menu.png
VL
Posted by

Victoria Lagodinsky

May 22, 2014

the-weekend-detox-plan
From Max Tomlinson’s book Clean Up Your Diet
 
Max Tomlinson's weekend detox planIf you’ve decided become cleaner and leaner, and purge modern toxins from your body, then a weekend detox is a great place to start (if you’re undecided, ask yourself Do I Need To Go On a Detox?)

Anyone should be able to do the weekend detox plan – it’s just 48 short hours out of your life; but the impact on your body is much longer lasting. You’ll feel incredible, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t you do this before! This 3 step plan will show you how to prepare, what to eat, and what to do on your weekend detox.
 
Why should I do the weekend plan?

The weekend detox gives your liver, bowels and kidneys a much-needed rest and allows these valuable organs to do two full days of house cleaning. Your increased intake of distilled or filtered water and of my detox herbal tea (see below) will initiate a deep cleanse by stimulating your lymphatic system to drain toxins away from your cells. The abundance of vitamins and minerals in pure foods will flood into the blood stream and wash over your cells, providing the nutrients you need to maintain health at a deep, cellular level. The increased intake of protective antioxidants will neutralize active free radicals and help to undo some of the damage done by your past free-radical load.
 
What benefits will I see and feel?

The most tangible overall benefit will be an improvement in your appearance, particularly in your skin tone and the sparkle in your eyes; but the very first benefit has to be a sense of calm anticipation that settles over your body as you take the first steps toward a weekend of detoxing.

By skipping your morning coffee or tea, you give yourself the chance to wake slowly, naturally, instead of your usual morning ritual of “stop” to “full-throttle” in a split, caffeine-fuelled second. By the second stimulant-free morning, you will start to feel your natural energy coming through. Supplement it with a good stretch and some breathing. Your bowels will start to quieten down as you remove the foods that normally bloat you – bread, pasta, sugar and so on.You may find that you have a full bowel motion for the first time in ages as the increased fibre and fluids in your fruits and vegetables takes effect.

MAX’S DETOX HERBAL TEA
To prepare the dried tea, mix together equal parts of these dried, organic herbs: pau d’arco, mullein, red clover, yellow dock, dandelion root (chopped), burdock root and milk thistle seed. When you are ready to make the tea, place a teaspoon of the dried herb mix per cup into a tea pot. Allow the tea to steep in boiling water for five minutes, then pour. Add fresh, grated lemon peel and ginger root to taste. Drink and enjoy!

3-step-detox-plan

THE WEEKEND DETOX PLAN

Step 1: Preparation

A good cleanse needs a little planning. It would be a tragedy if you got all the way to Sunday afternoon only to succumb to that chocolate biscuit hiding in the cupboard. Solution? Clear your cupboards and your refrigerator of anything that you know in your heart is a poor food. Crisps, biscuits, cakes, oven chips, burger buns, and tinned custard have got to go. Remove all of the temptations so that you can focus on your detox.

Clean the house on Thursday night. Wash your sheets and air your bedroom so that you have a fabulous, clean bed to jump into on Friday. Make sure you have all your favourite clothes clean, especially some comfortable baggy pants and your favourite T-shirt. You are going to be a bit of a hermit this weekend so dress comfortably. The only time you’ll leave the house will be to have a brisk walk in the fresh air.

Make sure you have all the props you need for a weekend of peace. Get some magazines and a few movies and make sure you have some candles to set the mood in your bathroom and bedroom. Turn off your cellphone and put on your answerphone.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT BREAKFAST It is vital during the detox to start your day on the right note. Your body has been cleaning and detoxing during the night and so breakfast should facilitate this process. A good, healthy breakfast of pure foods helps the body to continue to clean out.
 
Step 2: Menu Plan (full recipes can be found in Clean Up Your Diet)
 
DAY ONE
a-weekend-detox-from-max-tomlinson
Cleanse:aid smoothie (first thing in the morning) Cleansing cocktail

Breakfast Berry fruit salad

Lunch Persian rice with tomato saffron sauce

Dinner Roast salmon and beetroot salad; and for dessert a piece of fresh fruit eaten half an hour after your main course

Before bed Max’s detox herbal tea
 
DAY TWO

Cleanse:aid juice Hot lemon and ginger

Breakfast Berry fruit salad

Lunch Ginger chicken skewers with quinoa tabbouleh

Dinner Three-bean chilli with avocado salsa; and for dessert a piece of fresh fruit eaten half an hour after your main course

Before bed Max’s detox herbal tea
 
SNACKS AND SMOOTHIES

Snacks are not banned on the detox, but restrict them to fresh fruit, raw vegetables, raw nuts, and seeds (such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds). Keep near you a small airtight container filled with vegetable crudités (such as cucumber, celery and apples), so that you always have something healthy to snack on. Try to drink at least one additional health-giving juice or smoothie each day.
 

Step 3: Action

Aim to do 15 to 20 minutes of Breathing, Relaxing, Stretching (BRS) each day during the detox.

BREATHING Oxygen energizes the mind and body and helps to burn off toxins, neutralizing them through a process called oxidation, and preparing them for elimination. Spend a few minutes each morning in front of an open window, inhaling air deeply into your lungs.

RELAXING Stress robs the nervous system of energy and this in turn retards its ability to oversee the elimination of toxins. There is a difference between true relaxation (yoga, a deep bath, meditation and so on) and “participation” (such as dinner with friends, or a movie show). True relaxation leaves you with a renewed sense of wellbeing, charged up for the detox. Schedule in some form of relaxation each day. I suggest a long bath or a walk in the park.

STRETCHING Prepare your mind and body for the day by gently practising the following stretch to wake up your body. In particular the stretch opens up the chest, helping you to breathe more effectively. Stand with your feet wide apart and breathe in. Raise your arms straight up and lock your fingers. Moving from your waist, bend the body first to the right and then to the left, exhaling as you bend and inhaling as you come back to the upright position. Repeat five times on each side.
 
Finishing the detox plans

Give yourself a little extra push and finish your detox on Monday morning, rather than Sunday night. When you’ve finished you will feel cleaner, leaner and fresher, but you might also feel a bit wobbly and will perhaps need to reintroduce yourself to the world gently. Bring back non-detox foods slowly, as this allows you to gauge if they do not agree with you (particularly, cow’s dairy and wheat). If you get bloated or tired after eating a particular food, just keep it out of your diet for a bit longer.

Try to avoid going back to refined white-flour products, such as white bread and pasta; simple sugars, such as those found in cakes and sweets; and fatty, fried foods. Were you surprised that you could survive without coffee and tea? Think hard before bringing back any stimulants. You do not need them – they give you a false sense of wellbeing and will exhaust you in the long term.

Finally, try to make a habit of some of the elements of the detox. Start your day with a cleansing smoothie, commit to regular exercise and say no to one naughty snack each day. Stretch to keep your spine, joints and muscles young. Then, plan to do a regular top-up detox every three months. Do just a quick weekend refresher to remind you how good it feels to be clean on the inside.