Xmas detox - I'm going to explode

Normster

Hey

Last Sunday I decided to detox this week and start a healthy eating program. To kick start on Tuesday I started eating porridge every morning for breakfast, Oatcakes with tuna on top and brown rice with stirfry for dinner. I also had a glass of prune juice before going to bed. The next day I'd a glass of prune juice for breakfast, porridge and left over stirfry (don't think I had lunch because I wasn't hungry after the porridge) then more prune juice before bed. Thursday I had prune juice for breakfast, porridge with sultanas (as before), tuna on oat crackers for lunch and chicken and spinach with brown bread for tea, also another 2 glasses of prune juice. Yesterday I had another 3 glasses of prune juice, porridge for breakfast and two bowls of homemade chicken soup (celery, carrotts, lentils) during the rest of the day as at this stage I'm extremely full and bloated. I haven't pooed once this week?!?! I had been up until I started with the prune juice and porridge. They appear to be having the opposite effect on me! I was contemplating taking senna tonight but I don't want to feck up my bowels. I've reduced the oats to 1/4 of a cup. Previously it was a 1/2 and I'm not eating any more oat cakes. I've gone through 1.5 Litre of prune juice!?! Is it a case of getting worse before it gets better? I had a typical christmas diet before this (which sometimes included porridge but not always), cakes, drinks, turkey, ham, spuds and veg, smoked salmon, brown bread, soup, tea, coffee, I always drink lots of water. At the moment I'm not drinking tea or coffee but Rooboos and camomile instead, and sometimes just hot water. I'd say 2 litres easily of water a day. I've also switched from lactose free milk to rice milk. Should I keep going with my 'healthy' diet plan? I was gonna make a stir fry tonight but I'm seriously stuffed, found it difficult to eat my porridge this morning!

*edit* finally went to the toilet but I still feel ill. Nauseous so only drinking water. Possibly too much prune juice. My head is really tired too. Actually I feel hungover. I assuming this is sugar withdrawal? How long does it last?

Sapsorrow

Don't worry you're having a detox, possibly a healing crisis. Stick with it, you feel crap because it's working and because you probably had a lot of toxic crap stored away since the christmas that your body is now beginning to process. You'll reap the benifits if you stay strong, your diet seems great since you started!
Do you normally eat dinner or just not since the detox? You may be eating a smaller volume of food than usual and that may be partly why you're constipated. Also if you normally eat a typical diet with lots of white carbs and fibreless foods in them your gut might just be taking a while to the improved diet.
Try not to view it as a finite detox, consider keeping up the good habits for good and even improving further! I'd suggest you get more leafy greens in there (I do to everyone ) and maybe some other sources of low sugar fruit (apples, pears, plums etc).
Let us know how you get on over the next few days and maybe consider starting a food diary in the sub forum for even more useful feedback from other boardians!
Oh just so you know I was going through the exact same thing over the last few days until I ate a pile of fudge last night, man I regretted it I had a pounding headache and was nauseus and ended up asleep on the sofa ten minutes after I ate it. I regret it so much now because I know I only set myself back by doing it so stick with it!

LimeFruitGum

Did you do any exercise at all, OP? I know it's hard to get out in this weather, but it sounds like you're on the right track.:)
I've phased out wheat and switched back to oatcakes this week and I've lost some tummy bloat already, so even a small change like that makes a difference.

jdivision

Detoxs don't work. Have some eggs in the morning rather than porridge some days. Vary it a bit.

Sapsorrow

jdivision wrote: »

Detoxs don't work.

Of course they do, your body is detoxing every second of the day is a basic physiological process and you wouldn't last long without it! Sometimes it's just helpful to give your body a chance to catch up on things a bit by not assaulting it with the usual assortment of toxins we put in it.

Normster

Thanks for the replies. I'm feeling less foggy although slightly crampy so I didn't have any more prune juice today had soup for lunch and brocoilli, onion and garlic omelette for tea. Nice. Yougart, cinnamon and honey for afters. I had eaten alot of roses and cake over xmas, a fair amount of wine too I'd say it is just receptors craving their sugar buzz and my digestive system trying to adjust to normality. Thanks for the support. I shall carry on ... back on the oat wagon!

Normster

LimeFruitGum wrote: »

Did you do any exercise at all, OP? I know it's hard to get out in this weather, but it sounds like you're on the right track.:)
I've phased out wheat and switched back to oatcakes this week and I've lost some tummy bloat already, so even a small change like that makes a difference.

forgot to say, yes do a keep fit video as it is too cold to go outside. Its only 30 mins and I've been doing it every second day, but going to do it every day from now on. I'm still pretty bloated though. I've a feeling its going take another week before I'm feeling the benefit.

Sapsorrow

Normster wrote: »

back on the oat wagon!

You should try oat pancakes for variety mmm....

El_Dangeroso

Going to the bathroom often does not detox anything, it just makes your colon work overtime.

If you want to detoxify, whatever that means, then I'd advise the best thing to do to help the organ that detoxifies, the liver.

The best way to help your liver is not give it a lot of fructose to deal with. Prune juice is full of fructose.

A sign of an over-stressed liver is fatty deposits or viceral fat around the liver. Two things contribute to this, fructose and omega 6 (basically any generic 'vegetable oil' not fruit oils like olive and avocado). This is why juice fasts are the biggest mistake if you are trying to let your liver de-fat itself.

Surprisingly what does accelerate the liver detox process is saturated fat. Whodathunkit?

Also a good honest fast with nothing but water for at least 14 hours every once in a while helps too.

jdivision

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Of course they do, your body is detoxing every second of the day is a basic physiological process and you wouldn't last long without it! Sometimes it's just helpful to give your body a chance to catch up on things a bit by not assaulting it with the usual assortment of toxins we put in it.

If it's something your body does normally then you don't need to force it. Just eat relatively healthily.

Sapsorrow

jdivision wrote: »

If it's something your body does normally then you don't need to force it. Just eat relatively healthily.

Ideally yes to a certain extent but after all the booze and sugar over the christmas holidays we could nearly all do with a bit of a detox. Even natural and healthy foods can have a certain toxic effect which the body can happily deal with if something isn't outrightly posionous but it's nearly impossible to live a completely non-toxic lifestyle even breathing in air-borne pollution contributes to it.

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Going to the bathroom often does not detox anything, it just makes your colon work overtime.

Agreed but helping it out a few times isn't a bad thing if someone is chronically constipated.
I also agree with Temple about the sugar thing whole fruits are better than juices and still very cleansing, vegetables are better still though!

Normster

I'm glad with how the diet has gone. I feel like my digestive system is finally sorting itself out. Its hard to see the forest from the trees and I know oats are the best thing for most people, but I was beginning to think I'd some sort of intolerance to them. The prune juice is gone, that was just a helping hand to the oats at the beginning
I go through phases of taking bile stimulating herbs and have had my liver tested. It is very healthy. It was my colon I was sorting out. Too much sugar over christmas. I've learnt my lesson for next year!
gotto say, ye can't beat porridge for breakfast! (btw this isn't a temporary change in diet)

edit*I'm actually sorry I started this thread, if I had of waited 1 more day I would have realised it was working fine myself! I felt really ill yesterday but today I'm fine

Sapsorrow

Glad to hear your feeling a bit better told ya ya'd feel better soon! Good job sticking with it I always get paranoid that I'm coming down with a bug when I detox and want to throw the towel in!
You should have a browse through some of the old threads here there used too be one for ideas for porridge recipes!