They say that January 17th is the most common day of the year that people begin to quite their resolutions. So if you are reading this on Monday January 20th and are still going strong, then congratulations! I am proud to say that I am still going strong. I am on week three of the new My WW program (Formerly known as weight watchers – I am on the Blue plan for anyone wondering!), and I have been getting in at least some movement or exercise each day (even if it is just walking up a couple flights of stairs in the middle of the day!). So goal #1 of committing to a healthy lifestyle is going pretty well!
But to kick things off, my boyfriend and I decided to commit to a 5 day cleanse by a popular youtuber. So on Friday January 3rd we began. Spoiler alert – we lasted two full days.
Day one was appropriately called “Liquid Love”. You started your day with green tea, a green smoothie, a green juice, and then lastly a bowl of what I now call the dreaded “Belly Soothing Soup” aka butternut squash soup with a bunch of turmeric and spices. Honestly, Day one was not too bad. I did not feel hungry throughout the day, and I actually really enjoyed the green juice that I bought from Trader Joes. But once I got home I started to feel it. So I heated up a bowl of soup excited to have something a little more substantial and … it was just plain bad. I couldn’t get it down no matter how hungry I was. So I went to bed.
Day Two was exciting because for lunch we got to have – a salad! I had never been more excited to have a salad with some grilled chicken in my life. The day started with the green tea and the smoothie. Then I had my “Slimming Salad” filled with tons of greens, chicken, hummus, and lots of lemon. And then for dinner… that damn soup. I just couldn’t do it. To make matters worse we went to a concert that night. No dinner. No drinks. We almost cracked on the way home. But at that point I was so tired I just went to bed, but before that we both decided that tomorrow… we were done.
I just could not imagine doing another three days of this. Especially because day three consisted of more of the same as day two. If I had to have one more bowl of that soup…
Waking up on Day three I was down almost 8lbs. Because that was the thing about this detox.. you were not getting nearly enough calories to sustain you throughout the day. As soon as I started eating normal meals again (that fit into my points) I gained back 4lbs. I was still down 4lbs by the end of the week, but I attribute that to my better eating habits thanks to WW.
So what are my final thoughts on doing a detox? I say if you want to do it for one day after weeks of not eating well? Go for it. But any more than that you are just restricting your body of the calories and nutrients it needs.
The good thing that came out of the detox? It definitely helped to change my mindset on food. And maybe that is the point? At the end of those two days I didn’t want to go to taco bell or order a pizza. I was craving grilled chicken or scrambled eggs. My body was craving protein. And I think that shift in mindset was what helped me jump head first into the WW program. I got excited about planning healthy lunches and dinners for my boyfriend and I. So do I regret doing it? No. But I am very glad we stopped when we did.
I am going to do a whole post about my experience with WW so far and my favorite point friendly foods soon, so look out for that!
xx Casey
*Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian. All thoughts are my own!