2014: The Perfect Time for a Cleanse & Detox

With the new year and new resolutions, this is the perfect time to restart your body with a cleanse & detox. It's kinda like a fresh start (physically and symbolically) for your body to get rid of all the bad stuff we ate during the holidays (I know I overindulged!!) and get back on track to a healthy lifestyle. I acutally did this cleanse with D back in May of last year and I really felt the benefits. Not only did I feel  cleansed, but energized and excited to eat cleaner. So what did I use?  I picked up this book "Look Better Naked" by the editors of Women's Health magazine which gives you a 6 week plan to basically look, well hot! They suggest using the 2-day cleanse to kickstart your 6 week plan but you don't have to use it. I did this cleanse again starting new years day and I'm feeling so excited to restart my body and try to stick to the 6 week eating and working out plan!

In a nut shell, the 2-Day Cleanse looks a little something like this:

Breakfast:
Light shake
Blend 1 cup fat-free (soy, almond, rice or hemp) milk
1 cup berries
1tsp peanut butter or flax seed oil
1 cup ice

Snack:
1 cup sliced cucumbers
1 cup green tea

Lunch:
steamed or raw greens (romaine, spinach, mesclun, arugula, kale etc.)
4 oz. lean protein (white meat chicken, firm tofu or fish)
2 tsp oil (olive, sunflower or walnut)

Snack:
10 asparagus spears, blanched
1 cup green tea

Dinner:
same as lunch

Yeah, to some this might look like their regular food plan. But to me, this looks meager and challenging. The shake I know I'll be able to do because I've been drinking breakfast smoothies for the past few weeks and I'm totally down with it! The nice thing with this plan is we are allowed to add spices and fresh herbs to make the meals more appetizing. For example, I think I'm going to add a little vinegar and fresh dill to make a cold cucumber salad -- that's more flavorful right? We are also allowed 2tsp of oil with both lunch and dinner to use how we want. I'm thinking of mixing that with some balsamic vinegar to make a vinaigrette and fresh herbs to make a dressing for my fresh greens. Lastly, I'm trying to think about how to liven up that meat since we are only allowed to bake or broil it. I'm thinking chicken could be marinated in fresh lemon juice and cracked black pepper. And fish I could experiment with some spices and use a rub. 

and a little humor to reminds ourselves to laugh when we're lashing out in hunger (I do this, do you?!)

Has anyone else ever done a detox and cleanse, and if so how did it go??
Anyone else committing to a healthier lifestyle for 2014?

xo Steph