Start Fresh 30 day plan

Posted: January 1, 2012 | Author: De | Filed under: Detox, Food Intolerances | Tags: Brown Rice, Detox, Fresh Start, Fruit, Lose Weight, New Year diet, Quinoa, Vegetables |6 Comments »

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

*As promised, I’m posting the 30 day plan (I followed this past summer) again.  

I wouldn’t necessarily call this a “diet” since I’ve incorporated most of the plan into the way I eat on a daily basis. 

By eliminating the “junk” I was able to figure out what food I was intolerant to and from there, I significantly improved my health.  As an extra bonus, I lost weight without ever starving myself.  In fact, I felt like I was constantly eating.  I do not count calories or anything else for that matter and I don’t limit my portion sizes and you will see why in a minute.

I created this plan for myself after reading a million (okay, I may be exaggerating a little) books and taking the information that I felt was the best and combining it into one program.  Most of you know; I like simple and quick approaches to almost everything I do in life.  

*IMPORTANT INFO:  As you know, I am not a doctor so I can only tell you what I did and what worked for me.  If you decide to try my own plan and you have any medical conditions, I urge you to talk to your doctor first.  I was taking blood pressure medicine before I started this and if I didn’t monitor my BP, I would have never known that I needed to go off the meds.  My blood pressure dropped that much. 

MY NOTES

1. I followed this plan (no cheating) for 30 days.

2.  If you need to have a warm meal save it for dinner.  Try to eat as much raw food as possible.

3. Awkward subject but needs to be addressed especially for those of you that work outside the home.  You are going to have to go number 1 & 2 (as we called it growing up) more than usual so just be aware of where closest bathrooms are located.  The more you go, the more you are flushing out and eliminating the toxins.

4. Finish eating 12 hours before you wake up in the morning.  That gives your body long enough to detox throughout the night.  Example:  If you wake up at 7 every morning than quit eating at 7 the evening before.

5. After 30 days I gradually added healthy fats to my diet (example: olive oil and nuts) and I can tolerate fish, so I added that back a couple of days a week.  Pay attention to the food you add back into your diet and see how it makes you feel.  For those of you that are trying to figure out if you are intolerant to a certain food category (ex: dairy) add back one food a week, that way you will know which food is the trouble maker.

6. Physical Activity:  Walk 30-45 minutes a day at least 3x’s a week.  Be careful not to overexert yourself while you are eating this way.

7. You can’t keep eating and drinking the same things you have always been and think you are ever going to feel better or lose weight.  You’re not.  I seriously despised vegetables but until I made them the main staple in my diet, I couldn’t lose a pound and felt absolutely horrible for years.  Even now, I can totally tell when I’m not eating enough raw food.

8. I always wait at least one hour after a meal before I start drinking water.

9. The month of January, I will try to post-easy recipes that you can make while you are eating this way.

10. First, I’ll tell you what food I eliminated and then I’ll tell you what I added to my diet.

ELIMINATE  (threw it all out for 30 days)

Meat (including fish)

All dairy products (butter, milk, yogurt, cheese, etc.)

Margarine

Oils*

Salad dressings

Table salt

Fried foods

Soy

Cookies, cakes, pie, ice cream, candy

Chips and most crackers*

Nuts including nut butter and nut milks

Alcohol

Sweeteners

*Looking through my notes, I came across two exceptions that I made and it worked out well for me.  I would eat a little hummus, which does have some oil in it.   I would also eat a handful of Mary’s Gone Crackers, which are really mostly seeds.

FOOD I ATE

Quinoa, brown or wild Rice

Corn tortilla

Veggies (LOTS!)

Avocado  (only a couple a week)

Potatoes  (Especially sweet potatoes)

Beans

Popcorn (unsalted, unbuttered, mini portion)

Seeds (be aware of the sodium in them)

Fruit

Rice Milk

Decaffeinated, unsweetened tea

2 ounces of 70% or higher cocoa dark chocolate a day

UNLIMITED FOOD (ate as much as I wanted)

All types of lettuce

Spinach

Celery

Onions

Carrots

Garlic

Broccoli

Peas

Cauliflower

Cabbage

*Always eat fruit on an empty stomach

Pineapple

Oranges

Apples

Grapefruit

Brown and wild rice  (I saved it for dinner)

Beans (black, kidney, ect)

Herbs and Spices  (watch the sodium)

SALAD TOPPINGS

Salsa

Vinegar

Dijon Mustard

Lemon

Lime

QUICK EXAMPLE OF DAILY MENU

Upon waking:  8-12 ounces of hot water with lemon.  It’s very important that you drink this to help detox your body.  If you don’t have time in the morning, at least drink one bottle of water!

Breakfast:  Green light smoothie (link below) Yes, you drink it all!

http://devitamin.com/2011/10/23/the-green-light/

One hour later: At least 8-12 ounces of water

Snack (if needed):  Handful of seeds or maybe some cut up veggies

Lunch:  HUGE salad with all the veggies you love!  Eat as much salad and veggies as you can and don’t forget to treat yourself with a little piece of dark chocolate.

One hour later: At least 8-12 ounces of water

Snack:  A handful of red peppers with humus.

Dinner:  Start with a veggie (at least 2 different one’s) than add a grain or other starch (quinoa, rice, potato).  Include beans!  Again, go ahead and treat yourself with a little piece of dark chocolate.

One-hour later- At least 8-12 ounces of water

Snack (if needed): Blueberry, banana and rice milk smoothie (8oz).

POSSIBLE DETOX SYMPTOMS (usually only last a few days)

Dizziness (I did experience this for a few days and found that drinking more water helped)

Fatigue (I had the complete opposite happen.  I had WAY more energy!)

Nausea  (Did not experience this)

Headache  (Again the opposite happened, the headaches I was experiencing before I started eating this way, disappeared.)

My husband and I are starting this again on Jan 2^nd 2012.  

 If you take away one thing (after 30 days), I hope it’s that you realize (if you haven’t already) how important it is to consume a lot of vegetables in your daily diet.

Here’s to good health in the New Year!  CHEERS! 

---