Spring Cleanse Stories
From People Who Bought Christi's e-book
The following women tried a spring cleanse for the
very first time this year. I asked them to share their experiences
so that you can learn from them... and hopefully be inspired to try
a cleanse of your own.
Some of the side effects they experienced (fatigue, headache, etc.) are normal side effects of a cleanse. Remember, the point of a cleanse is to help your body get rid of toxins. So, sometimes you won't have a 100% pleasant experience while you're doing the cleanse. But rest assured that you are doing your body a great amount of good.
Some of the biggest lessons learned?
1. Make sure you prepare your food for the cleanse. You'll feel
much better when the food is waiting for you. You don't want to
have to prepare food constantly when you're cleansing.
2. Make sure you plan some downtime. The folks who had the best cleanse experiences were the ones who took the time to plan some slow, relaxing time into their schedule.
3. Find a buddy. Those who had a friend or partner do the cleanse with them had MUCH more fun... and stuck with it more.
4. Pick the cleanse that works best for you. If you're training for a marathon, you want to wait until an 'off-day' to do a cleanse... and you should pick the all-grains cleanse. If you are traveling, then one of the "Remove & Replace" cleanses will work best, because they're less dramatic than the "All You Can Eat' cleanses.
To learn about the book these women followed for their cleanse, click here.
Cleanse
Story #1
"I thought your book was easy to understand, encouraging and kind
- not too extreme and very realistic. I read your ebook in bits and
pieces a couple of times and half-heartedly or inadvertantly started
the cleanse this weekend.
My biggest worry was giving up coffee in the morning, even though I
know I could use a break. I decided to go with the RAINBOW cleanse because
I am generally a healthy eater and I read Fit For Life and it seemed
similar.
Here's what happened:
Saturday afternoon - I decide to "trial cleanse" - go to the
supermarket, buy all produce (and your ingredients for the arugula salad
which was great!)
Saturday dinner: good size salad and seltzer with lime. Late night snack
of strawberries and bananas w/honey. Lemongrass white tea. I felt
relaxed and slept well.
Sunday morning: hot water and lemon, strawberries and bananas -- felt
great, light and clear. Ran 3 miles in the rain, plenty of energy.
Sunday afternoon/post run: organic coffee w/ half and half (best coffee
of my life!) savored every bit. Whole red grapefruit, organic waffles
with honey strawberries and bananas. This seemed to bring on more of
an appetite and I "picked" all day long on fruit and plain
waffles and tea and water.
Sunday dinner: huge salad, seltzer - felt calm.
Sunday dessert (w/ neighbor for her b-day i.e. peer pressure): chocolate
cupcake and a 2 mimosas!(w/ fresh squeezed oj). Felt a little crampy
and buzzed, but sobered up quickly - got more energy back later in the
night. Slept fine.
Monday: ate sort of normal and found I was snacking a lot - cheese crackers,
M &M's, etc. THEN... for dinner I made this prepared TRADER JOE'S
VEGETABLE CURRY AND RICE dinner (which I never do - I always cook fresh
or go out) and it recked havoc on my stomach! I slept with a heating
pad all night and vowed to keep eating vegetables indefinitely!
Tuesday: went back to hot water and fruit but then had a scone around
10 a.m. - the stomach pains came back. So now I am back to all vegetables
and fruit and seltzer and I am HAPPY, but afraid to eat anything else.
(I guess I didn't read your "how to end your cleanse" section
very well).
I would like to seriously commit to 3 days as it was a trial run for
me - I think I can do it. If I did the cleanse again, what I would do
differently is put the realistic part into practice more (i.e. maybe
I'd be OK with a cup of coffee in the a.m., but stick to the fruits
and veggies otherwise). The thought of giving coffee up was too stressful
and not worth it.
Maybe I'd do a coffee cleanse alone and keep normal eating instead of
trying to do all at once. I would also mentally prepare a little more
instead of going right into it - I'd write it down using the plan in
your book."
Cleanse Story #2
"By all means, please feel free to go ahead and share my story.
I just love to share when I have found something exciting and positive
to pass on to others who will also benefit!
I found a combo tongue brush/scraper when I was doing my grocery shopping
on Saturday and bought it. I found myself looking for it at work today
when I brushed my teeth after lunch. I will get another one to bring
into the office!"
Cleanse Story #3
"I decided to do the fruit and vegetable cleanse, and started today.
I was thinking I'd do it for 3 days. So far, so good! I eat a lot, but
still am hungry (or was, at work). The first day's probably usually
the hardest.
I was VERY tired this morning, the morning of Day 2. I swear, I could
have slept all day!
Day 2 (today) went fine. I went to the track after work, but I was far
more fatigued than usual so I modified my original intentions and took
it easy.
I always take my lunch to work. And it's always a salad, usually with
an apple and orange. But for these days, rather than adding a bag of
pretzels and a yogurt, I brought pre-packaged fruit cups I got at the
store. And this time I squeezed lemons on my salad rather than using
the Fannie's dressing I usually use (which probably would have been
okay). And the carrots I put in were organic. I always put lots of
olives in my salads. I bought a jar of pickles for home. And I also
bought baggies of cauliflower and broccoli for snacks.
For dinners both nights I made a stir fry of whatever veggies I could
find around the house (I think I can use spinach and broccoli tomorrow
-- I bought some organic broccoli too). I had some peanut oil I bought
awhile ago and that flavored it pretty well. Generally a bunch of asparagus
and some cauliflowers. Tonight I added broccoli florets and what spinach
was left from when I made the salads. I also used lots of seasonings
tonight. I ate LOTs. And I've been drinking tazo decaf tea of some sort.
I usually use milk and honey but tonight I just used honey (and last
night didn't use either). I buy seltzer water and have been drinking
lots of that.
Since this was the end of day 3 and I originally planned on a 2 day
cleanse, I ate a "normal" dinner. My husband had fixed some
sort of goulash thing and I was SO hungry when I got home from work,
I didn't even sit down to eat (I know, a bad habit)... I also had some
cookies and red licorice. The goulash had chicken cut up in it. Not
what I would have eaten on the cleanse. I plan to go to bed soon 'cause
I literally almost fell asleep on the drive home.
You feel better after the cleanse rather than during it, right? I do like meat, and I do like caffeine (my body was probably also getting used to not having that) so I won't be cutting those out of my diet for good. I'll have less, and be more cognizant of having more veggies. I had quite a few my first 2 nights. There was some spinach in the goulash so I had as much of that as possible."
Cleanse Story #4
"I did try the cleanse and I really enjoyed it! You did such a
good job of making them do-able (living in an itty bitty town, what's
do-able here is dramatically different from what's do-able in the city,
I was expecting to need to make a drive up to Raleigh). I picked the
brown rice one because I loved the idea of making it all at once.
Before ordering a copy of your Spring Cleanse book, I was worried that
the e-book would be full of fluff and too much padding to wade through.
I almost didn't order it because I thought I wouldn't have time to both
read and apply it.
I'm so, so glad I overcame my hesitation. Your book is conversational
and easy to read. I was able to go through it all in one sitting and
at the end of my first reading, I had a complete plan for my own personal
cleanse worked up.
I decided to keep things simple and went with Cleanse #8 and you were
right--the cooking's never been easier. In under an hour, I had prepared
all my meals for the next two days! Plus, I already had everything I
needed right in my own pantry. (And as a single gal, let's just say
my pantry's not especially well stocked :-).)
Before my cleanse, I wasn't feeling at all ready for spring--I was sluggish
and felt better prepared for a long winter hibernation! But now I definitely
have that lighter
feeling.
I feel silly admitting it, but I'm really proud of myself for completing
the cleanse. Why does that make me feel silly? Because it was so incredibly
easy to do.
Thank you, Christi, for making this ebook available--it's really made
me feel better prepared for spring!"
Cleanse Story #5
"Last
night, I cooked up a storm. I'm so jazzed! I have discovered that when
I am cooking, I hardly want to eat, so that is a good pastime for me.
I microwaved a bag each of butternut squash, yams, sugar snap peas,
and beets from Trader Joe's. I added balsamic vinegar to the beets,
a little parmesan to the sugar snap peas, a
little maple syrup to the yams and cinnamon to the squash. Then I popped
them into ziploc containers and put them in the fridge. I wanted to
get some healthy snacks in the fridge, and make sure the good things
I bought over the weekend didn't go to waste.
My husband made me a yummy salad, which I didn't even get around to
eating until about 9 p.m., because I was having so much fun cooking.
Over the weekend, I made Christi's apple salad, cucumber salad and mixed
vegetable recipes. I loaded up on spinach, argula and mache (which Christi
just introduced me to as well) for lots of salads. There are pears and
apples and bananas just calling my name, along with some yummy pineapple.
But here's the problem, I haven't been hungry! Riddle me that one! I
am loading up my plate and then putting half of it away before I even
start. Taking my time and chewing slowly.
This morning as I was running errands I really tasted my banana for
the first time ever. It lasted forever, I played around with it, squishing
it through my teeth and mashing it up against the roof of my mouth and
just generally enjoying the sensation of it. It occurred to me that
people could get healthy by reverting to their
inner child and playing with their food!"
Cleanse Story #6
"Hi Christi, I have so enjoyed participating in the last two teleclasses!
You have such a great style, wit and presence on the phone, and you
have managed to "personally include" everyone.
On
the cleanse call, I mentioned that I have been drinking vinegar twice
a day; at lunch with honey + hot water and in the evening just in cold
water. The recommendation was to use Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar, as it
is the most pure with no preservatives. I started to use it for symptoms
for indigestion and have benefited from other side effects. It is great
for your whole digestive tract and is supposed to be a natural help
in regulating metabolism and keeping weight off.
Since I am a true thin person, I am not sure how effective it has been
for me, but I miss it when I don't drink it and generally carry a small
bottle with me!! I am interested to try one of the simpler cleanses
for a day, so will be selecting a weekend when I am "home alone"
to give it a go."
Cleanse Story #7
"I
started yesterday and did pretty good. I've bought extra bananas, apples
and pears to bake for dessert instead of eating candy."
Cleanse Story #8
"I did the all-grains cleanse yesterday and wanted to share my
experience. I woke up excited about the cleanse and sat quietly and
enjoyed a bowl of brown rice with a little honey and herbal tea. I found
it difficult to get full, so ate some more rice a little while later.
It was a beautiful day, so we went for a walk. I got a pedicure.
I brought some rice with soy sauce and ate it before my pedicure, sitting
outside in the square. I was starting to get a little grumpy because
I was having a hard time remaining full. (I also brought water which
I drank during the walk.)
I enjoyed my pedicure, met up with my husband, and walked home. I still
felt a little grumpy.. didn't have much energy and was actually a little
hot. I was also craving ice cream - which is typical for me on a nice,
warm day.
In the afternoon, we ran some errands. I thought it would be good to
be busy. I brought a rice/quinoa combination and water. Throughout the
afternoon I developed a pretty bad headache, didn't have much energy,
and got grumpier. The nice thing was that my husband was very supportive.
He gave me affection, made
sure I was drinking water, and took the lead in the stores.
When we got home I broke down and had a cup of black tea. I was desperate
to get rid of my headache and thought it might be due to a lack of caffeine.
(I find this a little surprising because I have gone days without caffeine
and have been fine.) When that didn't seem to help I decided to take
a nap.... still had a bad headache and took some ibuprofin.
My husband came in to check on me and I asked him to give me a facial
massage and then a shoulder massage. He put on soothing massage music.
It felt great, and slowly the headache went away. I then did the facial
steam from your book - loved it! (I'm now wondering if I was getting
a PMS headache that was completely unrelated to the cleanse.)
I ended the night watching TV and eating two bowls of rice. (I can't
believe how much rice I ate!!) And, I felt relaxed and looking forward
to Monday (what a
change!) when I could eat a variety of food.
A couple of other observations - I didn't have a single bowel movement
the whole day (I usually have 2) and I felt fairly mellow all day.
When I woke up this morning I felt pretty foggy but good and ready for
the day. I do have a very slight headache and am feeling the need for
some black tea.
I think if I wasn't nervous about the headache and didn't mind the grumpiness,
then I would have continued the cleanse today.
I found at points in the day yesterday I asked myself "Why am I
doing this? Why am I putting myself through this." At any time
I could have stopped, but I didn't want to."
Cleanse Story #9
"It is day one of the four day cleanse and it had been going great
- not as difficult as I thought it would be. I had a banana and rasberry
smoothie for breakfast, plus some dates, a banana and an asian pear
as snacks. Then had a green salad and the bok choy salad for lunch.
I ate some watermelon this afternoon and I'll probably have another
banana for dinner. My friend and I are cooking a stir fry and fruit
salad for dinner.
I decided to change to the rainbow cleanse on Day 2 (just fruit and
veggies and it has gone ok. I've definitely been hungrier than usual
- it's tough to stay full, so I just have been eating a lot of quantity.
I haven't felt lighter unfortunately but
that might be because I haven't been exercising and because of the quantity
of food I'm eating. My back started bothering me on Tuesday and I'm
also fighting
off a cold/really bad sore throat (and feel achy).
It has been a VERY busy week for me - getting ready for work move and
vacation. So, I didn't have as much time to relax as I would have liked
to during the cleanse, but staying busy may have helped with the hunger.
I hit a low point this afternoon - not feeling great, was hungry and
was leaving the doctor's office. I really wanted some comfort food.
Matzah ball soup would have hit the spot, but that wasn't easily accessible.
I knew fruit and veg weren't going to do
the trick. I ended up deciding that I really wanted a cookie from one
of my fav bakeries, so I had one. I definitely enjoyed it and feel full
for the first time in days.
I am planning to go back to veggies tonight, and maybe some soup. But
before that, I'm going to try to take a hot bath.
So, I'd say I had pretty good experience with the Cleanse, though I
don't really feel like I did a cleanse (if that makes any sense). I'm
hoping that I will steer towards lighter food while on vacation, now
that I'm in habit, but feeling yucky makes me want carbs/confort food...
I would definitely try a cleanse again. Thank you for the inspiration!"
Cleanse Story #10
"I started the rainbow cleanse today…fun fun! I actually got a guy that I'm dating to do it with me as well and we are planning on going up to the Blue Ridge mountains this weekend for some hiking and R & R so it should work out great! I do have a bit of a headache today, but I'm drinking lots of water and making sure I get enough fruits and veggies. As I read, it's better to ease into it…but scheduling wise it worked out best to just jump into it!!"
Cleanse Story #11
"I tried to start the Rainbow Cleanse, but only made it through one day before I had to eat something else besides vegetables and fruit. I think I'll try again when I have a little more free time to plan ahead and make sure I have enought fruits and veggies that I like to eat. Thanks for your help."
Cleanse Story #12
"Thanks for inquiring about the cleanse. It's worked quite well for me. I did choose the broader diet of grains, veggies, and fruits, and some fish. I stayed with it for 4 days. I am planning another go around next week. I very much appreciated the clarity and full coverage of information in your book."
Ready to try your own cleanse? I recommend buying the book to guide you through the process. Just click here.
