21 Pounds in 21 Days (13 page)
Read 21 Pounds in 21 Days Online
Authors: Roni DeLuz
Connecting with Your Higher Self
“I've had heart palpitations for a year now but didn't know what they were,” one of my patients confessed to me. I suggested that she see the doctor right away. Too distracted to make the appointment, she experienced “the Big One”âa heart attackâand was forced to implement lifestyle changes she could have made voluntarily. Another client once told me, “I know that when I get angry my body gets hot,” not realizing he was experiencing a classic signal that his blood pressure had gone sky high (
note
: not everyone experiences this symptom of hypertension). Another client walked around with a noticeable tumor in her breast for five years without seeking medical help.
Many Americans are so stressed out, distracted, scared, and preoccupied that they ignore symptoms that should send them running to the emergency room. While our society keeps us out of touch with our body, emotion, and spirit, detoxing helps us reconnect with ourselves. As detoxers flush out the chemistry associated with angry, sad, and anxious thoughts, they often find themselves
appreciating people more, noticing the beauty of nature, or even perceiving things that they normally don't notice. Often, on about Day 10 or 11 people tell me, “Wow! I went on this walk and I saw a beautiful butterfly!” I take that as a sign that their cleansing is proceeding perfectly and they are reconnecting with their spirit.
While on the Diet Detox, many people learn for the first time what it is really like to take care of themselves. They realize how badly they need to disengage from some of their normal activities. Once they get used to slowing down and focusing on themselves, many people get a peek into the peaceful lifestyle they can have and the person they can becomeâand like it! I have had clients radically revamp their lives, start a business they've always
thought about, and really follow their inner spirit. In the middle of his detox, one medical doctor decided that it was time to resign from being a physician. After he retired, he began writing poetry and playing the harmonica on Main Street in Martha's Vineyard. One woman I detoxed decided to adopt a baby. A teacher quit school and moved to India to study meditation. When James detoxed for the first time, he decided to get baptized. It was during his detox that he realized that I had to share this information by writing this book. James is an amazing person. Many of my clients are experiencing a spiritual renewal because of him!
The Problem with Salt
I had never seen so much salt in one person's house in my life until I opened my client Jocelyn's spice cupboard. She had table salt, seasoning salt, garlic salt, onion salt, celery saltâyou name a kind of salt and she had it! During the 21 days I lived in her home, I called her the Queen of Salt. So it was no surprise to me that Jocelyn also had high blood pressure, her ankles were always swollen, and she was taking medicine for edemaâfluid retention.
When we started on the detox, I told her I would be taking her off salt. “How am I going to season my food without it?” she worried. Well, I'll be the first person to 'fess up that when you've been OD'ing on salt, going without it takes some getting used to. But by Day 3 Jocelyn noticed something that amazed her. “Never in my whole life have I seen my ankles when they weren't swollen.”
Americans are in a lot of trouble because we've been conditioned to season our food with so much salt. In addition to what we sprinkle atop our plate, sodium is used with other chemicals as a type of preservative in many processed foods. It's also added to mask the lack of flavor remaining after refining strips out the taste. We should consume no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium daily, the equivalent of one teaspoonâbut it includes what has already been added to your food. If you eat processed foods, read their labels carefully; many contain between 25 percent and 45 percent of your daily salt intake in a single serving of that one foodâand you still have to eat the rest of your meal! Remove salt and you will watch your bloating go down, foot and ankle swelling subside, and blood pressure plummet. Do this first, then talk to your doctor about reducing or eliminating your medication.
FAQ
Q: I just found out I'm pregnant. I want my baby to grow in a clean environment. Is it safe for me to detox?
A:
No. I don't recommend the detox for women who are pregnant or nursing. Because the detox is so powerful, it will dump toxins out of your cells and into your bloodstream, potentially creating a more harmful environment for your baby to grow in than had you not detoxed at all. Nor should you detox while you're breast-feeding, since your baby would then digest very dangerous chemicals in your milk that could undermine his normal development.
Q: I have diabetes and high blood pressure. Is it okay for someone as sick as me to detox?
A:
The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox is not only safe for anyone with an illness, I highly recommend it. High doses of nutrition can repair your body and cause the body to get rid of the toxins that helped make you get sick in the first place. They also replace damaged weak cells with new ones.
Name:
Loretta Hester
Age:
70
Occupation:
retired
Family status:
mother of two; grandmother of two
Location:
The Woodlands, Texas
I learned about the detox from my son James. I saw how wonderful he looked and felt and I wanted to feel good, too. Middle age had set in and I was starting to gain a lot of weight. I'm not a small person, but I'm short. When I gain weight, I look a little stocky. I had also started feeling very sluggish and tired. James explained the detox and walked me through the steps. At first, it turned me off. I am a sweets eater. I like cake and candy and all the bad stuff. But when he told me the kind of results I could get, I just wanted to do itâI really did! Even though I was nervous and wondered if I would be able to do it, when I set my mind to doing something, I persevere. I knew that I would follow through.
Doing the detox was enjoyable. I didn't feel very hungry, and I lost that sluggish and tired feeling. I lost 21 pounds in 21 days! I looked good, I had a waistline again, I could get back into some of the clothes I really liked, and I could tie my shoes without my stomach getting in the way. And, oh my God, the energyâthe absolute energy! I would take walks around the Island that were a couple of miles long and not even get tired. I would walk to church, walk to town, come back, and walk again. My blood pressure also went down. It usually runs about 141/80, but when they took my blood pressure afterwards it was much lower. I thought, “I can't believe this!”
I had just one issue with the detox, and it was the soupâI had a hard time handling the consistency of it. The thickness of it reminded me of pea soup. I came from a family of five girls. I also longed to chew; not chewing was a bit of a challenge.
After I detoxed, my sisters told me, “Loretta, you look great!” I'd say, “You could look like this, too. You'd feel great!” After a couple of years my sister Geriâshe's kind of like the leaderâsaid, “We're going
to do it together.” I said, “That's fine with me,” and we did it as a family. That second time I lost 21 pounds in 21 days. James was a wonderful support, and it was great being together. We did a lot of laughing and a lot of sharing and opening up. As she detoxed, one sister who I thought was the Rock of Gibraltar was just crying and letting her feelings out. It was wonderful! I felt so good about myself and good about my sisters. We were so proud of each other!
Name:
Geri Trezanowski
Age:
68
Occupation:
retired schoolteacher
Residence:
Essex Fells, New Jersey
Family status:
married; mother of four, grandmother of five
My husband and I entertain and go out to eat a lot. I love to eat and have a big appetite. With me, it's all about food! Now, if you saw me back before I did the detox, I wouldn't have looked overweight to you, but my clothes were uncomfortable and I knew I needed to lose a few pounds. Usually, I would lose weight by cutting down to half portions. But when James told me how much weight I could lose, I said, “That's it, I'm going to try it!” He also explained how healthy it is. That was great, too, but I have to admit that losing weight was the main reason I did it.
Losing weight was greatâI lost 20 pounds in 21 days. But my body started feeling so good that I stopped thinking about the weight. I have a lot of arthritis. I used to wake up in the morning wondering, “Which way can I turn over today without it hurting too much?” But even though I walked around the island with my sisters, while I was on the detox I didn't take a pain pill for 21 days! For me this was fabulous! I was amazed to discover that by taking care of my insides I could feel so well. Even today, though I still have pain in my wrist and when it is going to rain I may take an Aleve, I don't need prescription pain pills anymore! Until I detoxed it had never occurred to me that I could get off the pills. I'm thrilled not to have to take them!
For me, detoxing was a great experience. It was difficult but I did it, and my sisters were my support group. Dr. Roni is a dream, and the staff was wonderful. They are really delightful and help you through
this. Leaving my family was a huge thing for me to do. I love them and give so much time to them, but I'd never said, “I'm going away for three weeks to take care of myself.” I thought this was the greatest gift to give myself. I turned my cell phone off because I wanted the experience to be about me.
These days, I feel so much better than I used to. I'm not saying that I eat properly all the time. And I wouldn't want to detox three weeks againâmaybe I'd do it for two weeks. But every so often my husband and I juice and make the soups or we'll have a big lunch and no dinner but a protein shake. And he's always saying, “Let's go up to Martha's Vineyard and do the detox.” One day, maybe we will.
Name:
Joan Walsh
Age:
66
Occupation:
retired public service
Family status:
married, mother of three, grandmother of six
Residence:
Toms River, New Jersey
I'm the youngest sister. One day, my sister Geri called me and said, “Guess what? Loretta and I are going up to Martha's Vineyard to detox. It would be nice if the three of us could do it together.” Well, I'm not a person who goes on vacation. I don't leave my husband, and I thought that detoxes were strictly for alcohol. “What are you talking about?” I asked her. She explained and I told her, “I wish you all the luck in the world but, no, I don't think I want to do that.” But Geri is very persuasive, and both my sisters were very excited and talked about how much fun it would be. They got me thinking about how I never go anywhereâwith three children and all these grandchildren, I keep very busy. I thought, “Maybe this is a time to take care of me. Let me give it a shot.”
So I thought the whole thing would be a nice little getaway, but to be perfectly honest I got roped into going. Later on I learned that she didn't tell me everything. I love to eat. If I'm going to be in Martha's Vineyard, I want to eat. It wasn't until we got there and shopped for vegetables that I realized what all was involved. I started thinking, “Oh, no, this is not going to work.” The night before we started, we went out for a very nice dinner. James said, “This is the last one for three weeks.
We're really going to get down to it tomorrow.” To be honest with you, I got a little excited. I was about 30 pounds overweight and thought a lot about the idea of cleansing my body. I said to myself, “This isn't going to be all that bad.” I was going to go along with everyone else. Whatever they were going to do, I was going to be right there with them.
I did the detox for two weeks. I lost 22 pounds in two weeks and never got hungry. I could not believe I had lost all that weight! I have arthritis and every single day we walked and walked, but I never took a pain pill. My other two sisters went for three weeks, but for me two weeks was enough. In two weeks I had about five colonics. My sister knew about them but she didn't tell me what was going to happen because she knew I wouldn't do them. But to see what is up inside of youâthat was unbelievable! I'm not fat but I do have my middle. My middle got smaller after my colonics.
At one point I had a healing crisis. My sisters didn't have one but I had a bad one. For an entire day I was exhausted, completely wiped out. I felt very nauseous and was throwing up. It was like I was getting the flu. I told Dr Roni, “I feel terrible; I can't do this.” She explained what was happening. I spent the day in bed. I don't think I've spent an entire day in bed in all my life. It was a very, very bad day. I was angry at my sisters for talking me into doing this. “Please leave me alone”âthat's how I felt. Then the next day I woke up and I was fine, as if nothing had happened. In spite of my healing crisis, the detox was a very good experience. It is really a very good program.
M
arsha is a forty-three-year-old medical doctor. She's also a triathlete, competing around the country in high-endurance competitions emphasizing running, biking, and swimming. Before the season begins, she prepares herself by going on a week-long juice fast. Juicing, she says, gives her lots of energy and makes her body quick and limber. She does this at the Inn retreat, where she takes three juices a day. Marsha also claims juicing makes her mind sharp and clear.
Once a year we also host a group of four women bikers. They do a juice fast every year before their twenty-five-mile bike race. Having done this for many years, they know exactly what they are doing. The first time this group of women arrived at our facility, I didn't recognize them as being athletic. I thought they looked tired, stressed out, and pale. Four days later when I saw them again, I literally didn't recognize them. I was shocked by how good these women, who were clearly in their mid-fifties to sixties, looked. Each of them had lost weight, color had returned to their faces, and their personalities were lighter and more fun. Even though I am in this business, even I was amazed.
Juices put oxygen in your body and give you a lot of energy. They're particularly helpful for people who are ill. When people who have been very sick nourish themselves intensively by drinking fresh juice, they can spring back up very quickly. In fact, a review of 4,500 studies conducted around the world found that if people ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily,
worldwide cancer rates would drop by more than 20 percent.
1
Other research shows that by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease; high blood pressure; type 2 diabetes; and cancers of the bladder, breast, colon, esophagus, larynx, lungs, mouth, pancreas, pharynx, prostate, ovaries, rectum, and stomach. Though the government recommends that Americans consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, during the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, we're going to consume at least twenty-two servings a day. The vast majority of those will be vegetables, since vegetables both cleanse and feed. It will be easy to eat these extra servings, which we'll drink as fresh live juices and soups.
Maximizing Vegetables' Cleansing Power
Among the best ways to maximize the amount of nutrients we receive from vegetables is to juice them or cook them into delicious veggie soups. While the average person cannot eat a pound of carrots or any other vegetable, they can drink the equivalent amount of juice, and with it consume far more nutrition than they could eat with a knife and fork. You can obtain more nutrients in one eight-ounce glass of fresh vegetable juice than in an entire week's worth of fast-food or take-out meals.
Rather than buying store-bought brands whose enzymes are depleted, we'll make fresh juices so their enzymes are still alive. Enzymes create a spark of life in the body that you can feel as soon as you swallow. Their kick is particularly potent if you're ill or your energy is low. We want to juice our vegetables as soon as possible after they are picked, so more of their enzymes will be alive. Of course, we usually can't know exactly when something was harvested, but we can try to buy produce that's as fresh
as possible; for instance, from a local garden or farmer's market versus flown in from overseas. During the Diet Detox, we will avoid drinking juice that is processed. Remember: processing kills enzymes, making bottled, canned, refrigerated, or frozen options far less effective at cleansing and healing. Most times, refining also means adding preservatives, which are enzyme killers. Juices containing synthetic toxic chemicals usually also contain added salt, which we want to avoid. While some of the vitamins
may
be left in processed juice (the chances of this are greatest with frozen products that don't contain preservatives), without enzymes the body cannot process the juice efficiently, making it more likely to cause digestive difficulties and to turn to fat. Live juice also flushes the acid, resulting in a more alkaline body.
We're going to puree the soups and extract juices we make to achieve the same goal of maximizing nutrients. We'll make our soups and juices fresh, so we get the nutrients without the artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. You'll find my favorite recipes starting on page 205, but you can stick with recipes you love. While we're detoxing, it's important to avoid putting toxins like salt or seasoning salt or black pepper into them. We'll also avoid eating fruit; sources of protein like meat and beans; dairy products like cheese, milk, and cream; sugar; and wine and alcohol. However, you're free to add as many nonsodium seasonings as you'd like: cayenne pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, curry, cumin, turmeric, thyme, rosemary, paprika, bay leaves, and sage.
Juicing by Color
When people start juicing, many prefer the flavor of carrots, whose juice is much sweeter than you'd ever expect from eating the vegetable. While juicing a lot of carrots doesn't put you in jeopardy of looking like Bugs Bunny, too much of anything just isn't good for
you. And who wants to see their skin turn orange or urine change color (indicators that there's too much of a substance in your system)? It actually happens! The healthiest way to juice is to select vegetables whose colors reflect the entire spectrum from violet to white. For example, you might include vegetables like purple cabbage; violet beets; orange carrots; yellow summer squash; green collards, kale, chard, or broccoli; white cauliflower, white cabbage, garlic, or onions; brown ginger; and garlic. Including vegetables of all these hues is important because each color corresponds to a different set of phytonutrients (natural compounds found in foods that work with vitamins and minerals to promote good health). Including as many colors of vegetables as possible helps ensure we receive the broadest spectrum of healing power available. Research shows that phytonutrients perform the following functions:
- Act as antioxidants
- Stimulate enzymes that detoxify the body
- Stimulate the immune system
- Positively affect hormones
- Fight bacteria and viruses
Our goal is to consume as many antioxidants as possible, allowing us to experience their healing effects. While scientists don't yet understand the complete role each of these phytonutrients plays, we
do
know we get sick when we don't get enough of them. While over-the-counter vitamins can be helpful, they do not provide the same type of protection because they do not provide nutrients in the precise combinations that nature intended. Phytochemicals are also contained in fruits, but fruits are foods that feed our cells. During the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, our focus is on cleansing and healing, not feeding them. That's why we ingest so many vegetables.
How to Choose a Juicer
Machines that juice fruits and vegetables range from the very inexpensiveâthose made for “recreational” juicing of, say, the occasional orange when you invite people over for Sunday brunchâto “working” juicers, made for more frequent or productive use. For the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, I recommend that you purchase a “working” juicer. There are two different types of “working” juice machines suitable for most detoxers: centrifugal juicers, which first shred the food and then use the centrifugal force that develops as the machine parts spin, to strain it; and masticating juicers that crush vegetables to create the juice and mechanically force its pulp through a strainer. They range in price from $35 to $500. Each type has benefits and disadvantages. Select your juicer based on how much you can afford to spend and how you plan to use it once you complete the detox and begin the Maintenance Program (Chapter 9).
Preparing to Juice
I teach all my clients to create a working kitchenâone that isn't just for show but that helps you look, feel, and be youth
ful, energetic, and healthy. To me, that means pulling your juicer and other appliances out of the cabinet and placing them front and center among your kitchen implements, like your fork or your butcher knife. Organizing your kitchen saves time and makes your life easier by helping you stay focused. This is particularly important when it comes to juicing, which is a new activity for most people, and one that can eat up time if you're not prepared in advance.
Finding a Juicer That Is Right for You
Selecting a juicer can be a difficult process. When purchasing a juicer it is important to take into consideration what you need. Do you need a juicer that extracts juice from wheatgrass and spinach or a juicer that makes ice cream? The table below classifies the juicers by type and function to give you an idea of what you may need.
Juicer Pros and Cons
| Juicer Type | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Centrifugal | Requires less preparation; operates at high speed; easy to clean; tends to be less expensive; juices fruits and vegetables. | Not great for soft fruits such as bananas and berries, leafy vegetables, or wheatgrass; causes nutrients to oxidize; creates foam; louder than other juicers. |
| Masticating (single-gear) or citrus juicer | Extracts more nutrients; preserves more enzymes; processes leafy, green vegetables; quieter than centrifugal machines. Good for making nut butters, pasta, and pureed food. Makes great grapefruit, lemon, and orange juice. | Requires more preparation to cut vegetables into smaller pieces; more force is needed to push vegetables into grinder; produces more pulpy and fibrous juice; tends to be more expensive. |
| Triturating (twin-gear) juicer | Gives you more fiber, enzymes, vitamins, and trace minerals; excellent for juicing leafy greens, wheatgrass, sprouts, root vegetables like beets and carrots, and most water-dense (nonpulpy) fruits | Juicing takes longer due to the slower machine and two-step juicing process, yielding a higher-quality juice. |
| Wheatgrass | Used exclusively for extracting the juice from wheatgrass and other leafy greens, as well as some soft fruits like grapes. | Not made for extracting juice from vegetables and most fruits. |
| Hydraulic press | Very efficient; doesn't waste as much juice. | More expensive (as high as $2,200). |
Easy cleanup is one of the most important features to many people who juice, especially if you juice often. You can clean your juicer with hot water and a stiff brush that you obtain at the supermarket. Over time, the juice will stain your machine. Don't worry about this; the purpose of the machine is to help you get healthy, not to look good on your counter. Just follow the manufacturer's directions on how to clean it. Many parts are also dishwasher safe. If easy cleanup is very important to you, you may prefer a centrifugal juicer. If you're ill, need every drop of nutrition you can get, and don't mind longer prep and clean-up times, you may prefer one that masticates. But before you buy any brand, see how much juice it allows you to make before vegetable pulp fills up the clean-up basket. And investigate the length of the warranty, which may run from five to fifteen years.
For juicing, if you can afford to buy organic vegetables, by all means you should do it. If not, follow the guidance provided on page 51 and, as you can afford it, include organic versions of some of the vegetables that are known to contain the most contaminants. To keep the cost down, I suggest shopping at food co-ops
and farmer's markets, where organic produce is often cheaper than in health-food and gourmet grocery stores. If you can't afford organic at all, don't sweat it. What you are doing now to take care of yourself is better than anything you've ever done. Give yourself a pat on the back!
Before you start juicing, clean your vegetables well. Wash organic produce in warm water only. Conventional produce should be cleaned with a fruit and vegetable cleaner. No matter what kind of produce you buy, use a scrub brush to get into all the nooks and crannies so you don't find yourself drinking dirt.