At first I wasn’t going to talk/blog about this. Because I thought it would be boring or give a not so pretty picture or maybe even sound preachy (and man I do not want to sound like any of those). Then for a while it’s all I could think about (I even avoided humans for a day, as I didn’t want to be that girl), but I documented things anyways. Then as I got near the end I sorta thought, “everyone should do a detox” (in the least preachy tone possible) – since I felt so amazing. Now that I’ve been finished for 3+ weeks and this simple detox that I started (with hopes that it might help ease my allergies), still has me feeling amazing and has actually changed the way I continue to eat. So I figured I better just share already, since it’s on the tip of my brain every time I come here.

WHY THE HECK WOULD ANYONE DO A DETOX? Good question, I’m not going to lie I used to be the person who always sorta eye rolled the whole idea. It sounds so brutal and just, why? For me I got fed up (am fed up) with allergies, and heard that for some a detox helped flush enough toxins out of their body that it eased their allergies. Then after doing more research I got more into the idea of a fresh start, per say – flushing toxins from the body.  My whole plan to help ease my allergies, didn’t really work – they are less intense, but still there. But it did make me feel crazy amazing, higher energy levels, lighter cleaner feeling all around. The simple 12 day detox I did was enough to break cravings and habits, and allowed me to start fresh and feel amazing doing it.

The detox I choose was not a fast or a juice cleanse (I’m sure those are great for their own reasons too), then one I did was a herbal detox called Wild Rose DTox. After doing a ton of research I felt this was the best one for more, it came with a little can and can’t eat diet booklet (also a pdf file on their site) – it was really easy to follow and didn’t require a whole giant revamp of my fridge (a plus for a frugal lady like myself). It was really gentle and simple, I would highly recommend it – two thumbs up from this girl! *no I was not paid to write this, all honest options only around here.

SO WHAT WAS IT LIKE, AND ALL THAT JAZZY STUFF? I kept a little log of how I felt each day, more for my own curiosity – a detox diary.

DAY 1: Not so bad (I expected a hellish day), but I did feel a whole a lot of  “oh my god I want that, and that and that and THAT!” – and a few extra bathroom breaks (the only time I will bring it up) but I still went about my day as I would normally.

DAY 2: Probably the hardest day, by mid day the cravings “give me a butter croissant, a bag of licorice and some salt & vinegar chips or else!” were crazy intense. And I started feeling physically sick, dizzy and SOOOO grumpy – basically I was detoxing like woah! Thought of the day: “don’t look at me, don’t breathe near me”

DAY 3-4: Weak in the knees and a bit uneasy in the belly, but good. Making meals started getting easier as well (I got the hang of what I could and couldn’t eat). Thought of the day: Saw a man eating a slice of pizza, initial thought was to punch him and take the pizza.

DAY 5-6: Lot’s of energy and LOT’S of cravings, also held the super beotch title (like super duper) between the hours of 3-6. Thought of the day: If I eat a loaf of bread fast enough, will my body even notice?

DAY 7-8: I had to actually think back at the end of the day to see if I had a craving, felt so much better and had so much energy.

DAY 9-10: Only 2 more days? I think I could do this way longer, and I sorta want to because I actually feel so super amazing.

DAY 11-12: Sorta mourning the idea of not being on a detox anymore, the herbal supplements I can do without – but the strict eating plan that is accompanied has been surprisingly amazing. It’s strict and limited and way hard to maintain long term, but I feel so good that it has inspired me to take it further – with allowance for a few things (like honey, mushrooms, bananas, tropical fruit, maple syrup, etc).

I cheated twice: kombucha was really hard for me to quit.

stripey tank is c/o American Apparel  *goofy pictures c/o King and our goofy picture day.

At first the idea of such a restricted diet was scary. Cooking food for my family and not being able to eat it? How unfair! Or making myself what I thought would be bland foods, I thought it would probably make me dive head first back into old habits when it was all finished. I was way wrong. The first few days were rough, like super detoxing – super beotch rough. But it got better, and then food starting tasting better – I even like my coffee black now! I lost most of the want to just sneak a bite of cheese when I was making my kids a grilled cheese sandwich. And usually the whole family ate pretty close to the same healthy diet that I ate. Also the food I thought would be sorta bland – started tasting so much better, simple flavors stood / stand out more without all the fluff in the way.

So now I’m 3 weeks post detox and I have stayed totally off gluten, dairy and refined sugars. And our household diet is more of a mix of clean eating, gluten free and vegan / vegetarian then ever before – we still live the moderation life, but more moderation of only the good stuff. The amazing feeling I felt during my detox has stuck around, and my bad eating habits and cravings are gone (I still dream of an ice cold beer, but I am reminded how great I feel without it). I literally feel so amazing that I would recommend this to anyone, hence why I decided to write a post. I actually think it could be an key ingredient to a lifestyle change (I’d say diet but I think a healthy lifestyle change is much better and maintainable) – 12 days is enough to break habits and stop cravings. I highly doubt I ever would have stopped eating cheese or gluten if I hadn’t done the detox first *my plan right now is to stay away from gluten, dairy and refined sugars for as long as possible – if I falter or cheat every once in a while that’s ok too.

WHAT DO I / DID I EAT? Everything from scratch, basically clean eating with a lot of minuses or subs of things. My pinterest boards for vegan and vegetarian food, and regular dinners have been my personal recipe book / meal planning guide (I actually use them for good) – if the regular recipe is healthy to begin with, subbing in non gluten and dairy free things are pretty easy to do.

So what do you think, would you ever do a detox? Or are you already a believer or an eye roller?