Are you still hanging onto extra weight that you would love to vanquish? Are you feeling bloated, lethargic, fatigued, irritable, or generally “icky”? Has your heartfelt New Year’s resolution to “eat healthy” already fallen by the wayside? Does self-care continue to take a backseat to family or job overwhelm?
Good news! Whether your health goal is weight loss, clearer skin or more energy—you can get back on track with a guided 7-Day Body Reset whole foods cleanse.
True or false?
If you do a whole foods cleanse:
…You’ll only be drinking green juices and water.
…You’ll have to manage feeling starved, exhausted and weak.
…You’lll feel deprived and cheated of your favorite foods.
…You’ll endure uncomfortable treatments, like a colonic irrigation that “washes out” the large bowel via a hose and lots of water.
All false.
A guided whole foods cleanse is none of these things.
A whole foods cleanse is a way to support and enhance the body’s natural detoxification pathways (the liver and kidneys). It entails “cleaning up” your diet, modifying your lifestyle habits to include enough sleep, restorative movement, relaxation exercises, and herbal supplements, if necessary, to help the body remove toxins more efficiently. It’s an opportunity to be mindful of self-care.
Why cleanse?
Even if we typically eat “healthy”, we tend to relax our standards between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. We indulge in sugary treats more than usual. We pour wine or our favorite tipple more freely over the holidays. We succumb to pressure from family, friends and colleagues—and eat more than we otherwise might. Alcohol. Sugar. Wheat. Dairy. Refined carbohydrates. Processed foods. Artificial sweeteners (in foods and soda). These wreak havoc on our digestive system, where over 70% of our immune system resides.
Stress and the toxins, to which we are exposed in our air, food, water, personal care products, cosmetics and home, also take a toll on the body.
When our normal detox organs, the liver and kidneys, become overwhelmed, symptoms can manifest. Signs that your body is experiencing toxicity—and could benefit from a cleanse—include weight gain, fatigue, joint pain, anxiety and depression, headaches, and food allergies or sensitivities, among others.
The 7-Day Body Reset Cleanse addresses this problem with a structured clean eating program that removes irritating and hard-to-digest foods and supports improved digestion.
Recharge or heal your body
How did I start off the New Year several pounds lighter than at the beginning of the holiday season? Because I listened to my body rather than resist what it was telling me. When I found myself rundown and fatigued at several points between my birthday (December 11th) and New Year’s, I heeded an organic urge to embark on a clean eating cleanse. Meaning…I lost my appetite for caffeine, restaurant meals, and anything sugar, including grains (which convert to sugar in the body—my occasional favorites being wild rice and buckwheat), dark chocolate and alcohol. Instead, I found myself craving nourishing, home-cooked, easy-to-digest foods, such as bone broth, pumpkin puree, braised greens and long, slow-cooked grass-fed meats.
Rather than willfully “power through” my malaise and exhaustion with stimulants (coffee, sugar, chocolate), I made self-care a priority. I drank plenty of water and bone broth. I engaged in gentle movement (walking). And I made sure to sleep at least 8 hours a night.
The result? This mindfulness expedited the healing process, and my clean eating cleanse reset my body, resulting in natural weight release—without dietary restriction, calorie counting, or logging in hours of exercise. It bolstered my immune system and primed my body for clean eating, keeping me on track in January, a time when pledges to eat healthy have been made—and broken—more than a few times.
Uncover food allergies and sensitivities
Do you suspect that you have food allergies or sensitivities?
Why you should know. Having a food allergy or sensitivity—but not realizing it—yet, continuing to eat that food(s) regularly causes inflammation in your body. It can be the hidden cause of health problems, including weight gain, migraines, digestive problems, eczema and many others.
Beyond a food allergy blood test (which I can offer to those who live or work New York City), a whole foods cleanse is an excellent way to play detective in uncovering hidden food sensitivities. Because it eliminates primary “trigger foods” that can cause allergies, sensitivities and digestive distress, including dairy, eggs, wheat, gluten, grains, soy, corn, sugar, artificial sweeteners, yeast, as well as processed foods, sugar, caffeine and alcohol, you can better pinpoint offending foods.
If you’d like to experience the benefits of a clean eating cleanse, check out my 7-Day Body Reset Cleanse.
