The detox debrief

I know, it's been a while. Some of you might even have felt concern that I might have died as a result of detoxing...

I'm happy to admit that it was a bit of a risk for me, having never done anything quite like this before. But I'm proud to report that I've taken control and conquered the detox, and as today's my last official day of detoxing, I'm looking forward to life after.

What's it like to detox? And does it really work? Read on to have your questions answered.

What have I been eating?

I know this will be the biggest question most of you will have had. Here's a selection from my detox menu

On rising:
Half a lemon squeezed into warm water

Breakfast:
Oats and/or Carmens bircher muesli (untoasted, no nasties added) with fresh fruit and soy milk or Co-Yo (this stuff is delicious)
Omelette (free range, organic eggs) with lots of veges
Smoothie of frozen bananas and berries with soy milk

Lunch:
Brown rice cakes (thin, the thick ones taste like styrofoam) with hummus or avocado, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, boiled egg, and whatever other salady goodness I can find in the fridge.
Pumpkin soup from Danny Boys
Home made vegetable and lentil soup
Leftovers from dinner the night before

Dinner:
Fried rice (brown rice, with egg for protein and whatever veges need using up)
Lentil and vegetable dahl
Omelette (free range, organic eggs) with lots of veges
Vegetable and lentil soup / goulash
Stirfried tofu, brown rice and veges
Kate's baked stuffed mushrooms
Whole baked potato with sauteed veges and legumes

Snacks:
Nuts, fruit, ricecakes with organic, natural peanut butter.

How have I felt?

Sometimes, I have to be honest, I felt like death warmed up. In the first few days I had dreadful headaches and I've had some days with a funny tummy.

Lately though, I feel like I could take on the world. Physically I feel great and I'm really proud of myself for resisting some rather tantalising temptations along the way.

What else has changed?

Time in the kitchen
Both KKB and I are watching what we eat, so we shop regularly and prepare almost all of our food at home. Although our focuses are different, we still feel like we're in it together. I've been committed to cooking more, and I've enjoyed it. I've tried some new recipes and reinvigorated some old ones I've been neglecting from my vegetarian days.

Weight loss
Although this wasn't my goal, I've lost around four kilos. A lot of it is probably toxins and other crap but I'm reasonably confident that at least some of it is fat. I am determined to keep this extra weight off.

Discipline
This has been the biggest change. By taking control of one aspect of my life, I have found that this has transferred to other areas of my day to day. I get up at 5am almost every day, and either train or do other jobs before I have to get ready for work. Sometimes, depending on what my planned training is, I have time for both. This is excellent news as I embark on more serious Ironman training.

Awareness of what I'm eating
I've always been aware of the amount of 'hidden' sugars and preservatives in common food items. The detox forced me to take responsibility for banishing them from my diet. A good outcome, and one I will retain as much as possible.

So, is it back to takeaway now?

No way!

I'm still not 100% sure what life after detox looks like, but to be honest, I'm not sure that it looks much different. I feel good now and I haven't felt all that restricted with my eating, so why change? The biggest dilemmas I think I have are:

Soy milk V cow milk
Soy milk isn't exactly what I would consider 'natural'. It is a manufactured food item, full of sugars, oils, all kinds of things. I wonder if I am better of switching back to good old organic cows milk... just less of it? I've missed cheese as much as I thought I would. Oh, how I've missed cheese... so there's no leaving that out entirely.

How much wheat?
I have missed bread (almost as much as cheese), but I can probably continue on oats for breakfast instead of weet-bix and keep up the quinoa rather than cous cous.

Meat
I used to be a vegetarian, then I started training for Ironman. When I picked up my training hours, I started craving fish. I don't think I can do an Ironman training program without meat. I'm sure it's possible, I just don't think it will work for me. My biggest meat mistake before detoxing though was portion size. I was eating giant KKB size portions instead of petite Powerhouse sized ones. No more. When I do eat meat, it will be portion controlled.

Caffeine
Yes, I'll go back. But I think I'll go black to avoid more milk that I don't need.

Alcohol
Yes, I'll probably go back to that too. I haven't missed it though so I don't think it'll be first in line at the bar. Pre-detox I always made sure I had at least one alcohol free day a week, and would generally only have one standard drink if I did drink. Party season is right around the corner though... let's just see.

Training food
Help! Many training foods are basically sugar with a dash of preservative. While on detox I've used Honey Shotz and bananas (and tried rice cakes with peanut butter and honey on a long ride - #fail). This won't get me through Ironman training though, not to mention race day. November is the month I start seriously training, so I'll research some more natural options and try some new things over the coming months.

Wish me luck with it all!


Like my previous post on detoxing, note that I am not a medical or health professional. Please don't take this post as advice or  recommendations, either general or specific.