“Nothing dims your light more than the doing of things again and again that are no longer serving you.”
– Rodney Yee
One of the most valuable things I’ve gained from my meditation practice is the ability to notice what is happening in the present moment. In January, it was this noticing that alerted me to how out of alignment I was. Exhausted, depleted and emotionally spent, I found myself doing what I’ve always done – I was reaching for food. Not for nourishment, not for sustenance but as a means of comforting my discomfort.
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As luck would have it, it was not long after that I received an email from on of Urban Zen Integrative Therapy’s most trusted advisors, Dr. Mark Hyman, asking if I’d be interested in trying out the new 10 Day Detox Diet. Like most folks, I have started and failed to finish many diet plans in my day, but I was truly so depleted that I knew I needed to give myself over to a plan and a team that I trusted – I didn’t have the energy or the capacity to be creative, I needed to be told what to do. I had only one goal for the 10 days – to feel more aligned with vibrancy through the food choices I was making. I needed a reboot – a lifestyle makeover.
This was definitely work. Breaking the habitual patterns I had created in my day-to-day life took attention and focus. The 10DDD itself is pretty straight-forward and, for me, preparation was the key to success. I had to make sure that the right foods were in the house, the wrong foods were removed and that my family knew I was on my own plan for the next 10 days. Each day of the Detox consisted of the following:
MEASUREMENTS
Each morning I weighed in and did a measurement check of the waist and hips. This would have been an easy part to skip over but it was an amazing process to see how small, incremental shifts really add up by Day 10. We were also encouraged to make note of how long and how effective our sleep the night before was. This was a real eye opener for me and as the Detox went on, I needed slightly less sleep because I was waking up less frequently during the night.
SUPPLEMENTS
As part of the beta group I was provided with the supplements – a high-quality multi, purified fish oil, Vitamin D3, magnesium citrate, chromium, zinc, alph lipoic acid, cinnamon, green tea chatechins and PGX (a granular substance that when mixed with cold water takes on a tapioca-like consistency. PGX inhibits insulin spikes and increases the fiber load in the diet). The supplements are generally easy to take along with the shake but remembering to take the PGX 15 minutes before the meal and it’s consistency took some getting used to. It was stressed again and again that this was the most effective supplement for the Detox, so I just made it important. I’ve done a check of my local health food store and all of these supplements, including the PGX, are easily found. Dr. Hyman also has high-quality supplements for sale on his website.
FOOD PLAN
The 10DDD is relatively simple in concept – keep your blood sugar in check throughout the day, give your body the proteins and fats it needs to function properly, and remove potential toxins from your system like gluten, dairy, processed foods and sugar. What’s fantastic about this cleanse is that it’s a whole foods cleanse. I was never hungry and the recipes are simple, tasty and delicious. The morning smoothie is jam packed with protein and fats that kept me sustained until lunch. I almost never needed the optional mid-morning snack. I quite happily made friends with my mini food processor again which made preparation a cinch and in case a small apartment or other constraints worry you, my oven’s been on the fritz and I made all of the recipes with my stove top and a toaster oven.
EXERCISE
The weather on the East Coast has been cold. No, actually, it’s been frigid. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the 30 minutes of brisk exercise in during the 10DDD so I borrowed a rebounder (mini trampoline) from a friend and bounced as I listened to the coaching calls. That was until Day 7 — I woke up with the most terrific upper back pain I have ever had and was sure I was heading to the ER. I didn’t miss the fact that the theme of the day was NURTURE. I got an extra long massage, took an extra long detox bath and went to bed. It was the only day that any exercise was out of the question and for the remainder of the detox I ramped up meditation and gentle stretching as opposed to the more vigorous exercise. Even that was addressed on the calls and I was able to give myself permission to heal as opposed to using it as an excuse to stop following the detox.
COACHING CALLS
Each day of the 10DDD has a theme: Satisfy, Detox, Empty, Move, Listen, Think, Nurture, Design, Notice and Connect. These themes were brought onto our daily coaching calls with Lizzy, a Dietician from Dr. Hyman’s team and Hilde, a life coach from the Handel Group. Both brought amazing information to the table each day, providing us with a blend of the science and the psychology behind what we were going through. During the first few days of the program I was enthused but as in “diets” past, I found myself waking up slightly less enthused and even angry about how much time and energy the 10DDD was taking. All of my self-sabotaging methods that have held me back from completing such a plan in the past surfaced and somehow Lizzy and Hilde would magically address those thoughts and feelings on these calls. Just knowing that the group was getting together held me accountable and so I stuck to each aspect with diligence and a sense of really wanting to keep my word to myself and to the group. Dr. Hyman and Lauren Zander of the Handel Group led the calls on Day 1 and Day 11 – it felt like a special connection to the source. The calls were the glue for me and I can’t emphasize their importance to the Detox process enough!
“…community as the key
to lifestyle changes”
FB GROUP
Lizzie and Hilde also held virtual office hours daily in a private Facebook group where the group going through the Detox could ask questions about the plan, cleansing symptoms and basically anything that was coming up. The Community that our small group forged on FB continues and we are still sharing recipes, setbacks and successes beyond the 10 Days. It’s been great to have those who were part of the Blood Sugar Solution FB group on there as well to share their experience. Dr. Hyman talks about Community as the key to Lifestyle changes. This community has been and will continue to be a great resource and acts as Accountability Partners so just because I wasn’t doing the Detox with a friend or partner, I wasn’t alone.
JOURNALING
Each day we were asked to journal based on a short list of questions. This was another area where I have slacked off in the past but Hilde mentioned being proud on more than one occasion and it occurred to me that doing all of the steps was the real road to healing. Clearly what I’d been doing wasn’t working. These questions helped me to see how I had been using food as a companion rather than as a means to nourish my body and spirit. Around Day 9 (“Notice”) I decided to actually look in the mirror instead of just closing my eyes and feeling. It was amazing to see that the wrinkles around my eyes had begun to disappear or fill in or whatever – they were dramatically less severe. The whites of my eyes were white and my tongue no longer had a coating on it.
DETOX BATH
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For anyone who knows me, I am a bath junkie! This was the easiest part for me as I’ve been taking the Ultra Bath for a few years now. It’s simple – Epsom salts, baking soda and lavender essential oil. Make the water super hot and sweat like crazy for 20 minutes – pure heaven and the easiest part of the Detox for me. There were two nights during the Detox that I did not have access to a bath, so I steamed for 20 minutes. Got the same sweat effect, though nothing beats a hot, hot bath in my book!
OK, Spoiler Alert: Dr. Hyman has one objective with this 10DDD which is to show anyone that they can make measurable and massive shifts in their diet and vitality in just 10 days! The incredible combination of science and psychology were super effective in helping me to make substantial shifts in my kitchen and my eating. In just 10 days I lost 7.5 pounds (now 9) and more than 11” from my waist, hips and thighs and while this is appreciated and wonderful, the 10DDD gave me so much more – the tools to nourish myself and my family by making smart, effective food choices based on the science of the body. The hard work of the Detox has begun to feel like my new normal and I almost can’t imagine how I was eating before. This has been a lifestyle shift for me, and just the reboot I was looking for.
The 10 Day Detox Diet comes out on Little Brown on February 25th, but a sneak-preview of the book is already available here. If you would like to get the most current and evidence-based information on nutrition and healthy living, follow Dr. Hyman on Twitter or friend him on Facebook .
by Gillian Cilibrasi