Phase I of UltraMetabolism Detox

Won't be doing this for the three weeks!

I've just finished the first week of the UltraMetabolism eight-week detox. Technically, the real detox started today -- last week was just getting rid of the most toxic things in my diet: sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, hydrogenated oils, packaged foods and alcohol.

The middle of last week had me questioning whether my life was worth living with the above things (complete with severe caffeine withdrawal and olfactory hallucinations), but now comes even more things to eliminate for the next three weeks: dairy, gluten, eggs, pork and red meat. I'm not looking forward to it, but I just keep reminding myself how much this will benefit my system. Also, I'll get the opportunity to discover if any of the things I eat contribute to my rheumatoid arthritis -- that alone would be worth the suffering.

I can tell you that while there are things that I plan to permanently eliminate from my diet (HFCS and hydrogenated oils), there are things that I'm currently on the fence about (caffeine), things that I will probably limit (dairy, alcohol, maybe pork) and things that I'm reintroducing as soon as I can (right now I can't decide between bringing back eggs, gluten or natural sweeteners first).

Dr. Hyman says that most people on this detox plan lose 6-12 pounds during phase one, and if they really listen to how their body reacts and make healthy changes to their diet and lifestyle, will continue to lose weight. That's huge for people who struggle with their weight for a variety of reasons. But that's not really why I'm doing this.

More than anything I want to be educated about the way that I'm eating. Not having ever really worried about my weight, I've always subscribed to the "eat what tastes good" diet. I knew that some of the things I ate were good for me, some weren't and then there were those things that I wasn't sure about either way. But now I want to know for sure. Even if I still choose some unhealthy foods occasionally, I want to do it making an informed decision. That's what Dr. Hyman and his UltraMetabolism prescription is going to do for me.

What I've found most interesting from reading his book is that most of what Dr. Hyman recommends is how I was fed as a child. At first I was surprised. Then I wasn't. The foundation of Hyman's theory is that we need to get back to eating what our bodies were designed to eat and what we did eat before industrialization changed every aspect of our lives. And how would my mother have grown up eating, in the 1930s in the hills of Jamaica, where they grew and raised the majority of their food and the only preservative they knew about was salt? Once again, mother has proven that she knows best!

I'll keep you updated on how the detox goes and, although results are different for everyone, what I learn about common reactions and any interesting recipes or food products that I come across. If you have any specific questions, please let me know.