21 Day Fix – Day 10

Clean Eating… No One Has Died…
Our Taste Buds Are Not Freaking Out (Too Much!)

But, just in case you are jonesing hard by now, let’s try to motivate each other with some of the stuff that we can’t see that’s going on inside us right now – you know, making us better people and all that stuff lol.

The following are a few neat things I found in an article from www.healthyliving.com that I stumbled across:

 

Your Gut

Basically, you know all of that crap you’ve been loading into your body (Wendy’s, French Vanilla coffee, butter chocolate croissants on Saturday mornings with your girlfriend – oh wait, that’s me)… well all of that ‘junk’ has been clogging up your system. Slowing it down – creating all sorts of issues.

“The gut is often inflamed by the foods and substances we eat, such as artificial sweeteners, preservatives and hydrogenated oils,” says Vincent Pedre, MD, internist, functional medicine certified practitioner and author of Happy Gut: The Cleansing Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Eliminate Pain. “During a cleanse, the body has time to turn off the fire in the gut and rebalance the gut microbiomes.”

Your Liver

Your poor liver… this is the little guy that takes a beating, expected to flush your body of all of the toxins from that disgusting, preservative-filled, yummy, cheat day stuff. It’s also your go-to pal for ridding your body of the poison you ingest by drinking two bottles of Nova 7 during date night with your hubby (just me again? Can’t be!).

By taking some time out to watch what you’re putting into your body and really focusing on eating clean, you give your liver a chance to try to catch up with your foul ways, recharge it liver-y batteries, so that it can live to fight another day (which you want, cause there’s a wedding coming up, a neighbourhood BBQ and a birthday party over the next few weeks). (Now I know THAT applies to everyone the same – not just me!)

“The issue is that when we’re constantly under stress or our toxin intake is higher than our body can keep up with, we end up storing toxins and creating both fat and inflammation,” explains Elson Haas, MD, founder of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin and author of Ultimate Immunity. During a detox, the liver finally gets the chance to more effectively do its job, like turning toxins into substances the body can excrete, according to Kaila Nguyen, a naturopathic doctor at the Origin Health Center in Oakland, Calif.”

 

Your Skin

Listen up, all you middle-aged women fighting adult acne like you’re 15 again! This is a great one. I’m super happy about this. Apparently, as you begin to eat clean, and your body begins to detox of all the tox, your skin can finally breathe again! Take that, wrinkles, crows feet and jowels (I know you’re in there!).

“Once your body starts flushing out toxins, your skin may actually look worse before it looks better. “There may be an initial detox with rashes and hives,” says Dean, “but that will clear, and the skin tone and color will improve over time.” The skin can excrete the toxins such as DDT, lead and cadmium that normally like to reside in the skin, says Nguyen. Within two weeks, though, you’ll begin to see skin improvements. Oil production will lower, acne will begin to disappear and you’ll start to notice clearer, brighter skin, says Pedre.”

Your Brain

Did you know, there is apparently a connection between the health of your gut and the clarity and focus of your brain?! I had no idea. I don’t exactly know how that explains my happy-vibes after sugar-ladened coffee, but who am I to argue with the experts? According to the experts in this article, after a couple of days of headaches, you can expect to notice an improvement in your ability to focus! Good thing too… this meal planning stuff is no walk in the part ;o)

…“you’ll start feeling a little clearer and lighter. Your energy will pick up and your symptoms will diminish,” says Haas. By the end of the first week, you can expect a decrease in headaches and an improvement in mental clarity, memory, concentration and focus. This brain boost is due in large part to balancing your gut, explains Pedre. There is a direct relationship between gut health and the brain.”

 

Your Mood

Sugar, sweet sugar (see what I did there  <– )… it is the root of everything good and everything bad in our days sometimes. They nailed it with this quote:

“Sugar is much more emotional for people to give up,” Haas explains. “It’s a comfort food and reward food. The key, says Haas, is to maintain a positive attitude and give yourself kudos for beginning a healthy habit.”

And he’s right! You do need to give yourself kudos! That’s also one of the reasons why I, knowing myself and my many attempts at eating changes in the past, allow myself one cheat meal a week. This also helps to get me over the emotional withdraw (if I ever come across it)… Kind of like looking forward to earned treats… and when I get there – well, bring it on, baby!

Have You Noticed Any Changes For You?

You must have by now! What do you find, of the above, are your biggest changes? I’m going to say that mine is the gut. We didn’t eat wretched before (thank you, Google, for helping me spell wretched just now – I guess today is not one of my brain clarity days lol), but we did have too much of a good thing quite often. I’m very thankful for the guidance on portion control so far. It’s been awesome – and it works!

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Refer to the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan for a complete outline of today’s food!