7 day Raw Food Detox

Just wondering if anyone has done a raw food detox. I am in my thrid day of easing into this (your suppose to take 5 days to ease into completely eating all raw foods). So far so good. Am drinking a lot of water, trying to lay off the ciggys (yes I know they are bad for you, I just like them; am an on and off smoker), and starting to ween off of meats and dairy

So does anyone have any thoughts on this?

You better off quitting smoking and eating a balanced diet then going for some crazy "detox" program.

UD

Original Post by umneydurak:

You better off quitting smoking and eating a balanced diet then going for some crazy "detox" program.

UD

 :) That was my first thought too... From a weight perspective, I'm not sure that quitting smoking will do much for you, but from a health perspective, you'd be miles ahead.  If you're an "off and on" smoker, how difficult would it be for you to just stop buying them?  And I'm asking this seriously, not being sarcastic.

From a diet/lifestyle change, implementing a balanced diet will be much more useful and sustainable than crash diets and/or detox programs.  Even making gradual changes.  You mention in your other "New again" post that you were eating fast food for lunch.  If you could stop eating out for lunch and bring a healthy (raw or otherwise) lunch instead would be a big improvement.  Cutting out carbonated beverages (if you drink them) would be a big improvement. 

Clint

pbear is 100 percent correct.  I would add that you should also eat a healthy breakfast every day, like oatmeal or whole grain cereals.  I bet if you did just those things, the sodas, the lunch and the breakfast, you would see some interesting results without eating raw foods for who knows how long.

i have done fasts/cleanses before and had good results.

i'm assuming you're all good medically and if necessary have gotten a dr's permission to persue a raw food cleanse...

imo, there's nothing wrong with fasts or cleanses. the majority of ppl on these forums will tell you differently... but i know ppl who are actually raw vegans and they are in excellent health, having eaten mostly raw (75%+) for months or years.

plus a raw foods cleanse is an excellent beginner-type fast, since you are still eating solid food and getting plenty of calories. just make sure you ARE in fact eating enough and getting enough fat and protein.

good luck!

thanks for the encouragement. The other posts were kinda negative. Did they not read the post that it was only for 7 days. They make it seem like I am going to stay on this for the rest of my life or something. again thank you for your thoughts.

You posted in a public forum, looking for people's thoughts and opinions.  The opinion of most of the people who responded happened to be that you should focus more on eating a balanced diet and stop smoking, rather than trying for a quick fix to your weight loss woes.  

As far as I know, there's nothing wrong with a fast/cleanse.  But at the same time, I highly doubt it's going to do you much (if any) good, especially if you don't address the core issues.  Nothing I said was negative, and in fact, I didn't interpret anything that anyone else said as a negative comment.  They just said that making other changes would likely have a larger impact than what you're planning.  Just because someone posts something that doesn't agree with your pre-conceived idea of what you want to hear doesn't mean it's negative.

Clint

I tried this several years ago and it upset my stomach too much.  I was bloated, gassy, etc.  I hope you have better luck.

There is nothing wrong with a short-term cleanse or detox. I work in a store that sells organic/natural foods and it's full of people that insist on trying those type of short-term diets.

I would also like to warn you that from watching all of these people go through what they do while they are on a cleanse, I would never do one myself. For every person that tells me that they feel great afterwards, I have 2 or 3 that say how awful they felt and how they would never do it again.

Also, as far as I know it isn't possible to "reboot your immune system" through dietary means, so take a good look at what your detox claims it will do before you commit.

As a final note,  it was mentioned that vegans/raw vegans can be perfectly healthy. It is EXTREMELY difficult to maintain a healthy diet while being vegan or eating only raw foods. It is possible, but takes a lot of hard work. Keep in mind that some vitamins, etc are best absorbed after the food has been cooked =)

Oh my goodness....the raw food vegan diet is AMAZING! I followed this lifestyle for two months solid for health alone! It's really great, but it does take self control if you love dairy, meat, and your bread. But for a week! Go for it! It's very healing and beneficial to your body to rest from all the heavy foods (healthy or not - meat, dairy) we eat all the time!

Original Post by mogochud:

There is nothing wrong with a short-term cleanse or detox. I work in a store that sells organic/natural foods and it's full of people that insist on trying those type of short-term diets.

I would also like to warn you that from watching all of these people go through what they do while they are on a cleanse, I would never do one myself. For every person that tells me that they feel great afterwards, I have 2 or 3 that say how awful they felt and how they would never do it again.

Also, as far as I know it isn't possible to "reboot your immune system" through dietary means, so take a good look at what your detox claims it will do before you commit.

As a final note,  it was mentioned that vegans/raw vegans can be perfectly healthy. It is EXTREMELY difficult to maintain a healthy diet while being vegan or eating only raw foods. It is possible, but takes a lot of hard work. Keep in mind that some vitamins, etc are best absorbed after the food has been cooked =)

If there's nothing wrong with a detox or a cleanse, then why do the vast majority report how awful they felt?  It may not be damaging long term depending on the cleanse regimen, but in the short term I wouldn't go with something that has such a low satisfaction rate.

Again, depending on the regime followed I can't see anything damaging with eating raw food for a week.  Some people prefer an abrupt switch, others of us prefer a more gradual change finding substitutes a little bit at a time.

I want to make it clear that I am not trying for quick fix for weight loss woes. I understand there is work and disapline and I am willing to do that. I felt a need to cleanse, just wanted to see who on here may have done one and what their thought was on it.

Yes I know this is a public forum and to each his own opinion and I wasn't looking for a pre concieved answer. Thank you for posting your thoughts though.

I guess I felt that in some way it was negative due to the fact that people who have not tried it are already putting it down without knowing what it is about and having done any research on the issue. I also felt that the undertone was that I was making a complete life change and that eating just raw foods is unhealthy.

Thank you for all the feedback. I am enjoying slowing easing into the 7 day detox which starts on sunday. If anyone wants to learn more or just read more about the detox I am following the guidelines of raw divas. from research they are all pretty much the same. I like the fact that I am being guided through this process which makes it easier and fun.

Original Post by annabecks:

I guess I felt that in some way it was negative due to the fact that people who have not tried it are already putting it down without knowing what it is about and having done any research on the issue. I also felt that the undertone was that I was making a complete life change and that eating just raw foods is unhealthy.

I am not trying to purposely be negative, and this is not a sarcastic question - but what is the point of making a change in your eating habits that isn't permanent? Just like quitting smoking for a week and then taking it up again would not do you much good in the long term, I am not sure what benefits a cleanse would give you if it doesn't offer you a long-term solution.

Oh but I am changing the way I eat. I am just not going to just eat raw food for the rest of my life. The 7 detox is help me give me a lift and get some toxins out. Also revive my liking for fresh foods and kinda get away from eating so much red meat which I had been eating a lot of for sometime now.  Eating take out every lunch for a couple of weeks now, I feel sluggish. I've used the Dr Natura's colon cleanse system before and I do want to kick the silly boredom habit of smoking ciggys so I guess going on this is to just push myself in a healthier lifestyle. Thank you for the question.

Anna, I do hope it works for you, and it helps kick start things in the right way.  Sorry about my sort of harsh response before. 

I'm curious, did you have any actual scientific studies that show any true benefits of a cleanse/detox?  I've never seen any that weren't basically testimonials from people who had done a cleanse routine.  Nothing that included actual controls or reproducible measurements, etc.  Nothing that could actually say what "toxins" were removed from the body.  And I think many people in here who have had success had that success primarily because they focused on long term lifestyle changes, not a one week detox.  Not everyone, mind you, and what works for one person isn't necessarily going to work for the next.  

I am definately reminded of the person who started me down my lifestyle changes (my "coach", for the lack of a better word).  She definately knows what I (and she) needed to do with regards to balanced diet, portion control, exercise, etc, and she helped me develop a plan that worked for me.  I never could have made the progress I did without her, and I tell her that regularly.  But I drew the line at colon cleansing and detoxing.  She, on the other hand, did those on a semi-regular basis. 

Now, 6 months, later, I've achieved my weight loss goals, and am in maintenance mode.  I ended up losing 4x as much as she was attempting to lose.  In contrast, she's still trying to make her goals, and is further away from them than she was 6 months ago.  Cleansing and detoxing didn't make up for not following her own advice after.

Good luck though!  And I mean that sincerely.

Clint

Thanks Clint for the response. I have read a lot on going into this 7 day detox and I have already done the colon cleanse. The system I use for the colon cleanse if very natural and easy to follow. Many friends and family memeber use this system now as well on a yearly or semi yearly basis. I guess to just feel better and to jump start a change after faltering back into old habits.

Original Post by annabecks:

I want to make it clear that I am not trying for quick fix for weight loss woes. I understand there is work and disapline and I am willing to do that. I felt a need to cleanse, just wanted to see who on here may have done one and what their thought was on it.

Just out of curiosity...what exactly are you trying to "cleanse" from your body that your internal organs aren't already disposing of?

Original Post by annabecks:

I guess I felt that in some way it was negative due to the fact that people who have not tried it are already putting it down without knowing what it is about and having done any research on the issue.

I've done enough research to know that there are no documented health benefits of doing a 'cleanse'. 

to each his own. I have done research as well on detoxing and there are added benefits. Yes our bodies are able to detox naturally but with today's living standards, we could use an extra boost. Our natural detox is IMO geared ttoward much less harmful environments that what most of us live today.

To each thier own opinion on cleanses and detoxes. It gives the body a lift and eliminates toxins. If one eats too much salt, solution to elimintate is to drink A LOT of water. This is in a sense cleansing your system of the salt overload. So if one eats too much junk then to help eliminate is to eat a lot of ruffage; greens, fruits, vegetables etc. Again, to each his own. If you have tried it and get good results, cool, and if you have never tried it and only have done research cool as well. 

I've done a colon cleanse and felt great afterwards. Just taking it to another level.

Original Post by annabecks:

I have done research as well on detoxing and there are added benefits.  

 I don't believe you. Show me the study.

AGAIN to each his own. believe or don't believe, I really don't care. there are numerous of sites stating that it does help people. If you don't believe, then why don't you try it and find out yourself.

Benefit #1 - Improve Function of the Body - First of all, when you do a full body detox, one of the main benefits that you'll be able to enjoy is the improved function of your body. You see you'll notice that many of your systems in the body have been having problems and when you detox your body, you'll notice that it begins to work better for you. The renal system will work better, your digestive system will work better, and even the circulatory system will be doing a whole lot better as well.

Benefit #2 - Weight Loss - One of the main benefits that people enjoy when they go on a full body detox is that they experience weight loss. You see, when the body has toxins in it, often it creates fat cells to wrap them up to protect the rest of the body from the toxins. This is why many people deal with obesity today. When you start getting rid of all those toxins that are in your body, most people do find that they begin to lose weight, which can really help you to improve your health.

Benefit #3 - You'll Look Better - You'll also find that you begin to even look better when you do a full body detox as well. As your body begins to feel better, you'll notice that your skin is looking wonderful and clear. You'll have a sparkle in your eyes, and even those dark circles you have had will begin to fade and go away as well.

Benefit #4 - Increase in Energy - Last of all, one main benefit of going on a full body detox is that you'll also have an increase in your energy. Just about everyone who goes on a detox ends up feeling that they have a whole lot more energy. Their body is feeling a lot better and they feel alert and have a lot of energy to get through the day, which is one of the great benefits that you can enjoy when you try this detox for your body yourself.