You'll have to read "Clean" to get the full rundown, but I'll give you a quick overview so you know what I endured for 21 days:
Each day you can have a smoothie, juice, or soup for breakfast and dinner (from the recipes in Junger's book and on his website), and a lunch consisting of foods from his "elimination diet." Snacks of raw, unsalted almonds are OK if you're starving, but you have to leave a 12-hour window at night sans food.
Other "no's": No caffeine, no sugar (agave syrup is used in some of the smoothies but that's it), no wheat, no soy/tofu, no red meat, no raw fish, no alcohol. There are plenty of other foods that are off-limits as well -- including seemingly healthy foods, like strawberries -- but you get the gist.
You're also encouraged to take supplements, so I started popping a daily probiotic and a liver support supplement. Exercise and daily meditation are also recommended, along with colonics (but sorry, that ain't happening).
The promised benefits: more energy; clearer, firmer skin; weight loss; and improved digestive health. Some people even claim relief from allergies and long-term illnesses, but I'd settle for less tummy bulge and fewer breakouts.
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My starting point
Before embarking on this little detox adventure, I visited the Murad Inclusive Health Spa for a skin evaluation (I had them check me again at the end of my 21-day stint following "Clean," in case you're curious about the beauty benefits of this cleanse). They checked my hydration levels, along with wrinkles, pore size, sun damage, and more. I was pretty bummed about the amount of wrinkles I had, I was in the 32nd percentile (lower numbers are worse), and I'm only 27! Murad esthetician Lori Cahitas says this is usually caused by dehydration, so here's hoping all those green juices will give me smoother skin.
Overall I'm hoping that my skin looks a little softer and more even-toned by the end of this; it would be absolutely fantastic to be able to skip foundation in the morning, wouldn't it? As far as my weight goes, I'm about where I want to be (my starting weight is 97.8 pounds -- and before you freak out, you should know that I'm 5 feet tall, in shoes), but I wouldn't be too upset if I felt a little more toned.
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My prep rally
Unless you already have raw cacao powder and kale in your kitchen (I certainly didn't), a trip to a natural grocery store is in order. And let me tell you, this was the most intense shopping trip I've ever taken. My list took up an entire sheet of paper, two columns. I decided to take my sister with me, both to split up the shopping and to help me identify the vegetables and fruits I'd never heard of before. It took two stores and $200 -- almost double what I spend on my normal grocery trips -- to get everything I needed. Admittedly, a chunk of this cost is the two supplements I bought. I'm also hoping some of it will last the full three weeks, like my supply of almond milk and coconut water.
If you're thinking this already sounds too daunting, here's a little pep talk from Junger: "The biggest hurdle is really the idea that a cleanse is so hard to do. This perception may prevent you from starting it. Once you pass this hurdle, [everything else is] not that big of a deal."
Here's hoping he's right.
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Day 1: A semi-bumpy start
Today's meals: Coconut/mango/pineapple smoothie for breakfast; balsamic chicken and a mix of brown and wild rice for lunch; cucumber mint soup for dinner
It's day one, and I'm feeling excited. My morning smoothie was delicious and lunch was pretty good (although the recipe was ridiculously complicated; thankfully my mom was visiting and helped me make it the night before). Unfortunately, after already feeling pretty hungry most of the day, I developed a headache bordering on a migraine. I'm sincerely hoping this little hunger headache doesn't linger for the next three weeks.
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Surviving the green juice
Today's meals: Apple/spinach/lemon/ginger juice for breakfast; balsamic chicken and a mix of brown and wild rice for lunch; green juice (apples, spinach, kale, celery, ginger) for dinner
I'm feeling much better today. My headache is almost gone and I slept well last night. I was nervous about my first "green juice," but thanks to the ginger it was quite tasty. It wasn't very filling though, so I totally caved and had some almonds and a couple brown rice crackers before lunch. Note to self: juices are not as filling as smoothies. For dinner I tried another version of the green juice. This one wasn't quite as tasty as this morning's (basically, it just tasted like celery), but it was tolerable. I'm pretty surprised that I'm able to drink the green juices; I thought that would be the biggest challenge of this diet.
Around 10 p.m. I was craving a snack, but I think that had less to do with being hungry and more to do with sitting on the couch and being bored. I'm definitely learning how much of what and when I eat has very little to do with being hungry.
You know how you think things out loud, and don't really realize what you're saying until it's out there? Well that's how I got roped into this detox diet. At our last brainstorming meeting, I mused aloud that it would be interesting to follow real people as they attempted detox diets. Next thing I knew my editor was handing me the book "Clean" by Dr. Alejandro Junger and telling me to take my before photo. Um, what?
You see, I am not what you would consider a "healthy eater." To me, dieting is skipping the bacon on my cheeseburger. I literally eat chocolate every day. And I can count the number of fruits and vegetables I will willingly consume on one hand. Granted, these facts are probably why I could use a body detox -- but would I survive?
My husband thought not. In fact, he laughed when I told him what the "Clean" diet plan entails: A smoothie or green juice for breakfast, an uber-healthy lunch (from a list of approved ingredients, mostly lean protein, brown rice, and steamed veggies), and a green juice or soup for dinner. That's it. No extra treats, no chocolate, no French fries. He tried to be supportive, though admitted he was eager to see if I could forgo all the junk food stocked in our pantry.
But it's amazing how much of a motivator job security is, so I set off on this detox journey. I read "Clean" so I would know how to detox, packed my kitchen with more fresh food than it's ever seen, and fired up my new Jay Kordich PowerGrind Pro Juicer.
Wondering if I survived, if I actually managed to give up that chocolate, and how I looked and felt at the end of the three weeks? Read on.
