Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox
First of all, the word “detox” has never sounded good to me. Maybe its my addiction to all things chocolate, or really anything with sugar in it, but I never thought I would say “yes” to something so extreme. When it comes to food, I like things that taste good and ARE good, but I’ve also learned that good can also mean good FOR you. All I knew is that this time, my body needed something good, and something healing.
Back up 2 months. It was the beginning of November and I realized something just wasn’t right. I was constantly nauseas, had raging heartburn all the time, and even on and off abdominal pain with bowel irregularities. I know I know. TMI. But I immediately noticed my body felt, well, off. I ‘ve tried just about every testing and procedure you can think of with no diagnosis. I even tried eliminating things out of my diet in the process, just to see if I had developed intolerances. All the testing came back negative and my diet changes just weren’t cutting it. Feeling stumped and honestly just confused and frustrated, my husband brought up doing a detox.
The unfortunate stigmas that follow detoxing had initially left me disturbed and uninterested in taking such extreme measures. I won’t lie to you, there was a 24 hour period where I felt miserable, but then there were moments that I was barely bothered by the symptoms, thinking this was the up swing. I wasn’t trying to lose weight, I just wanted my body to feel GOOD again.
When it comes to Detoxes, there are many out there that are not healthy and don’t provide any nutrients to your body, resulting is more harm than good. Do your research and make sure you know why you’re doing it and what it can do fo ryour body. It’s not for everyone! My husband found Dr. Oz’s 3 Day Detox (The video link below goes through the segment of Dr. Oz explaining the detox and it’s benfit) and essentially gave me no choice. I was doing it.
The detox is broken up into 3 days, and every day is the same. You start the day with green tea and lemon, you have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner smoothie through the day with supplements in between, and end the day with a detox bath consisting of lavender oil and Epsom salt. You can also drink a snack smoothie between lunch and dinner, which is a repeat of any one of the three smoothies of your choice. These smoothies don’t consist of powders or mystery ingredients, just real, raw vegetables and fruits and ingredients rich in nutrients. The shopping list is shown below and that is all that you will need for 3 days. For my husband and I both, we spent $190 total and got the exact amount of food needed (plus some additional supplements we had to buy). It is also really helpful to have a good blender! We own a Vitamix, but that is certainly not necessary!
Day 1. My husband and I started a night early, so our three days didn’t go from morning to night as it is laid out on the guide. We drank the dinner smoothie, took our detox bath, and headed to bed. The next morning I woke up with a migraine that lasted no less than 24 hours. Tylenol didn’t touch it and no amount of water or hydration helped. I had chills off and on, I was extremely tired and fatigued. My blood pressure had dropped a bit, and I looked sickly and pale according to a co-worker. Ha! I woke up with congestion, my muscles ached and I had a dry, unproductive cough. I also felt nauseas on and off throughout the day. If I haven’t scared you away yet, I’m happy to tell you the first day was the worst for me. I knew it was the detox, but I kept thinking, “GOSH, is this normal?” Unfortunately, our bodies react to such detoxifying measures in extreme ways, sometimes making you feel much worse than before you even started. Thankfully, while it’s uncomfortable, it’s normal, and it’s called a healing crisis. If you experience this, just keep drinking water. The best thing you can do is try and continue to push out the toxins that are excreted through your urine and waste. My husband reports that he didn’t feel bad on the first day (good for him- cue eye roll), but everyone’s body is different and the worse you feel is due to the higher amount of toxins your body is trying to expel. (below is a great article that talks about healing crisis)
Day 2. I still had a headache most of the day, but thankfully not nearly as bad as Day 1. There was also still some fatigue, but the “ill” feeling was gone. I really just wanted to chew food at this point, but I was in it to win it and I wasn’t stopping. Ok. Let’s talk bowel movements. some get constipated and some have the opposite problem (you know what I mean). My husband and I both had very different experiences in this department, regardless, that was our body’s way of responding to the detox. So don’t be alarmed when your stools are less formed that what your used to…or the opposite. Just remember, your body is expelling toxins, so you’ll be thankful later!
Day 3. All I could think about was the finish line. In all honesty, My husband and I both felt pretty amazing the last day. We were very ready to eat a real meal, but also had no intention of ruining what all we had accomplished in the past 72 hours, and the better felling was that we didn’t want to. At this point, I would have given anything for real food. And just as I had though, real food had a whole new taste to it, and it was good. I hadn’t realized how the overindulging in saturated fats, fried foods, and sugar drenched goodies were altering my taste buds. And now, salmon and steamed broccoli had left me more satisfied than it every had before. Needless to say, my husband and I enjoyed every minute of our dinner!
After the fact. While we aren’t downing smoothies for every meal, we’ve made a huge effort to change the way we eat. Putting nutrient rich foods back into out diet and steering clear of those that did nothing for our health before. While I’ll never give up my donut addiction, it felt good to give my body a chance to restart. So many organs are involved in the digestion, metabolism and excretion of the things you eat. Each one of those is affected by what we put in our mouth and the food choices we make. I am not a dietitian and I am not a Doctor, and I still like blueberry cake donuts, just like I always have, but what I have learned is there is something to be said about taking care of our bodies. Each one is different and needs something different. Show yours a little love and listen to it. You’d be surprised what it’s trying to tell you.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any specific questions about my experience or the detox! Happy New Year. I hope this year brings your more love and better health!
XO,
Emily
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