Did you know that one of the main jobs of your liver is to detox? I developed the perfect One Day Cleanse routine to help when your body needs a hand. You can download the Cleanse toward the end, but read on more about how to help detox your body everyday with many foods that could be right in your kitchen.
My clients and readers were telling that they were having a problem losing weight or just felt like they were off. Some didn’t have as much energy as they once did. Others noticed that their workouts were suffering.
While my One Day Cleanse is’t quite the same length as my 3-Day Cleanse in The Belly Burn Plan, it still does a great job getting your body back on track, especially if you’re dealing with:
- Crazy sugar cravings
- Out-of-control hunger
- Bloating
- Low energy
- Increased belly fat
- Creeping weight gain
The One Day Cleanse isn’t a fast. You get to eat food, which is really nice. I have three kids, and I like them to see me eat healthy food all the time. Even though The One Day Cleanse is a modification from my normal diet, it’s still full of clean and healthy foods that help to round up the toxins in our body and moe them on out!
Here’s how that works.
How Bodies Detox Garbage
Just about every type of food claims to be detoxifying. And to some extent - many foods can, on some level, detoxify.
There are several phases to liver detoxification. Here is a simplified explanation of how that should work.
- Garbage gets pulled together by our liver after we eat, drink or breathe it in. Even if you’re eating the most perfect diet in the world, you’re naturally exposed to toxins in the environment (see list below) and need to get rid of them.
- Your liver stores all the garbage and waits for it to get picked up. This is a part of Phase I detoxification. It’s important, and for the most part, our bodies are great at doing this.
- The garbage gets picked up by a collector and heads out. Toxins are either neutralized in your blood or eliminated when you go to the bathroom. This is the part our bodies are really bad at.
- Wait! The garbage isn’t picked up. The garbage has been sitting there a while and now gets recirculated again.
- The garbage starts to build up. We start feeling toxic.
- Fat starts accumulating. Energy is lacking. We’re more bloated and more sensitive to everything.
Ideally, we eat the types of foods that help with step 3 - which is where the cycle should end. Unfortunately, we don’t eat enough foods that help with that phase of detoxification. I’ve listed those below as well. I’ll get to those in a minute.
What Causes “Garbage” to Build Up
A lot of foods, beverages and environmental toxins can accumulate making it very difficult to detoxify.
I mentioned above, even if you eat a perfect diet, you can still build up toxins in your body. Again, your liver should be able to break these toxins down, but if you’ve got years of accumulated build up, you need to break it down.
Foods and Drinks That Cause Build Up
- Excess sugar
- Refined carbohydrates
- Fried foods
- Most fast food
- Excess alcohol
- Over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications
- Environmental pollutants (smog, pesticides, heavy metals, etc)
Foods That Cleanse
As I mentioned, you’re probably eating plenty of foods that help with the first part of detoxification, but it’s important to make sure you’re also eating plenty of vegetables that help with the “garbage collection” job, too.
These foods are rich in a nutrient called glutathione. Glutathione has the amazing ability to handcuff toxins and drag them out of the body.
Glutathione is naturally found throughout our body, helping to neutralizes the toxins that could make us sick. When we’re not getting enough glutathione in our body ages faster and we feel more run down.
You read that right, glutathione helps your body slow signs of aging.
These foods are a particularly great source of glutathione:
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Avocado
- Bok Choy
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Spinach
- Watercress
In addition to these foods, there are a lot of foods we can eat that help to increase or recycle our body’s natural glutathione levels.
Load up on these foods rich in selenium, sulfur and vitamin C as well. These three nutrients, found to varying degrees in our body but also in these foods, help to bind to toxins, assisting in making them water soluble so glutathione can help make them non-toxic, ushering them out of the body.
Selenium-rich foods:
- Brazil Nuts
- Eggs
- Fish
- Brown Rice
- Sunflower Seeds
Sulfur-rich foods:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Leeks
- Chives
- Milk Thistle
- Coconut Milk
Vitamin C-rich foods:
- Broccoli
- Lemons
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Red and Yellow Peppers
- Acerola Cherries
The One Day Cleanse Schedule
Alright! Here it is. The One Day Cleanse (with the schedule below). Get a download right here, too.
Anything that’s in blue has a recipe that you can find in the download. So be sure grab this download before you leave, so you get all the benefits of the recipes.
For example, you’ll see I have hummus listed below as a snack option. This is a recipe I developed that has a lot of great nutrition in it that you won’t find in a store-bought variety.
Early AM: within 15 minutes of waking
- 12 ounces of room temperature water with 1 ounce of lemon juice
- 1 cup of tarragon ginger tea (warm or room temp)
Mid Morning Breakfast: 2 - 3 hours after waking
- 12 ounces of room temperature water
- 1 cup tarragon ginger tea
- SuperClean Protein Smoothie
Afternoon Snack #1: between 12:30 – 1:30pm
- 2 cups tarragon ginger tea
- 1 to 2 cups carrots + 3 ounces hummus
Afternoon Snack #2: between 3:00 – 5:00pm
- 2 cups tarragon ginger tea
- 1 cup berries (unsweetened) + 1 tbsp almond or cashew butter
Dinner: between 6:00 – 7:00pm
- 1 cup room temperature water with 1 ounce of lemon juice
- 2 cups Veggie Chili w/ mixed green salad and Cleanse Dressing
Pre-Bedtime: 8:00 - 9:00pm
- 2 cups tarragon ginger tea
I get a lot of questions about the One Day Cleanse, and tried to address as many of them as possible in the Frequently Asked Questions.
Before I get those, I’d like to tell you a little bit about why I decided to use some very specific ingredients in the One Day Cleanse.
What are the benefits of lemon juice?
For this particular routine, I use lemon juice. If you’re familiar with my 3-Day Cleanse in The Belly Burn Plan (which is also incredibly effective and really boosts fat metabolism), you know that I use apple cider vinegar (ACV). Both are good and have redeeming qualities. If you’d prefer to use ACV, go for it.
Why lemon juice?
Lemon juice (or ACV) alkalizes blood (the opposite of acidity), improves digestion and gives our liver a hand getting rid of toxins.
What are the benefits of tarragon & ginger?
I make pretty good use of fresh tarragon and ginger. All you need to pick up from the store is about 15 sprigs of tarragon (usually found in the produce aisle, pre-packages with other fresh herbs) and a couple inches of fresh ginger, also found in the produce aisle.
Why tarragon & ginger?
Both tarragon and ginger do are known to increase circulation, effectively remove toxins and reduce inflammation.
One Day Cleanse FAQs
Can I workout the same day as the One Day Cleanse?
You can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re likely eating a lot less than you normally would. Additionally, the purpose of the Cleanse is to detoxify by breaking down. Working out, unless it’s a restorative yoga class or a relaxing walk, is a building activity.
Exercise and all forms of fitness are great! Try to wait one day before getting your heart rate up too high!
What sort of protein powder should I use?
I’ve been leaning on vegetable-based protein powders lately. Personally, I just feel better when I use them (in comparison to whey-based protein powders). Any high quality protein powder will do, but I strongly suggest that you stay away from soy-based protein powders.
The plant-based protein powder I’ve been using is Orgain (I like chocolate or vanilla).
I’m really hungry. Can I eat more?
Everyone’s caloric intake is different, depending on your height, weight, gender and activity level. If you feel you need to eat a little more to maintain even energy, please do, but make them more of what is already in the One Day Cleanse.
For example, eat more veggies and hummus or add a little more avocado to the smoothie. You get the point.
This Cleanse has no caffeine! What if I get a caffeine withdrawal headache?
If you have a caffeine-withdrawal headache, try to drink green tea. If you can’t drink green tea, then drink a very weak, very small coffee.
Please avoid diet sodas as they contain artificial sweeteners that will throw your efforts in reverse.
How much weight can I lose?
You might lose a pound or two, but it could some water weight waiting to leave our body! The One-Day Cleanse is very anti-inflammatory, but it’s just one day. That said, you’ll feel great the next day and as long as you stay eating clean!
Can I do a longer version of this Cleanse?
Sure! You can do back-to-back days if you’d like. But if you want real results, I highly recommend you order The Belly Burn Plan.
The Belly Burn Plan starts with a 3-Day Cleanse that has resulted in people losing up to 16 pounds - with the average right around 6 pounds. The great part is, because the Cleanse goes right into a meal plan, most of the weight stays off - and continues coming off through the six weeks of The Belly Burn Plan.
I’m taking a medication or am under the care of a physician for something. Can I do the One Day Cleanse?
If you have an underlying medical condition, or are under the care of a physician, it’s always a good idea to check in with your practitioner. I am not a doctor, nor can a diagnose or treat illness.
Did you download the One Day Cleanse? If not, here it is again.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know. Do you want to see any other information of detoxing the body with real food? I'd love to hear from you!
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