Detox

Project Detox!

I have recently been thinking about my health and fitness, and mainly my weight. I know I'm not that heavy and many people would laugh if I called myself "fat"; but, ever since I had my daughter, two and a half years ago, I have been bigger then I would like, and can't seem to lose that extra baby weight. Before I found out I was pregnant, I was at 130lbs, being 5'4" and only 17 years old that was an ideal weight for me. I had only (technically) gained 4lbs while pregnant, I was so sick during pregnancy I'd gotten down to 110lbs and had just barely hit 134lbs by the time I had my daughter and was back down to 117 after birth. Once I had Keira my body was so happy to not be sick anymore, that it super stocked on fat. In six months I went from my post pregnancy weight of 117 to the largest I've ever been at 170lbs!

It took forever to lose any weight, but after an extremely stressful few months this past summer I lost 20lbs and have now been bouncing between 150 and 160lbs for almost a year. The winter months and all the holiday feasting did very little to help keep any weight off and with the lack of sun I had very little motivation. 

I've finally decided I need to do something about these last few pounds! I would love to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 130, but I will be happy at 140lbs if I can get there. 

As a vegetarian, I have been finding it very hard to find a diet that not only I can stick to, but has been proven to work, be healthy and keep the weight off. It seems as though so many diets these days are all about meat and veggies. Did you know some diets won't allow you to have fruit because of there natural sugars? WOW, who knew fruit would be considered unhealthy? I know I would hate to be on a diet that did not allow me my fruit, I love fruit.

Finally I decided to go with the detox approach, there are so many things out right now talking about the "toxins in your body" and how every once in a while we need to detox to get our bodies back on track. I liked the idea of a quick diet to just flush out all the junk that is put into my body on a daily basis. But, as most things, i need to know exactly what I'm getting into and how I'll do it, so to google I went!

I honestly had no idea there were so many ways to detox and so many diets to choose from. Some of the diets I found seemed down right ridiculous! I always thought the "lemonade drink" in the Glee episode about Mercedes losing weight for the cheerios was just a horrid fantasy of Sue Sylvester.... Come to find out its a real diet. The "Lemonade diet" (AKA Master Cleanse or Maple Syrup Diet) is an EXTREME detox diet, here's a idea of what it involves:

"Lemonade Diet: What You Can Eat

No solid foods are allowed, nor are any supplements. You consume only the Master Cleanse elixir to keep you hydrated.

The plan calls for you to drink 6 or more servings daily of the lemonade drink. The only other options are a "salt water flush" of 2 teaspoons salt mixed in a quart of water in the morning, and an herbal laxative tea at night, if needed.

A single serving of the Master Cleanse drink consists of:

• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
• 2 tablespoons grade-B organic maple syrup.
• 1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• 10 ounces filtered water.

After following this fast for 4-14 days, dieters are urged to slowly ease back into solid food, starting with foods like vegetable soup, followed by fruits and vegetables." - From WebMD

Now I would never even attempt a detox as silly as this one, not only would it be extremely hard to stick to, but you are only losing weight because you are starving yourself of essential vitamins, nutrients and only allowing very little calories, all while basically "flushing" your system with laxative-like drinks. This detox would definiatly make you lose weight if you could stick to it, but after starving your body you're sure to pack on the pounds as soon as you start eating again!

After all my searching, I really wanted to try a "juicing" diet, where you have only fresh fruit and vegetable juices, but I lack the juicer to do so correctly. Second I wanted to do a "smoothie" diet, same as the juice idea, but with smoothies; however, I don't know if I can manage with only my Magic Bullet. Then I found the "Dr. Oz's 48-Hour Weekend Cleanse", not only was this a quick and simple detox, but Dr. Oz had not only a detox diet, but a recipe plan, and grocery lists all made up and ready for me to use! When I do something like a diet, I need everything all set and ready for me, so I know exactly what I'm doing, when and how!

Equipped with a grocery list , I plan to head to the store tomorrow and gather the essentials, and with the recipes I'll know exactly what to make and when! Now with the power of blogging, I have this plan in writing and will now HAVE to stick to it, right? I hope so, my goal is to be comfortable in a bathing suit again, I'm not worried so much about my weight, however I want to be able to wear an actual bathing suit this summer! Is anyone else dieting? or plan to?