Improving Your Diet

Here is my follow-up to “How to Detoxify Your Body”.

Although, some may not have gone through the detoxification process, this article is meant to provide a point of reference in making positive, healthy changes to your diet regardless. Just making small adaptations or additions to your diet can reap a world of benefits in itself. If you have gone through the detox process, then this article will provide the guidance in re-introducing foods back into your system. I strongly believe that if you are serious about making life changes in your dietary habits, it is best to do the detoxification first, so that way your body has been cleansed and is ready for all the good foods and their nutrients and will be prepared to optimally absorb them.

I just want to note a couple of things and then onto the good stuff:

First, you will probably experience a certain lack of hunger or appetite after you have gone through the detox process and this is perfectly normal as your body is still in it’s state of ketosis and has adapted to being without food. One of the things you will most likely notice when you first eat is how intense the flavor of your food is (whether bad or good).

Second, you may even feel that you have to “force” yourself to eat your meals at first. Remember while fasting, your stomach has shrunken significantly, so the amount of food it will store is also lessened (do you like the tone of your belly muscles after the fast :-)?). You will notice that you do not need to or even want to eat as much as you use to before. The body will need time to adjust and is very “delicate” in the beginning, so it is very important not to fill yourself up with the same damaging diet that you worked so hard to negate.

Third, keep in mind that while fasting, your body stopped “wasting” it’s energy on constantly digesting food and has shifted instead to cleansing and repairing itself during the process. So expect after your initial meals to feel a little tired, because now your body will start to shift its resources back to digesting food. If you take proper care and precautions, the benefits of the fast can last for quite a bit of time. I imagine you are feeling sharper and clearer in your mind than the last time you can remember and have leaned out a good amount, some maybe even drastic. Expect that you will gain some of the weight back, but you can control what kind of weight it is, i.e fat or muscle.

Okay, now let’s get to what foods to gradually introduce back into your system. For the first week after fasting, you will want to stick with a lot of fruits and vegetables, especially for the first 3 or so days. This is important because your body is now primed to absorb the most out of the foods you eat, so you will not want to be eating meats, dairy or high in fat foods or your body is going to take all the fat and other nasty stuff in those foods and store it thinking it may go into another state of ketosis. These are also the very same foods that caused so much build-up in your body. I have provided you with a list of some of the things you may want to start off with and what you definitely want to steer clear of. Now is also a good time to adjust yourself to eating 4-6 smaller spaced out meals per day than the “traditional” 3 meal per day. Your body can only handle approximately 300 calories for every 3 hours. So if you eat 3 times per day with 650 + calories per sitting, the extra 350+ calories gets stored, contrary to the belief that your body will just use those calories after it has burned through the first 300. When you eat say 5-6 meals of 300 calories, your body will use up most of those calories. It’s all about efficiency!

What foods to eat:

Salads - Watch what dressing, if any, you use. I recommend very light dressings that are not creamy or heavy in oils. The best would be to use fresh lemon/lime juice mix with some herbs and light spices. I also like a roasted red pepper/tomato vinaegrette with just a small amount of olive oil.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables -You have your pick of the litter here. Go nuts on these and find the ones you enjoy the most. Also don’t be afraid to try some new ones. With your vegetables, try to eat them raw or if prepared, do a light steamed variety (avoid oversteaming as this ruins some of their nutritional value). Avoid any butters and salt on your veggies.

NOTE: Wash your fruits and vegetables very thoroughly to cleanse any bacteria, waxes or pesticides that may still be on them, EVEN if you are eating organic fruits and vegetables!

Whole Grains - Go light on these for the first week due to their high carbohydrate count. Stick with one serving portions per eating. Some good ones are brown rice and multi-grain pastas. Have fun with tomato sauces on your pasta, but watch the sodium and stay away from creamy or alfredo style sauces. Additionally, you can go with a pasta primavera but a lot of these use insane amounts of oils to make. Substitute lemon juice with some red wine vinegar instead. Use herbs and spices (except salt) freely.

Beans - High in natural fiber, virtually fat free and an excellent alternative source for protein. You can choose any you like, my favorites include black, cannelini, pinto, red and lentils. Try them in soups, pastas or just cooked and seasoned.

Fish and Turkey - Try these lean healthy alternatives to other forms of meat. Careful with the amount of fish you consume and try to steer clear of seafood with high cholesterol such as shrimp, lobster, etc. I am sure you have seen news articles questioning the amounts of mercury and toxins present in some of our seafood supply. You can look for the farm-raised varieties of fish.

Eggs and Yogurt - Generally, I recommend cutting dairy foods out of your diet completely, these 2 being a slight exception. I say slight because you need to take care to either prepare them properly or to limit intake. When consuming eggs, choose a high quality natural or organic egg (I like Eggland’s Best, found in grocery stores in my area. Their chickens are fed organic grains and feed and not injected with egg producing hormones). Also, use ONLY the egg white, throw out the yolk (this is where over 98% of the cholesterol in an egg is and very minimal in protein). Egg whites are one of the compatible types of proteins for our bodies, meaning they are most usable. Look for yogurts that have good counts of pro-biotics in them. Pro-biotics are the building blocks for the enzymes that reside in our intestinal tract and help with proper digestion. At the same time, being of the dairy class, limit your intake of yogurts. One serving a day is more than plenty and also look for all-natural or organic yogurts. What good is yogurt if it comes from a cow injected with bovine growth hormones?

Nuts - Packed with all kinds of good things! Protein and good cholesterol to name just a couple. As with all things, moderation is key, because nuts are also high in fats. A handful (spaced out through the day) of cashews, peanuts, almonds etc. can contribute to a healthy heart. Look for the non-salted varieties. Try making your own trail mixes by eating them with dried fruits such as raisins, cherries, apricots or whatever else you like.

What foods to avoid:

Meats, such as, Beef, chicken and pork.

Dairy products like milk, cheeses and especially ice cream (boooo! I know.).

Any processed foods - the preservatives and additives can kill you alone. You can also add artificial sweeteners of any kind to the list. If you need sweeteners, stick with raw/organic/brown sugars or honey. Believe me, you will be much better off in the long run!

Cooking oils - best to stick with olive oil as your main one and even then try to limit the amounts you use. Get yourself one of the oil sprayers on the market. These can help to “spread” your olive oil better and use less amounts. Definitely avoid any vegetable or canola oils.