Detox

This morning I embarked on the Dr. Oz 48 hour cleanse.  Why?  I'm not exactly sure.  A friend was doing it and wanted some moral support.  I looked at what was involved and it seemed like a personal challenge I could do.  Once I read reviews indicating it could help to reduce or eliminate junk food cravings I was sold.

We decided to cleanse during two week days instead of a weekend as it would have less of an impact on our families.  Yesterday I bought the supplies, spending about 39 Euro.  I'll chalk this all up to experience since by noon I started feeling crummy and by 2:00 I decided to eat a more substantial snack because I was feeling so ill.

Why did I feel ill? Here are my theories:

Theory #1:  It doesn't say this on the Dr. Oz website, but when the cleanse is discussed on Oprah.com they note that you should drink enough caffeine to avoid withdrawal symptoms.  I certainly don't over indulge on coffee, but I do have a couple of cups of strong English tea every morning.  Maybe the hot water with lemon didn't cut it?

Theory #2:  I'm just not a fasting kind of person.  I haven't fasted a lot in my life, but occasional Lenten observances have shown me that it DOES NOT agree with me.  Strictly speaking this wasn't a fast so I thought I'd be ok, but it was calorically reduced.  Perhaps it didn't include enough calories to keep me going?  I don't have  a lot of fat stored up so I think fasting stresses my body sooner than it stresses most.

Theory #3:  There was something in what I ate that triggered a headache.  This has happened in the past, especially when my daily caloric needs aren't met.  I don't know what food I ate that would have been the trigger.  Maybe stevia?  It was in the almond milk.  Flax seed?  Maybe, I can't say I eat that very often.

In any event, I was in bed by 3:30 with a cluster headache.  Poor M missed swimming lessons.  Thankfully Peter got home early so he could feed M and get him ready for bed.  At midnight I woke up feeling a bit better and ate some banana and toast.

The next morning I felt a lot better. Interestingly, I wasn't interested in the bacon I cooked for M.  Nor have I been eating as much junk food.  The leftover vegetable stock became chicken soup last night and beef stew tonight.  I have been enjoying the detox drink and all the fresh vegetables in my fridge.

So, I don't think it was a total bust. On the contrary, despite how awful I felt I really did feel some benefits of the cleanse.  But if I were to do this again I wouldn't restrict my consumption.  Rather, I'd add some of these cleansing foods to my normal diet.