Elimination Diet and Whole Food Cleanse - T minus 17 days

My naturopath has prescribed an elimination diet and whole food cleanse to be done concurrently for a period of 5 days starting Monday March 29th. This is to determine any food allergies I may have that are causing my overall sense of sluggishness as of late and also to cleanse my fat cells and liver of any toxins to prompt weight loss, which is the secondary goal of my going to see Dr. David.

The difference between an elimination diet and the cleanse? NO animal products. I'll already be cutting out most meats, all dairy, all gluten, all refined sugar, some veggies and some fruits, but with the whole food cleanse, I will not be eating soy beans, tofu, lamb or any other animal products whatsoever. So essentially I'll be turning Vegan for 5 days and consisting on nuts, seeds, legunes, whole grains such as millet, steel cut oats, quionoa (sp?), beans other than soy beans, fruits other than citrus and veggies other than tomato, potato and corn. I can each as much as I want (I was warned I would likely be hungry every couple of hours) and it will force me to be creative in terms of tasty meal ideas as I can't eat out at all. All salads can only have dressing of olive oil and vinegar.

So why the wait between now and then? I've been given tasks in the next 2 weeks. Week One: Start eating through foods around the house that I need to get rid of (milk, cheese, meats, etc). Cut back from two cups of coffee to one. Look into getting a whole foods cookbook and do some research about whole foods cooking. Week Two: Cut down to 1/2 cup of coffee a day. Purchase all the foods I'll need for the 5 days. And start drinking a root blend tea once a day meant to purify the liver. When the cleanse/diet starts, I can drink no caffeine and have no alcohol.

Here is an interesting twist. On top of all of this, my boyfriend, Special K, is going to do it with me. Not only to support me, but b/c it's good for you and he loves all things that are good for you. He is nervous about no coffee, no beer (!!) and no yogurt (he loves his daily dose of culture). He also thinks he should stay with me for all 5 days so we can support each other through cravings, cook together, etc. Hmmm....

So... I'm actually really excited about this. I was nervous at the idea of doing an elimination diet b/c I thought it consisted of being on it for weeks and weeks but that is not the case at all and I can totally eat like this for only 5 days. I will likely feel amazing and may even find things I like and learn how to incorporate some of these foods into my daily diet after all is said and done.

I will likely be blogging during this process so stay tuned! :)