Happy & HEALTHY New Year!

Those two things go hand in hand for me… and when I’m not in a healthy place, I cannot be happy. The reverse is also true, when I’m unhappy I do not feel healthy and tend to get sick.

This tortuous cycle has plagued me most of my life, but was never so intense as it was last year. To get the full back-story, CLICK HERE. Now that you have the back-story, let’s dive in to the last 7 days of my 21-day health detox!

***It’s important that you note that this detox and supplement program was designed FOR ME. However, there are vitamins and supplements, as well as recipes and food guidelines that we can all try. I’d recommend you try your own cleanse under the supervision and guidance of a medical or holistic practitioner.*** 

HELL WEEK!

I’ve lovingly named this week “Hell Week” because, well it was hell. It started off okay (read below) – but then my body did this weird thing, where it literally detoxed! My body, which I’ve learned cannot genetically process hormones, heavy metals, and cannot methylate enzymes and proteins properly, started processing EVERYTHING (like, processing through all the hormones in my birth control – hahaha). This medical cleanse was specifically designed to help me “re-set” my body so that I CAN properly process all of the toxins and nutrients in my body.

WHAT HAPPENED?

This week 3 amazing things happened and 3 painful things happened. Let’s start with the amazing:

1. I cleansed my system of toxins, probably for the first time in my life.
2. I learned to ask for help and focus on why I need (I’ve heard this is hard for MANY people ;))
3. I got super creative and honed in on my vegan cooking skillz!

The painful – (I will explain why all of this is actually good!):

1. Saturday meltdown. Complete with uncontrollable fits of crying, laughing, outbursts of frustration. I think I scared my children and freaked out my husband.
2. Got my (very painful) period in the middle of my birth control cycle.
3. I felt very dizzy and tired, and COULD NOT THINK/FOCUS, and needed lots of extra rest.

This week I (mostly) ONLY ate low-glycemic fruit, veggies and my shake 3x per day. 

The first 3 days I did not eat any meat, nuts, legumes, dairy, milk replacements (coconut or nut milk), coconut, soy, grains… ONLY veggies and fruit and shakes! By Saturday, I was a HOT mess. I was so dizzy, so h-angry, and super super super cranky. It got to a breaking point on Saturday and I totally melted down. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t help anyone else – my kids were all yelling and running around – the dog needed to go out – I slept in, but had not eaten breakfast – and so I lost my shi*t.

My meltdown triggered 3 awesome reactions:

1. I FINALLY started asking for help and enrolled my family in helping and supporting me through this process. You don’t realize how much people love and want to support you, until you start asking for help.
2. I got to spend “in the moment” time with my kids, doing what I want – and spend time NOT doing the things that I did not want to do – because I could not.
3. My body needed that final release of toxins. I had released all of the “crap” (pun intended) in my body, and was holding on the emotional “crap” – the self judgement, the comfortable crap (this is a real thing), the anxiety that fuels me, and my fears… that was the hardest. The final release gave me the space to clear out the emotional crap too, and the next day I felt amazing.

WHOOPS – I screwed up my supplements!

I started taking too many NEW supplements, AND I didn’t read the detox/cleanse instructions properly, and was taking the multivitamin pack for the first 2 weeks, when I was not supposed to start until week 3! DOH!

Here’s what I took Week 2:

• 7,000 mg Vitamin D
• Saccharomycin 2x per day
• Probiotic Eleven & FloraMyces 2 pills each, 2x per day for 2 months – then switched to Probiomax Daily 2x per day
• ActivEssentials for Woman – 5 pill pack 1x per day
• Liposomal Glutathione (spray in mouth – MOST POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT)
• Methyl b12 1x per day
• Amla Gold (Vitamin C) 2x per day
• B Active (B Complex) 2x per day
• AlaMax CR 2x per day
• Cytomel 1x per day (thyroid medication – prescription)
• CoQ Max Ubiquinol 1x per day
• Ashwaganda 2x per day
• Calcium & Magnesium Liquid 1 – 2 TBSP before bed – helps me sleep too!
• Nattokinase 2x per day

 

• Next week I’ll add “Drainage – Homeopathic detox liquid” and Pregnenolone 1x per day (“feel good” hormone)

I’ve continued my self-care protocol:

• Switching to all-natural organic products – soaps, shampoo, make up, toothpaste, deodorant, gum, etc.
• Drinking alkaline water
• Dry brushing 1x per day (for lymphatic system)
• Meditating 1x per day (“Calm” app)
• Exercising – yoga- switched from power yoga to Yin/relaxation yoga this week
• Writing & setting intentions for each day
• Sleeping more – sorry Eric (my husband has to get up with the kids and dog most days now!)
• BREATHING more!
• Drinking herbal teas with Royal Jelly
• Reading funny and inspirational books like “Judgement Detox” by Gabby Bernstein and “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck” by Mark Manson.

Does this mean I have to be Vegan? (YES) – What I ate: 

1. Day 8 – Tues, Jan 9, 2018 – Okay – no meat, no sauce, no grains! Day 1 I had 2 shakes with water and ice and one with Pitaya (aka dragon fruit). Grilled veggies over a rhubarb and beet puree was my favorite meal 🙂
2. Day 9 – Weds, Jan 10, 2018 – In addition to my 3 shakes, I roasted up cauliflower, brussel sprouts, beets and butternut squash. I HAD to add in some organic brown rice because the veggies alone were not filling me up. The salad is simple with organic arugula, cucumbers, fennel and wasabi greens – with lemon juice and pink sea salt. This was my most filling vegan meal!
3. Day 10 – Thurs, Jan 11, 2018 – Feeling H-ANGRY, and wiped out. I started adding more fruit and avocado into my shakes to fill me up more. This smoothie contains 2 scoops of the cleanse powder, a touch or orange juice and some pineapple and ice. I had more veggies (leftover from yesterdays roasting session), and added in brown rice when necessary (like in the rice and veggie bowl I made above).
4. Day 11 – Fri, Jan 12, 2018 – Avocados are becoming my new favorite food. Delicious, filling and I think I need the extra OMEGA oils. I squeezed a little lime juice and sprinkled with sea salt, then put it on an organic, salt-free brown rice cake. 3 shakes and a salad with roasted veggies… not enough food. I’m starting to get dizzy!
5. Day 12 – Sat, Jan 13, 2018 – Breakdown day. My emotional release/detox happened at 9:30AM, right before I took my first sip of my double scoop chocolate shake. I drank the rest of the shake slowly, then decided this would be my last day of VEGAN eating, tomorrow I am adding back in grass-fed beef. 🙂
6. Day 13 – Sun, Jan 14, 2018 – GRASS FED BEEF is back in the mix!!! These organic red-chard wrapped burgers with butternut squash roasted saved my life. I literally felt drunk after eating this meal. My belly was happy, and so was my heart. I’m starting to feel better, and I’m going to ask my doc if it’s okay to start adding some things back in!
7. Day 14 – Mon, Jan 15, 2018 – The salad that kept me going this week… organic butter lettuce, fennel, avocado, lemon juice and sea salt. I ate this 4 times this week, and felt so good after each meal.

The recipes from Hell Week are SUPER simple, but I think they need to be. I did not have the energy to cook elaborate meals, and couldn’t even cook for my family. I will include these recipes in the cook book, because it took me 2 days to get into the groove, and figure out what I could make. It would’ve been easier if I had vegan recipes to follow for this week!

GASSY WEEK!

This week could’ve been called “Gassy Week” instead. I chose lots of gassy veggies, but I also think eating only fruits and veggies and high-fiber grains really got all the “crap” out. Sorry to be so graphic, but definitely something to keep in mind if you are doing this cleanse and have to be around people in social/professional situations. I want to formally apologize to the people in home section of Target yesterday for the bog of eternal stench.

Food for thought: 2 days of cauliflower, broccoli, chard, brussel sprouts and other greens, should not be followed by a garlic and red onion stir-fry of green beans… just sayin’

SHORT-TERM PAIN, LONG-TERM GAIN

• My friend Danielle, who happens to be a wellness coach, did this same cleanse several years ago. It helped her re-set her body, heal chronic illness, and connected her mind, body and spirit. Since then she’s made many time and financial commitments to her own wellbeing, as well as helping others. I ran into Danielle at a PTA meeting on Friday – the day leading up to my release/breakdown day. She and I spoke in the rainy parking lot for nearly 45 minutes about how difficult this process is…
• Not only did Danielle listen to my ramblings while standing in the cold rain, she also gave me amazing advice… “Listen to your body. Check in, and if you need to shorten the cleanse, or remove certain supplements, try it – and ask the doc. The cleanse is painful, and pain is a teacher. But you must be willing to listen and learn.”
• Her words have been echoing in my head every hours since. I am doing this cleanse for ME, and so I need to honor myself and the process. THat’s why I am shortening the cleanse to 3 weeks, and emailed the doc about what supplements I can start to wean off of or continue after next week – the last week.
• I’M SO GRATEFUL FOR DANIELLE, and for all of my friends and family who have been so loving and supporting during this experience. Thank you ALL for your love and support.

Stay tuned for my LAST week – days 15 – 121 next Tuesday!  I hope that by sharing my experience I can help inspire you to take a stand for your health too – AND make this cleanse easier to navigate for any of you who want to hit the “re-set button” 🙂

Love & yum,

Lindsay “Mama” O’Neill