28 Day Detox Challenge Update - Week 1

Week 1 Down!  Woo hoo!

Rewind one year :
Last year, our family began a journey towards cleaner eating and living. 

There is a long version of this story (which I'll save for another post), but I'm going to cut to the chase in an attempt to stay on point.

For many years, I was making a lot of good choices - working out regularly, teaching fitness classes, remaining a vegetarian (which choice I made at the age of 8), and eating foods that I thought were healthy for my body and feeding my family the same.

I recently found out that a lot of those nutritional choices were not as nutritious and beneficial as I thought.  In fact, they were harming my body, which manifested in various health concerns. In a nutshell, I found out that there were some things happening in my body that I wanted to turn around. 

My husband and I decided to get informed and make changes.  Informed on how to reduce exposure to toxins, prevent cancer, gain energy, and remove toxins the natural way and make changes in the foods we were eating and the products we were using.

We watched documentaries, read books and articles and learned a LOT of things in a short amount of time.  I was determined to find out so many things that I felt my traditional doctors were not telling me or possibly didn't even know.

Fast forward to this year:
I recently found out about the 28 Day Detox/Clean Eating Challenge sponsored by Arbonne. I was already a "believer" of this company because of their chemical free skin care line that is amazing!  I trusted that their nutritional products would be just as amazing. I was right.

This was just the next step that I wanted to take in my journey - a more intense level of detoxification and clean eating by removing addictive, acidic and allergenic foods and adding healthy natural supplements and "clean" meals.  

I decided to take the challenge. So, here are my findings after week 1:

• Joint Pain: The way my joints feel this week compared to before I started are night and day! Oh my gooooooodness.  I have literally cried at times over joint pain. I know a lot was in part to intense workouts and using kickboxing bags over the years, but obviously inflammation from toxic foods was an issue.  Yay, for not feeling twice my age anymore. My knees aren't even cracking as I walk upstairs : )

• Cravings: I'm doing way better without my coffee/chai lattes than I expected. I thought that the Keurig my husband got me for my birthday would be making me drool, but it's been fine.  I'm enjoying my Arbonne Detox tea just fine.

• Energy: My energy levels have wavered due to the detoxification process, but the natural energy drinks (Arbonne Fizz Sticks) have helped a lot in that area due to the B vitamins and guarine.  I have been too apprehensive to try energy drinks before now, but these are all natural with no artificial sweeteners, colors or BVOs and work great to give an all natural boost.

• Supplements: I'm loving the protein shakes.  They are delicious and filling. The Arbonne vegan protein powder is the best I've ever tried and I have tried A LOT of protein powders over the years in an attempt to supplement my vegetarian lifestyle and gain lean muscle from weight training.  Many of those unfortunately contained artificial sweeteners, flavors and soy.  All things I am now trying to avoid.  

• Learning: I'm enjoying new "clean" recipes that I've been making for dinner.

• Weight/inches: As a bonus, I've already lost 2lbs (post 5 pregnancy weight) and an inch or so around the middle. 

Looking forward to seeing more positive changes during week 2.  Stay tuned for an update ; )

Have you ever tried a detox?  What changes did you experience?

* These comments are my personal and true experiences.  This is not to take place of or act as medical advice. Please consult your physician for any nutritional plans or diets.  I was a client for eight years, but have recently become an Independent Consultant for Arbonne to help others experience their pure, safe and beneficial products.  If you are interested in more information or would like to know how to shop their products for a discount, leave a comment in the comment section. Check out Arbonne and/or order (ID #14414570).