30 Day Detox Final Summary

i started my 30 day detox program on 8/18. 

to call it a detox program is accurate but doesn't really reflect the purpose.  it was not a weight loss program.  i didn't mind losing a couple of popunds but didn't want to lose more then 3-4 at most.  i drink on the weekends and only smoke marijuana a couple of times a year so i wasn't detoxing for that reaon.  

basically, i've been having pain and inflammation in my joints for a long time now, probably since 1993.  i attributed it to wear and tear from playing sports and working out constantly and probably not with the best form and with proper stretching.  i quit working out in the gym in 2004 but the pain didn't subside very much.  stretching more helped but didn't solve the problem. 

ultimately, i figured that my diet was the problem but i just never took the necessary steps to confirm it.  the detox program was designed to eliminate all possible foods that could cause my inflammation, see if that made a difference and then bring them back incrementally to try and pinpoint the problem.

that's what i did with almost 100% success.  i was successful in eliminating all possible bad foods- grains/wheat/gluten, (added) sugar, nuts, tomatoes/eggplant/potatoes, dairy, foods with pesticides, fungicides, antibiotics and hormones. 

what were the results?  my inflammation and pain were almost 100% gone within a few days.  i hadn't felt that good since prior to 1993.  the diet kind of sucked but i got used to it and it was well worth it. 

what caused the problem?  this is where i didn't have 100% success.  i was hoping for a one word answer- dairy or sugar or gluten.  i started adding foods back every few days after about the 25th day.  tomatoes were not a problem.  nuts were not a problem.  potatoes were not a problem.  rice was a little bit of a problem but not much. 

the issue is i probably brought the most suspicious culprits back to fast and the effects blended in.  i think dairy is fine but may cause a little problem. i don't consume much dairy but i do prefer to use whey protein from grass fed cows in my morning shake and that may be a little bit of an issue (brown rice protein powder tastes like shit by the way). 

the last two i brought back were sugar and gluten.  i had a decent amount of sugar for about 3 days before the gluten.  the inflammation didn't come back all the way but i could tell a difference.  but how long does it take for the effects to manifest?  at the end, i did bring back gluten.  over the weekend, i had pancakes, bread, pasta and whatever else. 

today, i feel as bad as i did before the program.  gluten is definitely a major problem. it needs to be eliminated.  sugar is probably a problem but may be ok in small doses.  same with dairy. 

anyway, the program was a success.  diet can and did fix my problems and i'm pretty sure i know the causes.  gluten for sure and sugar and dairy to a lesser extent need to be eliminated.

going forward, i will eliminate them as much as possible and only eat them on special occasions.

i recommend this to everyone.  if anyone has any questions, let me know. 

Interesting experiment there.  Congrats on your discipline on that

I couldn't go 36 hours on that diet.

Sugar

og, i bet you're right.  i think some pain is mental and prayer and/or meditation would probably be beneficial.

thanks ad.  once you get into it, it gets easier, especially when the results become evident, although i never got used to brown rice protein powder. 

after i eat all the sugar and gluten crap in my house and i take my wife to dinner for her birthday this week, i'm going back to a mostly sugar free and gluten free diet, makign exceptions for special occasions only.  as much as i like certain foods with gluten or sugar (pizza, beer, hamburgers w/ the bun, etc), it just isn't worth it for me. 

thought you might surface today.  best of luck this season. 

when you don't eat wheat/gluten, (added) sugar, nuts, dairy, tomatos, and potatos, the list of things you can eat is still pretty decent. 

for breakfast, i almost always have a shake, except sometimes on the weekends i'll have eggs with some ham.  however, i had to change the shake and it got a lot worse.  my normal shake is: organic berries, half a banana, almonds, coconut milk, whey protein. 

i had to eliminate the banana (fruit was ok but not bananas, gapes or watermelon), the almonds, the whey protein and the coconut milk.  i probably could have kept the unsweetend coconut milk but i used water instead just to be safe.  i used brown rice protein powder for the whey protein and it was terrible.  i also added cinnamon and flax seed.  needless to say, it was not good.  

for lunch, i made a salad everyday with organic vegetables- different types of lettuce, radishes, carrots, celery.  i would often add a deli meet from a company that didn't use antibiotics, hormones, etc.  applegate is a pretty popular brand.

for dinner, i ate pretty much what i usually ate- any clean meat was ok and an organic vegetable.  sometimes a sweet potato, small amount of brown rice, leeks, etc.

one good dinner i have about once a week whether i was on detox or not is a large salad with a meat like bacon or chicken and avocados and eggs.  that will fill you up because it has a lot of good fat. 

for dessert, maybe an apple, grapefruit, cantalope or other fruit.

and i would work some eggs into the mix as well.  i always put a hard boiled on my salad when it's available, although i'd prefer it if the eggs came from a reliable source that doesn't have the chickens sit in a cage all day eating grains. 

but basically, you're fine with clean fruits (but not bananas, grapes and watermelons), vegetables and meats.  some brown rice is fine.  eggs are fine.  sweet potatos are fine.  if you have a decent health food store in your area, you can find these things and some other ideas that you might not be aware of. 

if you have any specific questions, let me know. 

this isn't exactly what i did but it's pretty similar.  someone sent this to me after i finished mine.  it's a lot better at telling you what you can't eat than what you can but it'll give you a pretty good idea of what this kind of program is about.