(Detox Day 5 thru 8) My 21 day experience with Joshi's Alkaline Diet detox programme

For me these last few days have been rough. I have been a bit cranky and lightly headachy. I know one of the biggest reasons is that I have not been eating enough or getting enough nutrition. Working full time, dealing with life circumstances and eating as fresh as possible is proving to be challenging.

Day 5 (Friday) - I went for lymphatic massage and reflexology. That was great! I did feel though I could take a nap shortly after and probably should have but life called. I think next time I book I will try and make sure I can come home and rest. Today I struggled, for the first time, with wanting food outside of my allowable items when I smelled fresh banana loaf in the oven. I asked my son to make it…then felt a little sad for myself. I have borrowed my brother’s Breville juicer to start juicing, hubby picked it up after work.

Day 6 (Saturday) – I decided that Saturdays will be my liver cleanse drink day. So I used the juicer to make the drink. 300 ml of grapefruit and lemon juice, 200 ml of filtered water, 2 cloves of garlic and a small piece of ginger. First I found the recipe a little lacking. 300 ml of both grapefruit and lemon juicer? Or combined? I went with combined. A small piece of ginger? What does that mean to anyone…let alone Joshi? I used a piece about 2 loonie coins stacked. I was super nervous but it was actually pretty palatable!!! I didn’t even have to plug my nose. The book suggests to follow the drink with some herbal tea made from 3-4 herbs from a list and I had 3 already from my shopping trip! Nettle, fenugreek and dandelion root. It tasted earthy and sweet. It was alright. Later that day I had a gf over and she wanted to have a demo of the juicer so I made a bit of juice with carrot, beet and a pinch of basil and ginger. I didn’t really taste anything but the sweetness of the carrot and beet. I still do not love to drink my veggies L So I will search online for recipes to try..

Day 7 (Sunday) – Our son got baptized so we went out after church for lunch..ha! Between my cleanse and my husband’s gluten intolerance we had slim pickings on a Sunday afternoon in rural Alberta. We ended up at Subway for the kids to have subs and I had a chicken chop salad…with spinach, lettuce, onion, chicken, salt & pepper…not thrilling!! Supper was chicken again in lettuce wraps with vermicelli, some veggies stir fried and a bit of sauce made from Bragg’s soy sauce (so no yeast) and raw honey. It was very tasty but I felt convicted of the soy sauce as it is listed as a no no..but because of the yeast…which mine doesn’t have…but it still contains a lot of sodium L The only sauces I have made thus far have been made with the Bragg’s soy sauce. So I have decided to stay away from it for a week. I need to look into other sauces I can make. Or tough it out and eat plain. I need to make more use of the spices I have bought perhaps.

Day 8 (Monday) – I am officially 1/3 through my cleanse!! Today was kinda rough. Just a long day that started early and didn’t give me much time to deal with food. I’ve just about hit my water intake for the day which is sweet!! I have a niggling headache though. Happy to be where I am but feeling in a slump at the same time.

I need to resolve getting more nutrients into my body. Also, I need to start exercising. Joshi’s explains that exercising is one of the best ways to detox. So I need to move more!!

I haven’t spent much time with family or friends since I started my cleanse. I needed to be in a bubble to get started so I could focus and give attention to the cleanse. I would like to get back into my social life though I feel I haven’t the time if I can’t even get the nutrition I need :s

So far my challenges are:

• Eating enough in a day and getting enough nutrition
• Remembering to eat slowly and at a table
• Getting my morning routine down so I can get to work
• Exercising
• Eating supper waaaaay to late (maybe that was just the weekend though)

So far my strengths are:

• Getting fresh food, thank you to hubby for help there!
• Drinking enough water
• Remembering to take my supplements
• Resolving to stick with it
• Sticking to the cleanse limititations 97% (dang soy sauce, smoked tofu and 2 bites of gluten free muffin!!)

Some other things I have noticed:

• The eczema on my hand that flared has dried up but not cleared out
• I am down 9 lbs since my first weigh in which was on day 2. (average 1.2lbs a day)
• I am not feeling the hunger pangs as I did the first couple of days.  

Off to google some answers to my juicing dilemma!!