The party's over :-(

Sad to say and hard to believe its two weeks on Madam D's nutritional detox! Time flies when you are having fun! While my purpose for the detox was to learn more about my body and what should and should not go in it I ended up losing 3 pounds to boot! I reported no weight loss the after the first week and with a commitment to the finish I was very surprised to see this result and can hope that by incorporating much of the ingredients of the meal plan and eliminating the junk, I can continue towards healthier living. Conincidently and as many of you may already know or are coming to realize, Madam D is really onto something here and her advise and services are really starting to hit mainstream. Check out this link to recent nutritional coverage on the very mainstream aol healthly living site! www.aolhealth.com\2010\02\25\surprising-superfoods Hats off to Madam D - Thank You! Good luck to all!

The economics of fat

A few years ago, PCRM (Dominique is a big fan) published a nice little graphic that shows how the subsidies the USDA pays to agribusiness relate to the USDA's own recommended diet.

The two-pyramid graphic has been picked up by the New York Times' "Economix" blog, and paired with some timelines of how the prices of various things in the grocery store have changed over the last 30 years. Go check it out.

Taste buds, teeth, skin and the Blender!

First, thanks all to having increased the contributions to the blog, I'm feeling a lot less lonely out here and can relate to most all comments, observations, feelings, etc. I did get to gym last night and had an excellent light weight, bike and elliptical work out with short 15 min dry sauna. I'm still feeling the toxins (the starting of a charlie house which dissipates) in my calf muscles. I also seem to be able to stretch slightly more on warm up/wind down. Finally did weigh myself and much to my surprise had only lost 1 pound! On title - I've noticed a marked difference in my taste sensors, particularly to salt and sugars (never realized how sugary tasting bananas and apples can be). And strangely, I seem to have a need to brush my teeth throughout the day as I sense/feel that "fuzzy socks over teeth" sensation mid day and mid evening. I am also noticing that my normally very oily face & head is much less oily and my skin is indeed softer to the touch and my hands seem to dry up more than normal around finger tips and palms. I'm still varying up the meals by combining some of the approved ingredients - so far, no killer recipes worth sharing and thanks to others who have shared! As title denotes, I'm in market for new blender having blown the motor on my relatively new one on Sunday nite. It still works, but its not going to much longer and its giving out a "you've burned up the motor dummy" smell now every time I use it to refresh my current smoothie. I've made large batches to last 1-2 and sometime 3 days and it work wonderfully during the first week. I probably got a bit over confident in its ability and overfed it on the last batch. Caution to others: if using standard blenders - feed in small doses and stick with smaller batches!

Another Recipe for Variety

My friend made a variation of this salad for lunch one day and I loved it! Made some edits with Dominique to make it "Detox-friendly", and wanted to post it as a suggestion to add some variety to the 2nd week's recipes: Southwestern Bean Salad: 2 cups cooked Quinoa; 2/3 cup dry kidney or black beans, cooked*; 2 cups cooked corn kernels (fresh or frozen); 1 sweet red pepper, chopped; 1 small onion, chopped; 1/2 cup vinegar; 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped; 1 minced jalapeno pepper or cayenne to taste; 1 tsp chili powder. Combine all the ingredients. This tastes even better if you let it stand refrigerated or at room temperature, 1 hour before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

*Dominique recommends soaking the beans overnight with 1/2tsp of baking soda per cup of beans. Then, in the morning, rinse, put in new water, and soak again for a few hours before cooking. They will cook fast and won't make you gassy. Of course, since I am a spicy wimp, I leave out the jalapeno/cayenne and it is still very tasty :) Enjoy!

End of Week 1

I love this detox...I have so much energy and I feel healthier. I don't know how many pounds I lost (prob 1 or 2) but my pants fit looser and I feel skinnier. It's great that i still have energy to work out at night, which usually isn't the case with diets. I travelled this weekend for an engagement party so I was off the detox on Saturday night and Sunday. I'm back on today! I hope to keep this going for awhile and incorporate these smoothies, lunches, and dinners into my diet going forward.

detox

Well, let's see if this works! I'm doing well on this regime - lots of energy, tasty food - even ate out at Sunflower (Vegetarian restaurant) with my sweetie to give him inspiration. As of today, I've lost 6 lbs. Not sure if it was the real egg omelet with veggies (no cheese) or wheat from Tabbouli, but lots of soreness in the intestines today. I went out an bought a blender that also came with a food processor so life may get a little easier for prep of smoothies and food.

monday March 8

terrific start this morning and it's almost noon and feeling pretty good.. Had a bit of smoothie left over this am, so having that as a snack in a bit. I think that eating lighter last week, or should I say that eating more "clean" really help prepare me for this week.. So far, so good!

Weekend Recap / Quinoa, my new love...

Week #1 is complete, moving on to week #2! Lost 2 lbs last week, not planning to check again until the end :) I was forced to deviate from the plan a bit this weekend while helping my in-laws move, and I could tell it was the first time I'd had coffee in a while (I phased out coffee about 2 weeks before the detox started). Having a little trouble waking up this morning (and am EXTRA sore), but at least the smoothie is keeping from being hungry. I think I mentioned in my last post that my energy levels have been up, and I think so even more now. I don't know how I would have done with a weekend like that on my previous diet without passing out! Plus, basically all of the heartburn/reflux symptoms that I used to experience on a daily basis have disappeared. So that alone is worth the whole 2 weeks! As we move into week #2, I plan to use that Quinoa recipe more. I can't believe I lived my whole life thus far without Quinoa! It may be my new favorite love (don't tell my boyfriend!) and I plan to use it all the time, even after the week is over. I was also really encouraged to hear that another patient had been able to fins Amaranth at the local MOM's, so I'll have to venture out this week for a re-fill grocery trip and grab some things. Looking forward to trying the new recipes too. Since we can't do chips, what are good recommendations to dip in the Salsa? I may have to modify a bit because it looks a bit spicy for my tastebuds.... Hope everyone is hanging in there, we're halfway there!

Detox- Week 1

I haven't been posting because I am mad at myself for going off the detox. At around noon on Wednesday, the day of the juice fast, I was really hungry so got a plain salad and ate it with the sesame ginger dressing. I ate a few more things throughout the day so I felt guilty about that. I've also been eating cereal at night (Barbara's mixed with Kashi shredded wheat) which I know is not part of the detox. I have been keeping my meals pretty healthy and sticking with the guidelines and recipes and have been drinking the smoothie every day, but I know I could have done much better. I may have to give this another shot, starting from the beginning!!

duh, just figuring out this blogging thing. Will start tomorrow detox already excited .

Its Sunday ALREADY?

My how time flies when you are having fun! Forgive me all for passage of time since my my last entry. This is partly due to simply not having time, not devoting the time and feeling guilty about cheating. Yes, I cheated! I cheated yesterday. I only cheated once - kinda. I took my kids to a very bright place right next to one of those expensive smoothie places in Shirlington: Johnny Rockets. Amazingly found something that I actually enjoyed but realized it was still cheating - a soy burger; they also had turkey burger to my surprise. Wheat bread with iceberg lettuce and tomato with a side salad (with slight sprinkle of some kind of plastic cheese) and a vinaigrette dressing on the side which I would dip my fork into then dip into the salad and as you can imagine, there seemed to be as much dressing left when I finished as was served. I also had a fry from my kids plate here and there. And this morning, I could actually feel the affect of going off diet almost as if my body was reminding me of my bad choices. Otherwise, I have been true to the meal plan and found myself drinking tons of water over the weekend probably because of good workouts and lots of fluid loss in combination thereto. I did not weight myself yesterday or today at the gym and will do so next time I go. Most important, I also, as others have indicated, will likely keep quite a few lessons learned from this week's experience. Every time I go to a store, I get snobbish about all the crap that is constantly dangled in front of us to buy, eat, buy, eat, buy and eat... I have also spoken one on one with Madam D and suggest that if you have not, you do so. She is very knowledgeable and really helped me see my way through not only this week but to a healthier way forward. I've found that as with all aspects of life, choice matters. Madam D and the D week have truly helped me be better prepared to make smarter choices for this ole boy...

Fashionably late to the party...

Sorry I haven't been able to contribute yet this week. I did start with the group on Monday, and I'm already feeling better than last week! Although I am definitely feeling the "fatigue" part of the side effects, but that could also be contributed to an especially heavy work week :) I have actually been loving the morning smoothies, and will probably continue with them even after this week! Although I have been subbing Almond milk in mine (which I did clear with Dominique!) because I had some in the fridge I didn't want to go bad. I'm definitely noticing more burping too, but I guess that's all part of the "clearing out" of things. Juice day was a little tough yesterday, started with a smoothie and was doing fine through lunch, but really started feeling really tired by mid-late afternoon (once again, could also be attributed to a longer-than-usual work day) and had more trouble multi-tasking than usual. I will say though, that I am enjoying the 15 minutes of "quiet-time"/meditation. It's a great chance to collect myself and really feel more focused. One more question for Dominique: what are the thoughts on tea during the detox? Should we limit that to one cup a day just like coffee? Or is it unlimited as long as I use agave or honey to sweeten?

Freindly Fast Fuels Fire Within...

With a view that juice fast was more like a juice feast; I think overall I held up fairly well today on smoothie and water all day. It was a busy day at the office with meetings that provided much distraction which helped; still making record trips to the restroom eliminating the water mostly. After gobbling down a large serving of smoothie I finally made it to the gym this evening although much later than I normally do. The circuit training and light weight routine went off without a hitch; however, the elyptical was killer and I had strange feelings in leg muscles that I've not felt before. At first it felt like I was about to get major charlie horse in both calves, the left more severe than the right calf; I slowed down the pace and contemplated stopping but then at the slower pace the sensations subsided almost feeling as if I was working something out of the muscles in a downward fashion, slowly but after about 10 minutes at the slower pace I was easily able to return to my normal pace and actually hit a good second hard sweat. Then I thoroughly enjoyed about 20 min in the dry sauna which provided a good constant sweat. Needless to say - I'm rehydrating now and am hoping to sleep well. And how can I forget - I weighed in, on the same and only scale I use and oddly can report no change to my weight... and yes, I realize its not a goal rather a result, but gee, with all the trips to the restroom I thought for sure I'd have a different result... maybe next trip... I am looking forward to the broccoli event - one of my all time favorite greens! Ah - also finally found Bulgar wheat and an amazing amount - and entire and large grocery isle - of all the stuff on the gro list for making the meals in the week... And also finally found two bags of frozen mangos, they must be popular as 3 x prior at different grocers the frozen mango shelf was empty... damn those Philippians and Panamanians (I've done extensive travel to both and there is no doubt that the best mangos in the world are at either of these spots...) and yes, its a hell of a long way to go for a mango! sounds kinda lyricy, eh? Thanks to those who respond to the call for contributions!

Late Start

I started the detox on Tuesday and it's going great so far. I have a lot of energy and am not hungry. I certainly feel healthier, as I am drinking more water and eating more veggies and fruits than I ever do! It also helps sticking to a strict diet, as it keeps me away from snacking on chocolates that are always hanging around the office and home. I have a question for the juice fast - do we just drink 100% juice all day long? Is there a maximum to the amount of juice I should be drinking? Am I still drinking 2L of water as well? Does it have to be fershly squeezed juice or juice from the store that says 100% juice? Thanks!

Where ARE the clowns?

Say, I feel like some of you are not doing your part: whassup with not blogging? I know that there are more of you out there doing the Madam D Tox Shuffle and just simply ain't puttin your fingers to work: get on with it - contribute, share, tell all, give it up!

D Day 2

After staying fairly close to diet, with some substitutions from other days here and there, I am amazed how not hungry I am. I am eating a bit late in the evening, I did beets & tofu tonight - very yummy quasi stir fried in some sesame seed oil. I clearly do not follow directions well: sorry! It all goes to the same place so I threw everything into a light simmer and had my fill. I do wonder if there are time restrictions as with a normal diet, I presume these general rules, i.e. try not to eat after 7pm, also apply with our detox meal plan? Madam Dominique if you are willing & able, please comment on general timeframes for eating - or slap me for having missed directions on same in some of the literature! I missed exercise today and am really looking forward to some tomorrow; will likely go easier than normal simply because of detox diet... I suppose... Also, have very slight headaches in the morning mostly; glad to also report first and relatively normal bm which seemed to kick start the excess gas thing; wow! I was getting a bit bloated, no longer! I think I may have overdone the kale in my first batch of smoothie as I think I've pee'd near green at least once now, then in the morning it a bright yellow and then clear all day - damn near a rainbow with all the colors! OK - on that nasty note, best to call it a blog, drink some H2O, and dream sweetly about hump smoothie Wednesday!

Detox Days 2 and 3

So far all of the recipes have been amazing. I am totally shocked because I even liked the beet salad (but I think its because I let it marinate overnight and the rest of the flavors masked the beet taste!) I am worried that I may be eating a little too much though- I have been sticking to the recipes on the plan but have been snacking on fruits and veggies throughout the day. I am very worried about the juice fast tomorrow. I was hungry by noon today and don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow at that time. Dominique, if we absolutely must eat something during the day, do you have any recommendations? I think it is going to be very hard for me to wait until the evening.

New to Blog & Detox

I tried to blog earlier today from work but was not able due to high level of i-security, I suppose. then had issues remembering my password and am still not even sure if I am log on with my Google account or my aol account, but no matters - I made it to the site. I'm opting to only read fellow detox'rs for March unless the Dominique suggests more study of older blogs is in order! I did indeed did start detox today and for a former meat and potato guy I am surprised how well I am holding up. I did not have time to make smoothie this am but enjoyed two 10 oz glasses for dinner and am equally surprised how not-so-bad tasting it comes out as compared with the look and smell! I should also note that I forced a tasting onto my 13 old son and 15 year daughter to show them the value of eating right - early in life! I think I probably violated a rule by having two low salt V8s as part of my make-do meal plan for today - which also included a banana and lots of water. In addition, I used some regular nondairy liquid creamer in my coffee consumption today which was probably done in excess. Will switch to soy creamer tomorrow. Will also hit the gym tomorrow for elliptical and lots of reps with light weights and spend a good 30 minutes in dry sauna afterwards. Any Madam Dominique advise is welcome on any fitness no no's or any other observations herein or otherwise! Its either good nite or good morning to all!

Detox

Started the detox this morning (well, actually last night Sunday) I had spent the day cleaning out the refrigerator so I could put in all the yummy things for this detox and then I was too tired to fix anything but the smoothie! I have a stick blender that works - it just takes more time and the finished product is a bit more "granier" than with the viatmix. But what's so amazing to me is the taste is exactly like what I'd sampled! Energy lasts through to lunch. I have to work on drinking more water - it's not my favorite beverage. The detox seems to be producing lots of gas so I'm taking more probiotics to help with the digestion of all this fiber! Noel

My first detox day

It has been a very busy day between my work, helping family with a problem in France, and dealing with an emergency here. I have to say food is the last thing on my mind. I had a very large smoothie with Ultimate Meal protein, collard greens, mangoes, banana, and apple. That is all I had so far. I am going to be on the road until about 8:00 tonight. Will blog later to tell you how my evenings goes. Make each day count!

Juice Fast Day

Hi Dominique! For Wednesday, does the green smoothie (or other fruit smoothie) count as juice (if almonds and protein powder are removed)?

Detox week Started

Ladies and gentlemen, I decided to do the detox with you this week. So I have to blog like everybody else. Mine will be a strict juice fast. No food for a week. So far I have been able to do only 3 days at a time, I will see if I can do 5 days this time. I have an event to cater so I will be cooking a lot today and probably tasting the food, a spoonfull here and there. But nothing beyond that. I already had my cup of coffee with soy milk like every morning. Cannot give that up. I am now preparing a green smoothie for breakfast, then I will proceed to make some some juices. I will give you all the recipes I will be using and their nutritional value and cleansing abilities.