The Lyons Den

So I have been MIA recently from not only this blog but from bootcamp, my home, my healthy eating habits..

A few weeks ago I got plantar fasciitis in my left foot.  If you aren’t familiar – it’s basically a pain in the heel of your foot that can extend throughout the foot and up the calf due to inflammation.  I noticed a mild pain in my heel but didn’t know what it was and then went to bootcamp a few days later and ran about a mile and a half and then basically couldn’t walk on my foot anymore.  So I essentially made the problem way worse since I didn’t know what it was to start with and therefore never attempted to fix it.  I ended up taking a break from the work outs and instead spent time icing & stretching my foot as much as I could.  I will admit that I also turned to comfort foods from time to time during my pause from the active world.  Then I had a short trip to California (will blog about that soon) where I had to hobble around but at least I was surrounded by beautiful scenery.  And I did get to do some waterfront yoga one morning (only workout in the past 3 weeks!).  But of course I splurged calorie-wise in Cali too.  So shameful.

All that being said, I decided it was time to attempt the Arden’s Garden 2 Day Detox.  I have considered it for some time now but didn’t want to do it when I was working out and didn’t really want to take two days off from working out.  Well, I had no excuse now that I couldn’t work out.  I like the idea of it mainly because it’s only 2 days!  You can do anything for 2 days!  Right?  Well, it’s easier said than done…at least in my case.  Side note: The day I started (this past Monday) was the first day I woke up with no pain in my foot.  Go figure.  Not that I wanted to jump back out that first day it was feeling better and run but still…just ironic.

From Arden’s Garden website:

What: The 2 Day Detox is a special formulation of fresh juices – grapefruit, orange, and lemon – that helps you cleanse, detoxify, and rejuvenate your body.

How: For two days you give up all foods and in their place, you flood your body with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and other phytonutrients. You drink 8-12 ounces every hour until the total 128 ounces have been consumed. That’s it!

Why: The 2 Day Detox will help you lose weight, detoxify your body, improve your immune system, and boost your energy. The fresh citrus juices supply your body with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide more than 100% of the United States Recommended Daily Allowances (USRDA) of the 12 essential vitamins in every serving.

Arden’s Garden stores are only located in Atlanta but you can order the detox to be shipped to you or you can follow their recipe on how to make the detox yourself.

My breakdown of the past two days:

Day 1

AM – Pour my first glass and feel real motivated and ready to tackle my gallon of juice for the day!  Things aren’t so bad.

As the day goes on I get spurts of hunger but just drink more juice and it fades away.

Around 5PM – I wonder how I am going to make it.  All I can think about it food.  Opening the fridge to pour more juice just pains me – I can see all that foooood in there!

6PM – I cave and eat a handful of mixed nuts.  I regret this move.  BUT for my first time ever detoxing….I’m not thaaat mad about it.

Around 10PM – I give up leaving probably 10 oz in the first gallon.  Mind you, I’m also trying to drink distilled water throughout the day so I feel like I might drown myself and literally cannot take one more sip of liquid.

My husband was scared to come home after work but was surprised with my good spirits…and the fact that I didn’t try to eat his arm off.

Day 2

AM – Woke up and weighed myself and was down 4 lbs from the day before.  Just what I needed to get me excited about this pulpy grapefruit juice. (I hate grapefruit. I hate pulp.)  The juice is made from distilled water, grapefruits, lemons & oranges but all I can taste is the bitter grapefruit.

Midday – Feeling shockingly great!  Today is much easier than yesterday!

PM – Energy kicks in and I go nuts cleaning the house.  I can’t tell you the last time I felt this energized.

I drank what I had leftover from Day 1 plus 98% of the second gallon.  Again, I just couldn’t finish probably the last 8 oz.  Oh well!  At least I didn’t cheat by eating any food today.

PROS:

– I lost 6 lbs when it was all said and done.  I’m sure most of those will be back in the next meal or two but it was motivating to see along the way.

– My energy level soared as time went on.  And with no caffeine?  Awesome.  I’ve read you can do this cleanse for more than 2 days and I’m sure it just gets easier and shows even more benefits.

– I felt as though my skin had a glow.

– By day 2, I was craving nothing but veggies.  Spinach & spaghetti squash in particular.  I wanted nothing to do with bad carbs that I was craving on day 1!

CONS:

– I had a hard time finishing the gallon each day on top of all the distilled water I was consuming (probably at least 32 oz a day).

– I am not a fan of grapefruit or pulp and that’s basically what the juice tastes like.

– The days lasted soooo long!

Overall I think the pros outweighed the cons.  I definitely see myself doing this cleanse in the future.  It’s a great way to kickstart healthy habits or even to shed some quick water weight before an event or vacation.

Oh and if you want to make this detox on your own, here is the recipe:

What You Will Need For The Two Days:

48 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
32 oz. fresh orange juice
16 oz. fresh lemon juice
160 oz. quality steam-distilled water
Empty 1 gal. jug for mixing
Funnel (optional)

What To Do:

Mix together for each gallon:

24 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
16 oz. fresh orange juice
8 oz. fresh lemon juice and
80 oz. distilled water

Each day, drink 8 oz. every hour until the total 128 oz. have been consumed and that’s it.  And no food!!

Would love to hear your experiences with detoxing in the comments!