I’m in the process of losing the last several pounds gained while fighting injuries that lead to hip reconstruction. Yes, it was four years ago, but I was in amazing shape before I had to quit working out completely and I’m just now at the point where I can work out at a level that makes a difference.
Simultaneously, we were seduced into having a cocktail (or two) many nights during the coronavirus lockdown - far more alcohol than we even consume around the holidays - which is terrible not just for losing weight, but also your overall health and well-being.
So I needed a reset. But, as a former anorexic and bulimic, I know there are triggers to a streamlined meal plan that can cause me to slip into old habits. I’m sharing this in the hopes that, if you’re like me - someone who already eats rather clean but is looking to reset - and needs to safely shed excess, unhealthy body fat, there’s a way.
I’m not comfortable sharing exactly what I do not only because it might not be the best option for you, but because I don’t have a “set” thing I do - it’s all based on my goals at the time. Currently I’m sticking with whatever Kelly LeVeque tells me do to - I list her info as well as resources down below that might help you with a personalized plan!
The Starting Point
Currently, I avoid dairy, starchy carbs, sugar, and alcohol for about 80% of my meals. In other words, you get three meals a day - times seven days a week, that’s 21 opportunities to feed your body. But I’ve learned that I literally hate the way anything healthy tastes, and YOLO, so three of those meals we relax the rules.
I work out for an hour 5-6 days a week doing cardio (running/elliptical/HIIT), Barre3 or Pilates.
And, yes, with all that I should be a lot skinnier but I’m not. My body “puts on muscle like a guy” according to physical therapists who’ve worked with me. Meaning I gain a lot of dense muscle quickly…the catch is I don’t burn fat as quickly. So I look bulky af. Yay hormones. But this is to say we’re all different and have different needs, so do what works for you!
Numbers don’t lie
My experience shows that no matter how much effort you put in, results come from roughly 70% diet, 20% exercise, and 10% genetics, and your overall history and health must be taken into account.
For example, I was a dancer from age 4 until 21, did some other sports in high school, so have been highly active my whole life (until the above injury). My body will require more effort to make a difference over someone who’s never worked out.
Know what works (for you)
We all have different dietary requirements, so while dairy causes me to bloat and, sometimes, my body responds like I have food poisoning, I know many who can eat it every meal with no negative side effects. You have to do your homework to see what does and doesn’t work for you!
Moreover, someone like my husband can eat three, full-sized entrees on a Friday night but go for a 45-minute run Saturday morning and actually lose weight. Hormones play a huge factor in someone’s makeup, and especially how they gain and lose weight. It might be worthwhile to have them checked if you’re noticing weight issues.
Finally, even if you’re doing everything “right” and not noticing any differences, it might mean you have some toxic buildup that your body is dealing with, so properly filtering excess fat isn’t a high priority. This might mean you’re a good candidate for a reset.
What’s a Detox?
Not a huge fan of the words “detox” or “cleanse” or “diet” because it implies we’re doing something for a short time then, once it’s over, resume the habits that got us here. Plus, our bodies have incredible detoxification systems that cleanse us every day.
However, sometimes we overindulge and we need to reset. While we shouldn’t consume as many calories as we did during our indulgent phase, we cannot harshly restrict calories either. You have to eat. If this process is done wrong, we can do extreme damage to our hormones and organs.
So, you have to get your calories from the cleanest, highest-quality ingredients. You might choose a liquid diet because it’s easier on digestion (one of my personal favorites). You might eat very simply, choosing to consume the same things for every meal (my husband can do this…I need variety!). Whatever you decide, you need to calm down your system so it can do the hard work.
What to Expect During Your Detox
I hear many people say how they felt light…I just feel lightheaded. Honestly, I always feel like crap. And that’s okay because, in order to get rid of toxins, you body has to dislodge them.
To help flush those toxins, you know you need to drink a lot pure water (I’m doing around 100oz a day). Which means you’ll be going to the bathroom a ton. So timing is really important.
I feel really tired since my body is doing all this work, and I continue to work out while I’m resetting.
You might have the most random cravings (I wanted fried clam strips yesterday…haven’t had those in maybe 20 years).
Since your skin is your largest organ, you might find that you break out. A fun activity is to see where you’re breaking out and compare it to a facial reflexology chart (Google it). That corresponding organ might be heavily detoxing, so you can dive into Chinese medicine to see how to support that organ.
My broken out skin after my very first detox in 2011
And finally, you might be stinky. So there’s that.
How to Prep for Your Detox (Super Important!)
If you do nothing else, please ease in. So if you’re going to no dairy / carbs / alcohol / caffeine / sugar but you consume them daily, maybe take them out of your diet one by one first.
If you drink sodas, you have to get off those too. And caffeine? You’ll have to pry my morning coffee from my cold, dead hands. The good thing is I drink it plain, which is fine for a detox, but if I wanted to nix caffeine I’d have to ween myself off of it before starting any sort of program.
This is where so many people mess up (speaking from experience!), end up going through withdrawals, detoxing too quickly, and losing motivation.
Get your mind right
Look ahead to how you want to shape your eating habits after finishing the reset. This is where I’ve thoroughly screwed up, and it can have awful and long-term consequences. Meaning if you dive back in to old habits, not only will you gain back any weight you lost, but you’ll probably gain more…and when you want to lose that, it will be far harder to shed.
Let’s say your end goal is to get off “carbs.” When I did this so many years ago, I literally asked myself what I would eat in place of bread/cereal/pasta/corn chips/etc. Now, I know vegetables are full of nourishing carbohydrates that will keep me full and satisfied while pasta leaves me stuffed and primed for a sugar crash.
Hit pause
Try to stop eating between meals - my French friends always say “water, water, water!” between meals instead - but this will help your experience be less mentally jarring if you’re a snacker.
Also remember that if you need to avoid certain foods, it doesn’t mean you can’t ever have them again. Just not at the frequency with which you currently enjoy them.
The good news
There’s hope! Keep in mind your body wants to heal itself and operate at prime capacity, so when you break the need for unhealthy foods, your body won’t like them anymore. Seriously.
I gave up soda years ago and not only do I never want one, but I’ve tried a sip here and there and they taste horrible - like too-sweet sugar mixed with cleaning chemicals. Same with sweets. I adore baked goods, but I can only eat a little before I start to feel shaky and nauseous.
The point is, as you go through this journey, you’ll need to stay strong. You’ll need to remember why you wanted to reset in the first place, and this is under the best circumstances. So, even before you begin, you must not only set your goals, but have a clear plan and exit strategy.
During the Detox
What you choose for your reset and how long it will last vary on your health and your goals. I suggest working with someone you trust who can develop a personalized plan.
Fasting
You might want to incorporate fasting. I practice intermittent fasting by not eating at least 12 hours a day. Some experts say where women are concerned, we shouldn’t go beyond 14 hours to protect our hormones, others say longer, but the key is to give your body time to digest.
Everything counts!
Don’t forget that what you drink has a huge impact on your health! For this reason, I typically only drink plain herbal/green tea with no sweeteners, plain coffee, and plain water. When not doing a reset I’ll have up to three alcoholic beverages a week, and usually one mocha with whole milk from my favorite coffee shop a couple of times a month.
Create your rules
There are layers to what constitutes “clean,” and you have to find out what works best for you. I went raw vegan for a month. Cleanest of clean, right? Well, I gained 11 pounds. My body hates carbs (even though my taste buds love them), so high-quality, lean animal proteins are fine for me.
A note on juice cleanses - while fruit is great, it’s also full of sugar, even if it’s the “healthy” kind. This will cause your blood sugar levels to go nuts, and that creates a horrible chain reaction in many systems. This is why I avoid them and fruit juice altogether!
After the Detox
A reset is not a quick fix or speedy way to lose weight - and, in fact, you might gain a little weight due to high water consumption and maybe adding muscle if you work out more.
Like we discussed above, you already have your exit strategy plus any lifestyle diet changes in mind, so my best tip that I wish I’d known sooner is to get addicted to how you feel when you eat well (not necessarily during the reset…as I type this I have a raging headache and just want to take a nap!).
Know that you will lose interest in crappy foods because they’ll make you feel like crap. Also, keep in mind I literally do not know one person who enjoys eating healthy. They enjoy the rewards of eating healthy, but much prefer the taste of a cheeseburger and chocolate cake.
Benefits of the Detox
My number one benefit is how calm I feel after. My skin is clear, I feel full of energy (again…after, not during!), and I’m reinvigorated to really fuel my body versus my taste buds. I get fuller quicker, I get a buzz from a few sips of alcohol versus a drink or two, and I’m not starving every few hours.
Of course I want to lose weight, as I shared, but that’s not always the case. I typically reset after Valentine’s Day because months of football tailgates, birthdays, holidays and the Super Bowl have taken their toll and I just feel sluggish.
Some studies show that certain foods, especially sugar, target your brain just like addictive narcotics, so freeing yourself form those cravings will just make your life easier.
Resources
My health journey really started in 2011 when I wanted to learn more about these “green smoothies” I saw celebs drinking. Since then, I’ve tried everything from raw vegan to 50g of protein five time a day, and the only non-restrictive plan I’ve found that keeps me full for 4-6 hours between meals, helps me lose weight without trying and still allows me to live my life is by Kelly LeVeque. More on her below, as well as two other incredible resources.
Kelly LeVeque
Also known as @BeWellByKelly on Instagram, this celeb health coach and holistic nutritionist is known for her Fab 4 smoothies and getting starlets back in shape after having a baby. Her story is amazing, and she basically wants you to get clean protein, fat, fiber and greens in every meal to help stabilize your blood sugar.
She now has two books, in addition to her blog www.kellyleveque.com, where you can learn her principles or, in Body Love Every Day, get a personalized three-week plan based on your lifestyle.
Claire Yanta-O’Mahoney, MS, CPT, Nutritionist
My friend Claire is an all-around badass. And she’s really, really nice! She offered on-demand, virtual health and fitness coaching before it was cool, and will help you achieve your diet and/or fitness goals via a completely customized program, AND she’ll be right there with you the whole time (or not if you’re a hands-off type like me).
c/o @fleurdelisfitness Instagram
Check out her Instagram @FleurDeLisFitness where you’ll get recipes, workouts, and a look at her fun life and travels.
Erin Oprea
If you’ve seen a gorgeous country music artist walk the red carpet then did a double-take at her perfectly sculpted legs, there’s a good chance Erin Oprea trained her. Think Jana Kramer, Kacey Musgraves, and Carrie Underwood. Erin’s 4x4 plan requires four key eating habits (cut down on alcohol, sugar, starch and salt) in combination with multiple sets of her four-minute tabatas.
c/o @erinoprea Instagram
Erin’s approach is uber relatable as she eats doughnuts and drinks tequila, but all in moderation. As a Marine for nine years she really knows how to motivate you, and always does it with an infectious enthusiasm. Her Instagram, @ErinOprea, is full of fun and informative memes as well as workout “games,” as she likes to say, to help us achieve “pretty muscles.” She also just launched a Pretty Muscles app with daily workouts and eating plans.
And so…
I know this was a ton of info, so thanks for sticking with me. I hope it sheds a little light on everything I’ve learned over nearly a decade of trial-and-error, and that there’s no quick fix. Just hard work, discipline, and dedication!
Please consult a health professional before taking this on - everyone has different needs and this post is in no way meant to be professional advise!