Give nutritionist Karen Newby’s two-week cleanse plan a try to help reset your gut and balance hormones – you could even shift stubborn weight, especially round the middle!
CUTTING OUT CERTAIN foods can help reset your hormones, and help your body detox and lose stubborn weight. While this isn’t a plan with recipes, it’s deigned to help you avoid some foods for a fortnight while upping others. It’s important to slowly re-introduce the foods not included in this cleanse, although you should feel so energised that you won’t want to swing back to old habits.
You can track six health parameters; assess them at the start, midway and end of the cleanse, and you should notice an improvement. For each of the following (on the table overleaf), rate how you feel on a scale of 0-6 – with 6 being the best it can be, and 0 being the worst.
TRACKING HEALTH PARAMETERS
Use the chart to track the six markers of how you’re feeling from 0-6, with 0 being the worst and 6 being the best.
General pointers
● Opt for two weeks when you don’t have much going on. Self-care and allowing yourself to go slowly are very important here.
● If you have a regular cycle, then aim to cleanse during the front half, when sugar cravings are low and energy is higher.
● Try to coincide the cleanse with some breathwork, yoga or spiritual practice at the start and end of the day to help keep the focus on listening to your body.
● If you get light-headed or excessively fatigued, it may be a sign of low blood sugar, so keep an apple or pear handy to have if low blood sugar strikes.
● During days 3-4 you may want to curtail some of your more strenuous activities, as you may experience a decrease in energy. This won’t last long – you’ll then start to have more energy than you ever knew you had.
● You may get aggravations, especially if you normally consume a lot of caffeine, sugar or wheat. Headaches are common, as is feeling ‘fluey’. These are often manifestations of toxins on the move, but usually after a day or two these sensations go and you are left with more energy.
● Keep up your exercise, but go easy on yourself – this is when gentle movement such as walking, yoga or Pilates is helpful.
● Avoid eating the same foods every day. Eat a variety of foods, and rotate the meals.
● Aim for consistency – don’t beat yourself up if you have a less-than-perfect day.
