About a month ago I rather hesitantly signed up for Spirited Natural’s 21 Day Detox program. I have never been a good dieter and I was already pretty close to my goal weight, just from my work out regimen. I tend to subscribe to an “everything in moderation” school of thought and have never been a fan of “deprivation” diets. But as I read the details of the program and the benefits, I thought I would give it a shot. It didn’t sound like a starvation diet and definitely was not! The goal was to truly nourish the body and I liked that idea a lot. Although I had already lost a lot of weight, I was still battling a sugar addiction and low energy levels and thought that this would be a great way to attack that and start the new year right.

On the very first weekend, I failed miserably. A planned family excursion to the zoo and a restaurant dinner led me to throw the detox out of the window on Day 2. It’s hard to stay on track when every one around you is eating sugary treats. Comments like “you’ve lost so much weight anyway” make it easy to give in to the temptations. The next day I felt super guilty for throwing in the towel so quickly and resolved to start again.

I got myself a little better prepared and the next day I stayed on track. I wish I could say that I continued to stay on track throughout the entire 21 days, but I definitely had a few moments of weakness here and there. However, I was always able to pick back up and get it going again. One of the things I learned on my detox journey is that everything doesn’t have to be absolute. Sometimes we think that if we make a mistake or falter once or twice on our diet or healthy eating plan, there’s no going back. But that’s not true. Strength comes in being able to get back on the horse after you have fallen off and finding the will power and self motivation to keep going in spite of weak moments. So although I did make some poor food choices throughout the detox period, I am proud that I stayed on course about 85% of the time! Although weight loss was not my goal, I am pretty sure I could comfortably put my wedding dress on today and feel good in it. Which is not too bad after having 2 kids in 3 years! The experience was definitely worth the while and I wanted to share with you exactly why I think you should try a detox too!

1)      You will make healthier food choices. Even if you falter several times throughout the process or program, conscious thought about eating in a healthier way lead you to make better food choices most of the time or more often than before.

2)      You will learn to love new foods. You may gain an appreciation for healthy foods that would have never made it onto your plate before. I used to make a face at just hearing “kale” or “quinoa.” But the detox program strongly encouraged me to try these and they weren’t so bad. Now I eat them as a regular part of my diet and really enjoy them.

3)      You’ll kick some of your bad food habits. You'll be able to eliminate unhealthy food and drinks from your diet, after realizing you can survive without them. After my 21 day detox I no longer crave sodas like I used to. Instead I find myself daydreaming about fresh green juice. The healthy feeling I get after drinking the green juice is much more appealing than the sugar crash I eventually get from the soda.

4)      You will be a great example for your kids. Kids follow what they see. Two weeks into my detox I decided to offer my little ones some of my green smoothie. They had seen me drinking it daily for a while and didn’t hesitate to try my “Jamba Juice.” They both drank it and enjoyed it without protest. I never thought that my kids would drink a smoothie with kale and cucumber in it. What a great sense of accomplishment I felt.

5)      You will be able to recognize foods that your body doesn’t tolerate well. At one of my faltering moments, I decided to eat some of the homemade mac and cheese I had prepared for my daughter.Not only did I feel super guilty, but I also felt super sick! My whole body felt like it was shutting down and I could barely get off the couch for hours. I knew then that pasta, and potentially gluten in general is something that I am sensitive to. I will try my best to avoid it even now after the detox period has ended.

I'll keep you posted on future detox programs with Spirited Natural, so you can try it too! Thank you Kaylan Bartholomew for the great opportunity!

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