Fresh, Hip and Healthy

I have several labels I approve calling myself.  One is, quasi health nut. With my alpha female personality my passion can be misconstrued as a bit dictatorial or pompous. So, you have been forewarned about the voice With that said, I am going to give you my professional/personal opinion about detoxing……..

Im going to touch on just a couple……….*singing* “I don’t think you ready, for this jelly…….cuz my body so bootylicious” ~Destiny’s Child

Every woman just about, is envious of Beyonce’s body. When they( fans/closet haters…etc.) heard about the Master Cleanse, a.k.a The Lemonade Diet, a.k.a. The Beyonce detox that she did to lose 20lbs getting ready for Dream Girls, “erybody” and their mamas were online looking for the recipe (cuz you know we ain’t buying the book forreal forreal).  But shortly after the end of filming, B regained those 20. She even urged caution to those who were on their way in her footsteps.

Let’s dissect the ingredients for a moment. Maple syrup, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper. Really? Ok, so for keeping it real sake, I tried it for like 4 hours! I did the ease in program where you eat just vegetables, then you gradually puree the veg and finally full fledge just some friggin lemonade! I cant! The thought that I even tried that bufoonery makes me want to slap myself! I’ll just tell people I was doing a case study (just between us

• Maple Syrup: This is supposed to sustain your caloric needs because there are roughly 400 calories in a 4oz portion
• Lemon Juice: Fresh lemons and the oil that is in the rind activate special enzymes that work to wake up the liver acting as diuretic. (natural laxative)
• Cayenne Pepper: Peppers contain capsaicin and its known that spicy food helps to increase your metabolism.
• Water: Self explanatory

This is not meant to sustain you for long periods of time and can actually be harmful. Purging in such an extreme manner is really an ignorant way to detox or lose vanity weight in a short amount of time. If I told you that you could actually eat real food and detox at that the same time, that would lighten you by just reducing the stress of starving yourself. Here is a link to a great article,  a healthy shopping list of FOOD specifically that detoxifies your body. If you’re really serious about living a healthy life and want to periodically cleanse throughout the year you may want to checkout the 21 day detox . It uses FOOD to rid your body of toxins. I am also obsessed with Gweneth Paltrow. She has a blog called GOOP, and endorses a book called Clean that I am going to try in a few weeks. I’ll keep you all posted

Juicing for me is a bit controversial. Its all how you go about it. I know everyone has either seen or heard of Jack Lalanne (R.I.P.) The creator of the Powerjuicer. It’s a great concept to make fresh juices from fresh fruit, no doubt. But here is where is gets iffy to me, all of the pulp (fiberous good stuff) is left behind. Thats where a good majority of your nutrients come from. So, if your interested in doing a liquid detox I highly recommend the Healthmaster. With this appliance, you eat the entire fruit/vegetable leaves stems seed and all. It uses emersion technology to blend it completely together. Its also uses centrifugal friction to cook things naturally using a raw food approach. All nurtients are left in tact and your body can use these nutrients to function properly. After all your body is not searching for calories, its searching for nutrients. The better you eat the less you have to eat to get the energy you need.

There are some very popular fad diets out there. I would much rather you eat real food to lose weight, feel better,have more energy, feel more rested. But if you must flirt with fad diets, here are a few tips to help you chose the SAFEST way to go about doing it:

DO

• Pick ones where you are eating real food (emphasizing whole grains, fresh veg/fruits, lean protein, legumes, beans and so on)
• Have phases that ready your body for weight-loss, stabilization, and maintenance. (they may not use those exact tags, but phases are good)
• Practices mini meals and healthy snacking throughout the day
• Encourage some form of physical activity

Avoid like the Plague:

• Diets that eliminate entire food groups (except if your vegan or vegetarian)
• Require you to NOT eat for any period of time (meaning, just drinking some kind of concoction)
• Claims that there is no physical activity required for you to get healthy……LIES!!!!!! Sorry. lol

With all of that being said, I hope you can use some common sense  (As my mama used to say, sense really isn’t that common. lol) All of these exact qualifications may or may not be present in each diet. The more they have, the better. But really hold these “diets” to high standards and do some research to find the best way to change your lifestyle and maintain it consistently for a life time.  Lastly, eating unhealthy foods lead you looking for a cleanse, it only makes perfect sense that the reciprocal will be that of healthy whole foods as the antidote.

Eat well, live well…..it’s what I do. JLL