I have completed this cleanse and I feel great. It really has helped me get back on track with eating better. My energy is much better. I actually notice my memory is also better overall. I wake up before my alarm in the morning, which was unheard of 10 days ago. As a result of feeling so much better physically, I feel better mentally. This makes conscious decisions regarding my health and life easier, as I am choosing the healthier options now.  I actually missed the shakes today. They truly filled me up like just ate a meal. Continuing on, I will add one Shakeology shake to my diet daily.  This will help me to remain full throughout the day. For those of you who are interested in a healthy, plant-based protein shake with tons of anti-oxidants and only natural ingredients – no artificial color, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or chemicals. For more information on Shakeology, go to www.BeachBodyCoach.com/ActiveCare.

I am still planning on eating more fish than other animal meats and avoiding dairy, sugar, and refined wheat and gluten. If anyone reading this has any questions about this cleanse, please contact me at DrKarm@ActiveCareAH.com or at the office at 847.749.0376. This is very manageable even with a busy schedule, a family, and other curve balls life throws at you.

Now is the time to get healthy, once and for all.

I am on the last stretch and something unexpected happened. I actually don’t want this cleanse to end. So, I won’t end it! I am going to keep up with the suggested food choices while avoiding dairy, animal meats, all sugar, and eat grains every once in a while. I feel great despite not drinking my favorite coffee in the morning! I think I will reserve this for special occasions and weekends only.  I am excited to continue on this leg of my journey!

I finished up the shakes today and took some capsules also.   I drank my morning tea, which I am growing to love afterall and ate an apple with some lemon for a mid-morning snack (granny smith apples cut up with lemon juice = delicious snack!).  For lunch I ate leftover fish in a purse/pouch that was just as good the next day as it was last night.  I also snacked on veggies such as red peppers, carrots, cucumber, and hummus for snacks and dinner.  Again, I am surprised as to how full I am after drinking a shake. I usually am always hungry, so this is saying a lot! I had a late night meeting tonight and my energy was consistent throughout. These meetings occur quarterly and I recall other times where I was exhausted by the end of the meeting. Glad my energy is BACK!

Welcome back to all of the veggies I missed! I didn’t think I could get this excited over cucumbers and carrots before, however I missed my afternoon hummus snack with these perfect pairs! As I previously mentioned, this program really made me evaluate the foods I was eating and the reasons behind them. I ate chicken as a primary protein source for dinner and fish was added to add variety. However, I rediscovered how delicious and easy fish is to make. Most nights, I get home from work around 8pm.  However, by the time I put chicken into a pan, made a side dish of quinoa or wild rice, and added a veggie to that, it was 9pm by the time I was eating. With fish, I can whip up a dish within 15 minutes! It cooks quickly, just a little salt and pepper goes a long way, and you quick steam a side of vegetables. There is dinner! I will definitely be focusing on fish for dinner and adding chicken or even a bean or legume dish to add variety. 

Today, I needed to drink 3 shakes and take 2 capsules of AdvaClear with each shake.  I added in snacks such as an apple, leftover roasted cauliflower, not to mention my hummus and veggie snack! For dinner, I made “purses” of fish with herbs, lemon, and veggies in it. I put them in the oven at 350 degrees and went for a 30 minute walk around my neighborhood while they baked.  When I returned, I sautéed kale with garlic and onion. Add that with the fish and it was a beautiful dinner! Check out the pictures on our Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/ActiveCareAH).  I drank over 120 ounces of water today, as I got back into working out after a little hiatus during the difficult phase.  The water helped me through getting back into the routine!

Today is day 7. Days 5-7 are the most restrictive, so I feel as though I have made it through.  With a little planning and strategy, this cleans is completely manageable by busy workers and busy moms.  My food choices were very similar to yesterday.  These food choices included shakes and capsules, apple, tuna and bean salad, and tilapia for dinner. Instead of my staple broccoli, I made cauliflower.  Just a little salt, pepper, and olive oil seasoned the vegetable perfectly! I put this combination into a roasting dish and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. It was delicious!

I think this cleanse helped me to rediscover the pure delicious veggies possess. When your foods are limited, you really appreciate the food that you can eat.  That being said, I never felt deprived but my options were limited.  I couldn’t put butter or sauces on anything, so I had the chance to taste foods the way nature intended. Most of the time, I seasoned the vegetables or fish with just some salt and pepper and I think it tasted better than many restaurants – if I don’t say so myself! I purchased only organic produce while on this cleanse and I think it makes a world of difference.  The fruits are sweeter and the vegetables are more flavorful. 

Again, I drank over 100oz of water today and I’m going strong. My clothes are feeling a bit looser, although weight loss was not my goal of this cleanse. I just feel better mentally and physically!

After the first day of the more “intense” phase of this cleanse, I realized this program is very manageable.  I think I am finding the most difficulty with the fruit and vegetable restrictions, actually. I rely on these groups as snacks and with the limitations, there isn’t as much variety. That being said, I do not feel deprived nor am I hungry. You can eat as much as you want of the allowed foods, as this is not a calorie restrictive cleanse.  I think this is important to remember.

For breakfast, I had a shake and capsules. For a mid-morning snack, I ate a pear.  A bit before lunchtime, I had another shake and capsules.  I made a Tuscan tuna salad with low mercury canned tuna, cannellini beans, parsley, and olive oil and seasoning to taste (usually I put walnuts, lemon, and red onion in this, but I can always add these ingredients on Tuesday when they are allowed again!).  This was a filling and delicious lunch! I had another shake and capsules a few hours after that. For dinner, I made lemon pepper tilapia (I bought a huge supply of tilapia from Whole Foods, can you tell??) with steamed broccoli. For a snack, I drank another shake and made kale chips with salt and chili powder.

I drank about 100oz of water today. I am still drinking tea in the morning and sometimes during the day for a change from the water. Feeling great!!

Days 5-7 are supposed to be the most difficult days on this program because the food options are very limited. Also starting today, I need to consume four shakes today with 2 capsules of the AdvaClear with each shake.   However, there are fruit and vegetable options still allowed during this phase. These choices make for easy snacks for work and during the day. Also beans, legumes, and fish are great options for meals as they are still allowed.  I just need to get more creative!

Today was Saturday, so it was a busy day at work and I didn’t have much time to eat meals.  For breakfast, I drank a shake with the capsules.  As a mid-morning snack, I ate an organic gala apple.  I repeated this around noon and ate an organic granny smith apple while running errands after work.  I drank another shake and swallowed the capsules on my drive home after stopping at Whole Foods to pick up more fish for dinner.  I was hungry by the time I returned home, which was my fault because I didn’t prepare like I needed to the prior night and I didn’t have much time during the day to eat anything more substantial than the apples.  I made fish and broccoli, prepared similarly to earlier in the week.  For a snack, I ate some kale chips and drank my last shake (no capsules with the 4th shake).  For all of you who have not had the pleasure of eating kale chips yet, you are missing out!! Tear up some kale, put a little olive oil and seasoning on them and give them a toss (I put salt and chili powder on mine).  Spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes or until they are crispy.  Bye bye potato chips!! Hello, delicious kale chips!

Today I start to drink shakes containing 2 scoops of UltraClear Renew and 2 AdvaClear capsules twice per day.  I drank a shake on my way to work this morning. It is surprisingly filling, as I can get by with drinking just the shake for about 3 hours. For a snack, I ate the remaining carrots and cucumber I purchased in the beginning of the week since this is my last day before the restricted fruits and veggies begin.  I drank a green smoothie for lunch, which was packed with fiber and plant based protein such as kale and spinach (recipe is on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/ActiveCareAH).  I drank another shake on my way out of the office today while driving to a friend’s house for dinner. Think you cannot have a social life while on this detox? WRONG!

For dinner with my friends, I planned ahead and we decided to make dinner. Knowing fish was the only animal protein allowed, I immediately centered the dinner around fish tacos and offered to bring the sides. My friend supplied the fish and I made homemade guacamole, black beans, Spanish rice (which I did not eat, but everyone likes rice with tacos!), corn tortillas (which I did not eat) and pico de gallo.  The black bean recipe was in the booklet found within the cleanse kit (many more recipes too!). The guacamole recipe is also found on Facebook, so check it out!  So, for dinner I ate tilapia seasoned with cumin, paprika, salt, pepper cooked in a bit of olive oil, guacamole, black beans, and pico de gallo! It was spectacular! Strategically planned, this meal didn’t even look like there were any food restrictions to the naked eye! I am getting hungry all over again just thinking about it….

One other thing I forget to mention, I am drinking SO MUCH water!! It is so important for EVERYONE to drink water. I am drinking on average 80 ounces per day, which helps me to stay full, keep my energy going, and help the detoxification process even more.

Bye bye to nuts and grains. That’s okay thought, I just need to be little more creative with my snacks today. For breakfast, I started with a cleanse shake with 100% organic apple juice.  No blender, no ice, no fruit and it was good actually! I also took a clear change capsule along with my probiotic and drank some of my delicious tea (coffee, who? I am shocked I don’t miss my old friend anymore!).  Probiotics are the good bacteria that help you digest the food you eat. Not many people know that a large component of their immune system is located within their gut.  Therefore, it is extremely important to keep the good bacteria at a ratio that will fight against yeast or other bacteria’s overgrowth.

For a mid-morning snack I had a banana then was hungry again an hour and a half later, so I ate some hummus and cucumbers along with my omega-3 supplements. These are great for cardiovascular and brain function and protect against diseases that can attack these systems.  Not to mention, they make my hair look shinier and healthier!  For lunch, I ate a minestrone soup I made Tuesday night in preparation for a busy week. I put some chili spices in it to make it more like a chili than an Italian soup.  It was flavorful and warm, which unfortunately feels good this late in the year this year.  For an afternoon snack, I ate another shake with apple juice and a capsule of the Advaclear to help the detoxification process.  No headaches. No brain-fog. I have felt a muscle fatigue without heavy exercise, but it feels the same as if I went for a nice run or had a great class at Willow Yoga.  For dinner, I ate the soup and some lentils I cooked just like rice and added some curry spices and fresh kale. This meal was more or less two side dishes rather than a cohesive entrée, but it worked! Drank lots of water again today and feeling great overall!

I woke up today before my alarm, which hasn’t happened in a few months. Was it working already? I know eating 100% clean foods yesterday contributed to that.  Alright, today starts the shakes and capsules.  I need to drink 2, 8oz shakes and 2 capsules twice today.  I have tried many shakes and “health drinks” in the past, so I am interested to see how this shake compares.  I drank one for breakfast with my tea (still no headache!).  I mixed the powder with water, coconut water, and a few frozen strawberries. It tasted a bit like strawberries and cream, which isn’t bad at all! I had some nuts and dried cherries left over from the breakfast quinoa yesterday, since it is my last day for nuts until the re-introduction phase at the end of the cleanse. 

I honestly have not been hungry much and when I am hungry, I eat.  Lunch was a hummus and veggies and another cleanse shake with capsule followed that. For an early dinner, I ate the left over tilapia from last night with broccoli.  I am not a fan of re-heated fish, so I just let it sit out a bit to take the chill off of it and ate it as such! It was still just as good as the night before! For an early evening snack, I drank another huge green smoothie. Gotta get those veggies in! I had a late night tonight and my energy did not tank. Going strong so far!!

First off, the booklet provided by this program makes it easy to figure out which foods are allowed and which ones should be avoided.  After studying the booklet when I first received the box, I immediately noticed coffee is on the avoid list. Even black coffee? Yes, caffeine is not recommended during this 10 day cleanse. For those who know me, I was worried about this. Could it do it?  Yes!

I replaced my large cup ‘o joe with a large cup of herbal tea.  I was surprised at how little I actually missed my coffee. The warmth of the tea on this cold morning was just enough for me. Noticing the clock in between patients, I found myself awaiting my caffeine withdrawal headache. However…it never came. I drank a large amount of water throughout the day and I am thinking this helped me out in this regards. 

On the other hand, by the end of the day I was dragging a bit. I tried to eat as much as I could on the “allowed list” throughout the day, but I didn’t eat enough food with protein. By the time dinner came, I was hungry! I made seared tilapia cooked in a little bit of olive oil seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin. Finish that with a squirt of lemon and it was delicious!! Add that to the huge bundle of organic broccoli slightly steamed and it was the best dinner that was very easy and very quick! I made more than necessary, so I am eating another serving of fish and broccoli for lunch tomorrow. I might even be more excited for round two of that meal!  Below is a list of the foods I ate throughout the day.

Breakfast:
Green Smoothie (recipe on our Facebook page – facebook.com/ActiveCareAH
Herbal Tea

Snack:
1 yellow bell pepper (organic)

Lunch:
Herbal Tea
Breakfast Quinoa (quinoa cooked in coconut milk with cinnamon and nutmeg, dried cherries, and slivered almonds)

Snack:
Carrots (organic) and humus

Dinner:

Tilapia

Steamed broccoli (organic)

Water: 80oz.