I am not a physician, please consult your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Our Bodies are Stressed & Overworked

We are exposed to so much stress, and not just the kind you feel from your job, life events, running a household, etc. Things like toxins and chemicals from every day products like makeup, dish soap, and skincare. Blue light messing with our hormones from too much screen time, pollutants in the air, and “food” that contains artificial ingredients, food coloring, and preservatives, etc.

There are additional stressors like not getting adequate sleep, nutrition, or enough downtime outside. Not to mention the SAD – Standard American Diet, often comprised of fast, easy, and addictive, processed foods with very little nutritional value. (Read: Tobacco Owned Food & Children’s Health: Take Control with Hidden Veggies & Smoothies)

Our bodies have filtration systems set in place to detox and cleanse our bodies, (kidneys, liver, lungs, and skin) but they weren’t designed for this modern way of living. If we were an air conditioner who’s filter needed to be changed, we’d just get a new one and swap it out for the dust covered, dirty, clogged one. But we can’t do that with our bodies. We only have ONE body.

So what do we do? A solution: Intermittent Fasting with Detox Support.

The company I represent, Arbonne, has formulated with science backed research, safety, nutrition, and 3rd party testing, a 7 Day Fresh Start intermittent fasting detox. A group of us did the program together this past week and I’m eager to share this beneficial information with you.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

So why try Intermittent Fasting? Those built in filtration organs I mentioned requires TIME, accompanied by nutritious foods in order to do its job properly. We need to allow our bodies REST. When we are eating all hours of the day, straight up until bedtime, our bodies are using our sleep time to digest instead of resetting, filtering, and detoxing. Essentially, it’s working overtime! When we’re eating things like gluten, processed foods …a pre-bedtime bowl of ice cream anyone? << me & Joe!… our bodies are working extra hard to filter through these processed foods and never catching up.

When you go 12 hours without eating

“In a ‘fasted’ state, which typically starts 10–12 hours after your last meal, the body is depleted of this form of glucose. Then the liver begins to break down stored fat into fatty acids called ketones to use as fuel. This process is known as ‘metabolic switching’ and is a reason why fasting can lead to weight loss.” Source BBC

When you go 16 hours without eating

“During the 16-hour fast, your body undergoes a process known as autophagy, a process where the body destroys old or damaged cells in the body.

Autophagy recycles the cells that help in the reduction of inflammation in the body and reduces diseases. It also improves the health of the skin and prevents wrinkles, aging, and acne.
It improves the immune system and disease-fighting capacity.
It also slows down the process of aging of the body.

It increases the generation of new brain cells and nerve tissue that increase brain performance and improve memory, mood, and focus.“ Source MedicineNet

I don’t know about you, but that all sounds good to me! I opted for an 8 hour Eat Window and a 16 hour Fasting Window. It was challenging at first because I was craving late night snacks around 9:00pm! I didn’t realize that I was snacking so much into the night prior to this!

Detox Supplements I included for 7 Days

7 Days, 3 products: Morning Matcha, Golden Renewal Protein, Omnigut Probiotic.
All formulated to work together in order to support your metabolism, gut lining, and detoxifying your system, resulting in potentially:

– better sleep
– weight loss
– less bloat
– improved mental clarity
– increased metabolism
– improved digestive issues
– enhanced heart health

Benefits of Matcha

Detoxification – Marcha’s clorophyll gives it a vibrant green color and can help detoxify the body of heavy metals, toxins, and harmful chemicals.

Weight Loss – Matcha can help boost metabolism and energy, which can lead to fat burning.

Hearth Health – Matcha’s antioxidants can help regulate inflamation and oxidative stress, which are major contributors to heart disease.

Brain Health – Matcha contains caffeine, which can increase alertness and energy, and may also help with memory tasks.

Antioxidants – Matcha contains more antioxidants than green tea, including catechins, which can help prevent cholesterol buildup in arteries and improve blood flow. Matcha’s antioxidants may also help fight chronic diseases and slow aging by stabilizing free radicals that can damage cells.

Stress Relief – Matcha may have a stress relieving effect.

Arbonne’s Matcha with MCT is an organic premium grade Japaneses matcha featuring naturally occurring caffeine and L-Theanine to keep you on track for the last hours of your fast. Organic MCT supports thermogenesis, the body’s natural fat burning process.

Have you had matcha before? I haven’t! It wasn’t exactly my favorite flavor, so I chose to drink it cold on ice with a straw. I found I could gulp it down this way 🙂 Matcha will not break your fast so you can have it prior to your first meal of the day. Do not add anything to it except hot or cold water. Arbonne provides you with 2 / day.

Ingredients & Benefits of Arbonne’s Golden Renewal Protein

Detoxifying botanical blend that supports healthy elimination of environmental toxins
by the liver and benefits the body’s own detoxification process.

• Siliphos Milk Thistle supports healthy liver function

• Meriva Curcumin helps maintain a balanced inflammatory response in
healthy individuals

• TrueBroc Broccoli Seed Extract contains glucoraphanin, a bioactive plant compound that supports the body’s natural elimination of environmental toxins by the liver

• 24 grams per serving of high-quality Pea Protein Hydrolysate provides a great energy
source while helping maintain lean muscle mass.

• Sweetened with naturally sugar-free and calorie-free Monk Fruit

I actually liked the way this tasted! The way it’s described, I didn’t think I would, but I did!
Pro Tip: the spices will settle, so give it a stir between sips, otherwise that last sip will be spicy!

Ingredients & Benefits of Arbonne’s Omnigut Probiotic

• 2 billion CFU of clinically studied probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum BB536 and
10 billion CFU of clinically studied probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG support
regularity and a healthy microbiome.

• PepZin GI® Zinc Carnosine supports intestinal health and gut lining integrity

You take this after your last meal of the day 🙂

Reasons to Eliminated Processed Foods during the 7 Day Fresh Start

Processed foods increase our intake of calories, sugar, salt, and fat. Removing processed foods will eliminate a key source of inflammation during our 7 Day Fresh Start. Eliminating processed foods will also help improve your mood, sleep, and weight goals.

Examples of Processed Foods:

• granola bars
• cereal
• processed lunch meat
• bread
• microwave popcorn
• cheese slices
• chips
• cookies
• crackers
  

Types of Foods to Included in your 7 Day Fresh Start

• Green leafy vegetables
• Lean meats
• Fruit
• basically anything that comes from the earth and doesn’t have a TV commercial 🙂
  
  Joe and I ate a lot of chicken and roasted veggies like squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. I’d season everything with a little butter and spices from the pantry. Or we’d do taco bowls with locally sourced ground beef, avocado, salsa, and veggies.

I am a member of a Facebook Group dedicated to Healthy Living, if you’d like to join, let me know! Its a great place to ask questions, find recipes, and community!

A Day in the Life: 7 Day Fresh Start

Check out this conversation with Dr. Molly Gile & Neuroscientist Dr. Mo Boeger on the benefits of fasting along with a “day in the life” during the 7 Day Fresh Start program.

How I Felt After the 7 Day Fresh Start

Weight Loss

Though losing weight was not the goal, I am down about 4lbs. I normally range from 129 – 133lbs. On Day 7 of the program, I was 126. Which feels low to me, but I feel good and honestly I think it was mostly bloat and backup that I no longer had. I feel like my digestive system has a fresh start! I guess hence the name of the program!

Mental Clarity & Calm

My husband observed that I was “somehow more calm” during my Intermittent Fasting – which I guess is a compliment?! LOL. I think the observation he made was during my 3 yr old’s 40 minute meltdown during dinner on Day 6, which often would lead me to lose my mind. But I have felt well rested and have better mental clarity, my tolerance for these situations felt much better. I was able to respond instead of react to the big emotions my son was having.

Energy

I was hoping for more energy (is it even possible with a 3 year old and 10 month old?!) And while the heavy fatigue I had before has been lifted, I do still feel a bit tired. But this program also started, literally, right at the beginning of my monthly cycle. I would be curious to do the 7 Day Fresh Start mid cycle next time. When we get our periods, our estrogen levels drop, which can cause fatigue and that “want to curl up in bed with a book” feeling 🙂 Mid cycle, during ovulation, we naturally have more energy. Next quarter I will do the 7 Days mid cycle and see if there is a notable difference.

While writing this, I am now 2 days past the program but have kept up with the 16 hour fasting windows because I love feeling NOT bloated! I plan to continue at least some degree of fasting moving forward.

What Others Have Said

What Next?

I plan to do this 7 Day Fresh Start every quarter. If you’d like to do with with me, or on your own at any time, you can order your kit here. It’s $128.00 for Preferred Clients, which is such an amazing rate for what you get, what you learn, and how you feel afterwards!

Quick Run Down on Preferred Clients = $29 annually, No Subscriptions, No Minimum Order Requirements, Get 20-30% Off Sitewide, Free Shipping & Free Gifts on qualifying order, & Other Perks!