The modern way of being a Health God. Sustainable, nourishing, balanced diet with treats in moderation? Nah. Regular exercise and good lifestyle choices? Definitely not. A 20 day detox that promises to cure all ills while simultaneously making you the best, most toned and generally bright eyed and bushy tailed version of yourself you've ever been? Definitely!
Having at least 5 Instagram posts a week touting the benefits of a miracle 30 day detox currently trending, I gave in. "It can't be that bad!" I told myself. Foolish. Foolish and wrong. So very wrong. Here's what ensued in the 30 days I strived to neutralise/eliminate toxins from my body.
Why do a detox?
A detox supposedly works to cleanse the blood. This is done by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. Having been on 2 different courses of antibiotics in the month previous to starting this detox and my skin showing protest to my diet by breaking out on a consistent basis, I'd come to the consensus that I needed to get my bodies shit together. Now. My plan of action was as follows:
1. Remove foods that may be irritating my digestive system and causing bloating.
2. Introduce practises that are beneficial to the detoxing process (stretching, massage ect)
3. Patiently await the hopefully stunning results.
4. Evaluate said stunning results.
Food and drink to work OUT of my diet:
- Dairy ( this was a little easier as I try not to eat much dairy)
- Processed sugars/sweeteners (not so easy, I enjoy my daily caramel macchiato)
- Alcohol (quite easy, I rarely drink)
- Caffeine (refer to the caramel macchiato)
- Processed Meats (was practising veganuary)
- "White" wheat and grain (white bread, white rice, white pasta)
- Fast food (HARD BLOODY HARD)
Food and drink to work IN to my diet:
- Organic fruits and vegetables
- Leafy greens
- Fresh lemon juice
- Green Tea
- Flax and Chia seeds
- Brown rice
- Water
A true detox for me could not exist based solely on diet. Being a bit of an extremist and perfectionist (or crazy as others like to call it), I am not one to do things by halves. If I was going to do this detox I was going to fully commit. Another toxicity within the body is stress. Nowadays, in our busy modern world, it seems almost wrong to not be stressed. Being an especially tranquil personality is practically frowned upon, or deemed as being a bit "away with the fairies". The ideal is to be busy, to constantly be on the move, doing things, with a schedule almost too full to allow for bathroom breaks. This is both physically toxic (in raising levels of the hormone cortisol in the body) and a mentally toxic attitude. Therefore in this 30 days I would also attempt to manage my stress responses to situations, and try to reduce stress in my life. I needed to address the toxicity of things that drain my mood, my time and my energy.
Personal Goals:
- To improve my productivity and time effectiveness (a self confessed planner addict, this would be a fun one for me if anything)
- To improve my sleep schedule in order to positively effect my hormones and energy. This meant sleeping and rising earlier (naturally rise early but struggle to get to sleep)
- To improve my environment and the space/people surrounding me
- To limit my time on social media
- To create time for my hobbies, passions, career and life development
- To practise daily gratitude and resume writing in my gratitude journal
- To say yes more
- To say no more. Spend less time on things that don't align with my goals
- To practise weekly cleaning and organising
My Experience:
1. My tummy has become significantly less bloated now I'm no longer reliant on my staple diet of white bread, white pasta and constant jacket potatoes. I'm a big believer in carbs being amazing for your body, and have never been one to carb-low. However, curbing the amount of complex carbs in my diet has genuinely improved my issues with bloating and stomach pain. I also feel a lot lighter and more energetic now I'm eating meals that aren't so large I have to take a nap after consuming them!
2. My energy is much more consistent. Before, I was cycling through highs and crashes, but eating foods with slow release energy and more nutrient value.
3. I've never been someone who particularly craves sugar but I did notice that my sugar cravings for fruit decreased in the month I was detoxing. My body was nourished enough that it wasn't sending me signals craving a sugar boost from fruit.
4. I've saved hours by limiting my time on social media which has allowed me to read 2 new books in this 30 day period and spend more time on my creative writing.
5. I'm much clearer on my focus goals for the week and the coming months. Planning and organising is something I've always genuinely enjoyed doing and setting aside specific time in the week to sit down with my planner and lay out my schedule has been amazing beneficial for productivity and time-keeping.
6. I have realised that I sleep significantly better after I have exercised in the day than when I don't, and that yoga and meditation further aid me sleeping well, and for longer.
7. Performing 5-minute tidying tasks in the week has been transformative for the amount of cleaning that I then need to do by the end of the week. A helpful piece of advice that my Mum always says to me is, "if it takes less than ten minutes, do it right now." Since adopting this, my laundry has been less of an ominous, immovable black mountain in the basket, and more of a friendly hill.
8. I choose to surround myself with some truly amazing people, who inspire me, ground me, and motivate me. This in itself has set some amazing things in motion and started some projects that I will hopefully be able to develop more on soon!
So, are you ready to detox? Remember, it just means YOU making a CHOICE to eliminate toxins to improve on how your body functions (mind, body, and/or spirit).
Here are some helpful tips to begin your process:
Identify toxins. Be it foods, people or practices. Take note of what is draining your time, health and energy, and work to understand how cutting these things out will help you live a cleaner, healthier life.
If you want to focus on toxins related to food, start by eating real. Food is healing. Detoxing does not mean restriction, banning whole food groups, or being mean to yourself. Eat nutritious, whole, good foods. Also eat chocolate. Drink green tea, but also drink fruit smoothies. It's all about balance.
Write down (in list form) what you want to remove. Is it dairy, sugar, alcohol, time on social media, being self critical, spending time with toxic people? Success starts with clarity – so write it down.
Get prepared. Whatever you need to do to successfully remove these toxins, be sure to prepare for that. That may mean stocking up on the good, healthy foods you want to eat lots of in your detox, moving things you can't eat to the back of the cupboard or letting someone else "take care of them" for you. It may also help to tell friends and family about your detox so they can support you and hold you accountable.
Pick a date. And just start, because if not now, when? If you fall off the wagon or have a day when you can't face not eating cake, eat the cake. Just make sure you get back up tomorrow and keep going.
I loved my 30 day detox challenge so much that I plan to work on another 30 day challenge this February. Stay tuned for a following blog post on that next month! Happy detoxing :)