Detox

Thin does not equal healthy (necessarily).  The American public spends approximately $35 billion A YEAR on diet products.  People claim to be more self-confident if they shed some pounds.  The pressure to be thin is pervasive in this culture, reinforced by the media, fashion, and entertainment industries.  While excess weight is generally recognized as a health  hazard, being thin does not automatically mean you're healthy.  A couple of years ago I took a health/fitness test that indicated that my vitamin intake was far beneath what it should be.  The gentlemen that gave me the good news compared me to a 60 year old.  He said--your skin looks great now because you're young, but if you don't pay attention to the food you eat, you will pay later on.  That's really the first time it occurred to me that being fit is by far more important than being thin. 
I used to play tennis. I started in junior high, played through high-school, and then got a tennis scholarship to Taylor University (not that impressive, Taylor is a small Christian college, not a Division I school).  We never talked about weight at home, never discussed what it was to be healthy or not.  We ate according to what was on the menu.  The only thing I remember in terms of limits was that my mom would always say "just 2"--with regards to cookies.  Growing up in Spain I recall eating at friend's houses, meals were big, but desserts were nonexistent on a daily basis! In fact, for dessert, they serve fruit.  At every home.  That was one thing my mom was famous for... her baking!  Brownies...chocolate chip cookies...banana cake, all those American goodies.  Our neighbors were in heaven!  Luckily for me, I got the best of both worlds.  My mom's cooking style slowly became more and more Spanish, with the occasional sweet indulgence--but just 2!

Back on topic-- being healthy is important.  I've seen how it curves my mood and especially my energy level into the evening.  I used to do kickboxing three times a week and I remember coming home and having all of this supernatural energy--compared to my usual iwanttogotobed at 8:30 pm when my kids do.  I like to have a good starting point though.  A new year is a great chance to set some attainable goals!  One of mine is to actually become FIT again, not just thin.  I want to be purposeful with what goes into my mouth and also in how I'm training my body to become more resilient and strong.  I also like to know that my body is clean (internally) before embarking on a new mission.  Here is a fast track detox diet that I think is great!  I've found it's much easier to understand this process and get it right if ahead of time I create a daily menu of what I'm going to be eating. 

Upward and onward!!!

The Fast Track: A Three-Stage ProcessReady to give your liver a healthy boost - and give your entire system a thorough spring-cleaning? I developed a Fast Track Detox program for just that purpose. It is a proven, highly effective detox and weight-loss system that offers a simple, safe and effective way to drop excess pounds, to clear out toxic gunk and to improve your health and vitality.

Described in detail in my book, The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet (Morgan Road Books, 2005), this program is, in reality, less a diet than a multipart program for healthy living. It has been carefully tested in a clinical setting.

Although the fasting part of the detox plan is just a single day (making it very safe), the complete process calls for both a seven-day preparation and a three-day follow-up phase designed to properly prepare your system for the liver-cleansing juice fast and then help extend and compound your healthy results.

This three-part detox process can dramatically improve the state of your liver and colon and help clear tissue throughout your body - all while eliminating bloating, improving your energy and assisting you in dropping unwanted weight. It can also help you appreciate the advantages of improved nutrition and encourage you to adjust your normal diet for the better.

Best of all, unlike water fasting and long-term juice fasting, this program is safe and gentle enough for you to employ any time you are feeling loaded down, sluggish and needing more vitality. I personally do Fast Track Detox fasts three or four times a year, usually around the fall and spring equinoxes, and whenever I feel myself to be on overload - physically, mentally or spiritually.

The Fast Track Detox program is simple to work into your normal life. Here's how: You spend a full week on the Seven-Day Prequel, eating the Liver-Loving Foods that your body's major detox organ so desperately needs. You'll also load up on Colon-Caring Foods to help your colon purge the toxins and waste from your body. Next, you'll spend one day following a special juice fast designed to flush impurities and stored wastes from your system. Then, after the fast is over, you'll seal in the results with a Three-Day Sequel that includes additional liver and colon support along with special natural-food sources of probiotics - fermented foods that support the friendly bacteria your system needs to synthesize vitamins and promote immune function.

Many people experience significant and immediate weight loss on this program, but the net benefits for energy and long-term health are every bit as dramatic. So, whether you are looking to slim down or just lighten your toxic load, give the Fast Track Detox a try. You'll be amazed at what your liver can accomplish with just a little help.

Seven-Day Prequel
Before you begin the One-Day Detox, it's essential that you prepare your body by strengthening your liver and colon for the work ahead. If you don't do this, you might end up more bloated, constipated and “toxic” than you were before. You may also inadvertently put the brakes on desired weight loss.

Fasting releases toxins that were previously lodged in your fat cells and shuttles them into your bloodstream for filtration and transport through your body's elimination channels. But without prior liver and colon support to help these toxins clear your system, the poisons may simply get relocated within the body, settling into any number of sensitive organs and making you feel tired, anxious, headachy and more fatigued than when you started. So if you want to avoid feeling unnecessarily lousy, and if you want to maximize weight loss, follow this simple, six-step program for seven days before you embark on the one-day, liver-flushing juice fast:

1. Each day, for seven days, choose at least one serving from each group of the following Liver-Loving Foods:

• Crucifers, such as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, broccoli sprouts

• Green leafy vegetables and herbs, like parsley, kale, watercress, chard, cilantro, beet greens, escarole, dandelion greens and mustard greens

• Citrus, like oranges, lemons and limes (avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice, which contain a compound called naringen that can interfere with the liver-cleansing process)

• Sulfur-rich foods, like garlic, onions, eggs and daikon radish

• Liver healers, such as artichoke, asparagus, beets, celery, dandelion-root tea, whey and nutritional yeast flakes

2. Each day, choose at least two of the following Colon-Caring foods: powdered psyllium husks, milled or ground flaxseeds, carrots, apple, pear or berries.

3. Each day, drink half your body weight in ounces of filtered or purified water.

4. Each day, make sure you have at least two servings (the size of the palm of your hand) of protein in the form of lean beef, lamb, skinless chicken, turkey or fish, or, if you're a vegan or vegetarian, at least 2 tablespoons a day of a high-quality blue-green algae or a spirulina source (available in natural-foods and health stores).

5. Each day, make sure you have 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the form of olive oil, flaxseed oil or a “woman's oil” (a flaxseed oil-black-currant oil blend).

(For specific serving sizes and more detailed guidance on choosing Liver-Loving Foods, see The Fast Track Detox Diet.)

6. Avoid the following “detox detractors”:

• Excess dietary fats, especially trans fats

• Any form of sugar, including honey and maple syrup

• Artificial sweeteners

• Refined carbohydrates, including white rice and products made from white flour

• Gluten, found in wheat, rye, barley and all their related products, such as packaged cereals, macaroni and cheese, pizza dough, pasta, tortillas, pancake/waffle mixes and cookies, as well as in many “low-carb” products, vegetable proteins, some soy sauces and distilled vinegars

• Soy protein isolates, found in many protein energy bars and processed soy foods

• Alcohol, over-the-counter drugs and caffeine

One-Day Detox Juice Fast
The One-Day Juice Fast portion of the Fast Track Detox is designed to flush impurities from your liver and other cellular tissues while supporting your general health and energy.
While I do not advocate water fasts, or even long-term juice fasts, decades of professional clinical experience and research have convinced me that healthy, short-term juice fasting - the kind supported by adequate nutritional preparation for the liver and sufficient fiber for the colon - is probably the best-kept secret around for good health, long-term weight loss and an overall feeling of well-being.

By reducing the amount of work your digestive system has to do, you free up a great deal of energy for healing and regeneration. And while you will be limiting your caloric intake for one day, it is not an extended enough period to suppress your metabolism or set off a starvation response. In fact, every ingredient of the One-Day Detox Diet has been specially chosen to stave off hunger; balance your blood sugar; rev up your metabolism; and keep you feeling fit, energized and trim throughout your fasting day.

Here's the basic protocol you should follow for your One-Day Juice Detox, and some idea of what you might experience during the detox process (keep in mind that the effects and results will vary from person to person).

Before you conduct your one-day fast, make sure you have completed the Seven-Day Prequel. Then, follow this four-step program:

Step I. Prepare the Miracle Juice (for complete recipe and preparation instructions, see The Fast Track Detox Diet):

• Cranberry Water - unsweetened cranberry juice or unsweetened cranberry juice concentrate diluted with filtered water (be sure to use 100 percent pure, unsweetened cranberry juice that has no sugar, corn syrup or other juices added)

• Cinnamon

• Ground ginger

• Nutmeg

• Freshly squeezed orange juice

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Stevia (a sweet-tasting herb that is widely available at natural-food stores) to taste

Directions:
1. Bring Cranberry Water to a light boil; reduce the heat to low.

2. Place cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg into a tea ball; add to the Cranberry Water. (For a tangier juice, add the spices directly to the liquid.)

3. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes; cool to room temperature.

4. Stir in the orange and lemon juices. Add stevia at this time, if desired.

Step II. Alternate drinking 1 cup (8 ounces) of filtered water and 1 cup (8 ounces) of Miracle Juice during the day. Drink at least 72 ounces of filtered water throughout the day, in addition to the Miracle Juice. Make sure you drink at least a cup of liquid - either the Miracle Juice or water - every hour. Begin the protocol when you wake up in the morning. You don't have to begin at a specific time, but be sure to have all eight glasses of Miracle Juice in addition to the 72 ounces of water by day's end.

Step III. Upon rising and at the end of the day, take one serving of a colon-caring supplement, chosen from among the following:

• Powdered psyllium husks (1 to 2 teaspoons mixed in 8 ounces of water or Miracle Juice)

• Ground or milled flaxseeds (2 to 3 tablespoons mixed in 10 to 12 ounces of water or 8 ounces Miracle Juice)

Step IV. Engage in only light exercise - either a 20-minute walk or 10 minutes on a rebounder or elliptical machine.

The Three-Day sequel
Following your One-Day Detox, it's essential that you follow this sequel program for three days straight. Otherwise, your reentry into normal eating may leave you feeling bloated, constipated and more toxic than before.

Fasting without follow-up support means that toxins released into your bloodstream during the fast may remain in your system, making you feel tired, anxious, headachy and fatigued. Skipping the Three-Day Sequel also sets you up to regain lost weight. So support your body's natural detox process and seal in the results of your One-Day Juice Fast by following these simple steps:

1. Each day, choose at least one of the following probiotic food sources to restore “friendly bacteria”:

• Sauerkraut (1/2 cup). You can either make your own or buy an organic, raw variety. Most store-bought sauerkraut is processed with heat, which kills the naturally occurring enzymes and microflora, so check the label carefully.

• Yogurt. Nonfat, low-fat or whole-milk yogurt are all fine, but look for plain yogurt whose label reads “live, active cultures.”

2. Before each meal, take one or more tablets of hydrochloric acid in a formula that contains at least 500 to 540 milligrams of betaine hydrochloride with at least 100 to 150 milligrams of pepsin, and at least 50 milligrams of ox bile extract (such formulas are widely available at most health and nutrition stores and at many natural groceries).

3. Follow steps 1 through 6 of the Seven-Day Prequel.