So, this is a topic I’m super excited to write about. With so many diets out there, it’s so hard to keep up with them all and let alone having to decide which is the best diet for your body. To be honest, I don’t like diets.
I think diets are overrated, unless it has to do with a medical condition. There is a negative connotation with diets. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “I’m going to go on a diet so I can lose weight.” Check out my YouTube video where I talk about why I starved myself.
Not all diets are the same. Let me state this again, NOT ALL DIETS ARE THE SAME. This also means that not all diets will be good for your body.
I’m a firm believer of modifying your current diet. What do I mean by this? I mean, pay attention to the signs your body gives every time you consume something. Observe and ask yourself the following questions:
- How does your body react when eating certain foods? Breakouts? Bloated?
- How do you feel after eating certain foods? Are you energetic or feel fatigued?
- Do you easily gain weight? Is it hard for you to shed the extra weight?
- Does your body have a difficult time digesting certain foods? Do you feel like there is a rock in your stomach that won’t break down?
- How does it affect your mood? Do you feel crummy? Do you feel happy or depressed? Angry?
So, for the last few years, I would detox once a season. Basically, every 3 months for an entire month. What led me to detox? Well, after juicing for 3 days to an entire week, I quickly realized that starving my body led to nothing. That’s really what it is once you think about it. You’re starving your body and forcing it to consume only liquid for X amount of days. Don’t get me started on the next level of only consuming water with lemon.
Since juicing didn’t work for me, especially the constant headaches (literally), I needed to try something different. Smoothies. They’re so delicious, right?
A morning smoothie is absolutely the best and even during lunch time, but replacing the juicing with a smoothie felt no different. I quickly became tired of them because I was “over-smoothing” myself, and often times I’d feel full, but in a bloated way. Clearly, my body couldn’t handle constant fluids and needed solid food.
What was the next best thing? Raw vegetables….or so I thought. If I had a headache with juicing, my headache intensified by consuming raw vegetables. There were instances where I felt so fatigued that I felt I would have passed out. Why did I choose to consume raw vegetables? I read an article one time that there is a cooking period in which you can actually kill all of the minerals and nutrients found within vegetables. In order to keep the minerals and nutrients, I thought it would be best to consume them raw.
I would eat carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce wraps, salads, other vegetables and I’d even incorporate fruits. Let me tell you that the days felt longer and I quickly found it boring. I needed sustenance.
I needed another plan and after hearing a friend of mine state she was going to detox for an entire month, I knew I was being pointed in the right direction. Detoxing in itself is mostly surrounding the idea of not consuming alcohol. So, I took this concept and added other things that I knew affected my body.
I narrowed it to the top 5:
- Meat,
- Sugar,
- Bread,
- Dairy, and
- Alcohol
Meat
It’s always a meaty situation
I have observed that my body has a difficult time digesting meat. Particularly, beef. This is not to say I’d find myself ever becoming a vegetarian, but my body does feel lighter when I consume less meat and I don’t feel as if there is something just sitting in my pit of my stomach.
In general, eating pork is at the bottom of my list. Not that I would never eat it, but I probably only eat pork once or twice a year. It’s the number one meat I stay away from because of the fact that pork makes me break out within minutes. It also affects my mood and somehow easily get the “meat sweats”. It’s terrible.
Sugar
Not everything is sugar coated
It’s basically crack. One can easily get addicted to sugar and once you realize you’re on the sugar boat, it’s hard to jump off it. Luckily, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth to begin with. However, I am a sucker for ice cream, custards, and dark chocolate.
Some people think this is the most difficult to stay away from, but in all honesty, it’s the easiest. Your body will easily get accustomed to not craving what it doesn’t need. If you give your body the opportunity to go to rehab, you will find that your body won’t crave anything sweet. On the contrary, the next time you eat a dessert, you’ll taste the sugar more than ever before.
I would eat fruits which contain natural sugars. It’s basically the processed sugar that I stay away from. That’s the worst one.
Bread
If the French eat it, why can’t I?
Ah, one of my favorite things to eat. Who doesn’t love bread? I mean, a croissant during any brunch is A OK in my book. I’m a sucker for bread.
You may be asking, why don’t you just exclude carbs? Why bread specifically? Well, in my opinion, a little bit of carbs won’t really hurt anyone. I enjoy potatoes and as I stated before, it’s all about moderation.
Bread easily gets me bloated. I’ve come to realize it may be a gluten issue which I’ll probably look into later on. My body just needs a break every once in a while.
Dairy
Who cut the cheese?
The most conflicting part of the diet that almost everyone experiences. It’s also the one thing that can easily make me break out if I consume too much. Cheese is my absolute favorite!
Aside from the breakouts, dairy also gets me bloated. I’ve also noticed that it makes me produce more oils. There are tons of hormones in dairy.
When it comes to milk, I rarely consume it. Even Lactose Free milk would make me break out after a while. Yogurt is delicious and contains a lot of good bacteria that your body needs, but again, at the end of the day it’s dairy and that’s bound to take a toll including feeling a bit gassy. TMI, but don’t lie that you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Alcohol
One for you, two for me
For a lover of wine, this is probably the hardest temporary goodbye. Alcohol in general contains sugar, but it’s also something that can easily make your body gain weight. Ever come across those who drink so much alcohol that they’ve gained a few pounds, look older, and/or swollen?
In general, your body doesn’t really need alcohol. We can live without it and it’s become more of a social thing than anything else. It’s like hearing someone say, “I need a drink” or “I need coffee”. No, I’m sorry, but you don’t need coffee. Your body is just addicted to the caffeine and think that you need it, but you really don’t.
I’m not a coffee drinker myself. I used to be until I started gaining weight because of the sugar, but I drank it mostly for the flavor. Not because I needed it. I’m a tea drinker, no sugar needed.
After not detoxing for an entire year because of work and other distractions, I felt that it was time to restart the one thing that my body needed. So, I detoxed for the entire month of September. Let me tell you, I felt such a difference.
I did incorporate an exercise routine, Sweat, which I’ll get into on a different post, but it was the best break that my body could ask for. My energy level was higher than before and I slept better. I also noticed that my mood shifted and I felt happier. Bonus points for some of my clothes fitting a tad better.
You know what the best part was? I felt less bloated. My bloating situation minimized, which if you struggle with bloating, you will know exactly the nightmare we have to go through. It’s like walking around and knowing you feel and look no different than someone who is 3 or 6 months pregnant. Extra kudos for clearer skin.
Your pants become tighter and it can be days, if not weeks, before you can feel back to your usual self. It’s sucks. Sometimes, it’ll feel as if you’re experiencing a cramp. Imagine eating something that your body hates and getting a cramp as a result. Periods are under-rated at this point.
Now that I’ve been off my detox, I’ve noticed that my body doesn’t crave the very things I didn’t eat for an entire month. Detoxing has forced me to make smarter and healthier options to what I consume. Not saying that I haven’t consumed any of the above since my detox, but I can honestly say that I’ve felt terrible every time I have. I’ve felt crummy, my mood shifted to negativity, it made me feel sloppy during my workout routines, and the constant bloating.
As I’m writing this blog post, for two days straight I had a full lunch, and earlier today I ate pork dumplings, bread, cheese, and a few mimosas. I’m so bloated and I feel awful. These feelings only remind me to make wiser choices next time or at least not consume so much in a day.
One other 6th item that I tested out during my detox is cutting out dinner. Yes, I know skipping meals has been said not to be the wisest choice to make, but my body has a very hard time digesting dinner. Ever heard the phrase of eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a queen, and eat dinner like a peasant? Well, when I eat dinner and don’t move my body thereafter, the food just sits in my stomach. It can take days for me to break it down.
I had a discussion with my doctor a few months back, and she had noted that I should either create a cut off time, eat dinner earlier, or cut it out completely. If I knew dinner was affecting my body in a negative way, and more so since our metabolism slows down the older we get, then I should do what makes the most sense.
As mentioned earlier, every body is different. What may work for one person, may not work for me. Three or four meals is too much for my body to handle. So, I’ve noticed that I’m good with two meals and if I crave something at night, then I eat fruit like an apple.
Cutting out dinner has been a huge factor and I’m continuing to leave it out. Not saying I won’t ever have dinner, especially during hangout or special occasions, but if there is a way to avoid it, then I’ll do anything for the benefit of my body.
I don’t believe in restricting yourself to the tasty pleasures of life. I do believe modifying what affects you the most. If you know that dairy causes you to bloat, then cut back a bit and consume less.
If you’re curious to test out my detox method, then I would highly recommend it. You can either remove the components I’ve listed above, or create your own list of foods to stay away from for an entire month. If you do try it, let me know what you thought and what you noticed about your body during those days. As with any modifications, I’d still encourage to incorporate exercise into your routine, even if it’s a 30 minute walk.
I hope you enjoyed my post and found it inspirational. Don’t let the “weight loss” be your ending goal. One can easily fall into a negative path and often times can become dangerous. Instead, let a “healthier version” of yourself be your ending goal. We all have the power to make healthier choices, it’s just a matter of doing so. Everything that occurs as the result of these healthier choices are considered a bonus.
Goodluck!
