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Thinking of doing the Detox Diet? Think again

The United States of Cheap Beer

Whatever you do, do not not NOT go out to a Mexican restaurant if you decide to do The Detox Diet.Toward the end of my mostly uneventful week 2, I met with a friend for dinner and went with every intention of eating plain chicken and lots of vegetables. But as someone who hates lettuce (really, it can’t possibly be food), I was tempted by grilled chicken with pineapple salsa.

The menu didn’t tell me that the meal would come with rice, beans, and vegetables and enough of it to serve three people, but it’s also my fault for not asking what exactly my meal would be comprised of.

Also, I was totally weak so when my friend ordered guacamole, I had to try some, especially she after insisted that it was the best in New York City. And I can’t say that I’ve sampled Mexican across Manhattan, but it was really damn good.

But not nearly good enough to deal with what followed.

Halfway through dinner, my nose got stuffy. Then it started to run so badly that I had to run to the ladies room. By the time that I got home, my stomach was so twisted with pain that I thought it would explode.

Within 24 hours, my skin went from surprisingly nice to – just plain bad.

The lesson here: when you have eliminated so much, your digestive system needs to be treated with care. There is a reason why after two weeks you need to slowly reintroduce the foods that you’ve eliminated.

When you’re eating a steady diet that includes the seven most common allergens, you wouldn’t easily attribute anything like a breakout or a stuffy nose to your body reacting to food. After eliminating, you notice food sensitivities quickly – in my case, almost instantly.

Another thing is that my stomach couldn’t handle the fat of the guacamole. I’ve been eating olive oil with some of my meals, but that much fat sat like a brick.

It was overall just a bad scene. I hope that if you decide to do this diet, you will keep my Mexican dinner debacle in mind.

Reintroducing corn and dairy in week three was also not such a good scene. Week three marked the return of the stomach bloat. I’m not allergic to corn, sugar or dairy, but after reincorporating each back into my diet for two days, I saw the return of the bloat. Previous allergy testing has revealed a soy and wheat allergy, so I will continue to stay away from them. This week I will reintroduce nuts and eggs, though I don’t anticipate the same stomach issues I had with the corn, sugar and dairy.

The pros of this diet: It forces you to drink only water and stay away from sugar, chemical sweetners and caffeine. Your diet is clean; entirely based on fruit, vegetables and the leanest of protein. I’m a night eater and I was forced to eat more during the day, less at night and I needed to work on that.

The cons: I added food simply because on its own, the diet is very low calorie. I still lost weight and felt great by adding more fruit or vegetables when needed, but in general you never want to dip below 1200 calories a day. Anyone can lose weight on an 800 calorie per day diet, but honestly why would you want to?

Not only will your body go into starvation mode and hold on to the weight that you want to lose, when you transition into a more ‘normal’ diet (maybe with some changes based upon what your body needs and tolerates), you risk gaining weight simply because you’re eating a more appropriate amount of calories.

I recommend trying this plan if you’re concerned about the quality of your diet and you’re inclined to make changes or if you’re concerned about toxicity. The Detox Diet was not written for people looking for a quick weight loss fix; it was written for people who are looking to heal themselves and get healthier by using varying levels of detoxifying foods.

Your liver processes toxins, like the chemicals and additives in foods; not just diet foods that contain aspartame, but the hormones in milk and in meat, the pesticides on fruit and vegetables and alcohol. They slow down your lymphatic system and contribute to weight gain and sluggishness. If you’re considering making the change to organic foods, detoxing may be a great way to start.

Now that it’s nearly over, I can admit that I was bored on this diet; so bored that the next plan will be all about more food, more protein and working out.

I never want to see slow cooked oats again!