Detox
April 25, 2007 | Filed under Body
Every once in awhile, I like to have a complete detox. For up to a week, I will only drink water, and will only eat what we Cantonese call “qing” food, natural foodstuffs that don’t have additional flavourings, etc. added to it. You’d be surprised what something as simple as strawberry jam has added to it.
For instance, last year I ate nothing but congee for a week (it conveniently coincided with when I had my wisdom teeth out and couldn’t eat anything solid anyway…). The year before that, I ate nothing but oranges and cucumbers for four days.
Starting tonight, I’ll be doing the congee detox again for another week. It works, it really does. I lost three kilos last time around (some extra kilos that I needed to lose!), and simply felt healthier because my system wasn’t bogged down with a million and one different ingredients.
If you’re not sure if a detox diet plan is for you, then there’s one simple thing to do. Write down absolutely everything you eat in one day. Not the meals themselves (e.g. peanut butter and jelly sandwich), but the ingredients that go into it: peanuts, strawberries, sugar, wheat, yeast, flavouring no.69, etc. etc.). If this list goes above a hundred items for the whole day (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner), then you need to detox.
It’s worth it – you’ll feel healthier. There are visible improvements too – with the amount of water you’ll be drinking on the detox diet, your skin will clear up. Remember kiddoes, drink at least two litres a water a day for perfect dewy skin!
A note: I’m not advocating this type of a diet on a permanent basis. In fact, I don’t recommend anyone follow this type of eating plan for more then a week – it’s designed to clear the toxins from your body, not to lose weight dramatically.
15 Responses to Detox
Leave a Reply
I reserve the right to edit or delete your comment as I see fit, though I only delete comments from anonymous commenters, or people with multiple aliases. Using a genuine name/email combination will ensure that your comment is approved.
Wow, that sounds interesting. I think I’ll try writing down what I eat tomorrow, although I’m a failure at anything cooking-related, so I’ll probably miss a ton of stuff. :)
Kycoo on April 25, 2007 #
wow, I probably wouldn’t be able to do that!
hmm..but let’s see what do I actually eat a day…cereal, milk, apples, yogurt, crackers, cheese, rice, usually some lean meat, rice, vegetables…okay not ingredients but I don’t really have enough food knowledge, haha. but wow, I eat nearly the same thing everyday. maybe I’ll just spend some time running and detox by sweating!
I’ve always wondered about the 2 liters a day…wouldn’t it depend on your size? smaller people = less water? I still try to stuff it in :P
marilyn on April 25, 2007 #
But… Rice porridge is so boring!
Tracey on April 25, 2007 #
I refer to that as “tzuk tzuk” or.. maybe minus t’s. That thing is the food of the Gods. My mum wouldn’t let me have a detox like that though. ;_;
Jenny on April 25, 2007 #
I’d be too chicken (no pun intended) to try it myself; I’ve never been on a diet. I just add some extra mileage to my morning runs if I feel out of shape.
Ramsha on April 25, 2007 #
I think I’d rather just count the # of things I eat — I’m sure its probably way over. Except they dont tell you whats in the school lunch. And well… I dunno, I guess ramen noodles probably dont have a HUGE list… heh.
I could never do it. It sure soudns like a good idea though!
Mar on April 25, 2007 #
Oh, PS: I think the links in the sidebar look a LOT better, but wwith your title, I’m not sure… It seems out of place because everything else in the layout is very blocky. And it just looks off because the gray circles aren’t the saem size as the red ones.
A square box (not using a black outline, a gray one, like the rest of the layout) maybe with stripes? Just a thought. But I do liek the sidebar a lot better. :D
Reply: Hmm…is this one any better? It’s plainer, but I don’t think I’m much of a stripes person. :) It’s so frustrating not being able to create graphics…curse Paint!
Mar on April 25, 2007 #
I’ve never done that before. I struggle with drinking the minimum required of water daily, so… :/
But I probably should. Man, I need to start eating healthier.
Rice porridge? There’s an Indian equivalent of that, sort of, with wheat and meat. It’s pretty good, but it is rather rich.
I like this new layout by the way! :)
Rafia on April 25, 2007 #
Oooh I do like congee. Especially the type with a bit of pork and that kind of treated duck egg (the one that’s all blackish? What are they called?! I dunno, but they’re delicious). I never get to eat enough of it!
Belinda on April 26, 2007 #
I drink at least one bottle of water a day. Usually it’s much closer to two. Water is delicious and refreshing!
Kimmie on April 26, 2007 #
Doesn’t sound very tasty, but I bet it’s effective! ;)
I always drink water at work. There is nothing more delicious than really cold water :)
Malin on April 26, 2007 #
Oh I’m totally going to do that when I’m home for the summer, to get rid of the grossness from eating cafeteria food all year, haha. Good luck with it though! I never could do it more than a day, although it’s probably way more effective to do it for a few… maybe this year I shall.
gem on April 26, 2007 #
i’ve wondered what a detox would be like. i’ve never really known enough about them to feel comfortable enough to go on one. but now, i just might reconsider that. ;)
sydney on April 26, 2007 #
Red No. 03 is a staple in my diet. It probably gives me my natural skin hue. lol.
Seriously, I would like to try this… I wanna eat watermelons for a week straight! But they’re not in season yet so I guess I’ll have to wait…
Felisa on April 26, 2007 #
You are aware that these so-called “detox” diets have been debunked on multiple occasions, right?
Of course by eating nothing but fresh raw foods and drinking lots of water you’re going to feel good – but you can get the same effect by eating lots of fruit and veg regularly and taking exercise. Exercise being the key – you need to burn more calories than you consume (and of course, these ‘detox’ diets are good at that, but don’t contain the vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy.)
I might be a fatty who does bugger all exercise (ironically the subject of my latest blog post, when I get it up) but I wouldn’t even attempt these daft faddy detox diets.
I was going to find you a load of links to back me up but this one says it the best: tinyurl.com/2c3fby
Jem on April 28, 2007 #