Day 20 Detox

I slept great after my long walk last night. I think that must be the trick...increase my exercise routine in duration and intensity and I sleep great!

Breakfast: oat cereal with raisins, cinnamon, walnuts and almond milk.

Lunch: shake, two rice cakes with tahini, and a banana.

Dinner: leftover Thai food from last night...even better the second night!

A very busy day for me with an event in the evening that prevented me from cooking anything new for dinner. Even though it was a long day, I still had energy at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong...I was tired, but not overly fatigued. I was even able to stay up later than usual and watch a movie and not fall asleep! This detox has really impacted my energy levels!

Day 19 Detox

I take it back that I'm not going to talk about how I am sleeping...


I slept fabulous last night! I think it was the long run in the evening that tuckered me out! I feel energized this morning...finally!


Breakfast: oat cereal.

Lunch: shake, two rice cakes with tahini, grapefruit and an apple.


Pre-Dinner snack: kiwi and a banana


Dinner: I made a FANTASTIC dinner...not to toot my own horn because I give full credit to the amazing recipe I used. It was so good I didn't write much about the food I ate previous to dinner because it doesn't even compare! I make Thai Tofu Vegetable Stew from Deepak Chopra's cookbook. The flavoring was excellent and it was the correct level of spiciness...not too hot so you could enjoy it, but still had a nice kick to it. You have to like Thai food to enjoy this recipe, but if you do...I recommend buying this book just for this recipe! I would add different veggie combos next time, but this will definitely stay in our recipe collection. The picture doesn't do it justice!



I went for a long walk on the treadmill tonight and I varied the incline to work different muscle groups. I walked for 40 minutes and felt very energized. The detox must be doing something good!

Day 18 Detox

I'm done talking about sleep! I'm not getting any...end of story after a terrible night's sleep!

Breakfast...same old oat cereal. I had a breakfast meeting where they served scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and delectable pastries, but I contained myself and had fruit and hot tea!

I had a shake, rice cakes with tahini and grapefruit for lunch.

While I made dinner, I had a banana and two kiwi fruits to maintain my blood sugar! 4-5pm is definitely my hardest time to avoid falling off the wagon.

For dinner, I made Roasted Winter Vegetable Stew from Deepak Chopra's cookbook. It was a complicated recipe that involved many steps: cooking beans for over an hour, steaming veggies, making a rue, sauteing, simmering...the list goes on. I would compare this recipe to a healthy version of an Alfredo sauce as far as the consistency goes. It had good flavor because it has loads of fresh rosemary. I don't know that I would pick that combination of veggies again, but I will definitely revise this recipe and make it again. We had spinach salads with this recipe and felt very full after the meal. We ended up eating fairly late because it took me so long to make this recipe, but it was worth it. I will move this recipe to the list for weekend cooking because it takes to long during the week!

I got a long run in on the treadmill tonight and it felt fabulous! I am running farther and faster than I normally would without much training. I feel great!

Day 17 Detox

I slept great last night and was able to sleep until my alarm went off.

Breakfast was the usual...oats, cinnamon, blueberries and almond milk.

I had a grapefruit for a snack and had lunch early at 11:30 am. I had a shake, banana, and cantaloupe. I had two small apples later in the afternoon for a snack.

I was ravenous by the time I got home. I had the rest of the leftover risotto and it was enough to hold me over until dinner.

For dinner, I steamed asparagus, yellow squash, and zucchini. We had leftover green bean soup from last week and....you guessed it...sweet potato fries! Dinner was great and thank goodness for leftovers on a night we both got home late!

For an evening snack, I had a rice cake with tahini. I can't believe we are on day 17! It has gone by really fast!

Day 16 Detox

Sunday Fun-day!

We had leftover rice pancakes, but I made a new fruit topping. I used mixed berries (frozen) with apples, cinnamon and a little apple juice. It was fantastic! We also had some cantaloupe on the side.

For lunch, I had a shake, leftover risotto, and steamed broccoli.

For a snack, I had a banana and a rice cake with tahini and a handful of raw mixed nuts.

For dinner, I made the black bean soup out of Deepak Chopra's cookbook. Ryan and I didn't really love it and I don't think I would make it again. It had a very unique flavor with lots of cumin and cinnamon! Thank goodness we made some sweet potato fries, too! They have been our life-saver on this detox!

I had lots of energy to get stuff done today. I feel great and it feels good to be treating my body the way it deserves to be treated! I challenge everyone to do this to see if you would feel this great, too!

Day 15 Detox

I've decided my sleeping issue is not completely related to the detox. I didn't get any exercise yesterday and I did NOT sleep well last night! I was awake from 4:30am on. I laid in bed and went in and out with weird dreams!

Breakfast was boring after the great pancakes yesterday! We had oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, cinnamon and almond milk.

I had leftover risotto and a banana for lunch while I was busy at an event today. I was able to grab a rice cake with tahini as a late afternoon snack while at the event.

We went out to eat for dinner at Burrito Union. Great restaurant if you haven't tried it before. We had burrito bowls with black beans (Ryan had chicken, too) rice, mixture of veggies, salsa and gaucamole. It was really good...partly because we didn't have to cook! We ate early at 4pm, so I plan to squeeze in my protein shake tonight.

I didn't get any exercise today, unless you count standing on my feet all day! So, I'm hoping I get good sleep tonight! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday and enjoying the mild weather!

Day 14 Detox

Good Morning! I slept solidly until 6am. I even had the luxury of laying in bed for a little longer this morning, too!

Not the same old breakfast today! I had time to make rice pancakes with apple and pear topping. We had a half a grapefruit on the side. It was fantastic!!! It has been a long time since we have had any bread products, but I think they would have tasted great, regardless of the lack of carbs in our diet! I used the recipes out of the Metagenics cookbook. I added pear to the apple compote because they were getting overly ripe and it was well worth it! I will definitely continue making the fruit topping after the detox when we have waffles and pancakes. The pancakes had a great texture and flavor. I wasn't sure what to expect because it was dairy, gluten and egg free! Instead, the recipe called for egg substitute, almond milk and oat/rice flour. We will definitely continue making this recipe after the detox!

For lunch, we had leftover Kasha chili and cucumber with gaucamole. For a late afternoon snack, I had the protein shake.

I went to an open house for a local business and you should have seen the food they had! Breaded baked brie cheese, wine and beer, desserts galore! It was hard to pass up the local chocolate candies, especially because it was close to dinner and I was hungry! A good example of how most of our social events revolve around food!

While I cooked dinner, I had a banana and strawberries. We ate much later than usual, so it was important to snack on healthy things because that is the time of day for me that would be easy to fall off the wagon. We had salmon with risotto (zucchini and asparagus mixed in).

I did not have time to get a walk/run in, so I'm hoping sleep will be restful tonight. I'll keep you posted! Happy Friday!

Day 13 Detox

Once again, I slept well until 4:45am, was able to fall back to sleep and then had crazy dreams until the alarm went off!

I had a shake for breakfast and was off to my breakfast meeting. I was able to pass up the pastries and stuck with the mixed fruit and green tea.

I also had a lunch meeting, but was able to order a salad with grilled chicken, fruit and veggies and olive oil and vinegar for the dressing. Why does a salad always taste better at a restaurant? I could make the exact salad at home and it wouldn't taste as good!

I had a banana and cashews before my afternoon walk and had lots of energy, so I ran for awhile. It felt great to be outside with the sunshine and 40 degree weather! The snow is disappearing quickly!

I had two rice cakes with tahini after my run and lots of water.

We had leftover chili and snap peas for dinner. I'm looking forward to cooking some good meals over the weekend! Preparation is key to staying the course of this detox. I've said it before, but I'll say it again....if you come home hungry and don't have things prepared to snack on or can't wait to eat until dinner...you will fall off the wagon! Shop with a list, wash produce and cut it up when you get home and follow your menu every day!

Day 12 Detox

Sleep was sound until 4:45am. Maybe I'm not meant to sleep more than 6 hours a night!

Sorry, but breakfast is really boring because, yet again, I had the whole oatmeal cereal thing!

For a snack, I had a banana and an apple. I had a shake about 1:30pm when my blood sugar started to decrease.

Before my afternoon walk, I had a handful of cashews. ANOTHER beautiful day! Sunny and near 40!

Ryan was kind enough to make dinner tonight while I worked on a presentation. I had snap peas dipped in guacamole to curb my hunger while I waited for dinner. Delicious! One of my favorite snacks through this process! He made the Kasha Chili from the Metagenics cookbook. It contained whole kasha...ever heard of it? Me either! Another name for them is buckwheat groats...ever heard of them? Me either! I looked them up on the internet and if you are interested, check out the Whole Foods website to get all the health info. Basically, they are a great fiber source, but are gluten-free. They have the consistency of a denser rice and not much flavor. We both decided we would eat them again because they add lots of fiber and taste like whatever they are in. The chili was really good with great flavor. We also had salads with olive oil and vinegar dressing.

I had lots of energy to stay up until after midnight working on my presentation. Good food fuels the body!

Day 11 Detox

I FINALLY got a great night of sleep last night!!!! It has only taken me 11 days into this detox! I didn't have crazy dreams last night and I slept until my alarm went off. What a difference when you get a full night of restful sleep!

For breakfast I had oatmeal with walnuts, blueberries, cinnamon and almond milk.

I had two rice cakes with tahini (sesame seed butter) for a snack. I wasn't near a sink to wash my apple, so I had to fore go the apple.

For lunch, Ryan brought many different fruits and veggies, but he had to stop off at a local grocery store for a baked chicken breast for some protein. When I got home so late last night, I wasn't able to cook, so that was all we had for him to take for lunch! He had already had a shake at breakfast and a shake at lunch wouldn't have lasted him until the end of his work day. I had a shake at lunch with a banana.

Jax (our dog) and I were able to get out for a long walk this afternoon. It was sunny and almost 40! What a treat for early March! I hope it continues. Whenever I get exercise, my metabolism surges and I am so hungry!

I made the Minestrone soup (from the Metagenics recipe book) big salads and baked sweet potatoes. Can I just say we are addicted to sweet potatoes!!! They have enough sweetness in them, so they curb the sweet tooth! Well, sort of, I think I would be able to handle a bowl of ice cream at the end of the day, but I restrain myself. Not to mention we don't even have it in the house! I had the remaining strawberries and bananas from last night for dessert.

I have to make a confession...I have been extremely stressed lately with the computer issues I have been experiencing. Last night was the worst because I didn't have a computer to work on until tonight. That is a LONG time for me to be without a computer (apologies to those people awaiting an email response from me...that is the first thing on my list to do in the morning:) ) and I was really feeling overwhelmed with not getting any work done and having a HUGE to-do list. This was the first time on the detox I wanted to scratch the whole thing and have something unhealthy to eat comfort my anxiety! This urge was even more powerful than when I was super hungry this weekend on the extreme detox! That's a very powerful feeling! This is a hard thing for me to confess that I think I am an emotional eater, but I promised a very candid portrayal of what I'm going through when I started this journey! One of the reasons we decided to do the detox was to examine our relationship with food...healthy or unhealthy. This detox has definitely brought my weakness into the forefront and I am glad I'm consciously aware of it. Once you are aware you can start to change...right?! At least I can sleep tonight with that off my chest :) Sweet dreams!

Day 10 Detox

Monday morning...a day I could stand to be up early and wide awake. Unfortunately, I was half in and half out when the alarm went off and very tired!

After a conversation with our Naturopath yesterday, we determined the extreme week of detox (the only protein eaten is the shakes) was too much for us. We are too active and require more protein. We determined we would have 1-2 shakes a day and have some other clean protein sources.

For breakfast we had oatmeal with walnuts, cinnamon, blueberries and almond milk.

I had a grapefruit for a mid-morning snack. For lunch, I had leftover spicy black beans with lots of guacamole.

I had an apple later in the afternoon when I was running around trying to get my computer fixed (still not working!) By the time I got home at 7pm I was famished and had really low blood sugar. Luckily, Ryan must have sensed that I would come home hungry and had hot sweet potatoes ready as I walked through the door! It is the small things in life ;) They couldn't have tasted better!

For dinner, we had salads with olive oil and vinegar dressing. He had chicken on his and I had a shake. We had strawberries and bananas for dessert covered with a recipe from the Metagenics recipe book. It had raw apple, cashews, and pineapple juice blended together and poured over the cut up fruit. I don't think I would make it again because the sauce had a weird consistency and the pineapple juice made it very sweet. This is an odd thing for someone to say that usually can eat any type of sweet, but I couldn't take it! Maybe my palate is starting to shift?! I can only hope my sweet tooth is disappearing! I'll keep you posted if this continues!

Day 9 Detox

I was able to fall back to sleep after waking up at 5am. Oh, the luxury of a lazy Sunday!

I had a banana after getting up and waited to see how hungry I was. About an hour later, I made a fruit smoothie with mixed organic frozen berries, banana and the protein powder. It was a nice change from just drinking the shake.

An hour and a half later, I had an apple and a grapefruit. I've noticed the shakes only last about 1.5 hours until I'm hungry.

For lunch we had leftover turchetta and risotto. We went for a walk by the lake and lunch was enough to keep the hunger away for awhile.

I had to stop at the grocery store and I made the mistake of going there on an empty stomach! Everything looked good! I couldn't find any raw cashews (needed for a recipe this week) and I was NOT stopping at another store! In a weak moment, I bought the roasted and lightly salted version...it was a low blood sugar moment! I even had a handful of them on the way home! So that was my "cheat" for the week!

While I was making dinner, I made some baked sweet potatoes to snack on. I also had snap peas to hold me over until dinner. I made spicey black beans (recipe in the Metagenics detox pamphlet) and guacamole. It was really good! We decided we would keep this recipe even off the detox!

This meal was really satisfying and I am still not hungry tonight. It is much easier to go to sleep with a full stomach! Sweet dreams...

Day 8 Detox

Ryan had to work this morning, but I was already awake when his alarm went off! I'm really hoping sleep will turn around soon!

Today is the day the detox changes for 7 days. Only foods from vegetables, fruits, fats, spices and beverage categories are allowed and rice. That means all the protein is coming from the shakes. Also, no legumes, nuts, or oats. This makes thinking about what to eat...easy, but less actual food being eaten.

For breakfast, I mixed a shake and headed off for a walk with one of my dearest friends and her two boys, down by the lake. It was a gorgeous day, with the sun shining and temps near the 30's. Spring feels like it is around the corner! I walked for almost an hour and went home to find something to eat.

I had an apple, then a banana, then some snow peas, then a tomato. The walk must have kicked up my metabolism, because I was starving and NOTHING was making me satisfied. I buckled and had some of the leftover turchetta from last night. I also had some steamed broccoli with flaxseed oil drizzled over it. I would have had another shake, but realized our jug was getting low and we didn't have enough to do 3 shakes a day and get through the weekend. We'll have to deviate from the schedule a little and only do 2 shakes a day, until I can get more product this week.

I was busy all day and HUNGRY all day! This was the first day of discomfort, well, sort of, if you consider hunger...discomfort. I felt like I couldn't think about much else today, except what I was going to eat next! I think the hardest part was not having a satisfying breakfast, like oatmeal, and drinking my breakfast instead.

By late afternoon, I was REALLY looking forward to dinner! I had another apple, a shake, and a grapefruit to get me through while I was cooking dinner. Another thing I have realized on this detox, is how much I like to snack on something while I'm cooking! I usually have some chips and salsa, chips and guacamole, etc. I miss them!

For dinner, I made risotto with carrots, yellow squash, celery, onions and garlic. I also had baked sweet potatoes and cucumbers. Dinner tasted soooo good after a long day of feeling hungry! The sweet potatoes were such a treat because they tasted so sweet! Ryan and I commented on how we would normally put lots of ketchup on the potatoes. We both thought ketchup would have been much too sweet because we are getting used to the taste of the actual food and the sweetness in the potatoes was more than satisfying. I hope we can continue some of these lessons we are learning after the detox. No ketchup will save us lots of extra sugar and calories if we can pass it up!

Even though the meal was fantastic, I was still a little hungry. I waited a half hour after dinner and then had to have a rice cake!

I didn't go to bed really hungry, but I definitely know I'll be hungry by morning!

Day 7 Detox

WIDE AWAKE at 4am again!!! GRRR! I felt like I was finally falling back to sleep and my alarm went off! I was really slow-moving and groggy!

Breakfast was the usual oats with walnuts, cinnamon, and almond milk. I had a banana at work mid-morning.

That's where the regular work day routine was thrown off! I was trying to open a file on my computer and the whole thing crashed! Stressful! I had to put the computer on the back-burner and ran over to a lunch meeting. It was a sandwich bar with creamy tomato soup...problem! It was an even bigger problem because I was getting low blood sugar and was really stressed about the outcome of my computer! The restaurant was not able to accommodate me with a side salad, so I had to eat a plate of fruit for lunch. The fruit was really good...cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple and strawberries, but I needed protein! I raced home after the meeting for a shake and a rice cake to ward off a headache and crabbiness!

I had a very busy afternoon going between two computer places. The errands/appointments ran later than I thought, so by the time I got home, I was famished! I was close to a major melt-down with the stress of the computer and low blood sugar, so I grabbed an apple and leftover steamed broccoli while I waited for dinner to be ready and started to feel much better! I have a really hard time having control over my emotions (crabby one minute...weepy another) while on this detox. It definitely helps when the blood sugar is maintained!

Dinner was steamed kale, turchetta (Tino and Tomasso Turchetta Roast) and a grapefruit for dessert. The turchetta was phenomenal. It wasn't organic meat (kind of a "cheat") but it was prepared with all natural spices, no MSG or nitrates. We met the owner of the company at Whole Foods last weekend and sampled his new product. So even though it was a little "cheat" we were supporting a local business!

Thanks to an amazing computer whiz, I have my computer back tonight with a new hard drive. I am hoping another business will be able to help me recover my data on my old hard drive, but at least I am able to update the blog tonight! It's the small things in life :) Happy Friday and sleep tight!

Day 6 Detox

I finally slept a little better last night. I didn't have as many crazy dreams, but I was wide awake at 5am again. If only I could sleep until my alarm went off!

I had my usual oatmeal with walnuts, cinnamon, and almond milk. I'm finding it easier on my system to have the shake later in the day rather than right away in the morning.

I had a breakfast meeting this morning and forgot they were serving a meal. Thank goodness I had eaten already because the restaurant provided stuffed french toast! The smell was heavenly and the french toast was stuffed with apples and coated with an amazing caramel sauce. If I wasn't detoxing, I still wouldn't be able to eat it because I'm gluten intolerant, but it was still hard to be around when I haven't had sugar for quite a few days! What I DID have was green tea and mixed fruit (honey dew, cantaloupe, pineapple and grapes).

I also had a lunch meeting. It is very difficult to find something on a menu that works for a detox meal, but most restaurants are really willing to work with requests. I learned this once I ventured into the gluten-free/MSG-free diet. The detox just pushes the restrictions a little farther. I had a mixed greens salad with apples, dried cranberries, grilled chicken breast and olive oil and vinegar for the dressing. In a restaurant, none of this is organic, but I think it was as close as I could get to what I would have made at home. The cream soups and gooey sandwich melts that people were eating around me looked fantastic, but I felt very satified with my option. I made it through two temptations today...whew!

I had a rice cake with almond butter before my walk today. I am really liking this snack...very satisfying. When I got back from my walk, I had a shake and AdvaClear about a half an hour later. The shake tasted grittier today, but I think it is because I have had quite a few lately.

Dinner was leftover Rosemary White Bean Soup, steamed zucchini and pineapple. I had a grapefruit as a snack later on in the evening. I'm looking forward to doing some more cooking this weekend and trying more detox recipes. I think the leftovers that I have now, I will freeze and use at the end of the second week or beginning of the third week.

Overall, it was a good day. Energy levels were higher and it felt good to be on a walk outside with the sun on my face. Spring is on its way!

Day 5 Detox

My sleep wasn't much better last night. Lots of weird dreams! I was wide awake at 5am and I think the detox is allowing me to have much more energy in the mornings, which has been a problem in past and one of the reasons I wanted to do the detox.

I started off the morning with the usual oats, walnuts, cinnamon, and almond milk. It took me quite a bit of time getting lunches ready this morning. I baked chicken this morning because I was too tired to do it last night. By the time I found all the lids for containers, got veggies cleaned and cut, I think it was almost an hour from start to finish to make and eat breakfast and finish lunches.

I had a banana and rice cake with almond butter for a snack around 11am. At 1:30pm I had my shake with AdvaClear. I was hungry by 2:30pm, so I had a lettuce wrap with chicken, sprouts, hummus (Deepak Chopra's Cookbook) and cut up vegetables (zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers). I have to say the hummus from this book is the first recipe I haven't really liked. It is really dry compared to the stuff you buy in the store. I'm not sure I would make it again without tweaking the recipe quite a bit.

I have to say one of the other side effects I have been experiencing that I haven't mentioned is body temp regulation. It may sound kind of crazy, but I have been cold all of the time. Yesterday when I laid down for awhile, I had two blankets on and I just couldn't warm up! Today was the first day I started to shake this, so I hope it lasts! I can't stand to be cold!

Another confession....even though I have felt fairly satisfied with this food, I have been having some cravings for junk food! Oddly enough, food that I wouldn't usually eat! I saw a commercial for pizza and it made me immediately hungry! I also stopped off at the grocery store and they were baking or frying donuts and I was salivating! I would never buy them, so I don't know where that is coming from!

I went for a 40 minute walk/run tonight on the treadmill. I had lots of energy and ran much farther that I thought I would be able to. I thought I would be weaker than usual, but it was just the opposite! This brings me to mention something I was discussing with a great friend on the phone tonight...nutrient dense food. When you aren't eating high quality food and lots of fruits, vegetables and clean proteins, your body doesn't have the nutrients to nourish the cells that are constantly turning over and regenerating. Our bodies are under so much stress trying to break down food that has lots of chemicals, perservatives, and lack of nutrients. Our bodies try to pull some nutrients out of our highly processed food, but it takes that much more work. So it makes sense that I am able to exercise much easier when my body isn't having to put energy into breaking down junk food and getting great nutrients from easy-to-digest food.

Dinner was uneventful with lots of steamed broccoli and leftover Moroccan Vegetables with quinoa. I am so thankful I did all the cooking last weekend because the immediate food available has really helped to stay on track when I come home hungry at night.

Here's praying for better sleep and temp regulation tonight and tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

Day 4 Detox

I was hoping my sleep would be getting better on the detox, but I haven't experienced that...yet. I have had lots of weird dreams and have been waking up a lot. I woke up this morning at 5am and was EXTREMELY dizzy! I wasn't sure if my sinuses were plugged, I needed to be adjusted, or if it was one of the detox side effects. I went back to bed until 6:30am and was still dizzy when I got up. I was VERY slow-moving and irritable. I grabbed an apple on my way to work because I didn't think I could handle a shake when I wasn't feeling very well.

9am-I took 3 AdvaClear and had oatmeal with walnuts, cinnamon, and almond milk. Still dizzy and kind of crabby!

2pm-I was finally coming out of my slump and had my shake. I talked to Ryan at work and he said he was hungry and low energy. He said he can't believe how much and how often he has to eat to stay satisfied!

4pm-I had a banana and homemade almond butter (recipe in Deepak Chopra's cookbook and I used olive oil instead of ghee) on a brown rice cake. It tasted fantastic!

I think that is what I am realizing more and more...you taste the actual food rather than extreme salt and sugar. I had a fairly clean diet coming into this process, so I think it may be important for some people thinking about doing a detox to work into it slowly. Maybe cutting out sugar first for a couple weeks, soda, etc. I think to break all bad habits cold turkey could cause some nasty side effects.

I took the dog for a walk and even though it was very sunny, it was very windy! My energy was low and combined with the wind, we cut it short! I did lay down when we got back and I felt much better. The dizziness was completely gone. Let's hope it stays that way because that was not very fun!

7pm-For dinner I had Dr. Chopra's Rosemary White Bean Soup, a salad (sprouts, cucumbers, zucchini with oil and vinegar) a rice cake and pineapple for dessert. Plenty to fill me up and feel satisfied.

The recipes I have used really make me feel like I am eating normal and not on an actual detox. The key is having these meals made up ahead of time for the busy lunches and dinners during the week.

I am hoping for better sleep tonight. Good Night!

Day 3 Detox

I definitely felt much better this morning than Sunday morning...thankfully! The tricky part about today is a full day of work for both Ryan and I. We had to plan ahead for lunches and snacks throughout the day.

I made oatmeal with almond milk and walnuts for breakfast and Ryan made a shake. I wanted breakfast to last awhile, so I decided to use the shake as a snack. At 11am I mixed my shake (1 1/2 scoops today) and had some cucumbers. The shake lasted longer with the larger amount of powder. At 1:30pm I heated up left-over stir fry.

I was able to make it through the rest of the afternoon with an apple and some walnuts. I had lots of energy and the dull headache did not return today. I also had lots of water and hot tea throughout the day.

So far so good...sounds like an uneventful day, right?!?

When I went to leave for home, my car wouldn't start :( I called Ryan who was working late at work and he came to rescue me :) What I didn't know was he had really low blood sugar because work had been very busy and he didn't have time to grab a late afternoon snack. He ate some walnuts and a clementine before he went out to save the day. I hate to even admit it, but all he did was go out to the car, try and start it and it started!!! How frustrating! Another example of how important it is to be eating constantly throughout the day.

When I got home, it was much later than usual and I knew I needed to eat soon or I was heading for a bad low blood sugar headache. I got in the door and found my dog slinking around the corner....never a good sign! I went into the kitchen and he had gotten into a bag of quinoa! It was everywhere!! (See pics...if you can't tell, he knew he was bad!)

I quickly ate some pineapple to keep my blood sugar and energy up and cleaned up the mess! I made a great salad for dinner with lots of mixed greens, quinoa, fresh basil, 1/2 an avocado, carrots, and broccoli. I used olive oil and white wine vinegar with black pepper as a dressing. Not exactly lasagna with garlic bread, but satisfying, quick and easy!

Overall, the detox is going well with lots of planning and a little self-control. Did I mention one of my co-workers brought dark chocolate covered strawberries to work today?!?!? Yes, I passed them up, but it was difficult!

Day 2 Detox

I woke up this morning with body aches, no energy and a sore throat. Yikes...

9am-I hauled myself out of bed (I am usually up much earlier than that, so that was REALLY sleeping in for me!) and Ryan was getting the shakes ready. We used one full scoop this morning and the AdvaClear. The shake was easy to get down and settled in my stomach well and I was already feeling better being up and around.

10:30am-We were already hungry so I made the gluten-free oats with walnuts and almond milk. We also had hot herbal tea and half of a grapefruit.

After an hour, I was slightly hungry and had snap peas and an apple. We decided to go for a walk and were gone for almost an hour. It was a beautiful day in the 30's and the sun was shining. The snow is melting and it is hard to believe it is still February! During the last 10 minutes of our walk, Ryan "hit a wall" (his words). He didn't have any energy and he was hungry. We got home and he had an apple. He said, "This is the best apple I have ever eaten!" and had the look of a kid eating an ice cream cone! I don't know if he was serious or if he was just that hungry, but felt it in my best interest not to ask any further questions! Like I said, we are learning more about our relationship and best not to question someone with low blood sugar!! He also had homemade hummus from the Chopra Center Cookbook with veggies.

3:30pm-I made an early dinner from Deepak Chopra's cookbook, "Moroccan Vegetables with quinoa and chicken. I will tweak this recipe in the future, but it tasted pretty darn good!

We have had lots of water over the course of the evening. I have a minor dull headache, but Ryan feels great. The day went well, but I'm glad I'm not working today! Our activity levels are less than usual and I think it is because we don't have the energy we normally do. Thank goodness the Olympics are on! Go USA!

Day 1 Detox

Welcome! Thank you for reading my blog! I am Dr. Kristen Klos-Maki, D.C. with Life Compass Chiropractic. I am starting this blog to share my experiences and knowledge with different health and wellness related topics.

The first topic I would like to conquer...Detoxification. Ryan (my husband) and I decided to start a new adventure and begin a detox this weekend! I wanted to share our experience with everyone and give you a first-hand account of what we will be going through. I hope this is helpful information for you if you are trying to decide if you should begin a detox. There are many reasons people decide to do a detox. We made the decision to detox to help identify food sensitivities we may be having and to cleanse our systems for 3 weeks.

**Disclaimer first...a detox is not right for everyone and should only be done under the supervision of a health care provider.

With that out of the way...I consulted with my local Naturopath (I will list her name in further blogs, but I need to get permission first!) and she recommended we use Metagenics, UltraClear Plus pH, flavor: natural pineappple banana, which is the protein shake powder. In addition, we are taking Metagenics, AdvaClear, which helps support the detoxification.

The diet is relatively basic with lots of fruits and vegetables (as many organic as possible) clean meats (grass-fed, organic), rice (wild, arborio, brown), nuts and oats. The fluids recommended are water and tea. The absolute "no-no's" are dairy, sugar, gluten, peanuts, eggs, soy and corn. Metagenics has a great booklet that gives information and recipes to support the detox. This may sound challenging, but I was surprised at the recipes we found that accomodate these restrictions.

We began Saturday morning at 9am with our first shake. We didn't mix anything with it, just water and powder. We wanted to get a feel for the taste and texture before we started mixing it with fruit, etc. We started off slowly with only a 1/2 scoop. The texture was a little gritty, but not difficult to drink. The taste was palatable and not overly flavored. I was concerned the banana flavor would be very artificial-tasting, but I wouldn't be able to make out the specific flavor if I didn't already know what it was. We also took the Advaclear at the same time. Ryan went for a run on the treadmill and I did stuff around the house. I had a dull headache after a half hour, but Ryan felt great after his run.

10am-we were both hungry already, so I heated up a soup I had made from Deepak Chopra's book, "The Chopra Center Cookbook", Rosemary White Bean Soup. We were off to run errands for a few hours and that was a mistake. We ended up stopping at a grocery store for raw almonds and apples to get us through. We had an appointment at 2pm and knew we wouldn't make it until we got home to eat! By the time we got home at 4pm, we were both famished, with dull headaches and body aches. We had gone much to long without a substantial meal. First lesson learned...eat on a consistent basis and don't wait to be hungry to eat! When we waited too long, our blood sugar was LOW!

4pm-I made us gluten-free oats with walnuts and some almond milk and we both laid down for a nap. When I got up, my headache was gone and I felt like I had energy again. Ryan felt the same way.

For dinner, I made "Buddha's Delight Vegetable Stir-Fry" from Deepak Chopra's book. It was excellent and I added chicken to give us extra protein. There was a minor "cheat" with some maple syrup (sugar) and Bragg Liquid Aminos (a soy product) in the sauce, but the amount was so small, I let it slide by! The result was well worth it!

It felt good to get the first day completed. We learned how quickly our moods are impacted by our blood sugar and how quickly we grab something for snacks. We also realized how much we need to plan ahead for our meals and snacks because healthy food takes time to make! I think this is going to be a great experience for us and I think we will learn about ourselves and also our relationship! I have to say, my husband is such a great sport...he is always up for another one of my crazy ideas. This is the first idea I've had that has lasted 21 days....we'll see how it goes :)