My 45 day long detox diet was a terrible decision

This run-up to summer, I decided to try something different: rather than giving up one particular food item, I thought it would be interesting to try doing a particular diet for 45 days. The basic plan of the diet I chose didn’t sound too difficult at first. I was to eat some type of salad, at least three servings of fruit, a half cup of beans, small servings of nuts/seeds, and two cups of vegetables daily. It sounded pretty doable, since that’s how I usually try to eat anyway, with the addition of dessert several times a week and the occasional pizza or bagel.

However, following this diet also meant not consuming any animal products for the first six weeks.

I should have recognized the abolition of meat right away as an indicator that this particular diet wouldn’t work for me: I love meat more than any other type of food (including chocolate), and dairy has never been much of a problem for me since I’m not lactose intolerant. But I was determined. I had committed to following this diet to the letter, and I felt an obligation to myself to see it through.

And at first, it actually went pretty well: I went to Whole Foods on the first day and bought a bunch of different types of vegetables, fruits and seeds. I cooked a rice dish for dinner that night, making enough to last for several days so I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking as much during the week. For the next few days, I ate it for either lunch or dinner, and tended to steam vegetables for my other meals (occasionally mixing in some beans, nuts, and seeds, and always making sure to incorporate some type of fruit into each meal).

I LOVE KALE.

Soon, however, the lack of animal products started to catch up to me. Eggs and milk are my main sources of protein, and I usually eat meat (typically chicken, tuna or salmon) at least once every week: beans are an excellent source of protein, but I had a lot of difficulty eating enough to get my daily recommended amount (I also exercise almost every day, so an adequate intake of protein is vital in helping my body to recover from each workout session). In terms of the physical effects, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sluggish and tired than I did for those two weeks.

I had zero energy: it started to become difficult to get myself out of bed in the morning, let alone to the gym after class. I also could not stop thinking about food: I got the weirdest cravings at all hours of the day, some of which were for foods I didn’t even like (I couldn’t stop thinking about lasagna for a good seven hours one day and I can’t stand lasagna). And even non-vegetable foods that were “allowed,”  such as peanut butter or quinoa pasta, started making me feel guilty if I ate too much of them.

I didn’t really see this as a problem though until a few days ago, when I had to write an article on eating disorders for a BeWell USC blog post. I was shocked when to read that the obsessive thoughts I’d been having about food and the incessant cravings were both fairly common early signs of the development of an eating disorder.

This worried me, so I decided to see what would happen if I “broke” my 45 day plan and had a cheat meal: the result was what can only be described as a cheat week, during which all I wanted to do was eat all the different foods I had been without for the past few weeks.

Slightly ashamed but the cake was good enough that it was worth it

This reaction really made me stop and think about what I had been doing to myself: though I had good intentions in following this eating plan, and I really do think that it is a very healthy option for some people, it was too limiting for me and wasn’t a sustainable option. I did it to try and eat more healthily, but it had the exact opposite effect: cutting so many types of food out of my diet, and trying to rely solely on natural produce, made me not want to eat vegetables at all, even though they’re typically one of my favorite foods (I love kale, broccoli and spinach a weird amount).

In the end, I think that this failed experiment has really taught me that health isn’t about eliminating every single processed or unhealthy food from your diet forever, because this just isn’t sustainable: and while you should try to eat vegetables, legumes and fruit as the main components of your diet, if you have a bowl of cereal or a candy bar every once in a while it’s not the end of the world.