Detoxification: 3

So what do you actually do when following the 10-Day Detox Diet?

(This list is from memory. If you want to do it for real, buy the book.)

Each day, one is supposed to:

1. Measure yourself: weight, waist and thigh diameters.
2. Write in your journal
3. Eat a breakfast smoothie: non-dairy, fruit based, with vegetables also included in some recipes, heavy on nuts, seeds (hemp, flax, chia, pumpkin) and almond butter and extra-virgin coconut butter, and avocados (!), all fresh and organic of course.
4. Eat a salad of mixed greens and 4-6 ounces of lean protein (chicken, fish or hard-boiled eggs, no lunch meats) and homemade vinaigrette.
5. Exercise - at least take a walk.
6. Snack on nuts or veggies and (non-dairy, gluten-free, made from scratch) dip.
7. Breathe for at least five minutes (meditation encouraged).
8. Eat one of the fabulous dinners requiring many fresh and organic-only ingredients and more than three steps. Pretty much grilled or broiled chicken and fish, with herbs, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, oils or vinegars as sauces, with a big side of 1-2 vegetables with the same spectrum of seasonings.
9. Take a long list of supplements, which are sold on the website in a convenient package.
10. Take a fiber supplement to keep things moving down below (gotta get the toxins out of your body somehow!) - a specific one, also sold on the website.
11. Take a bath with epsom salts, baking soda and essential oil of lavender.
12. Fill out some tracking sheets.
13. Media diet: turn off the entertainment electronics.
14. Get at least seven (preferably eight) hours of sleep.

What I actually did:  Numbers 1 (weight only), 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11 (twice in ten days). Not sure everything was organic. Didn't hit seven hours of sleep once in the ten days.

I note how very close to Atkins induction the food is. The main difference is no-dairy (Atkins allows some) and the berries for smoothies, and Atkins allows nuts only after the first two weeks. Also Atkins doesn't emphasize organic or cooking from fresh yourself - they are fine with processed foods as long as you read the ingredients to make sure there are no hidden carbs like corn starch which is prevalent in low fat foods. I guess I'm still a little defensive about Atkins, though the world is slowly coming to realize he was (nearly) right all along.