dr. junger

Let’s Talk Dirty

Posted by Judy Moon

January is upon us and you know what that means – Clean Program!

Every January my husband Joe and I do Dr. Junger’s Clean Program – I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve done it, I think it’s maybe 5 or so. It has become our go-to way to kick off the New Year and push the reset button after a month of holiday fun and good cheer. It’s also a nice path to take to starting off your year on the road to health and wellness. It’s kind of the ultimate wellness seed.

I was inspired by a client years ago who would do it every January and then often after a vacation. I always said to her “I could never do it, 21 days without x,y and z…” anyone who knows me knows x,y and z stand for red wine, cheese and at that time pasta. I then reached a point of switching from “I could never do it” to “I have to do it”. So I bought the book Clean, made my husband read it as well and we were sold.

A lot of clients, and friends ask me “how” we do it. There’s a few ways you can go about it. When we first did it there were 2 options available on the website, I think they were called Renew and Refresh. One option was to buy the kit, drink a shake for breakfast, a meal from the list of foods you can have for lunch and a shake for dinner. Snacks could also be from the list and it came with a boatload of supplements.

The other option was a kit with shake mix and less supplements and you had the shake for breakfast and 2 smaller meals from the list of foods you can have, again having a snack if you need one from the list.

Since my husband was being a good sport and doing this with me, I opted for the second option since I knew this beer drinking, chicken wing eating dude was not going to have a shake for dinner.

We did great, lost some weight, had more energy, stopped having food cravings and felt like a million bucks. Was it as big of a detox as if we had done the other option, no, but I felt so much better and I was sold.

The following year, the second option wasn’t available on the site, and they explained to me that they felt the other option was a better detox, more thorough, etc. and that was what they were promoting, but I could always still do it the other way if I chose and just buy the ingredients separately.  So I reread the book and just purchased what I needed without buying the kit.

For a protein shake, I went with the Chocolate Plant Fusion 

For the supplements, we took PB8 probiotics, Enzymedica digestive enzymes, Milk Thistle, and Oregano oil Capsules which I picked up at Whole Foods. The other supplements are also available there as well.

I drank Natural Calm at night to help “keep things moving” and it helps you sleep well.

We eat from the list of foods you can have and avoid the things you can’t have and drink tons of water. We actually find that by week 2, we are just having soup for dinner or sometimes we actually have a shake, your appetite does change and your portions get smaller. You get fuller faster.

So over the years we’ve added some things to increase the detox process and some of these things have become daily habits.

Here’s what a typical day looks like on Clean (and sometimes even after Clean)

  • Wake up and Tongue Scrape
  • Oil Pull for 10 minutes with coconut oil (this is new this year for me!)
  • Brush teeth
  • Axe Detox drink
  • Meditation
  • Exercise
  • Dry brush
  • Shower
  • Plant fusion shake with frozen berries, flax seed, almond milk, raw coconut cream, colloidal minerals (the minerals are a new addition this year),
  • Cup of Kukicha tea with stevia
  • Snack if I need it – raw nuts
  • Lunch – salad from the list of foods you can have
  • Snack – green drink with wheat grass powder, kale, more berries, coconut water and an apple. (this is my go to afternoon pick me up everyday)
  • Dinner – meal or soup from list of foods you can have.
  • Water with lemon throughout the day. (also started adding chlorophyll to the water)
  • Herbal tea after dinner, Tulsi Rose is a favorite.
  • Natural Calm before bed
  • I take the supplements according to directions on labels.
  • Alternating detox epsom salt baths, and Castor Oil Wraps through out the week.
  • The Castor oil wraps are new to me this year as well. I just rub it all over the abdomen especially near the liver and the lymph channels wrap some saran wrap around myself, put on an old T shirt and chill for 45 minutes.

Is this the best most thorough detox on the planet, probably not, but it works for us. At the end of the 21 days, we’ve shed some weight, feel less puffy, have more energy, have more clarity, feel inspired to take better care of ourselves, and are motivated to eat better.

I would call that a success!

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January = Clean

Posted by Judy Moon

January is always an exciting time of year – full of resolutions, good intentions, and goals. I love all of the energy the New Year brings – it’s kind of like a fresh clean canvas. What do I want to create for this year?

January at my house also means The Clean Program. Created by Dr. Junger and made famous by Gwyneth Paltrow. It is a 21 elimination detoxification program. It is the perfect thing after the holidays and all of the over-indulgences that can occur. What I really liked about this program is that you CAN EAT! It’s not about being hungry, or juicing or fasting. I know those things have their purpose, but this program seemed very doable to me. Just stick to the list of foods that you can have and you’re good! The “eating factor” was also the tool I used to rope my husband in to doing it with me as well. It is definitely easier to do with the buddy system.

I tried a 3 day juice cleanse once after a vacation week at the beach. I felt like I needed a boost to get me back on track to healthy eating.  I used Catalyst Cleanse – it couldn’t be easier. They have done all of the homework and created the perfect combinations of what you need throughout the day. There are six bottles numbered in what order you drink them. I have to say they were all pretty tasty. Day 1 – easy  peasy. Day 2 – I felt a kind of “sloshing” in my gut most of the day. Day 3 – was definitely ready to be done and to chew on something. To all of you who have done the Master Cleanse – I salute you! You all deserve a trophy or some sort of award. I put you in the same category of those brave ones who do the Tough Mudder runs. The juice cleanse though did open my eyes to something I had been taking for granted before – the pleasure of eating and chewing.

This is the fourth time my husband, Joe, and I have done Clean and it seems to get easier every time. We both struggle with different parts of it – he misses coffee and bread, I of course miss my red wine and cheese. The mantra becomes – “it’s only 21 days.”

I don’t buy the kit from the website. I make my own shakes and get our supplements at Whole Foods.  We don’t always have a soup or shake for dinner, sometimes we have a light meal from the list of foods you can have. I found a great blog from two sisters that is really fun and inspirational – Spinach For Breakfast. I also really enjoy this Chai Ginger Bread Shake from Goop. They have some really great recipes.

If you are feeling like you need a little kick in the pants in the healthy eating department or you need to really detox and reset – I would say give it a shot. If my beer drinking, chicken wing eating husband can do it – anyone can!

What do you do to start the year off right?

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