Recently I completed a seven-day cleanse, which brought up a lot of opportunities to talk about health and food choices. Because I was doing something so abnormal, I was constantly having to explain myself to people and for whatever reason felt the need to justify myself. I worried constantly about what people were thinking about me while I did my "crazy diet" because apparently I am still in middle school... but so many people have asked me to share what I did so I figured I would take some time to write it out.
Let me first preface this by saying that there are no secret potions or gimmicks here, it's just an all-natural way to clear out your system. I've found it to be highly effective in refreshing my palette and curbing some of my unhealthy cravings, and in the end I find that I actually begin to crave healthier things again. It works nicely as a "jumpstart" when you are first trying to get your healthy ball rolling, and it also gives you a nice boost if you're already working on healthy living and have reached a weight loss plateau that you're trying to break through.
The other disclaimer I must put out there is that this is NOT a sustainable "diet" nor should it become a regular way of life for you. Some "experts" will claim that you can do this as often as you'd like but it really is not wise to do this all the time. Your body needs a healthy balance of all types of food (yes, even fats and sugars - the right kinds!) and to deprive yourself of certain things for too long can be a bad idea in the long run. I did this once a year ago, then I did it twice this month with a few days in between of "normal" eating. The second time, I only went though day four simply because I really liked the fruit and veggie days. I don't have plans to do it again any time soon.
I first heard about this through a blog, but soon discovered that it has been around for about thirty years in various forms. My mom even found a copy of it in her health resources from years ago that she emailed me; it was literally a verbatim copy of the blog I'd been following. You will easily find detailed instructions by Googling the Sacred Heart Diet or the GM Diet or the Seven Day Cleanse - they are all slightly different and I think the key here is not to get so caught up in what you can or can't eat, but to just think about what you're putting into your body and stick to the general guidelines. If you follow it to the letter it is claimed that you can lose 10-17 pounds in a week, but bear in mind that is not all fat and you will almost definitely gain some of it back immediately after you return to "normal" eating. Also bear in mind that such rapid weight loss over a long period of time is unhealthy and should be avoided.
If you decide that you are going to try this, please do your research. Look at the different versions out there, find what will work for you, and make it personal. Don't just do what I did or follow a strict list of foods just because. Everyone's body reacts differently and what worked for me may not be as effective for you, or you may have better results. Also, be smart about it. You should
never feel hungry during this time. If you are, you're doing it wrong. I continued doing my regular workouts during this time without any problems, but during the third round I did make the mistake of going for a 14 km run on day four. That was a really dumb thing to do and it could have ended very badly - the lack of protein and carbs left me weak and because I hadn't hydrated enough that day I didn't even sweat, even though the sun was beating down on me the entire time. Pay attention to your body and don't be stupid like I was.
So, the whole thing revolves around this Wonder Soup, which is basically your typical cabbage soup. I happen to hate cabbage, so all three times that I've done this cleanse I've done it without the soup. Only recently did I discover that there is a version of the recipe without cabbage. Huh. Others have said that the soup really does make a difference so if you can stomach it, go for it. The way I understand it, the soup is supposed to stimulate fat burn and fill you up without adding a lot of calories. Each day you are allowed unlimited servings of the soup and the flavor du jour - a specific category of food. Here's the breakdown:
Day 1: Fruits. In addition to the soup, you basically stuff your face with fruit. Melons are suggested for their high water content. The purpose of this day is to just fill you up with water and natural sugars to replace your junk food sugars. Since melons are hard to come by during the off season here in Germany, I stocked up on apples, grapes, kiwi, oranges, pineapple, and canned peaches. If you like you can make smoothies but don't add anything extra like yogurt or fruit juice. A year ago when I did this I managed to find a watermelon at Penny, but then I got so sick of eating it that I threw it in the blender and made watermelon juice. The only restriction today: no bananas. This year I started the cleanse a few days after my birthday, so while I was trying to enjoy my fruit, I had some very tempting birthday sweets sitting on my desk, staring me down. I'm proud to say I resisted!
Day 2: Veggies. Again, eat the soup and stuff your face with veggies, cooked and raw. Avoid corn and peas since they are more starchy than anything else. Leafy greens are strongly encouraged, but you are limited to something like a teaspoon of oil per day and the idea of dry salads didn't go over very well for me. I ate a lot of green beans, carrots, celery, avocado, and even broccoli! If you know me at all you know I've always hated broccoli so I was quite proud of the fact that I went through an entire bag of frozen broccoli! You are also supposed to have a "complex carb" in the form of a baked potato. I decided to up the ante and make sweet potato fries which were like a party in my mouth and a reward for having to eat so many veggies in one day. Spices and seasonings are ok but go easy on the salt - I used pepper, a dash of salt, and garlic with a few drizzles of olive oil. I may or may not have gone over my one teaspoon allowance...
Day 3: Soup, fruits, and veggies, but no bananas or potatoes. I started the day by making a massive smoothie with oranges, kiwis, berries, apples, cucumbers, and spinach. Just add some water for the consistency. I got two full Nalgene bottles of smoothie from that mix - one I drank for breakfast and the other I sipped throughout the day. For lunch I mashed up two avocados and tricked my brain into thinking i was enjoying guacamole by eating it with celery instead of chips. Dinner that night was hard since I was subbing at a dorm, but I came prepared - I filled two whole plates with peaches, apples, carrots, green beans, and cucumbers, and then had to explain to all the kids in the middle school house why I was eating that instead of the Sodexo they were eating. I didn't think I would be able to eat it all, but somehow I did. I was stuffed for sure, but it was a good feeling because I knew it was all healthy food.
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| My green lunch |
Day 4: Soup, bananas, and milk. Today is when things start getting weird, and the different versions of this cleanse tell you different things. Eat somewhere between 3-8 bananas, and several glasses of skim milk. I think I ate around 5 bananas and went through two cartons of 1.5% milk, but that was easy because I love milk. You can substitute for almond or rice milk if you need to. I also added nuts at the suggestion of another person who had done the cleanse - so I ate a few handfuls of unsalted pistachios and peanuts for variety. I found today to be the hardest because of the lack of variety. Don't forget to drink your water on this day - I tend to slack off on my water on this day because of all the milk, but you still need to drink water. After I planned out my cleanse, I was informed that my birthday lunch at school was going to fall on the bananas and milk day. So that was a bummer but since I had already gotten my Chipotle burritos the week before, I was okay passing on the potato salad!
Day 5: Soup, beef, and tomatoes. Another weird day! When I tell people I'm eating beef during a cleanse they laugh... but I think at this point the idea is to start filling your body with good stuff. So pick lean beef, which you can have in the form of a steak or burgers or whatever. I've seen versions of this that suggest substituting chicken for the beef, but be sure there is no skin on the chicken! I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes so I get the canned tomatoes, mash them up with ground beef and fry it all into a beefy-tomatoey stew. This day fell on a Saturday for me, which ordinarily would have been fine except that my roommate and I had decided to host brunch for some friends. So, while everyone else feasted on waffles, eggs, and bacon, I sat at the table nibbling on a bowl of beef and tomatoes once again feeling the awkwardness of needing to justify my lifestyle choices. I craved waffles for days afterward because Lexi proceeded to make enough waffles to feed the entire city of Kandern, and I couldn't even have one!
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| Waffles for everyone but Rachel... |
Day 6: Soup, brown rice, and vegetables. Again, filling up on the good stuff. So keep eating your leafy veggies. I think I ate rice for breakfast and then had veggies the rest of the day, including a huge tray of baked broccoli for dinner. Not a very exciting day, and by this point I was mentally ready to be done with the cleanse.
Day 7: Soup, brown rice, vegetables, and fruit juice. The only thing to watch here is that your fruit juice is 100% juice and not full of sugar.
Every day you should be drinking around ten glasses of water, and increase it by a quart on Day 5 because of all the acid in the tomatoes. Other beverages you can have are black coffee and unsweetened teas.
As my Biggest Loser friends know, I ended up losing 9.6 pounds while doing this cleanse. So is it effective? Yes. Is it a long term solution? NO. Everyone knows the secret to looking and feeling good is a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise. So, not really a secret after all.
And yes, the first thing I ate after the cleanse was waffles -- and mocha coconut coffee. Yum. I never knew a waffle could taste so good!
