Cleanse Recap
Day Thirty of my 30-Day Detox Cleanse ended three days ago (cleanse recipe here). I would rate this a success, and recommend it to anyone.
Get it done early. Getting the cleanse done the year has several benefits, some of which I mentioned in cleanse recipe post. From a training perspective, there are three major benefits to getting it done early: It is free weight-loss; It will improve your nutrient absorption for the season; and It gets the disruption to your diet plan out of the way.
A word on Duration. There are benefits to doing a shorter time period (say three or seven days), but I didn’t see the real effects until day 10. That means it took 10 days to get ramped up, and another 20 of full benefit from that point.
Free Weight Loss. I mentioned before that my second of third go round on a similar cleanse several years ago resulted in a permanent 10-pound weight loss. This would have been mostly crud and compacted fecal matter lining my small and large intestines. It is estimated that many people may have 45 pounds of this stuff. This stuff inhibits nutrient absorption, holds onto toxins, aggravates your intestinal walls. Eliminating it reduces these issues, and the potential complications arising from them.
Be aware that weight and body fat readings during the cleanse period may be all over the place, particularly if you use a bioimpedence device. Be sure to take a good weight and body fat reading before you start to compare to what you get the day after your done.
Nutrient Absorption. Training-wise, eliminating this crud along your intestinal walls increases the amount and rate your body can absorb the nutrients you feed it in your nutrition plan–Get this benefit going as soon as possible. Additionally, albeit temporary, side effects, of the cleansing process (frequent pooping, increased allergic sensitivity) can create problems during the more intense portions of your training season.
Disruptions. One issue I had trouble with was the degree to which the cleanse schedule interfered with other aspects of my diet plan. For example, I am already bad about taking supplements on schedule. I’ve therefore developed a little morning routine the entails drinking water right out of bed, brushing my teeth, making coffee, and taking my supplements while I wait for the coffee to brew. Well, the requirements for the cleanse sucked up the supplement time, and then my work day was upon me, and well. . . I’m not too upset as it is only a short interlude, and when it’s over, my supplement absorption and effectiveness will go up.
Another example surrounds my Slow-Carb diet plan, which again entails consuming a fair amount of protein right out of bed. Again, a temporary disruption, and one with high long-term payoffs. Well worth it.
TMI. There important aspects of a detox cleanse, that are not good dinner conversation. The major action of the cleanse process is excrement. Your body excretes toxins several ways, the top four are respiration, perspiration, defecation, and urination. There are a few other more minor ways. Of these four, you will notice major effect in defecation and urination, and perhaps perspiration.
If you don’t already poop at least once a day, you’re not pooping enough. When on the cleanse, particularly early on, you will have urgent and immediate need to hit the toilet. This is why I highly recommend a 30 day cleanse around any trips or major competitions. You poop will come in all manner of varieties, as your body rids itself of excess crud. You may notice actual parasites (tapeworms, etc.) In fact, the majority of Americans (15% at any one moment, some say %25) are infected with an intestinal parasite at one time or another. At any rate, you should have improved regularity once after the 30 days.
Similarly with urination. Additionally, with urination and perspiration, there may be some odd odors as your body expels toxins. Just be prepared and adjust accordingly.
Drink lots of water. If you already drink a lot, drink more. If you don’t drink a lot, get it together. Flushing, expeling, excreting all depend on having plenty of extra water to get the job done. Funny odors will only be concentrated if you are dehydrated.
Enough TMI.
Common parasites & treatments in the United States
Some good info on the role of intestinal bacteria
.
— Jalal
Comments are always welcome.
My Temple
The Mountainside is my Temple;
The Shoreline is my Masjid;
Deep in the Woods, I kneel,
The Shrine surrounds me
.
.
— Jalal
.
.
Detox Cleanse Recipe
This is a thirty-day detox cleanse based on a system from Unicity. The Unicity cleanse pack runs over $100. This setup costs closer to $30. The Unicity system is very good, but perhaps a little pricey, so the Queen and I put our heads together, visited our local longevity/detox expert and came up with a good (equal) alternative.
The program:
30 Days, broken down into ten-day sections.
The goods:
- Parafree–flushes intestinal parasites, and loosens intestinal gunk and compacted fecal matter.
- Bentonite solution–binds with inorganic compounds (typically toxins) in your intestines, and also draws them from body through intestinal walls
- Psyllium husk fiber. A good fiber plug moving through your system is like a bottle brush, and is perhaps the most important part of the system. Not all fiber is created equal. Metamucil and it’s clones are generally inferior.
- Senna tea. Naturally stimulates intestinal movement, provides that extra kick in the last third of the program.
First 10 Days:
- Two droppers full of Parafree.
- One tablespoon of Bentonite.
- One tablespoon of Fiber.
Each morning:
- First thing in the morning, on an empty stomache, 2 droppers full Parafree, and one tablespoon Bentonite, together in about 8 ounces of water.
- Wait twenty minutes, and take the Fiber in a tall glass of water. Mix well, and drink straight away. The fiber gels quickly and will become a thick mass if not drunk straight down. You can mix with orange juice, as a more palatable alternative.
- Wait about twenty minutes, then feel free your breakfast as normal.
In the event this takes too much time in the morning. . .
Protocol option B (a lessor, but viable alternative)
- At night: Take the Parafree and Bentonite mixture at night, just before bed, after allowing any dinner to clear you stomach.
- First thing in the morning: Take the fiber first thing in the morning. Wait twenty minutes, then eat breakfast as normal.
A couple of key points:
- It is important to take the Parafree and Bentonite on an empty stomach, to allow the supplements to work without interference, dilution, or unnecessary absorption from actual food.
- Wait the twenty minutes between the detox mixture and the fiber mixture and your first meal, again to allow the fiber to work as a cleansing unit, without unnecessary dilution from actual food.
Second 10 Days:
- Continue as above, plus:
- Add a dropper of Parafree in the evening right before bed. (or first thing in the morning, if you were on Protocol B).
- After Five days, increase that dose to two droppers.
Third 1o Days:
Add the Senna tea in the evening, time is not super important. The key here is gradually increase the steeping time. Start out with two-minutes, then increase 30 seconds each day to reach five minutes. This is a very important point, Senna tea is a powerful “motivator” and you will definitely regret going too strong, too soon.
Some thoughts
I’ve found this regimen to be extremely effective. You’ll want to be sure your not traveling too much during this time frame, because the bowel movements can be unpredictable as you settle in.
It’s been a few years since I’ve done this cleanse, but the last go round I lost 10 pounds–mind you this was not fat, but gunk lining my small intestine, and compacted fecal matter in my colon (TMI?).
At any rate, you’ll likely experience some strange effects as your body starts to unload toxins and crap in your digestive tract. Parasites, tapeworms, acne, multiple bowel movements, frequent urination. Just ride it out, and try not to plan any long trips. I waited until my first half-marathon was out of the way. For me, getting this done as early in the year as possible is ideal, as it is usually the slowest time, with the least travel demands, and the race season still a few months away.
From a training perspective, this cleanse is great because clearing the gunk from your intestine is free weight-loss, but also will increase the nutrient absorption, making your training diet, and nutrition strategy much more effective.
More of my post-cleanse recap.
.
— Jalal
Find me on Twitter. As always, please comment below.
Old454 Blog 