I announced on Monday my SUPER exciting post for you today!!!! My Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet is officially live (duh, your reading it). This is the exact diet I followed to put my arthritis and lupus into remission THREE years ago…except better.
As you probably know I am in a flare and I am trying to get my body back from ‘Lucy Lupus’ so it is time to step up my game and I’m inviting you to do it with me!! Best part? It’s FREE and flexible. The whole idea behind this diet is listening to your body and giving it what it has been begging for.
Guidelines?
Nothing processed. BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t have a treat every now and then. I know if I don’t have a piece of chocolate every couple of days I will start eating a bunch of junk I don’t want in my body. If you want a chocolate chip cookie make (or buy) them with the purest ingredients, indulge and then bring the rest to the break room at work or send them into school with your kids to share at lunch. It’s all about balance.
How to get started…
Figure out and WRITE down your ‘Why’. Why are you switching to an Anti-Inflammatory lifestyle? I need it to be a BIG why.
“I want to feel the better than I ever have before.”
“I want to put my health first.”
“I need to finally have the energy I have been craving.”
“I want to be in control of my health.”
“I want to confidently wear a bikini by June 1, 2017.”
Make sure your ‘Why’ is bigger and more important than the taste of the slightly under-cooked Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookie from Wegmans. Make sure your ‘Why’ is more important than hitting the snooze button for those 15 extra minutes of shut eye. Your ‘Why’ needs to be bigger than your excuses.
My Why: I never want to feel the way I did on Saturday//Sunday ever again.
Clean House
If you live alone or your family is detoxing too throw out the junk. Almost everything in a box is processed and full of chemicals so get rid of it (minus a few exceptions..we will get to those later). If you are like me and live with people who aren’t detoxing you have to flex those will- power muscles and steer clear of the junk. DON’T leave treats on the counter. Put them away somewhere where you have to put in effort to get them. If you aren’t looking at cookies every time you fill up your water you will be far more successful.
I want you to fill your fridge.
Print my FREE Goddess Grocery Guide, run to the store and fill up your cart. I like to go at weird hours… I love a good late night Wegmans run to read ingredients without being in the way of busy shoppers. After you bring all your goodies home, make the healthiest choices the easiest ones the grab…those easy to eat fruits and veggies need to be visible.
Prep your FAVORITE lean meat. Mine is lean organic ground turkey..I LOVE ground turkey. I make two pounds of it at a time on the stove with a little coconut oil, pepper and purple onions. That way it is easy to add to veggies, lettuce wraps, salads or just having it plain. Again, you want it to be almost effortless to throw together something delicious in a pinch.
Are you ready for how you eat?
You start when you are hungry and stop when you start to feel full. That’s it. Your body will learn to give you clues as to what nutrients it needs. Meats and veggies are always a good first choice, if you need carbs add brown rice or a sweet potato. Craving sweets? A bowl of fruit or my Berry Blemish Blaster will calm the craving while still filling up on nutrients. If you want chocolate HAVE IT. Just make sure it had the cleanest ingredients.
Confused if you are actually hungry or just bored // stress eating? Start with a green juice // smoothie. If you are still hungry after that — EAT.
Now let’s talk about the foods you get in the aisles. You will need rice or a healthy pasta option to stay sane. Peanut butter is another packaged food you can totally have… just read the ingredients for a brand that only contains peanuts and salt. You should know all the ingredients listed on the label. Would it be better to make EVERYTHING you eat from scratch? Yes, but it’s not realistic. Do what you can to make sure your lifestyle is maintainable. As long as you are comfortable with the ingredients, eat it.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS.
Popcorn, for example, is one of my favorite snacks but the microwave stuff you find at the store is covered in chemicals. Instead I have a popcorn machine I (my dad) found on Amazon…which means I can have as much pure organic popcorn as my heart desires. Easy switches like this make all the difference in how your body functions and feels. If the machine is just too ‘lifestyle blogger’ for you brands like SkinnyPop are a fab alternative.
Another thing to stay away from is counting calories. If you are someone who stops reading food labels at the calorie count, this is for you. For manufacturers to decrease sugars and fats in food, chemicals are added to replace them. YUCK. If you live on 100 calorie servings and coke zeros, an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will increase your calories BIG time, while making you so much healthier. I have explained this all before HERE if you need more details.
Get ready to DRINK. I’m talking a gallon (or more) of water a day. Think about it this way, if you have been eating poorly for your entire life you need to flush out the toxins you have accumulated over the years. Our kidneys filter waste from our blood, which contains Red Blood Cells that carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. The byproduct of filtration we all know as urine. In order to (literally) flush the toxins away you need to get well hydrated. Make sense?
Supplements are tricky. I love using supplements to increase the effects of the foods in my diet but it is so hard to know exactly what you need. Because I don’t know your exact health history or what medications you take I am going to tell you what supplements I use…most of which benefit everybody. IMPORTANT: supplements are used to help you achieve well-rounded nutrition…not be main vitamin or protein source. Plus it is so much more fun to eat your nutrients.
– I will boldly say that every BODY needs a probiotic. Why? Gut health is essential to overall well-being. After we ingest food it is the job of our gastrointestinal (GI) tract to get all the good stuff (nutrients) out of what we eat. If any part of our GI system is inflamed or sluggish it won’t be able to absorb the goods. Without a healthy gut you won’t be getting all the wonderful benefits from the Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet. Long story short? Get a probiotic.
– Alkalizing Greens: This is the Mac Daddy of all my sups. I love this stuff. Because I have already bragged about it I will let you read that HERE.
– Magnesium: I have a new relationship with Mag and it is so blissful. I LOVE my daily dose of calm. I won’t bore you with details because it’s HERE for you to read.
– Collagen: Again this is one I talked about before (!!!!!!!!) and it is def one of my STAPLES. What I didn’t mention is that in addition to helping your skin look fly, it is SOOOO good for autoimmune diseases. Total win-win.
– Vit C: Boosts your immune system. I read years ago that Vit C infusions used to be a treatment of choice for cancer patients…ever since I have been taking vitamin c daily.
– Vit D: THIS ONE IS SO IMPORTANT. I don’t get enough sun. It turns me purple and gives me a rash so I try to stay covered up at all times. The downfall is shitty Vit D levels. Essentially 80% of the population is Vit D deficient due to rarely being outdoors and the use of sunscreen. Luckily we know that now and we can pick up a supplement pretty much anywhere.
–Protein Powder: I feel like a lot of people think this is a ‘food’ but it isn’t meant to be. I like to use protein powder when my only other option is Wawa. It is so much better to get your protein from authentic food sources but realistically life gets in the way. Find yourself a CLEAN protein powder with minimal ingredients for those days where you are in a pinch.
THE TAKE AWAY:
I don’t want you to feel restricted or hungry. I simply want to help you live your best life through filling your perfect bod to the brim with the highest quality food it deserves. Go crazy trying recipes from your favorite healthy foods. Challenge yourself to turn your favorite treat meal into one you don’t have to feel guilty about because you know the quality of the food you are using! If you get stuck EMAIL me or post on my Facebook page. Send me your recipes and I promise now that school is (almost) over I can give you several of my favorites each week!
Also, keep in mind that my Goddess Grocery Guide is just that… a guide. Not scripture. I know there are thousands of healthy foods that aren’t on my list but these are the ones you will always find in my kitchen. You can always add or take away from my favorites. This is your life and you can adjust how you eat to fit your body’s needs and your personal goals.
Over the next few months I will continue you share recipes and ‘food diary’ vlogs along with check in about how eating an anti-inflammatory diet has impacted my health. I know the difference is going to be clear very quickly. I am so excited to show you how easy and delicious it is to follow an Anti-Inflammatory lifestyle.
THANK YOU for reading. Thank you for your support. I really appreciate every single one of you!!
xoxo,
K
Recipe Ideas
These two are definitely my favorite, but there is plenty more where that came from under ‘bites’
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