Before you start a new diet, do these things.

Are you getting ready to start a diet for weight loss or other reasons?

Do you want to try Keto, Whole 30, Paleo, Gluten-Free, AIP, Atkins, DASH, Ornish, Vegetarian, Nordic, etc.- the list is endless with diet plan possibilities!

Before starting a diet plan that is much different than your current way of eating, it is best to get your system primed, clean, and happy! Prepping for a weight loss diet plan or cleanse brings about better results than just starting the day after you may have had coffee, alcohol, pizza, and processed foods. Starting cold turkey can shock you a little, and it does not always feel good.

Here are a few ways to start right and achieve optimal results.

1-3 day MONO Cleanse

A Mono Cleanse from a diet standpoint is just eating one food for a certain number of days.

Like watermelon or apples, for instance, because it is summer, I suggest watermelon.

You drink 16 oz of celery juice in the morning and then eat as much watermelon throughout the day, no other foods, and drink the same amount of celery juice in the evening.

Be aware that one day may be the best for you if you are very slim. I have done this for 2.5 days and did not feel it gave me less energy.

Watermelon contains over 90% of water and can stimulate bowel movements. If you do a watermelon Mono Cleanse for more than a day, most likely, you will have some diarrhea. Some of my clients feel it “cleans them out” and are happy about that. But it might not be the best for you if you already struggle with diarrhea.

A Mono Cleanse can reduce bloating and give your digestion a break, setting you up in a good way for what is next on your diet journey. I recommend doing a Mono Cleanse before any cleanse or new diet plan and once a month to clean the system and give the digestion a rest.

28 Elimination Diet

Whether you are headed down a diet or cleanse path, a 28 Day Elimination Diet is essential for understanding what your body needs in the future. I am not a fan of any long-term diet that eliminates healthy vegetables, fruits, grains, and fats and have seen many not be able to stick to these hard-core regimens. I am a fan of finding the best way to eat and the best foods to eat long term to maintain a healthy weight and overall joyous life.

A 28-Day Elimination Diet (see below) eliminates processed and allergy-causing foods and can help you to get in touch with how your body feels and reacts to certain foods. At the end of the elimination diet, you can re-introduce some of the allergy-causing foods (if you want to) and see how they make you feel. I suggest doing one food at a time for a week, then another the following week, and so on.

28-Day Elimination Guidelines

What to include

Vegetables

Fruit

Whole Grains (whole oats (soaked), quinoa (soaked), some brown rice)

Meat (Grass-Fed, Organic if possible, fresh game)

Poultry (avoid factory-farmed)

Beans (preferable not out of a can, but this can be difficult, so make sure the can says no BPA Lining)

Healthy Oils

Seeds (raw)

Small amounts of local honey

Small amounts of Maple Syrup

What to avoid

Dairy

Soy

All packaged/processed foods

Fish (if you are not doing the 28 Elimination for allergy reasons, wild-caught fish is OK to eat)

Shellfish

Quick Oats

Gluten

Nuts

Bacon

Alcohol

Sugar (White Processed, Sugar in the Raw, etc.)

Caffeine (wean yourself off slowly)

*Most people feel better after the 28 days, lose some weight and make decisions to continue this way of eating instead of a specific trend diet. The 28 Elimination Diet is often used to determine allergies to particular foods, but it is such an easy diet to follow you could try it for many reasons.

Yay! You can start your diet!

Still want to try Keto, Paleo, Whole 30 etc..? OK sure! It is terrific to find success in these types of eating plans. One suggestion is to avoid the trend diet junk foods. Yes! There are now so many trend diet packaged foods. Why? Because food manufacturers know us well. Our culture loves snack foods, and we love diet snack foods that pose as food substitutions we are trying to get away from; the foods that are part of what got us on this diet journey in the first place.

Keto diet junk foods reign supreme at your local supermarket. If it’s not a keto-specific junk food, you can now find “Keto Friendly” on many regular junk foods. Yum! I can still eat chips and ice cream. Not really, not if you feel bad daily. That diet packaged food do not make you feel better physically, but it might be a momentary emotional boost.

Final Words

Whole Foods! -this is an excellent place to end up.

Fruits

Vegetables

Wild Caught Fish (no farm-raised)

Grass-Fed, Non-GMO, Organic Beef and Chicken, with no added chemicals to maintain shelf life

*And by the way, we don’t need meat daily for every meal. Beef once or twice a week, Chicken once or twice a week, fish once or twice a week. For a total of meat 3x a week.

Grains-Quinoa, Brown Rice, Millet, Whole Oats

Raw Nuts and Seeds (soak your nuts for better digestion)

Beans-(if in a can, look for non-BPA liner)

Lots of water

Some dairy (no 1% milks, consume primarily Organic Whole Milk) we don’t need a lot of this either

Whole Milk Yoghurts (Organic if possible, with UNDER 10grams of sugar for the entire serving.)

Local Honey

Maple Syrup (and that’s the only ingredients-pure maple syrup)

Some additional helpful hints: Buy the best that you can afford. Once you take packaged foods off of your grocery list, you should see some relief on your grocery bill.

When you do decide to eat a packaged snack food, drink alcohol, eat a dessert, only purchase the best or not at all.

Look for organic, NON-GMO, and ingredients you can pronounce! Less ingredients, is always better. I'm talking about five max! Items like cheese puffs and standard white and wheat bread are not food.

Others ways to save and eat well

*Bake instead of purchasing -it is always less $$ per serving (This does not include Bisquick)

*Start a small garden or a community garden

*Take the kids fishing, catch your dinner!

All diets forms can feel overwhelming at first. That is why it is important to take it slow and be encouraged with every step you take.

You got this! Now feel better!

xo

*If you need support from a certified Health Coach during your healing wellness journey, please email me wellnesswaymaker@gmail.com. or DM me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/healthytexasgirl/