Good-bye Detox

After just four days on the detox program, I quit.  But rather than it be a thoughtless, rash decision, it was more thought out and weighed heavily in my mind before I did it.  Here are a few of the reasons that I decided to go off the detox:

-Money.  The amount of produce and organic foods that went in to this LONG detox was simply taxing on my wallet.  Not even a weeks worth of the ingredients I needed for the detox cost me around $150!

-Inconvenience.  The time it took to prepare every meal, juice, or smoothie was time consuming.  I was wondering how I was going to do it once school started and my schedule was going to get really crazy.  Also, I’m not always going to be at home at meal time to stay committed to the detox.  For example, I’m going to an all day retreat at church today and all meals are included.  In fact, my registration fees were for my meals.  Having to tote my detox meals to church (and then having to prepare them) was just to overwhelming for me as well as wasting my money.

-My health.  On day two of the detox I was feeling incredibly crappy, with a horrible headache and feeling so nauseous, I was balled up on the couch.  I felt better after taking a Tylenol, but the next and well into day four, I was having bad body aches.  My joints and lower back ached so bad, it was hard to get comfortable to sleep.  Speaking of sleep, all I wanted to do was rest or sleep.  I had little energy and that was probably due to the lack of calories I was getting.  Originally, I wasn’t eating because I was so nauseous but after feeling better from the headache and nausea, I just couldn’t stomach the juices and smoothies.

Weighing all these factors I decided to just come off of the detox.  I was healthy about it (and will continue to be), eating some soft boiled eggs since I was craving them and then I got some sushi rolled in brown rice for dinner.  Yum!  I’m still drinking a ton of water and this morning I’m starting to feeling a little better.  I still have some aching in my joints and lower back, but I feel like it’s slowly getting better.

Last night, my dear friend Elizabeth, emailed me some links and told me that she was glad that I was off the detox.  After reading the links, I feel even more better about “failing” the detox.  Click here and here to read up on the negatives on detox diets.

I did find some keeper recipes that would go great in a well balanced diet, a soup that made a few servings that I froze for a future busy night meal and a salad that satisfied my craving for something salty.

Until next time, here’s a bit of motivation for you: