40 Day Detox

Last night I dreamt of befriending dogs and cooking brightly coloured organic vegetables with succulent looking meat (not sure what kind of meat it was). Seems my subconscious is missing my love affair with the flesh of dead animals already, whilst embracing the increased use of plant based food. 

This morning I decided to exercise on an empty stomach. No caffeine and no lemon or lime juice. The only external things fuelling me during my two hour workout was a litre of water and fresh air. I improved my performance on my resistance training by slightly increasing the number of repetitions on each exercise. Though my second set was not much better than yesterdays, I didn’t feel a sudden crash in energy after my first set. I also completed my 2 laps around the park about 8 minutes faster than yesterday. 

After completing my 10 minute sprint on the cross trainer I returned home to a fresh single lime and double orange juice. Lime juice in the morning has a similar effect to lemon juice when it comes to cleansing your liver. However as I just worked out I needed an extra shot of carbohydrates to replenish my muscles with energy so I thought I’d fill the rest of the glass with orange juice rather than water. 

For breakfast I had muesli with a fresh sliced banana, a sprinkle of mixed nuts (I have every kind you can think of – try me!), a teaspoon of flax seed oil, a teaspoon of honey and skimmed milk. The oats and whole wheat in muesli have many benefits including helping to reduce blood cholesterol and have a lower GI (Glycemic Index) than more refined breakfast cereals – which means they digest more slowly and release energy into your muscles over a longer period of time. I chose to eat a banana to help restore my energy and it also has many health benefits including reducing depression. I have 11 varieties of nuts in the flat. Most are stored in my freezer for long term use. A handful of these provide me with protein, long term energy and numerous vitamins and minerals! If that isn’t a good enough reason to include them in one’s diet their monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat helps reduce blood cholesterol and contribute to a healthy heart. A handful of nuts everyday has been shown to increase one’s life expectancy according to numerous research studies. Flax seed oil contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids and numerous other nutrients. Omega 3 is good for the brain and cells and Omega 6 maintains healthy skin, nails and hair (wish someone had told me earlier!). Honey has numerous health benefits too – my main reason for including it in my muesli was to give me a quick boost in energy that I lost during my work out. 

After this my wife had cheese on toast which tempted me into indulging in making a cheddar cheese on toast, with fresh slices of green chilli and tomato. I was just being greedy! 

Despite all this eating I felt very tired again. I didn’t have the brain energy to concentrate on this blog so I started Googling for alternatives to caffeine pick-me-ups. Whilst researching I came across many articles claiming the benefits of drink green tea for weight loss and detoxing. I found out that many of Green Tea’s benefits can be enjoyed in its decaffeinated version. I had also recently read how skincare products, toothpaste and other toiletries can also contain toxins that can enter the body through contact with the skin. I decided to do something about it and went out on a mission to find decaf green tea and buy natural toxin free toiletries. 

The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel

I went into Holland and Barrett, The Body Shop, Boots, Sainsburys and a local store in Ilford called Health Mantra. I bought some herbal detox and cleansing type teas from Holland and Barrett. At The Body Shop I bought soap, deodorant, antiperspirant, lip balm and hair conditioner. You might be wondering what I’d want to do with conditioner with my shaved head? I prefer using conditioner instead of shaving gels and foams for shaving. I find it’s smoother to shave with conditioner. You should try it. I have to admit I found the men’s products in The Body Shop quite lame and overly priced. At one point I was really tempted to buy the ladies strawberry perfume for myself. I mean it smelled so much better than anything they had for men, and hey who says smelling like a strawberry is only for women?! At first I thought The Body Shop was quite pricey, but after the £5 discount they gave me at the till I walked away with £20 worth of products for £15 which I later discovered was pretty good when it comes to natural and organic products. I didn’t find decaf green tea anywhere. At Health Mantra I bought natural organic toothpaste and a vegan all-natural protein shake made from pea and hemp proteins. The toothpaste was nearly £4 and the 462 grams of vegan protein shake was nearly £25! I was desperate as I had already started the 40 day detox and couldn’t wait around for deliveries to arrive after shopping online so I went ahead and bought them. The Body Shop seemed like a bargain in comparison! 

For my lunch and dinner I ate quinoa with the mixed vegetable curry my wife made the day before. I also had a couple of thin slices of halloumi cheese with my dinner. 

I felt more energised towards the later part of the day and stayed up until 00.30. Before going to bed I drank a serving of the protein shake. Not the most delicious, but definitively tasted more natural. It was like drinking a mug of unsweetened mushy weetabix!