What is a detox...?

Detox is short for detoxify and is a process whereby you only eat natural, preferably organic, food in the hope that it cleanses your system of toxins. There is much debate in scientific circles about whether this is possible, however, it seems to make sense to us and after 28 days we might be able to prove to ourselves that it works. By keeping this diary we're hoping to document patterns and changes that we might be able to attribute to this change in diet.

Why are we doing it...?

Karen wanted to do a detox last November but realised that would be difficult to sustain with Christmas and New Year just round the corner. The reasons for doing the detox are that Karen wants more energy and to feel happier and knows that this can be achieved by a change in diet. Even though this is just a 28 day programme, Karen would like to continue some of the best aspects of the detox after the 28 days.

When Karen told me that she wanted to do a detox in the New Year, I thought she meant something that would only last a few days. When I found out that it would last a bit longer I decided to do it with her. I'm not really sure why, but it sounds like it might be interesting and I should find out a bit more about myself and how my body works from doing it.

Since I'm currently unemployed and sitting at home, the urge to go and eat something I shouldn't be is going to be strong. The challenge for me is going to be sticking to the diet that we've planned, if I managed that then I'll be happy.

What do we expect to achieve...?

This isn't based on a documented 28 day programme, but we've taken information from various sources. This way we hope to be more objective and listen to what our bodies are telling us rather than following someone else's strict regime. We are going to start off slowly and build up to a more rigid diet as the 28 days progress.

We will probably achieve things that are probably impossible to foresee at this stage, but we would like to achieve some gained knowledge into how the food we eat affects how we feel. Different foods can have very powerful effects on your state of well being and since each individual is different we have to find out what these foods do to our own bodies.

There will probably be foods that Karen likes the effects of that don't agree with me and vice versa, but we would like to gain insight into our own needs and use this knowledge in our future eating habits.

What foods are we going to eat...?

Fruits, dried fruits, vegetables (but not root vegetables, except carrots), pulses (but only non-processed ones so no white rice etc.), nuts, sea-vegetables, fresh herbs and leafy vegetables. These will form the basis of our diet and will be mixed and matched into snacks and meals depending on our menu. These will be mostly raw but occasionally lightly steamed or briefly roasted and never processed, so tins of chickpeas etc. are out.

Our favourite recipies so far are here.

What foods are we not going to eat...?

We will not be eating any dairy products, poultry including eggs, meat, fish, caffeine, wheat (so no bread or pasta), alcohol, confectionary and fizzy drinks (so no chocolate and Irn Bru). We will also not be eating any processed foods and as such each meal will be made from scratch using fresh ingredients.

For those people who are sceptical and are worried that we won't be getting all the nutrients that we need for a balanced diet, each day's menu will specify the vitamins and minerals etc. that the food will be giving us.

How do we know if it's going to be a success or not...?

The only true way to tell if something is a success or not is to record everything before you start and compare it to everything once you've finished. Currently there is some information here about our statistics and what we eat before we started. This will be followed shortly after we finish with more information on how we will be changing our lifestyles based on what we discover during the detox.

The Diary

The diary is comprised of daily reports for each week. The menu for each day is followed by the vitamins and nutrients that we will be getting, finally Karen and I will jot down some of our own feelings and experiences from that day. Since we will be deciding on what to eat based on the previous weeks experiences, the diary for each week will appear once we have decided on the menu.

Rants

I can tell that I'm going to get annoyed during the course of this detox and instead of going silent and grumpy like I normally do, I'm going to write my rants down. I don't know if this will help or not, but it might give me the chance to see what annoys me and what I can do about it. I don't know how often I'll be ranting, but I'm sure it will be quite often as there are some things I'd like to get off my chest.

Contact Us

If you think we're mad or simply just sad then we'd like to hear from you, especially if you've got any helpful hints or tips to make our life easier over the next 4 weeks. You can contact Karen at karen@jessett.com or visit her website and drop her a note from there. You can reach me on bob@bobarnott.com.