the Detox Diet

In early October my husband and I followed the Wholefood Farmacy 13 day detox program. I wrote the following in an email to friends and thought I would post it here.

The detox was being on a Raw Food diet for 13 days. I used the 13 day program from the Wholefood Farmacy - they give you everything you need to eat for 13 days. (If you ever want to do it, definitely become a member, it costs $15 but you save like $30 on the 13 day program, so it makes sense)

You are only supposed to eat their food, but I got bored so I added in salad and raw veggies and a couple of apples and grapes along the way. A list of the no's:
- No meat
- no Dairy
- no bread
- nothing processed
- nothing cooked (i.e. raw oatmeal, dried fruit, raw fruit, raw vegetables, raw nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts - but raw not roasted))
- only water to drink
- no chemicals (caffeine, ibuprofen, artificial sweeteners, etc.)

Basically, think vegan and then add in the fact that you can't cook anything (yes MORE restrictive than vegan). The cost of the 13 day program from Wholefood Farmacy seemed high to me (more than I would spend on groceries for just me for the two weeks), but you are getting really good food and if you were to buy them at the grocery store they would be just as if not more expensive. I will say that I don't think it is an expense I will incur over the long term... i.e. do the 13 day program and see how you feel, if you want to keep it up, buy the stuff you want in bulk. There are two products that I plan to purchase in bulk to keep in our pantry: The base of the diet is a product called Phi Plus, it is basically like one of those Clif Nectar bars and I really think I am going to start using it as my "food" on long rides (over clif bars, fig newtons, etc.) It is a nice easy way to start your day or get through the afternoon munchies. Alex wants it to eat as lunch at work as he rarely has time to get lunch and this is shelf stable. Also, they have a product in the 13 day program called Stardust 2Hydrate and it rocks, I will be putting this in my water bottles from now on as fluid replacement when I don't need extra calories or to add a little more sodium to my gatorade endurance and counter balance the sweetness (and of course, add salt since we all know I sweat like a pig).

I liked the detox program because you can
- eat all day, never hungry
- removed all sugar spiking (energy level is the same all day)
- no cooking makes meals easy - mostly salads, soups from dehydrated vegetables and lots of spices to make things taste good
- to increase sodium intake you add salt to your water, sounds weird but tastes good!
- lost 6 lbs
- once I got to day 5 all my cravings went away (except when cooking dinner for jason - see below)

hardest part:
- cooking dinner and making lunch for Jason without tasting it
- craving bread and cheese for the first four days
- drinking a gallon of water each day (four 32 oz nalgene bottles)
- I thought going without caffeine or coffee would be hard, but it really wasn't because the food really keeps you energized (very nutrient rich!!)
- people at work taunting you with subway sandwiches from PUBLIX!!!

results
- well the big one was losing 6 lbs
- also my muscles aren't as sore - I think I flushed out the lactic acid???
- don't want to eat pasta anymore
- definitely want to eat meat again
- sweets aren't as appealing - they taste too sweet
- have more energy - don't feel like steam roller ran over me, again and again, and again :-D
- have more focus (hopefully it will continue to last)

Why I'm not staying on it long term: I read about a raw food diet and while I totally see the importance (now more than ever) of getting plenty of fruits and veggies in your diet and limiting the amount of bread, and processed grains from your diet, the diet is restrictive and therefore you need to supplement your diet with extra vitamins and minerals... I'm of the opinion that you should try to get that stuff from your food first and use supplements as that, a supplement, not the only source of a particular vitamin or mineral. (in the case of raw food specifically there is no source of B12 - according to my online research)

Why I would stay on it long term if it seemed smart - did I mention losing 6 lbs? also, love having more energy and focus.

Summary: Will be reducing the amount of bread, cereal, pasta that I eat and attempt to get those carbs from veggies, fruit and nuts, but will continue to eat brown rice. Alex (who did it with me for 7 days) thinks he might have a wheat allergy (he felt considerably better on the diet and felt bad again almost immediately upon eating bread again) and so we are going to go gluten free in the house for a bit (at least dinners - jason will continue to eat whole grain crackers, whole wheat pasta, etc. for lunches and snacks) to see if that helps.

I would totally recommend it to anyone feeling sluggish, not themselves, run down or just wanting to kick start themselves into eating better. Probably more than you needed to know, but I hope you found it interesting!