A 7 day cleansing diet can be a good idea if you’ve overindulged over the holidays or while on vacation and you need to get back on track with a healthier diet and exercise program.
Being super-focused on everything you eat for a week gets you back in the mindset of doing the right thing for your body after a period when you haven’t been doing so well.
When you think of a cleansing diet you might think of the Master Cleanse Diet or some other type of fad diet that involves eating little or nothing over the course of a 7 day cleanse.
While this sort of liquid diet or all one food diet is a popular idea of what cleansing is about, the truth is you can do a 7 day cleansing diet that involves more food than you might expect. The important thing is that you only eat certain types of food to help clean out your body.
7 Day Cleansing Diet
There are different ways to approach a cleansing diet. Some people like to detox by drinking only freshly squeezed fruit juices and filtered water for the duration of the cleanse, which is more like a fad diet, while others say that a seven day cleansing diet is all about cutting out the processed foods and meat and eating only certain kinds of foods for a week. The latter is a much more reasonable and balanced way of dieting. The important thing is that you only eat certain types of food to help clean out your body and do not starve yourself or this will not give results.
It is very important to have lots of water and if possible fruit juices during the 7 day cleansing diet plan. On the first two days, it is generally advised to fast, that is only have water or at the most some freshly squeezed fruit juice. From the third day you can include foods. Foods that are allowed include organic raw fruit and vegetables, steamed or stir-fry vegetables and brown rice. Preferably, stir-fry vegetables should only be cooked in virgin olive oil or sesame oil. Herbs and spices can be added.
You can eat as many of these food items as you like and as often as you like. Be sure to eat lots of green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, celery, kale, chard and beet greens, and also be sure to have some fruit each day. If you still find this menu restrictive, then gluten free cereals and frozen rice waffles that contain no artificial flavors or refined sugars can be added.
Tips for 7 Day Cleansing Diet
The following are a few diet tips that must be followed during the duration of the cleanse.
- Avoid all meat, fish and dairy products. It is also advised to avoid tofu, other meat alternatives and beans.
- Do not eat any processed foods or simple carbohydrates.
- It is advised to stick as much as possible to raw, organic fruits and vegetables as the main constituent of your food.
- Make sure the juice that you have is freshly squeezed and not from a bottle.
- In cooked foods, brown rice is the best option. It is a healthy fiber filled food that will help you feel fuller.
- When you come out of the diet, don’t go back immediately to eating as you used to. Start by gradually adding in more cooked foods. After a week or so of transitioning back to a more regular diet, you should be able to start eating more meat and processed foods again.
- Though some experts believe that a detox diet is not very effective, other researchers do agree that when not taken to extremes of fasting, the 7 day cleansing diet is healthy and beneficial.