Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Dr. Oz's 3 Day Detox Cleanse Review


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In order to kick off Operation Get Fit I decided to begin with a cleanse. Prior to this cleanse, I had never done one nor did I know much about them. My initial thoughts were that a cleanse would help me give up a lot of bad habits and hopefully help me restart my system so I could begin a healthier lifestyle. 

I took to Pinterest to scout out some choices and happened upon a couple of options of Dr. Oz's who seemed like a reputable choice. I had seen several cleanses that involved purchasing different drink mixes or what not, but that just isn't my style. I really wanted to do something a bit more natural and familiar. The first Dr. Oz option I saw had a meal plan complete with recipes and the second was just shakes. I know the first one sounds more appealing, but I really thought I would cheat if I went that route. I did not want to starve myself, but I didn't want to open myself to possibly cheating either. For me it is all or nothing. So in lieu of complete fasting, the shakes won out. 





The plan consisted of 4 shakes a day, green tea, vitamins and a detox bath. It promised a cost of $16 a day. I convinced my oh so supportive, but reluctant husband into joining me so I doubled everything. I ended up spending around $100 in groceries (no vitamins included there and I did not buy organic) which totaled out to around $17 a day so pretty spot on. Dr. Oz does not include the snack shake in the ingredients list. I think I had to buy an extra can of pineapple and pint of blueberries to account for this, but mostly I just used a hodge podge of left over ingredients instead of following a true suggested recipe.

source


Prepping

I definitely suggest prepping everything ahead of time. I don't know about you but being hungry makes me lazy and then I hit up a drive thru. Obviously that doesn't jive with a cleanse or a goal of a new healthy lifestyle so I decided to assemble all of my ingredients the day before the cleanse began. 

These shakes are all best when very cold. Since you will not be adding ice I do suggest freezing as many of the ingredients as possible. I went ahead and chopped what I could for each shake and placed the freezable ingredients into mason jars. It seemed pretty time consuming. In fact it took me a good part of the afternoon to assemble everything granted I was doing it for two and had a very distracting toddler and baby on my hands.


Here is what I deemed freezable for each shake:

Breakfast Shake Jar: Raspberries, chopped banana and spinach

Lunch Shake Jar: Chopped cucumber, kale and chopped green apple (I pureed the celery in the food processor and froze it in mini muffin tins)

Dinner Shake Jar: Mangoes, blueberries and kale (I pureed the avocado in the food processor and froze it in ice cube trays.)



Overall Experience:

Day one went perfectly smoothly. It was all new and exciting. I didn't feel like I was starving or deprived. In fact, if you follow the instructions, I don't think you will feel hungry throughout the entire process. Around the afternoon of Day 2 I started to get a headache which continued through part of Day 3. I skipped the snack shake on Day 2 and Day three was a total wash. I grew tired of making shakes for two and planned poorly on Day 3. We went to church then I had to go straight to the store after dropping kids off for a nap so I missed breakfast and lunch. I did the snack shake that late afternoon and then my husband talked me into eating a real meal for dinner that night. I'm pretty sure it was the best decision to eat dinner that night instead of doing breakfast as a first meal the next day. I really think I would have binged if I had waited instead I kept that dinner very sensible and kicked off my new venture of calorie counting on My Fitness Pal (click the link to follow me if you do that sort of thing...motivation and support is always appreciated.). Day 2 and Day 3 were very lazy days for us. I would definitely pick a time to do this when you have nothing else going on as it sucks the energy out of you.


Results:

I lost 4 pounds and 11 inches overall. I was sure I would gain every last bit of this back. It was not my intent to do quick weight loss with this cleanse. I was simply hoping to start a healthier lifestyle with a clean slate, but surprisingly I have been able to maintain the weight loss. 


Verdict:

Although I wouldn't be nearly as excited the second time around, I do think I could do this again. Honestly, I think I would just do Day one and then do some sort of a more fasting type cleanse for the other 2 days. It banished my cravings and stopped my bad habits. It was perfect for someone like me who tends to lack a little self control.

The husband hated this whole process. I don't think he was fully on board with the goals. He did not have extra weight he needed to lose so the motivation wasn't there either. He really missed chewing. Instead of banishing cravings, it made him crave bad foods even more. I'm not sure if any cleanse would be his cup of tea, but I do think that he would have done better if we had chosen the meal plan version. He typically tends to have more self control than I do when it comes to food.


Tips:

  • The breakfast shake is hands down the best shake of all. The lunch shake has a funky texture. I recommend food processing the celery as much as possible and adding more pineapple. I love the taste of celery and cucumber so I didn't mind this shake, but my husband hated it. The coconut oil adds a waxy feel as well. The dinner shake was my least favorite. The cayenne pepper does add a lot of spice and I just am not a fan of mangoes, but it's doable. 

  • If you start getting hungry before it's time for another shake drink more water. Drinking water really does make you feel fuller. 

  • The green tea had waaaaay to much stevia for me. In fact, I'm not a fan of stevia in general. I typically only take half a pack of sugar in my coffee and half a pack of stevia was even too sweet for me. 

  • If you go the mason jar route like I did for freezing ingredients make sure to set out your next shake the meal before. It is a pain in the rear to try and get things out of the jar if it is still rock hard. 

  • Lots of people gave terrible reviews of the lunch shake. I do think the key is to puree the celery. Also, the ingredients list states one whole cucumber which is kind of vague. I used a third of an English cucumber. I cut it down the middle and scraped out the center seeds/pulp which I think helped with taste.

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28 comments :

  1. Hi Laura, Great post. I've always wondered how people feel during/after these cleanses. I've never done one and don't think I'd cope well doing it! I tend to get weak tired without a meal of some sort around every three hours. I don't know if I'd feel satisfied enough. Good on you for completing the three days and great you've kept the weight off. Best of luck :)

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    1. It definitely does make you tired. We literally lounged around all weekend while we were on this cleanse. I do have to say it was worth it though and weirdly there was just enough "suffering" to make me want to try very hard and stay on the healthy eating track so I didn't have to do it again any time soon.

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  2. I may have to try this! I don't have any self control with food either but I do have a SERIOUS gut leftover from my baby and I need something to kickstart me getting my body back!

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  3. Enjoyed reading about your experience with this cleanse. I liked your idea of prepping things up front and freezing things but I'd use zip lock bags instead of pint jars then you wouldn't have to worry about getting stuff out of the jars. My husband travels 1 week out of every month and I do this cleanse three of the days he is gone each month so I don't have to cook. Him being away is my ticket to be away from the kitchen. If you need some chew food just use part of the ingredients to make a salad (fruit or veggie) and chew away. I've even used a bit of the shake as dressing. I don't think my tummy cares if I've chewed it up or if a blender chewed it up. I only use half of the Cheyenne pepper - way to hot for me. And yes I substitute some things that I have around like peaches for the mangos and blackberries for the raspberries. but I do try to make each one as exact as possible. I don't drink tea so just have some hot lemon water each morning and I don't add any stevia. I lose a bit of weight each time I do this. One of the reasons I do this so often is because I struggle with puffy feet sometimes and when I'm on this that goes away. Sorry for the long post but felt like sharing. Have a great day and know "I Am A Child of God"--and so are you!

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  4. I'm on the 3rd day of this cleanse and I just had my snack. I'm not sure if I see any results, so I was thinking about having a real meal for dinner instead of waiting for tomorrow. I'm glad I came across this blog, at least I'm not the only one :)

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  5. Do these recipes require a juicer or a blender ?

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    1. I used a blender although I'm sure a juicer would probably work as well!

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  6. I am on day 2 and feeling a little sluggish but not really tired. After tasting the lunch shake yesterday I came close to vomiting. I ate a cup of plain Greek yogurt to soothe things and threw the whole thing down the drain. In lieu of that shake today, I ate a few celery stalks, cucumber slices and pineapples. I never put the Stevia in the tea and really hated it with lemon so I just drink it plain. I couldn't find any info on the Dr. Oz site about the supplements so I didn't take any but I wonder how that changes things. I will check back after I weigh myself on Tuesday morning.

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  7. I'm on day two of this cleanse and was trying to find out if my fatigue is normal. Thanks for sharing your experiance I guess it is. And I like the post on making a salad that appeals to me, I need some chew!!

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  8. I'm on day 2 of this cleanse and feel exhausted. Thanks for your post...so this is normal....I also like the thought of a salad version...I need crunch!! I've already decided this might end and be a two day cleanse.....we'll see.

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  9. I've done this cleanse twice and am contemplating starting it again on Wednesday. The breakfast is definitely the best and I think with each time I learn some tips from the last time, which I really should write down. It does get harder each time knowing what I'm in for (lunch is yeck!). I've only every had the three shakes a day because I don't feel hungry at the snack time, but maybe I'd get better results if i did have that 4th daily shake - it would definitely be the breakfast one. But I do get good results - I feel better, get rid of my cravings, bloated feeling and chronic heartburn due to bad eating habits. I tend to lose a few pounds each time but have gained them back by the next time I do it. Wish me luck!

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  10. I have just come across this blog and after reading it I felt like I need to make a comment. I have just started the detox today. It is not my first detox but I did prepare myself beforehand in terms of buying the ingredients and reading further advice on it ( the link can be found on the same page as the 3-day-cleanse sheet). It is a shame the ingredients list does not include the 4th drink which I somehow did not notice so I will have to go and get some more. Since I have gathered the knowledge, I know what to expect. Of course there will be tiredness and sluggishness-it amazes me that people do cleanse without getting enough information about it and then they are surprised with effects (or side effect I shall say).

    As for the plan itself. Stevia does not really have any nutritional value-it is only added for flavour in case a person always sweetens their tea. I don't and hence I am not using Stevia. Yes, I believe some ingredients can be substituted like e.g. blueberries are rather expensive so I bought black grapes instead which have very similar properties. Also, it is hard for me to understand how people would hate the drinks so much, I think they are really nice, but then I love my veg in any form. However, I do believe some ingredients can be simply chewed if unpalatable in a smoothie or if we crave chewing. The great thing about this detox is that you are actually not starving yourself and not taking some funny pills or potions. Also, I love the idea of the detox bath. I myself bought Himalayan pink salts as these have even higher detoxifying function.

    I would recommend reading more about detox beforehand and plan it for the weekend when one does not have much on their agenda and can just 'take it easy'. If you hate smoothies like that, just choose a different detox plan, there is no point in suffering. If you can't stand a liquid diet only, chew some of the ingredients. But most of all keep focused on the reasons for it and benefits.

    Best of luck to everyone!

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  11. Just like Alicja, I also just came across this blog today even though I've been waiting on the best time to start the detox. I didn't buy enough to make a fourth shake so I'll have to prepare for that. I prepared all the shakes at once last night and this morning poured out my breakfast and lunch shake into containers before heading out to work. I'm not crazy about the lunch shake. Did you peel the cucumbers and celery? Thanks for the himalayan pink salt idea since I have some and rarely use.

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    1. I did peel the cucumber, but I can't remember if I peeled the celery? I'm thinking not? I did make sure to run the celery through the food processor to help out with texture issues. I personally love the taste of celery, but a lot of people don't care for it hence all the bad reviews of the lunch shake. Try and drink it super cold (I know that's difficult when transporting it to work and such, but it definitely helps!).

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  12. I am currently midway through this three day cleanse and I think your descriptions of the drinks and such are spot on! My experience has been much like others … preparing the ingredients takes time. Lots of activity involved with chopping and opening containers and washing cutting boards, blenders, etc. I suppose that is to be expected -- (perhaps THAT is the secrecy to the weight loss!) Day One -- I was a little hungry, so drinking water totally helps. The Epson Salt/Lavender bath was delightful (I can see that being addictive!). Day Two - I have felt fantastic all day! Perhaps is the caffeine from the green tea, but I am having a boost of energy. I would describe it as "vibrant" -- whatever that means!

    I would do this again. The fourth snack drink can easily be slapped together using some mix of your favorite ingredients -- just use the basic formula that each drink already contains -- some fruit, fiber, fat and a liquid like water or almond milk. Be creative, right? And for being and fibrous and liquify as this detox is, you won't need a cork and you can still make plans. Just saying'.

    And, even those it was not a goal, I have lost 1.65 lbs in the last 32 hours.

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  13. OKAY! So…Two hours ago I posted here about how the second day of the cleanse has left me "energetic and vibrant"! I take that back. THIS MORNING I was full of vim and vigor, but right now I just want to crash. And I'm craving a large plate of spaghetti and meatballs! ….sigh.

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    1. Hang in there! We had hardly any energy late day 2 through day 3 either.

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  14. I am almost to smoothie #2 on Day 3...almost done! I made all the smoothies on the weekend and froze them--don't know if that affects them negatively or not. I took them out of the freezer on Monday and my husband and I started on Tuesday (thought a busy work day would distract us from thinking about not eating). I think it worked. I really missed chewing on Day 1. My husband didn't drink the lunch smoothie on Day 2. He said he just couldn't do it (his gag reflex wasn't happy when he tried). He's going to try again today. We haven't had a snack smoothie at all, just haven't been hungry. I drink them through a straw and feel that has helped me. The cayenne is a bit overpowering. I read on another blog some comments saying to take 1/4 or 1/3 of the dinner smoothie and add the cayenne to that, drink that first, and then finish with what's remaining. That might help to get through it. Good luck to those who try it!

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  15. Is there any way to not use the celery or substitute if? I get really nauseous from celery.

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  16. Is it possible to skip the celery in the lunch shake and get the same results, or is there something I can use to substitute? I just cannot get it down and I don't think skipping the entire lunch shake is an option, lol. Thanks for any feed back. :)

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  17. I am a bit confused, don't know what to make for snack. Any suggestions?

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  18. Hi Laura,
    I came across your blog while searching for Dr. Oz's list of ingredients for his cleanse. I have done this cleanse twice (about once every 4 months), each time losing about 6 pounds and gaining only 2 back. I too hated the lunch drink the first time I made it because of the texture. Fortunately, I have a juicer so I made this adjustment. I juice the cucumber and the celery. They both give me a lot of juice. I blend everything else and then stir in the juice. This gives me the nutrients I need yet gives me something that is much more drinkable.

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  19. Hello, my husband and I are doing this detox this weekend. My question is about portions as it doesn't seem right that we should eat the same amount. Did you and your husband drink the same size smoothies or did he have a little more? Is it a matter of drinking what you need to fill up?

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    1. Hi! Couldn't find an email address for you, but I hope you check back here. I understand what you are asking, but do not have an official answer. I personally think it is more about filling up with good ingredients than portioning. Good luck!

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    2. Hi my wife and I are planning to start this detox tomorrow.... My question is do you really need to double up on the ingredients for this detox? And also does organic products work best?

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  20. Hello, did you and your husband drink the same portions or did he have a little more? We are doing the detox this weekend and it seems odd that we would drink the same amount given the disparity in our frames. Is it a matter of drinking what you need to fill up?

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  21. The lunch shake is more palatable if you substitute romaine lettuce for the kale...

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  22. I substitued romaine lettuce for the kale, the lunch shake was way more palatable. I also added hemp protein powderto lunch because I hit the gym pretty hard.

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