I finally did it! I've been meaning to go on a detox program
for months and months but being back home surrounded by endless supply of food
had made it impossible to do so!
After being back in
Hong Kong, I looked into several options including detox juices at Genie Concept or making my
own juice, banana diet etc. etc. Although
the juices from Genie Concept were appealing, paying 600HKD/day was a little
too pricey for me… So when I read about the apple detox, it seemed like the
easiest and cheapest option for me!
I've never been a fan
of one food diet, but I've always loved eating apples so If I was going to eat
only one thing for 2 days.. it might as well be the food I love right?
But as I will explain
later on this post... it wasn't half as fun or easy as I had thought it would
be... but in the end I MADE IT THROUGH and that alone makes me happy :)
3 days leading to the
detox
The various programs on
internet all talked about preparation for the detox... which includes
lowering the daily caffeine value (oh….) and cutting down on food in
general. Being a caffeine addict, and as I have already gone through a
serious case of caffeine withdrawals after exams, I made sure to limit my daily intake of
caffeine to 1 cup of coffee + 1 cup of tea for the week prior, and then finally
cutting back on all forms of caffeine the day before the detox.
In
terms of food, for the 3 days leading to the detox, I had:
Breakfast: 1 large apple and 10 almonds
Lunch: 250g of Chicken Salad
Snack: 1 large apple
Dinner: Vegetables and Steamed Eggs
I kept clear of breads and pastas and tried to orientate
my diet mainly on fruits and vegetables and getting into habit of
drinking more water than usual (aimed for
2). It really helps carrying a small
water bottle with flavoured with sliced apples / cucumbers / lemons/
strawberries/ mints etc.
On the last day, I
bought 10 Fuji Apples for the next day. There doesn’t
seem to be any restrictions on which apples you should go for – so I just
picked my favourite type, although many blogs suggests that you get a variety of
different apples to make the whole process a little ‘easier’.
Below is the nutrition
info on Fuji Apple. As you can see it's mainly sugar so if you have trouble
with your glucose level or like my mom have stomach aches after eating apples
at night (as it is slightly acidic) this is NOT the diet for you!
I have to admit,
despite all the preparation that was put into preparing for the detox, I
allowed myself one last glass of white wine before going to bed – you know just
to get myself motivated ;)
Day One:
Before starting the diet, I weighed myself
in the morning just for record and took photos of myself for reference
afterwards. I weighed in at 51.8
kg (my height is 167cm)
before I had any food or drinks.
I've never been much
of a breakfast person, so I started my day with:
1
Fuji Apple and 1 bottle of 250 ml of water (with
lemon!)
Around 12, I started
getting really hungry so I had 2
apples and another bottle of water. I wasn't particularly full
afterwards but still energetic enough to attend classes and go about for the
rest of the day.
From then till 6PM I
had 2 apples as
snacks in between.
I didn't want to be
tempted with food or other people eating food, so I went back to my room early
enough and told my friends I had dinner plans instead!
By 6PM, I was much
more tired than usual and sleepy (probably from lack of energy), but having
read that herbal tea and honey is allowed, I ate 3 apples
and a large mug of manuka
honey tea for dinner.
The Manuka Honey Tea
temporarily stops the pangs of hunger! It's quite amazing! It's just a spoonful
of honey mixed with hot water, but because it was the first 'hot' meal of the
day, my hunger was quickly alleviated and I felt until bed-time.
In total I ate 8 apples
(1040 kcal) + 1 tbsp of Manuka Honey (60 kcal)
On a side note, this detox made me
go to the bathroom over 6 times a day! Don't know if it's the water I'm
drinking or the apples, but make sure you do this where the toilet is easy
accessible.
Day Two:
I had read about
people waking up rather energetic... and that was what I had hoped for ! But
instead, I woke up absolutely famished and had 2 apples as soon as I got
out of bed. It was only after chugging a bottle of water, I felt slightly less
primal and could start the day as a civilized human being.
I was
worried about the ‘bowel movement’ everyone complained about,
but surprisingly my stomach felt fine (except for the excess
urination). I was delighted to find
myself weighing 51.2 kg (-600g), but it was probably due to the lack of food
the day before.
I went about my day as
usual, but I was noticeably more tired and less energetic throughout the day. I was constantly sleepy, and even took a 2
hours nap in between despite it being a rather relaxed day without vigorous
activities. I had 4 apples throughout
the day instead of at one sitting like the day before.
This seemed like a
better way of dealing with the hunger as I was in a constant state of being
half-full rather than swaying from starving to feeling bloated. I also drank a
lot more water, and also switched to drinking hot water as I found it helped soothe
your craving for PROPER HOT
FOOD.
After lunch, when I
ran out of apples I switched to Royal Gala as the thought of eating more Fuji
Apples were making me sick. Tip for anyone looking to do the apple detox: buy a
variety – you’ll thank me later.
Around 4PM, I was
feeling incredibly sluggish and despite eating another apple I nearly quit as I
was just getting so tired and sick of eating apples. It helped that I was doing
this with a friend, as I had someone to complain with and go get another apple
in the meanwhile.
For my final dinner, I
had 3 apples and 2 cups of Manuka Honey Tea, and Lemongrass Mint Tea (herbal
teas are allowed).
I'm glad I opted for 2
days of detox instead of 3 days (as many had chosen to do so in the internet). However,
it retrospect despite getting bored/tired of eating only apples, your body definitely
adjusts to the lack of food by the end of the 2nd day. I think getting through the 2nd day will be
the toughest for anyone, so I suggest you keep clear of other people eating
food, snacks, coffee and wine.
Day THREE:
I weighed myself in
the morning, and was shocked to find out I had dropped down 50.9kg. I probably will gain most of it back when I
switch back to a proper diet but I had decided to do the detox mainly for the
purpose of cleansing myself than the weight loss.
Although it had been
only 2 days, I felt (or maybe strongly hope) my skin being cleaner and in
general my body being lighter. I stomach also felt cleansed (no more of that
icky indigestion feeling) and it felt nice to be 'empty' in a strange way.
BUT despite it's
advantages when I ate my last apples and finally some raw cashew nuts for
breakfast. I loved not having to only eat apples.
I also got a big chicken salad without
dressing with tomatoes, kidney beans and chickpeas with my final apple of the detox
program.. One thing is for sure, you sure learn to appreciate real food and the
richness of a diverse meal!
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