I started a detox last week (from Tuesday), which meant no starch, no fruit, no dairy, no sugar (including no processed food, not even tuna in a can), and no grains.
I was allowed green vegetables only (excluding peas) and tomatoes, eggs, almonds (no other nuts) and meat (biltong too).
WHAT TO EAT?
The foods I had were broccoli, baby marrows, green beans, lettuce, quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, eggs, onions, chicken, meat, fish, spinach, and plain yogurt. Boring huh.
I started drinking black tea and black coffee, which I never do except when on a detox. Normally I have my coffee with milk and one sugar (sometimes no sugar). I MISSED MY COFFEE.
On Wednesday (day 2), my energy levels were down, my colleague said it’s because we were not having any sugar. The other days (today is day 4) I was fine, my energy levels were fine. I do admit though: I THINK ABOUT FOOD ALL THE TIME.
My water intake has increased drastically and I am constantly thirsty.
2019 vs 2020
Last year I also did this detox but my food intake was very little because I didn’t like what I was eating, so I felt like I could faint – a lot of times. My colleague advised me to eat more. I didn’t eat much that time because I missed real food man. I was bored with what I was having.
This year I prepared myself a little, planning meals ahead. I also started itching and I think it’s because there are some foods within my blood type that I cannot eat much of, like meat. And boy did I have a lot of biltong on this detox.
My colleague also send me a menu for a week prior to give me ideas on what we could eat.
When I HAD PLAIN YOGURT IT TASTED LIKE HEAVEN. Normally I can’t have plain yogurt because it just tastes yuck, but this time around it was delicious.
On Friday (day 4) I imagined that I felt a little thin. I started thinking “hey maybe I should stay away from diary and some foods for a longer period”. I remember that a day or two before my colleague asked me to join her on this detox, I had said that I could never go without dairy, not me – that would be torture and it was a little.
Did I mention I miss coffee, I truly do. I miss coffee with milk.
On the weekend I had cheat meals for dinner – I had pizza. I’ve also had coffee with milk and one sugar on Sunday night and Monday. I realise though that when I have sugar, I feel sleepy later in the day.
LESSONS LEARNED
Planning (and even meal prepping) is key. Decide on what you are going to eat each day even if you decide the day before what you are having the next day. Then buy the food items.
Being on detox makes you appreciate food more. I missed apples and bananas (I won’t mention the unhealthy foods).
Snacks is a must – I had biltong, green beans, almonds and cucumber as snacks. I always felt “bored” (wanting to eat something) and sometimes hungry when there were no snacks.
You can do anything if you put your mind to it – your mindset can be changed to “I can” especially if you are like I am who first said “I will never give up dairy”. I did for this week.
Have an accountability partner. I had my colleague who I could swap notes with because it was initially her who wanted to do this challenge. She made delicious food for us for lunch every day. Also, my husband sometimes motivated me whenever I said that I want to give up or “this is hard”.
At the moment I’m still considering what I will do next after I complete this diet – will I try doing a plant-based diet or will I just implement small changes like no dairy during weekdays and on weekends I’ll have my dairy..?
I’m still thinking about it. I’ve learned in the past that it is better to implement small changes into your life to be healthy.
Have you tried out a diet like this or made a drastic change to your diet? Let me know in the comments below – also let me know if you would consider doing something like this.