If you haven’t read part 1 of this two-part blog, you might want to do that to get some context for the program I’m talking about.
Before I started this program, I knew it was going to be hard, but I psyched myself out too much. My secret to success was that I took it one day at a time and gave myself permission to be imperfect. I told myself that if I was starving, I’d have a snack. If I was tired, I wouldn’t push myself too far. If I messed up, I’d get back on track. This mentality was super important throughout this process.
Week 1 – Reclaim
During the first 7 days you begin to alter your diet, slowly removing foods like red meat and refined items that put stress on your digestive system and can tilt your body toward a more acidic state (like coffee). You still have grains this week, even salmon one day! Because you aren’t quitting grains and dairy cold-turkey, I found it to be less of a shock to my body. I had a small adjustment period, but from the sounds of it, my adjustment was much easier than it is for most people.
Week 2 – Release
In week 2, you continue to refine your diet (since you stopped eating animal proteins in week 1). This is the “detox” week where you also take a detoxing supplement. Surprisingly, I thought the detox drink tasted really good. It had a ginger lemon flavor and not gross like other fiber supplements I’ve tried. This was probably the most difficult week for me because I was right in the middle of it all. I was starting to get tired of the boring (and sometimes strange) food. Everyone reacts to detoxing differently, but my body decided to detox through my skin…I had acne breakouts that are not normal for me.
This week was also my breakthrough week. On day 10, I noticed that my back pain was significantly better. On day 11, my back pain was completely GONE. I’ll admit, I was getting discouraged the first week because I was hoping to be an overnight success with my back pain. Well, I was an overnight success, just on days 10/11.
Week 3 – Restore
During the final phase, you adjust your diet once again. You cut back on grains and consume mainly fruits and vegetables—for fiber and further alkalization, and to provide your body with pure, whole foods that are of high nutritional value and are easily absorbed. This was the week I was dreading the most. I thought I would literally starve to death eating only fruit and veggies, but again, because it was a gradual change, I wasn’t nearly as hungry and unsatisfied as I thought I would be. The transformation your body goes through is quite remarkable.
I’m not gonna lie to you, the food is boring. Salads for daysssss, but again, it’s temporary. Plus my energy was great, I had lost a decent amount of weight, and the end was in sight so I was highly motivated to finish strong.
The Verdict
Considering I had told numerous people I would NEVER do this program, like ever, I think I totally crushed it. I did my best while keeping good spirits. I stayed strong when my family was eating way more delicious food than I was. I had really great energy and even though you aren’t supposed to exercise on the program, I felt more than capable so I did, but I listened to my body the whole time. I am still pain-free and lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks.
I’m not staying plant-based, but now that the program is over, I’m slowly reintroducing foods to see how they react to my body. I also learned that I don’t need to have meat every single day either. I was very heavily reliant on animal protein before, and now I know that simply isn’t necessary.
I was really impressed/shocked that I didn’t have much craving for sugar too. Coming off of the holiday season (where I indulged more than I should have), I thought for sure I’d be starving for sugar. I was 2 weeks in before I realized I hadn’t even thought about eating sweets. That’s a big fricken deal for this girl.
If you’re curious about this program, I can send you the PDF of the meal plan so you can really see what it’s all about. Send me a message here or on social media!
