Cleansing As Honeymoon Between You + Your Body
Here’s a trick I’ve learned. When people at social gatherings ask why you’re not eating toxins and drinking a glass of wine with them, look them in the eye and tell them, “I’m on honeymoon with my body.” You have an exclusive pleasure coming your way of serving your body the foods that are most nourishing, and eliminating the toxic parts that we are all exposed to in our daily lives. But it doesn’t need to come from a place of lack, of as solemn proclamation of “I can’t have wine, gluten or dairy,” but rather the enthused state of a person who is entering the flow, the seat of her greatest vitality. Dwell there with me.
Click right here to join the Honeymoon Cleanse virtually.
We are getting the goods together to launch another LIVE Dr. Sara Gottfried Cleanse. Join us virtually? Or start the Cleanse now to jumpstart your honeymoon. We’ll have LIVE dates for you soon.
Over the first 7 days of the Cleanse, you will be dumping the junk: sugar, caffeine, alcohol, gluten and dairy. And working on a big cognituve reframe… it’s not about getting rid of all the bad food in your life; it’s about anticipating the deep pleasure of renewed energy and robust health.
What toxin is easiest for you to remove? Let go of that toxin first. Most people have the greatest difficulty with caffeine. Let’s take that one on for a moment.
Remove Caffeine: Tips
if you’re quite addicted to coffee or black tea, take it slow. It’s usually best to first switch to black tea if you’re a regular coffee drinker, green tea if you’re addicted to black, and white tea if you’re into green. Those each have lessening amounts of caffeine. My fave substitute: warm cup of filtered water with fresh Meyer lemon & a pinch of cayenne. That and skin brushing in the morning (get your skin brush at Whole Foods) gets you going so you don’t need the caffeine.
Know that caffeine INCREASES cortisol, anxiety & sugar cravings. And thickens your waist. And makes you retain fluid. If you’re a bit addicted to sugar, dumping caffeine will make it easier to part with sugar.
Get off caffeine completely for 14-21 days. Notice how your sleep improves. Inspect your eyes carefully in the mirror, and see how they become more clear and soulful over the next week.
Dump the Junk: Reasons to Dump Caffeine
I recommend to all my patients that they limit caffeine intake and completely detox for at least 14 days twice per year. And I getta lotta push back. Why? Probably because mostly of my patients have some degree of adrenal dysregulation, and caffeine gets them going in the morning, and keeps them going during the day.
What’s so bad about that? I took a page out of Dr. Daniel Amen’s book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. He’s the psychiatrist who is all over PBS with his cute black jeans and balding head.
Caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain. When you restrict blood flow to the brain, you get premature aging, lousy memory and brain fog.
Caffeine makes your sleep suck. Sleep, you know, is key to brain health, skin rejuvenation, repair work globally in the body, and weight management (particularly appetite control).
Caffeine dehydrates your brain and your bod. Your brain is 80% water and needs lots of water to keep hummin’ along. Result? You’re less likely to think quickly.
Caffeine inflames you. Amen quotes two studies which showed that 200mg caffeine (about 2 cups of coffee) raises homocysteine, a biomarker for inflammation and heart disease.
Caffeine linked to the muffin top. Come for the vanity and stay for the sanity. Caffeine raises cortisol, which makes you store fat at your mid-section for a rainy day.
So if you have not yet completely kicked caffeine, do it slowly over the next 7 days. Stay off for 14 days. Report back what happens with your sleep and executive functioning. Bet it’ll change for the better. And if you think you may have adrenal fatigue, test your cortisol and DHEAS levels.
