Re: A Detox Diet? I'll Drink to That! ... Washington Post August 26, 2008

[Guest guest]

This is a very good read. I enjoyed it. She's so right about it

being about choices. We must choose to be healthy.

Detoxing needs to be a way of life for us...not that we have to juice

the rest of our life, but that we need to be aware of the

implications of eating unhealthy, and what we will miss by cheating!

Thanks, Rogene,

Patty

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> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082501492.html?hpid=sec-health

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> A Detox Diet? I'll Drink

> to That!

> By Lonnae O'Neal

> Washington

> Post Staff Writer

> Tuesday, August 26, 2008;

> The idea came to me over a plate of Buffalo wings at a family

> diner on U Street ,

> although the roots of it stretched back further. Oprah had just

finished

> a 21-day diet detox, my husband mentioned casually, and I felt the

kind of

> quick stab of jealousy you get when someone else does something you

had long

> been considering.

> Earlier this year, a mom at my daughters' school had done a diet

> detox, and, looking on, the results were dramatic. She was

obviously thinner,

> but it was more than that. Her light brown face glowed, her eyes

sparkled, she

> seemed lit from within. Immediately I rushed her. Where? What? How?

I wanted to

> know. I pressed her until she brought me her copy of " 21 Pounds in

21

> Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet

> Detox. " Don't let the title fool you, she cautioned, the book

focuses much

> more on cleansing than on losing weight.

> Satisfied that I had the information, I sat her book on my kitchen

> table and didn't think of it again for months, until the Buffalo

wings.

> The morning after U Street , over cold, leftover pizza, I picked up

the

> book again. " A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to

experience a

> fresh start . . . greater mental clarity, memory, and focus.

Cleanse your body

> and your mind, " it said, and I exhaled. I so need this, I thought.

Not

> this program specifically, but something.

> I'm 41, and I've never fasted, never established any sort of

> regular eating regimen, never even been on a diet. But I'm hungry.

And it's

> about much more than food.

> For years I've career-climbed, but lately I've had to strip-mine

> my creativity to put words on the page. My three children routinely

take more

> time, more wisdom, more energy and sometimes more love from me than

I have on

> hand. A woman who was like my second mother died last year.

Newspapers are

> letting go of fellow journalists across the country, gas is almost

$4 a gallon

> and I need reading glasses.

> I crave energy and balance. I ache for still purpose. I don't

> struggle with weight, but I struggle almost daily with bouts of

hypoglycemia,

> and my blood sugar often drops precipitously low, leaving me addled

and spent.

> For years I exercised regularly, but that was years ago. My modern

American

> woman's life is making me sick, but I don't have time for wellness.

I feel

> toxic. I need an intervention. Fasting is spiritual and holistic,

I've heard.

> But I can't not eat.

> But 21 days to get control of my health? And not just for me, but

> also for my niece , chunky from discovering wine during a

semester in France,

> and my husband, Ralph, who was just laid off and is fighting his

own battles

> with weight and focus? That sounded about right.

> The authors' testimony felt compelling, the book had gotten good

> press, and I liked the pictures of fresh vegetables on the cover.

That was

> perhaps not enough research about the detox for some, and maybe I

was not

> focused enough on the science. But for me, it was a leap of faith.

I trusted my

> friend, the smart vegetarian mom who'd told me about the program,

and even more

> than that, I trusted the urgent voice in my head telling me that

something had

> to give.

> Night Before Detox Day:

> My dining room table is covered with products from the book's Web

site ( http://mvdietdetox.com).

> EssentialGreens and Zesty Tomato VegeSplash powders, NuStevia

herbal sugar

> substitute and digestive enzyme capsules. A three-week, three-

person supply,

> with each kit costing a little more than $200. I am chomping on a

BLT, mindful

> that this may be the last time I chew for weeks. There are no

solids in this

> diet detox, only soups, juices and supplements. There's no chewing

at all, to

> " give your digestive system a rest, " according to co-author Roni

> DeLuz, a naturopathic doctor and founder of the Martha's Vineyard

Holistic

> Retreat.

> This will be intense: eating every two hours, juicing my

> vegetables, keeping to a regimen of herbal teas and distilled

water. What if I

> can't stick with it? Lord, I don't do well with failure. I call co-

author

> Hester, who soothes me with talk of slowing down and taking care. I

nod in

> agreement. I so desperately want to find me in my life.

> In the kitchen, my niece and sister are doing a trial run with the

> juicer. Chopping, whirring, laughing, clapping. Our new

toy. " Nae,

> Nae, Nae, I'm rethinking this, " my husband jokes.

> is holding up plastic snack bags with our daily proportions.

> Tomorrow we go liquid. It's 10:17 p.m., and I take two more bites

of my BLT,

> then I think I'll have a quick bowl of ice cream.

> D Day 1

> We're going to weigh in every morning.

> Ralph, 6-foot-2, 257 pounds.

> , 5-foot-7, 188 pounds.

> Me, 5-foot-4, 116 pounds.

> 8:30 a.m.: " 1, 2, 3, DETOX! " we yell.

> My first cup of water and I'm already tired of water.

> Last night's pizza is on the stove. I pick it up and smell.

> 9:30 a.m.:More tea and water. I want a sausage

> McMuffin with cheese.

> 10 a.m.:I feel sluggish and tired. I am off

> work, but I'd just been writing a story about drag queens. " Ralph's

drag

> name is NuStevia, " I joke.

> " Can we add apples? " whines. An hour and a half

> into our detox, the bigness of what we are trying to do is dawning

on us, and

> we are starting to unspool.

> D Day 2

> 6:44 p.m.: We get through the

> day, but biscuits, toast and garlic bread are heavy on my mind.

wants

> popcorn. I still have to cook dinner for the kids, and handling

food is hard.

> My head hurts. The book calls it a " healing crisis " : a

> reaction " as the body flushes toxins out of your cells so you can "

> get rid of them. It often comes after a few days. I'm early out of

the blocks

> with mine.

> D Day 3

> I wake up weak and dizzy. I didn't finish my soup last night. I

drink my

> morning BerrySplash and feel instantly better. The book promises

that if I

> follow the regimen, I won't be hungry, and I'm not. But I mourn the

chews and

> smells and habits of eating.

> Ralph wanted to detox because he has bad knees (he played football

> in college) and wants to see if he can get some weight off them

before

> considering surgery. He wants to be healthier, wants to look better

and wants

> us to share this together. But now he's fussing at me because I

missed my 10:30

> " feeding. " He chides, " You can't fuss at me again for missing

> anything. " I'd been mad when he got off schedule, because that

makes you

> hungry and increases your odds of breaking detox.

> " You're the one more likely to snap, " I yell back.

> " You'll be talkin' about 'I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a

hamburger

> today.' " I collapse in a fit of giggles and my husband regards me

coolly.

> " You're punchy, " he says, full of disdain. I scarcely

> hear him.

> 1 p.m.:We're at the CarMax and I'm

> crashing. My head hurts; I'm nauseous and tired. The book says get

plenty of

> rest, but I don't have a life that's conducive to plenty of rest.

My husband is

> test-driving a car, but I have to go inside the building and sit.

> 2:14 p.m.:I am despairing. I don't see how I can

> do this for 21 days. Maybe I am meant to be toxic, if this is

detox. After more

> than an hour, I stand up to leave and my legs buckle. Ralph helps

me to our

> car. My kids look worried.

> 4:52 p.m.:I fall into the couch, exhausted. Ralph

> and I have missed three feedings. He brings me a glass of Zesty

Tomato VegeSplash,

> and almost comically I begin to revive. My husband has some room

for error, but

> I do not have reserves of weight and nutrition. I am close to my

margins. Wow,

> I really do have to eat on schedule if I don't want to make myself

sick. At

> once, I feel like some profound revelation is starting to dawn on

me.

> In my daily life, I can go all day without eating, then I'm

> starving by family dinner or by the next morning, and I eat all the

cookies and

> carbs in sight. This has been my pattern, for the most part, since

I left

> college. In my struggles with low blood sugar, I had long heard I

should eat

> small meals throughout the day, but I never felt the truth of it

until I lay on

> the couch sensing myself come back to life after a few sips of

tomato drink. I

> don't know if I can change my eating habits, but now, at last, I

think perhaps

> I should.

> 6 p.m.:The book calls on detoxers to have a

> colonic every week. I don't even know what a colonic is, so I go on

the

> Internet.

> Oh.

> Not happening, say and Ralph. It will help your headache,

> Hester promises.

> Another leap of faith. I schedule one. I thought it would be

> awful. But nothing about it was. I leave grateful, my headache gone.

> 8 p.m.: says she wants to quit at the end

> of the week. " Your journey isn't just about you, " I say. We are our

> own support group, and Ralph and I spend an hour talking down

from the

> ledge.

> D Day 4

> feels better. She makes a vegetable soup for dinner: greens,

spinach,

> cucumbers, carrots, celery, broccoli, garlic and a sweet potato.

She liquefies

> it in the blender. I spray it with Bragg Liquid Aminos for flavor.

Best thing

> we've tasted in days.

> D Day 5

> Why have I never noticed how many food ads are on television? Two

roast beef

> sandwiches for $4 at Arby's, a pound of

> pizza at Pizza Hut, Mc's, KFC. Image after image

> assaults me. My kids left a grape on the counter. I want to chew it

up. It's

> unnatural not to chew.

> D Day 6

> At the mall, my girls want Sbarro. " How's your pizza? " I ask. Thumbs

> up from Savannah ,

> 10.

> " It's good, " says Sydney ,

> 14. Short pause. " How's your zesty enzyme? " she asks.

> I just look at her. Nice.

> D Day 7

> Along with , I make my first-ever shopping trip to Whole Foods

in Silver Spring . (Too bad I have to leave my Prince 's County

neighborhood.) I'm just getting the eat-right gospel, and we are in a

> cathedral. I rejoice in picking organic beets and antibiotic-free

chicken for

> my kids.

> D Day 8

> " Hooray! "

> It has been one of the longest weeks of my life. I take inordinate

> care dressing for book club (where the hostesses serve salmon in

dill sauce and

> fresh asparagus as and I look on). Your skin looks great, a

friend says to

> me. I am beaming.

> It's still really difficult, but we've turned a corner. We now

> know we can do the detox.

> D Day 13

> I have lunch with a friend at an upscale Washington

> restaurant. Actually, I have tea and watch her eat. My weight has

fallen to 108

> pounds. I look " Sudanish, " she says. DeLuz warned me that I need to

> drink protein shakes to stabilize my blood sugar and counter the

weight loss.

> But I haven't done so. Again I feel a revelation. Allowing myself

to get frail

> isn't taking care of myself. I start the shakes as soon as I get

home.

> D Day 15

> stops. She's not as toxic as us old folks and doesn't need

another week,

> she quips. She has finished her internship and is heading back to

her last year

> at the University of North Carolina at Chapel

> Hill. She has lost 15 pounds and decided to become a

> vegetarian. Her momma, my sister , starts her own 10-day detox

the day

> returns.

> D Day 18

> With three days left, I break detox. We're on an impromptu two-day

trip to Virginia Beach and I'm

> out of VegeSplash. There's no fridge in the hotel room, so we can't

buy rice

> milk for protein shakes. We're across the street from a McCormick

& amp;

> Schmick's restaurant. The book cautions: Break your detox slowly.

But I snap

> just as the authors predicted would happen if I let myself get

caught without

> my detox supplies.

> I order a mixed green salad with glazed walnuts, crab soup, shrimp

> cocktail and a baguette. Heaven. Not so bad a detox break, I think.

Then I get a piece of cheesecake. Ralph just

> goes hungry. The next day I wake up clear about my lessons and

their broader

> implications. Know your limitations, plan well and, if you fall, do

not dwell

> unduly on your imperfections. I restart my detox the next day, on

our way back

> to land .

> Just three more days.

> Epilogue

> It has been less than a week since Ralph and I finished. I

maintained 110

> pounds, a good weight. I hit the Bowie farmers

> market and the Glut food cooperative in Mount Rainier. Ralph

> lost 31 pounds. His skin looks great, and he's working on three job

prospects.

> He thanks me for coming up with the idea. I couldn't have done it

without him.

> I realized something during the detox that I hadn't understood

> before. There is no magic pill for any of this stuff, just choices.

> We can choose to be mindful, to set boundaries, educate ourselves

> about nutrition and the images coming at us, and be deliberate

about the things

> we eat and feed our families.

> I am not passive about anything else in my life, and I don't have

> to choose to be passively unwell. A detox might not be for

everyone, but I

> walked on faith -- not so much in any particular regimen, but faith

in my own

> ability to switch up, change direction and stamp my will on my

life. Not that

> I'm completely there yet: Chips and cheesecake will always call me,

and

> sometimes I'll answer. Like everything else, wellness is a journey.

It just

> took me 21 days to start.

> Comments:oneall@...

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