course totally reversed the high protein diet and went toward the no animal food diet...which is high in sugar.

Here's what I know about myself:

I'm a sugar addict.

I'm an overeater.

I have no self control.

I think the overeater piece may be related to the sugar addiction. And I think the self -control piece is related to the cravings I have due to the sugar addiction.

So, here's my idea.

I want to combine all of the "cooking with no sugar" knoweldge I've gained over the last year and a half and really cut it out totally.

In the process, I'll probably add back some of the cheese and milk I've cut out...partly because soy milk has added sugar.

Don't know how long I will do this.  My current goal is a day, but if I make it to 3 days or a week...then I will want to keep going.  Because I've got to kick this addiction.

Also not sure how strict I want to be when I'm out to eat...date night tomorrow!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with Banana and Berries

Lunch: Something with lentils and lots of spices

Dinner: Spinach salad with salsa and avocado