Bubble Bath for your insides :)

Okay, so first off let me say that I am NOT a doctor OR nutritionist. I am a certified Advanced Personal Trainer through the National Personal Training Institute and I am doing this cleanse for myself and figured if anyone needed a jump start, they can do it as well...this is just a friend to a friend kind of deal.

Now that the disclaimer is out there, here is the cleanse info:

• It is 5 days :( Daunting, I know, but extremely effective if stuck with.
• It is all RAW fruits and veggies with some egg whites and brown rice allowed.
• Eat until you are satisfied, not until you are gorged...feeling sick is a normal part of the process. Soon you won't be "starving"...you are going through food, sugar, caffiene withdrawals.
• You need to do some light exercise while doing this to keep your metabolism in check.
• You need someone to hold you accountable :) I will do it, if you will. I will post a daily blog because I HATE diets. Hate 'em. But this one is a necessary evil. I will be very candid.
• You need to eat every 3-4 hours, even if you're not hungry.
• Foods are ONLY to be eaten raw, grilled or steamed. 3 tBsp of low-fat dressing on salads (yay) are allowed. If grilling, use minimal amount of olive oil (1 - 2 tsp).

Here are the foods allowed: (Don't eat everything!! Just pick and choose. Mix it up.)

• All fruits in any quantity
• All veggies in any quantity, except: no white potatoes or avocadoes
• Good proteins: beans, tofu, lentils, chickpeas
• Brown rice - 2 cups cooked (PER DAY)
• As much H2O as your little heart desires (this is good for cleansing)
• Oatmeal - 1 cup per day (No sugar oatmeal. Plain Jane)
• Black Pepper
• 6 oz low-fat yogurt (2 times per day)
• 4 egg whites per day
• 2 cups herbal tea per day

Everything else is OFF LIMITS. No cokes, diet cokes, whole eggs, white rice, meats, breads, etc. No candy, alcohol, chips. No coffee?! !#$^!^$. I love coffee :/

Words of encouragement: You will NOT die from this cleanse. Lol. You will NOT starve on this cleanse. You will feel a bit deprived at first, but you can add in good stuff after day 5. (It really is supposed to be 9 days, but even I can't do 9. I like 5. 5 is a good number.)

You can post any questions you have for me on facebook. Feel free to be candid as well :)

In addition, when this cleanse is finished it would be a good idea to start counting calories...become one with the calculator :) I have some great tips for doing so. I classify myself as an expert calorie counter...and it drives people nuts when I point out how many calories they are about to eat. :) Once you have "cleansed" your body of all the junk (which basically means sugar, sodium and cravings) you need to focus on calories in vs. calories out.

You can still eat things you ate before. Heck, if you REALLY want a cookie everyday to not feel deprived then eat the dang cookie...just make sure you add it into your calories. I do believe one oreo is 75 calories (it's been a while) then have one. You could seriously eat 1200 calories worth of ice cream a day ONLY and still lose weight. You would feel like POO and make yourself ill, but you would lose weight. It's not rocket science, just mathematics.

I have to say, that if I don't have chocolate around the house, within arms reach I will destroy a pantry looking for it. I know what my weakness is and it is anything chocolate. So I keep vegan, gluten-free cookies (which are the most delicious cookies ever made. Ever) as my indulgence...and I have up to 2 a day. The only thing is: I add it into my calories for the day. 2 cookies are 180 calories. Not the most nutritious thing I could eat, but it's better than eating everything in the cabinet looking to satisfy that chocolate craving.

Once Monday hits, I will post what I eat for the day and what my workout was for that day. The great part about "eating clean" is if you miss your workout for that day, no big deal. Do it tomorrow. You are preparing your body in advance for future workouts. Whatever you eat today fuels your workout for tomorrow. Nice huh? If THAT doesn't make you feel guilty, I don't know what will :)

**********Also, beware of marketing ploys to get you to "buy (insert dumb meal replacement here) and you will lose a bajillion pounds". You don't need to do anything but eat REAL food, count calories and exercise. I don't care if it promises incredibly fast weight loss or completely eliminate your appetite...it's not worth your money. Did you know that the weightloss marketing industry spends more money on marketing 4 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR than what we spend on presciption medication? Nice right? And they're all the same: loaded with caffeine and tons of stuff we can't pronounce. And anyone that markets this stuff for their own benefit (ahem) Jillian Michaels and the Kardashians should be smacked repeatedly. They are only doing it for their monetary benefit. Really, you are going to trust that Khloe Kardashian swears by QT because she's so lean and healthy right?! You gotta look past the name and get to the real stuff: all for $$. Shame on them. **************