Detox

A THREE WEEKS DETOX

Mary-Ann and Mark Shearer felt that the time had come for one of their tri-annual detox programmes. They had taken their health for granted, were becoming more stressed, had allowed things to slide and were feeling a little uncomfortable.

This was the wake-up call and Mary-Ann and Mark immediately embarked on a stricter regime. Although this was not a radical change, mainly they eliminated all starches, processed foods and animal products, they still experienced typical detox symptoms including tiredness and a couple of restless nights.

"The starches we eliminated" explains Mary-Ann, "were potatoes, brown rice, and gluten free pasta etc. We also excluded any butter or cheese (yes even the organic variety) Please realize that your symptoms are likely to be a lot worse if your diet is not as plant based a ours. You may then rather start with the 5 steps in “Take Control” or “Perfect Weight” In fact this is a good time of the year to read “Take Control” and re-read it if you have it. It will help you look at every area of your life as you move forward into the New Year.

We were both feeling a bit uncomfortable like we were experiencing middle age spread (horror of horrors!). This was due mainly to being gradually less disciplined about our eating habits even though we continued exercise daily. Yes even for us we sometimes take our health for granted and letting things slide until we get a reality check.

I was very strict with the program, but Mark is a bit more polite than I and would eat what was in front of him in a social environment. The worst thing he had was a gluten-free pizza and a decaff cappuccino.

We experienced the usual tiredness that goes with a detox program and I found myself having 2-3 restless nights where I woke up and could not get back to sleep. I assumed that was to my chocolate binge after visiting the Godiva Chocolate shop in New York. It was not so much what I ate there but the craving for chocolate that was awakened which continued for a month or so back home.

Caffeine typically causes wakefulness as it is removed from the fat cells while you sleep.

We have both lost weight but not too sure how much (probably 2-3 kg each) as we have not owned a scale for many years now, but both of us are finding our clothes very comfortable particularly around our waists.

We are waking up a lot earlier than usual, although in the first few days were waking up later. We are now feeling so good we have decided to continue eating this way and only eating differently in a social environment to make other feel more comfortable.

We are also finding that we are eating less food and had fallen into the habit of overeating on quite a few occasions."

Here is the step by step program we have done.

FIRST THING ON WAKING

3 heaped tsp Barleylife
1 flat tsp Just Carrots
Ľ tsp Redibeets
1-2 tsp Millbrook flax oil

Then we spend 30 minutes walking briskly or 45-60 minutes doing manual labour like carrying fencing planks from one end of the property to the other (to build a fence), moving compost to the vegetable garden.

BREAKFAST

At about 8.30am I make a cashew shake
Ľ - ˝ cup raw cashews per person
Ľ - ˝ a ripe pineapple per person
˝ - 1cup fresh orange juice per person
3-4 strawberries per person (these are usually frozen to make he shake really smooth)

I blend this together until very smooth in a jug blender.

MIDMORNING

During the morning I drink at least 1 glass of Brita filtered water and we may eat a peach, or mango but most times nothing until lunch time.

LUNCH
Fresh fruit as much as we like.

I have found I am now only eating 1-2 pieces at a time whereas in the beginning I was eating more.

On occasions we have a large fresh salad which consists of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and either chickpeas or grilled or steamed vegetables (mushrooms, baby marrows, butternut, eggplant, carrots etc – sometimes 1 or all of them).

The inclusion of grilled or steamed vegetables makes it easier to cope with and also gives a more substantial feel to a meal.

We also include our Mary-Ann’s Olive oil and organic Herb salt.

MIDAFTERNOON

During the afternoon we drink at least other 1-2 glasses of Brita filtered water and we may eat another piece or two of fresh fruit or snack on a handful of dates.

But our absolute favourite is to eat a frozen date ball or 10!

DATE BALLS

Take equal quantities of dates and coconut. Soften the dates in a double boiler and then blend the coconut in with a fork. I particularly like the more coarse desiccated coconut.

Roll into balls and freeze if you want a chewy treat! These will break any chocolate addiction.

On a few days we have just had a glass of chilled water with 2 heaped tsp Barleylife.

SUPPER

Most evenings this is a huge salad, with anything in that we like, from the usual lettuce, tomato, thawed frozen peas, and corn to avocado, grilled veg, steamed mushrooms, chickpeas, basil, rocket, grated carrots, red peppers, fennel etc.

If we have not had date balls in the afternoon we often eat them after supper.

We also occasionally have Liquifruit grape juice with loads of ice in this hot weather. This is an easier detox than a strict raw food program and we have found ourselves with loads of energy (after the first few days of tiredness).

EXTRA STUFF

We will be taking a course of Para 90, which is a herbal combination from Aim (the Barleylife people) designed to rid the body of any parasites (over 400). I recommend you do this at least once a year if vegetarian or twice a year if not. You then need to take Florafood for a month after the month that you take Para 90. This helps to recolonise your intestinal bacteria that may have been upset in the process of ridding you of parasites.

I also recommend that you take Herbal Release while on the detox program if you have cellulite, extra weight or eat any animal fat in your diet (butter, cream, cheese, fish, chicken, meat – even with the fat trimmed or the skin removed).

Remember to exercise for at least 20 minutes a day.

Enjoy the process! This is a great opportunity to learn to listen to your body.

Please check out our website for a full list of consultants: http://www.mary-anns.com/consultants.htm

They can be reached on info@mary-anns.com or 082 33 66 747 for any information on our courses (but check out www.mary-anns.com first) and the monthly DVD Digimag. The NHN course is ideal for anyone wanting to know more about just how your body works and how food and lifestyle and diet affect your mind, body and soul and then if you want to help others on a professional basis and health is a passion and you would like to earn an income from it, I suggest you do the NHC which is a practical course.

See more of Mary-Ann on SHOWCOOK

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