Last 2 weeks as I browsing through selections of knocked off books , I chanced upon this lovely collection of recipes for juices that is supposed to zoom in to your specific health concerns. The pictures in the book was soo nicely done that obviously like a little kid I was intrigued. Of course after reading the book, there was this particular detox program that was screaming my name. I have always 'thought' that by going through a detox plan, I would be soo much more healthier and lighter.
The night before I embarked on this quest (and re-reading the program), I was convinced that it is not a very difficult task. I mean if I can fast/puasa for a whole month in Ramadan, this should not be too difficult considering I still get to devour something albeit only juices.
So, early in the morning upon waking up, I am to drink a glass of hot water with a slice of lemon. This is easy as I have been doing this since I read somewhere that it's good for your digestive system to start off your day with a glass of hot plain water and a slice of lemon. By mid morning, I was supposed to drink the juice of 1 grapefruit, 1 orange and 1 lemon. You are to mix 50/50 ratio of the mixture with plain water. I understood the rationale of this as if you drink the whole concoction without diluting it, it would be too sour for consumption. Even with the dilution, the grapefruit effect was still bitterish. Late morning, I was supposed to drink another hot water with a slice of lemon in it. By this time, it was close to afternoon and I was feeling the effect of not having solid food in my stomach. My stomach felt like a big juice tank, I can hear the sloshing sound that the water makes when there is movement, however, this sound is coming from my stomach. I was also feeling dizzy. This was mentioned in the book to be expected by mid-day, if you are a heavy coffee drinker, you would get dizzy even earlier, withdrawal symptoms. I was also on top of that thinking about having a nice juicy steak. That particular thought would not even leave my mind even after reading the newspaper. Even puasa was not this bad.
Mind you, the book did say that for full effect of the detoxification, you are to do this when you are relaxed and calm, so your non - working day is the best. Also on top of all the juices that is to detox, I am to drink 1 litre of either plain water, hot water with a slice of lemon or herbal tea, but not the tea that you add sugar and milk to, this book referred to it as Indian tea, I can't for the life of me call it that as I drink that non-herbal variety of tea from our very hills of Cameron Highland. This extra drinking of another 1 litre of water or etc is the hardest as after drinking all the other juices for the program, I have no other sloshing area for more sloshes.
By mid - day, I was to drink the juice of 6 tomatoes with 4 sticks of celery followed by a glass of green tea. I have never been such a big fan of tomatoes, I only endure it as I have often been told (many many times) by my lovely colleague that it is good for the skin. Go figures that her skin is lovely and my skin is not even a quarter way there. I eat very little tomatoes. The mixture of the tomato and celery is not very bad except for the smell that emanates from the juice. The smell is not bad but not that appetising either. However, forcing myself to drink it, it wasn't so bad. But it wouldn't be something that I would try again (unless forced).
By this time, I was ravenous. The steak image has flown away leaving a full blown buffet table in its place. I thought a nap would help.
It didn't. I woke up so hungry and not having any care at all to the detox that I started from morning. As such, I made myself a bowl of vegetable soup Asian style. I thought, this should not be too harmful to the program as it is vegetables. Unfortunately, for me that is, after having that soup I needed more...
As such, I made boiled potato and carrot with white cream sauce. This really busted my detox program. The book mentioned that the 36 hours after the end of your detox, you are not to have any poultry, meat or processed food, nor any dairy products. My white cream sauce is the killer here. After that obviously, detox program goes the other way. After the veges in white cream, I had fried chickens, prawns with chillies, and rice, loads of it.
I did feel slightly lighter although not going through the whole program. However, I am now minded that I can't do this program again when I am at home with my momsie cooking delicious food in the kitchen. However, I have no one but myself to blame. I really could not endure more juices after the tomato and celery mixture.
