Just starting out on your health journey? Maybe your feeling sluggish or out of shape? A Detox is a process or period of time where you abstain from unhealthy foods and drinks. It is also know as a great way to rid the body of toxins and unwanted substances.During this 7 day period we will be focusing on breaking sugar habits, excessive carbohydrate intake and increasing consumption of vegetables. The Challenge will be comprised of three effective methods, I'll break down each one and give a few examples also. The first thing I will be challenging is your diet, what you consume is so important in your journey, eating the proper foods fuel your body and give you the energy that you need. Secondly we will be using fasting, fasting allows the body time to rest, rejuvenate and refuel it self. The last part of the challenge is exercise! While some of you may hate it, some of you may love it or just tolerate it, but the goal of exercise in this challenge will be to increase your physical activity. Before beginning this challenge I want you to write down one thing you hope to accomplish thru this challenge, when you feel like you want to give up or quitting just go back to that reason and use it as motivation to complete the detox.
Sugar ( you are allowed to use a substitute sugar like stevia, splenda or even monk fruit, as long as it says 0 calories your allowed to use it) No Honey or agave nectar allowed for this challenge.
Soda and sweetened juices ( You know the saying water is life? well its true. The body is made up of approximate 60 %. You should be drinking half your body weight in water each day or a minimum of 64 oz which is 8 glasses of water)
Dairy products ( Cheese, Milk) You can use a substitute like almond or coconut milk and creamer
Alcoholic beverages
Fast food, fried food, processed or canned food ( Baking and Grilling are suggestions, you can also use Pam cooking spray to saute items)
Part 1 : Diet
Above is a diagram of what you plate should look like. You will be balancing out your meals and eating whole foods. Fast food, canned food, and highly processed foods are not allowed on this detox. Here are a few suggestions on what you can consume by food groups. Below is a example of some items that should be included in your diet.
Meal Plan Sample 1
Breakfast Green Smoothie
Snack: Protein Shake
Lunch: Chicken Breast with Broccoli and Brown Rice
Dinner: Tilapia with Spinach and Cucumber Salad
Meal Sample 2
Breakfast: Egg Whites with Spinach and a Small Apple
Lunch: Green Smoothie
Snack: Protein Shake
Dinner: Grilled Chicken Breast with sauteed Broccoli and Peppers
Part 2 : Fasting
Wewill be following the 16:8 method. So we will be fasting from food for 16 hours a day and consuming food for 8 hours a day. I know someone was just thinking Whatt? Lol its ok I'll break it down for you. Say your begin eating each day at 10am your last meal will end by 6pm. You wont consume any food until 10am the next day. You are allowed to drink water or tea after the time frame. Now depending on your work and sleep schedule you have to choose the time frame that works for you, personally I like to do 11-7. If you think you might struggle with keeping track of how long you have been fasting for try downloading the fasting app Zero,from your app store. All you have to do is choose how long you'll be fasting for and hit the start/stop button.
Things to do
Substitute 1 meal with a green smoothie
Snack should only be a protein shake after your workout to help restore and build muscle growth
When breaking your fast drink something warm/hot first especially if you have been up for several hours, green tea is great or warm water with fresh squeeze lemon and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
Drink apple cider vinegar before bed time don't forget to dilute 1 tablespoon with 8 oz of water.