I endured and it wasn’t so bad, not nearly as difficult as I’d anticipated. Â I was quite apprehensive with the thought of no caffeine, no dairy, no beef, no gluten, no chocolate (gasp)!, no vino, and only 1 meal of solid foods per day…for 21 days!
Week one was a breeze as I was excited to execute this ‘goal.’  9 pounds were shed and my typical bloating was gone within the first 5 days too!  Week 2, well that was a bit of a downer.  Although I felt energetic and über healthy, I missed having solid meals.  Plus the few times I tried to work out, I had absolutely no energy, my legs felt empty. And, I only jogged for 20 minutes each time. But note, although the book encourages working out in order to aid in the detox process, it says not to do so intensely.  I totally agree!  So if you’re an athlete, only consider doing this in your time off or in your off-season.
By week three, I could see the light so it was easier to stick with it. One word really summed up this last week though, fear. Â Fear that when I completed this I’d either gorge or I’d be afraid to eat anything. Â What do you think I did???
My main reason for doing this was to eliminate most foods which typically cause GI issues, which I’ve struggled with for years. Â (For those of you who don’t know: last year I was diagnosed with ischemic colitis, but as of a couple months ago, it was deemed gone. Â Yet I still had issues, so it must be food). Â I slowly added gluten back first and felt just fine. Â Unfortunately, Â due to back issues, I was not allowed to workout so I really have no idea if running will continue to be a problem. Â That being said, I really need to do this cleanse again after I have clearance to resume training. Â Regardless, this was certainly not a waste! Â My mind and body really do feel different, I’m not certain how to explain it though, but it’s all good!
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been off and I still feel this difference although my body is ‘polluted’ once again.  I’ve been eating gluten, consuming caffeine, eating some chocolate, but dairy, that’s what I’ve had the least of.  Prior to the cleanse, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, and milk were a large part of my diet.  In the aftermath, I’ve been using  primarily almond milk in my cereal and have only had a little cheese .  Weird considering I used to crave and eat it all so much.  My weight has only increased by 4 pounds, but I expected that, you have to…unless you stay on the cleanse your entire life.  And the purpose of this for me wasn’t weight loss as it’s not a diet.  It’s a detox.  Note however, they do recommend a way in which to eat for a lifetime by cutting out certain foods.  Again, not for weight loss, but to deter diseases, allergies, cancer, and a plethora of other ailments.
To be clear, I didn’t follow it a 100% either as I didn’t take any supplements, nor did I partake in, shall I say, waste management. Â I could have done it, I simply chose not to. The key to all this is to be VERY organized! Â There are a ton of fresh ingredients you need to prepare all the smoothies for b-fast and dinner, let alone all the solid meals for lunch. Â I swear I was at the grocery store every other day for the first 10 days as things were either difficult to find or they went bad within a couple of days. That was the hardest part!
So, do I recommend reading Clean and doing the cleanse? Â Heck yeah! Â And this is coming from someone who has always been incredibly skeptical of ALL cleanses! Â You can bet your bottom dollar I will be doing this at least once a year now and maybe even one day weekly!!!
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