Tomato circle

Tomato circle

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Misson Complete Detox Protocol Days 15 -21



Looks like we made it ........




Hello friends! Well we have officially made it to day 21 and we have completed the whole detox protocol. Im amazed by how fast it went - that is until the last 48 hours. I think it must have been all the holiday food and Thanksgiving commercials that got to me. But alas we powered thru and stayed true to the end.

This final week we allowed meat again which was pretty exciting!

We naturally roasted a turkey first thing



Turkeys are a great option because they are easy to cook and have lots of leftovers.Its hard to beat any veggie thats been roasting next to a big turkey too!


Breakfast is Turkey breast with ground turkey, onions and green peppers with Pineapple 



Mid morning snack of strawberry and almond milk smoothie and sunflower seeds 



Lunch was more turkey, carrots and spinach salad 




 
Afternoon snack - Strawberry and almond milk smoothie and Cajun Pecans 





Dinner was Chicken and steamed broccoli







We had some success with eating out!


Tinos Greek Cafe - salad, chicken, hummus and veggies. I cheated with a tomato and some yogurt sauce - Mike did not.




 Bob and Mikes grilled chicken tenders and side salad - we had to bring it home tho so we could use our own salad dressing



We also had great success with a modified chicken chili that our friend Melissa Homer found for us!
It was really tasty and something that will work its way into our regular rotation. I didn't miss the dairy at all. Here is a link to the recipe. We left off the cheese and I added garlic salt. It tasted extra good the 2nd day! 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/white-chicken-chili


Chicken Chili with Green Chili's 




We had snacks of all kinds

Lovely fruit



Kiwis were super sugary to us





Nut Butters were our best friends 





We dove into the world of dairy free, soy free, casein free, lactose free, gluten free, cholesterol free cheese. The "cheddar slices" eaten cold were kind of gritty. No so great. We've been told that's its pretty good once melted so once we eat bread again, we will give it a second try. The Mac and Cheese was much better. The pasta is a rice pasta that tastes a lot like wheat pasta or low carb pasta Ive had before. The cheese is much more believable but I think you have to eat it hot. Once it cooled off I found it unappealing. Mike at it at as leftovers the next day and liked it both times. At $5 a box, it will be a sometimes food. Cheese is pretty much out for Mike due to his casein allergy. I would like to try to make a cashew cheese. Ive had that before and was blown away of how much it tasted like cheese. 

The better of the two for sure

We will try this one again before a finak verdict 



So now that the 21 days are over here are my overall observations:
I noticed having more energy in general and also slept well thru the night. My problem acne areas on my chin have all but cleared up which I was beginning to think wasn't even possible. Ive had no headaches and almost no PMS. On the down side - I was hoping to see an improvement in my hip and foot pain since my inflammation was down but it still bothered me. I'm going back to my physical therapist on Tuesday and possibly going to get my foot x-rayed to try to get back to healing. 

As for the diet, I was surprised how we adapted quickly. The first day of each week took a bit of getting used to but by Friday we were in the groove. I have a new love for some foods I didn't like in the past like brown rice and nut butter. I never really took to Almond Butter but did fall in love with cashew and macadamia butter. I didn't even mind the vegan week with mostly eating beans and rice or sweet potatoes for dinner. With Mike's hypoglycemia Ive always been worried about cutting out meat but now I know he can do well on proteins like beans. I probably wouldn't have gotten thru all 3 weeks without my holy trinity of turkey, apples and nut butter. And sparkling coconut water. Working in a grocery store was its own battle. The smells and the temptations were everywhere. I found myself salivating when walking by the sample tables - especially when they cooked smoked sausage. That smell is dreamy!! The down sides of the diet is that its expensive. And that's mostly because you are going thru so much fruit and veggies that you end up buying more almost every 2 days. The amount of almond milk consumed has to be around $40 alone. Of course you are saving money by not buying meat and not eating out but a lot of grocery replacement was a real struggle. The other down side is that eating this way makes you feel a different kind of "full". I'm not saying its good or bad but you don't stay full for long so you must make the time to stop and eat every few hours. Thats a lot of prep work and effort. I think its worth it but you must have a plan. 

The best side effect from this plan is the weight loss and puffiness loss. Let me just say that the scale is a fickle beast. And now I get why you should only do it a few times a month. We would drop 3 lbs and gain it back the next and down again. The final numbers for the 21 days was Mike lost a total of 9 lbs and I lost a total of 8lbs. But more importantly, I lost the puffiness and swollen areas in my face, boobs and my arms. Shirts that were too tight on my arms are down right roomy! I will admit to having two times of pulling out old shirts that I haven't worn in 3 years and trying them all on. Most all of them fit great and no sausages arms! Yea! My husband is already skinny so losing almost 10 lbs took off any lit bit of fat he had on him. He looks great and Im happy to rock some old retro shirts.


Room to spare - I love sausage dogs but not sausage arm shirts     









Modeling my KC Royals World Series shirt - thanks Mom and Dad!

So now that the protocol has ended and we know we can do it, we are going to be making it more of how we eat day to day. Less meats, less dairy for me - no casein for Mike, gluten free, lower sugar intake, less carbs, more fruit and veggies, fat from nuts and avocados, no sodas, etc.  

Its funny to say but Thanksgiving almost feels overwhelming because its so much food for 1 day and we have a very enthusiastic buddy who is cooking enough for 20 people. We've been so limited with smaller portions for so long, our stomachs might explode if we overindulge. :) 

The plan moving forward is to have a splurge week and then eat limited but not as strict and then every 3 months, go hardcore and do the 21 days over again. We also will start doing more exercising which will also help to stabilize Mikes blood sugar and drop some more lbs. 

I wanted to thank our friends and family for being really encouraging and helping us thru. We are happy to make another lifestyle choice that will improve our health and hopefully lead us to some things we really want to see happen in our world. If anyone would like a copy of the exact food plan, Id be happy to share and I will ask if anyone wants to join along on the next 21 day plan. 








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