The first step in taking on any new type of diet or nutritional plan, or attempting to lose weight, is absolutely to cleanse/detox.
My personal training and private yoga clients constantly talk to me about their physical goals, usually losing weight being at the top of their list.
Where to start
My advice is always the same. Start with a cleanse. You need to press the "restart button" before you begin something brand new. Your body, specifically your digestive system, is much like a computer and you're trying to download a new program. If you haven't restarted your computer in months, maybe even years, your computer will be running slow and sluggish.
When we regularly ingest processed foods, meat and dairy products, our digestive and lymphatic systems become overloaded, or congested, leaving excess toxins to remain rampant in the blood and in the digestive system where they cause chronic illnesses and diseased colons.
Great internal healing occurs when we cleanse through organic, primarily liquid based, raw foods. Uncooked foods maintain the enzymes within the food, as oppose to cooked foods which destroy the natural enzymes. After we eat cooked foods, it takes a lot of energy from the body to produce these enzymes in order to aid in the digestive process. In addition, because the raw food is also mostly liquid (smoothies, juices, teas, gazpacho's) it doesn't demand much from the body in order to break it down.
By allowing our systems to work less, we free up that energy to concentrate on healing. Raw vegetables, fruits and their juices, fresh air, and sunlight alkaline the body. They carry a negative charge, magnetically attaching the the acidic wastes and literally puling them into the eliminating channels for release. In addition, alkaline-forming foods are so beneficial because they help magnetize waste matter out of the bodies cells.
Are there any difficulties?
Raw foods help our digestive systems to heal, which allows our lymphatic systems to discharge these congestive toxins. This process can be uncomfortable.
Some possible side effects of detoxification include a temporary loss of energy, headaches, nausea or diarrhea. This is merely evidence that your body is throwing out those accumulated toxins.Some people will experience childhood illnesses or past experiences. If you experience low energy or bowel irregularities over a long period of time, you may have an overgrowth of yeast, or Candida, in your intestines.
How should I cleanse?
There are many different ways to detox. There's the lemonade diet. There's potions and colon cleansers. Fasting. Laxatives.
I personally believe the most gentle and nutritious way to detox is through raw food and juice cleanses. I either provide these cleanses (actually creating and making the cleanse for you) or, if you don't live in Los Angeles and/or it's too expensive for you at the moment, I can consult and guide you through your process via email/phone. See the testimonials page if you want to see what other clients have said - They all agree that with a healthy body come endless benefits.
If eating raw foods isn't right for your body, I can guide and support you through other nutritious cleanse methods, such as body ecology diet, gluten-free, dairy-free, macrobiotic or vegan.
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The technical term APHANIZOMENON (genus) and FLOS-AQUAE (species) are actually zoological terms of classification that literally mean "invisible living flower of water" in Greek.