Nails
This Is the Manicure You Should Get, Based on Your Astrological Sign
Diet
My Slim-Down, Get-Glowing DetoxForget juice cleanses. This eat-as-much-as-you-want diet promises weight loss and clear skin. But did it work? |
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"I don't endorse any particular way to eat, other than increasing things that are good for you and decreasing things that aren't, cooking most of your food yourself, as well as trying to be an ethical consumer," she explains.
Since I've never been the structured type, this is good news. Here, the rules of Gutbliss:
Don't Count Calories: ... or other nutrition facts. "Forget how many grams of protein something has and think about whether the food you're eating is helping you or harming you, whether it's just filler that's not making a difference either way, or whether it's even food at all."
So ... I can have as much food as I want? For a girl who has done her share of food-restricting diets and food-banning juice cleanses, this sounds like a 10-day walk in the park -- during which I'm shoving tons of food in my face.
Eat Real Food: "Food is something that's picked off a tree; plucked from a bush; dug up from the earth; caught in a river, lake, or ocean; or slaughtered so we can eat," writes Chutkan in her book. While we're surrounded by plenty of things to eat, none of it is actually food -- rather, she says, they're "edible, food-like substances with expiration dates that stretch on for years and ingredients you've never heard of." After checking out the ingredient list on my "all-natural" fruit pieces, which includes the chemicals citric acid and sodium citrate, I'm left wondering how much of what I'm consuming is actual food.
Avoid SAD GAS: In order to reach your GI happy place, Chutkan advises completely avoiding these while on the 10-day plan:
Soy
Artificial sweeteners
Dairy
Gluten
Alcohol
Sugar
These six things don't really fall into the category of "food" as described by Chutkan, so they're off limits. They're also some of the most common food allergens and sensitivities. "The point of taking these out of your diet is to be a bit of a medical detective," says Chutkan. Going cold turkey on these common irritants can help you realize what it is hard for your body to handle. "After the 10 days, let's say your skin clears up," she says. "If you start eating one of these things again, and you start breaking out again, you're going to be able to associate that with the addition of that food. It gives you motivation so you can see the cause and effect," says Chutkan.
Since four out of six of those listed would make my personal rendition of "My Favorite Things," this part of the challenge will be hardest for me.
SEE NEXT PAGE: My Plan
