#5

One of the things that I did that I feel had the biggest impact on my life in a permanent way, was to participate in a cleanse. This is a really hard thing to do, but the impact of it, and the results it has can be tremendous. I feel that it is important to do a cleanse because it gives your body a chance to start over. It's kind of like pushing the reset button on your whole system. So many of us are living our lives at less than optimal. We are performing below what we are capable of, and we are forcing our bodies to work harder than they need to.

The cleanse that I chose to participate in is called "CLEAN." I loved it, and I really didn't find it that hard to do. I still got to eat plenty of food, but I cut out all of the foods that are known allergens. This meant no dairy, wheat, strawberries...I also had to cut out coffee and sugar. There is a specific list of foods that are okay to eat as well as a list of what not to eat. This book also contains many recipes that are easy to follow. The idea behind this particular cleanse is that by removing the allergens from your diet for a period of time, and then slowly adding them back in at the end of the 3 week period, you will be able to tell which foods your body really doesn't like. You may not be officially allergic to a particular food, but you will be able to tell if it makes you feel sluggish, gives you a headache, stomach ache etc. I for instance confirmed what I was already suspicious of - that I really can't handle dairy.

Now, I would NOT recommend doing this early in your journey. I think it would be too discouraging. I would attempt a cleanse when you feel you have reached the point that your desire to be healthy outweighs your desire to over indulge. That point will be different for everyone. Also, while cleanses do typically result in some dramatic weight loss, I would NOT go into the cleanse with that as your objective. Every persons results will be different - your goal with a cleanse it to get healthy, and if weight loss comes with that, then that's a bonus! I do recommend doing any cleanse in conjunction with a visit to your doctor. Your doctor knows your history, and will definitely have some input on what cleanse (if any) is right for you.

The CLEAN diet really opened my eyes to the long term abuse our bodies have suffered, even when we thought we were being "healthy." There are concepts that I have taken from the book that I continue to apply to my daily life. If you choose the CLEAN diet - please make sure you read the entire book before starting. The author does a great job of great job of explaining the need, and he will definitely invoke a passion in you for needing to get CLEAN!