My (First) DETOX Experience

For quite some time, I was planning to do a DETOX. For one reason or the other, mainly travelling, the programme kept on delaying. This week, I had the opportunity so I decided a 4 day DETOX. The primary purpose of DETOX is to cleanse your inner body, though people do it for other reasons, including shedding a couple of pounds.

I started on 19 Jun, completed my 4 days on 22 Jun, but continued till a.m 25 Jun. So it was effectively a 7 day DETOX, which is normally the recommended duration. Before starting, I did some research on the net about what to eat, what to avoid, what to do etc. I observed that DETOX plans are quite versatile; from very relaxed to very stringent. Since this was my first DETOX, so I decided to remain quite relaxed. However, I followed a strictly controlled, though not well planned, diet.

Diet During first three days, I mainly consumed water, fruits, raw/slightly fried vegetables, nuts and dry fruits. First three days, I had fruit (banana), almonds and raisins for breakfast. Almonds were also my main (and almost only) snacks during the week. During these three days, I ate plenty of melons, water melons, apricots and some raw/fried vegetables. At office, I had a few cups of green tea with honey as the sweetener.

During later days, I had oatmeal with almonds and raisin for the breakfast. In the evening, I did have some boiled brown rice with slightly fried vegetables and with chickpeas curry one day.

Throughout the week, I had a glass of water with honey and lemon juice in the morning. This with heavy intake of water made me to rush to bathroom very frequently.

Exercise Though I did not go to gym during the week, however, I was quite regular in my evening walks. My brisk walks normally lasted for about an hour.

Food That I Avoided I strictly avoided soda drinks (I don’t take alcoholic drinks) meat, milk, sugar, salt, tea, breads, wheat products, confectionary etc. There were, however, two violations; on day 5, I had two sips of black tea and then 3 sips of tea.

Results At the end of the week (and during the week also) I generally feel better and light; both physically and mentally. I don’t know whether it was because of internal cleansing or light diet or regular walk. However, a feeling of improvement was clearly there. I lost about 2.5 lbs also in the process. Another Change I noticed was drop in blood pressure. My diastolic reading dropped by 4-5 points.

Challenges As I mostly ate fruit, craving for cooked, warm and saltish food was very strong, especially during first four days. During last two days, as I had brown rice with fried vegetables/chickpeas curry, the situation somewhat improved. There was some family pressure, as they wanted me join them for the dinner. But at the same time, they were supportive, watching the proceedings with interest. Nuts and raisin provided variety from fruits and vegetables.

Lesson Learnt A key lesson learnt is that one should have a clear and detailed plan for the DETOX week; especially the menu. During my DETOX week, I just went along with my food. This was not a very good idea. Next time, I’ll make menu for each meal and for each snack.

Future Plans At the end of week, I clearly observe an improvement in my physical and mental state. Therefore, I intend to make it a routine of DETOXING once every quarter. I intend to have every alternate DETOX to be of longer duration; 10-15 days.