Going out with a bang

The weekend before the 'tox and I have left nothing to shame.  Coffee, donut holes, chocolate chip cookies, beer tent, loaded pizza, big fat diet coke...I am going out with a BANG!  And the day's not done! But I DID pass on the big fat elephant ear (aka powdered sugared fried dough) at our town fair today.  I do have some dignity.  And I feel that I did counteract some of that gluttony with a pep-in-my-step 5K run this morning.  Right?  I thought so.

Enjoy the good life this weekend my friends because it is DETOX time on Monday.  

So the gist of this detox is to pare down, purify and develop good habits along the way.  The first week is a bit more intense than the following weeks since you are giving up any foods that are processed and are known allergens.  Just so you know what you are getting yourself into here is a cute little overview of the plan:

4 week detox plan summery

Check out what little things you should be doing this weekend to get prepared:

Weekend Detox Prep

I find it is helpful to figure out what I am going to eat ahead of time and hit the grocery the day before the detox begins. But I wind up going a few more times as I realize most of the food in the cabinets I can't eat!!  As you grocery shop for yourself next week (sidebar:  I eat separately from the family during most of this week.  Sorry, my kids aren't into eating quinoa...) here is a handy list of the things we should be steering clear of all week:

Foods to Avoid

+ Added sugar
+ Processed foods or beverages
+ Alcohol (DARN)
+ Caffeine (DOUBLE DARN)
+ Wheat/gluten
+ Eggs
+ Dairy
+ Peanut products (includes peanut butter. Almond butter is a good substitute here)
+ Fruit juices (very high in sugar)
+ Soy, including soy sauce
+ Corn

So what in the heck WILL I be eating you ask?

You will be eating 5-6 small meals per day.  I usually do a smoothie for breakfast, a snack (almonds, banana with almond butter, 1/2 avocado with lime juice etc.), a smoothie for lunch or a big salad, another snack, and then a protein (small portion), sweet potato or brown rice, and more salad for dinner. I will also make a sweet potato or butternut squash soup and eat on that too. The whole living website has some great week 1 recipes and smoothie recipes too!  I don't get so fancy. 

Week 1 recipes

Smoothies

Make sure if you plan to join the detox (either now or in the future) to enter your email address in the "subscribe" to on the right hand side of my blog.  This way, when I post, you can see what I have to say and you can comment about what you are doing too.  We are in this together my friends.

Right?

crickets.  crickets. crickets.