Detox program at home: weekly menu, recipes, allowed foods

Turn on the TV, flip through a magazine, or surf the Internet, and you're likely to hear about a detox diet or a juice or smoothie cleanse that comes with an outrageous price tag.

It's true that most of us are exposed daily to toxins, heavy metals and chemicals found in everything from the air we breathe to the food on our plates. But the human body is equipped with a natural detoxification system that removes these dangerous compounds.

Switching to a new diet and lifestyle changes is the best way to maximize your body's potential to remove toxins. Luckily, you don't have to shell out wads of cash or start munching on the same salad for weeks on end to see results.

Do you want to know how to cleanse your body at home without going financially beyond the bounds of decency?

In this article we will look at several types of detox diets, their advantages and disadvantages. Once you've learned the strategy, you can set yourself on the right path, starting with an easy cleanse, moving on to an advanced cleanse, and becoming a detox diet guru.

What is detox?

A detox diet is a short-term, comprehensive change in diet to remove toxic substances from the body. This method often involves fasting followed by a strict diet of fruits, vegetables, juice, smoothies and water. The program often involves the use of herbal infusions and teas.

A detox program at home can last a day, 3 days, a week, 10 days, or 21 days. The optimal time for detoxifying the body is 7 days.

What does it give:

Gives organs a break from processing food;
Stimulates the liver and allows it to remove toxins;
Removes toxins through sweat and urine;
Improves lymph circulation;
Improves nutrition by eliminating harmful substances.

Detoxification diets remove harmful substances from the body that are difficult to remove otherwise. These toxins are an integral part of the average diet: phthalates, bisphenol A, plastic components and heavy metals. We use plastic dishes, packaging, vegetables and fruits are treated with paraffins and contain a huge amount of pesticides, water and air are not of the best quality - all this is a source of toxins that settle in our body and remain there for years, mainly in subcutaneous fat cells. Our body naturally removes toxins on its own. But modern people who do not stop chewing do not give it a chance to cleanse itself. Therefore, these substances accumulate in the blood and fatty tissue, and without your intervention they will remain there for a long time before the body removes them.

Detoxification programs help people cope with many problems: obesity, indigestion, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, allergies and chronic fatigue.

Oat diet

Oatmeal detox is the most gentle and beneficial detoxification option. Drinking smoothies three times daily can help you lose weight significantly. The duration of the course is arbitrary, but no more than 3 days.

Pour a glass of oatmeal with two glasses of boiled water and leave to steep for 10-12 hours.
Combine the swollen oatmeal with prunes and coconut milk in a blender.

What is the essence of the method?

Over many thousands of years of evolution, the human body has improved and learned to independently cope with any diseases. What does he need for this? Temporarily minimize or completely cancel the intake of food so that he can stop the process of digesting food and begin cleansing.

When we stop eating, this is what happens:

all the energy that was spent on digestion now goes to cleansing the body, getting rid of toxins. This happens at the cellular level. A healthy body removes harmful compounds naturally through the liver, kidneys, and sweat.

Cleansing allows the body to remove these toxins because it no longer has to process food. Now he can concentrate on other matters, the most important of which is cleansing the blood of harmful impurities.

Teas for weight loss

The program of active cleansing of the body includes the use of special herbal teas. Herbs that help cleanse the intestines and liver, as well as lose weight:

Dandelion root
Licorice
Chamomile
Nettle
Fennel.

It is best to purchase a ready-made detox mixture, because it is quite difficult to choose the right consistency on your own. Such mixtures are sold in any pharmacy and are called detox tea, weight loss tea, cleansing tea, etc. You can drink herbs only if you are absolutely sure that you do not have allergies or intolerance to the components. It is recommended to drink herbal teas in the evening, after you have finished eating. The course lasts 2 weeks and is combined with detox nutrition. After this, you should take a course of pro- and prebiotics to populate the intestines with beneficial bacteria.

How effective are these diets?

Many people who have practiced detox immediately noticed improved well-being and increased energy levels. This is the result of ridding the body of toxins, as well as better hydration through water.

Many detox teas and smoothies also contain vitamins and minerals that you may not have previously gotten from food.

Although many people lose weight by cleansing toxins and removing the water in which they were dissolved, this weight can quickly return if a person begins to overindulge in the wrong foods after completing the course.

A study conducted in Korea used a lemon cleanse diet that allowed only lemon juice to be consumed for seven days.

The diet greatly reduced the percentage of body fat, waist circumference, eliminated inflammation, and balanced insulin and leptin levels.

A detox diet always results in rapid weight loss and fat loss, as well as improved overall health, but you are required to continue eating healthy after it ends.

Detox program for a week

The weekly detox diet menu looks a little different. It can be shaped to focus on one specific product throughout the day.

Day	Program description
Monday	Drink plenty of liquid, eat vegetable soups without salt and seasonings from cabbage, herbs, tomatoes, beets and onions
Tuesday	Eating any green vegetables. Meals should be 5-6
Wednesday	Add green fruits to green vegetables
Thursday	Instead of green foods, you should eat only bright ones: red, yellow and orange.
Friday	You need to eat bananas all day and supplement them with tropical fruits
Saturday	On this day you need to divide 500 g of boiled poultry fillet into 5 servings
Sunday	You can eat white, lean sea fish without seasonings or salt, and cook brown rice as a side dish.

In addition to proper nutrition, for best effectiveness during a week-long detox, consider the following procedures:

SPA services;
light gymnastics;
yoga;
massage.

Provide yourself with a calm atmosphere and balanced physical activity.

Most popular types

Water fasting;
Fasting on vegetable broth;
Consuming only juice or smoothies;
Vegetable detox;
Vegetarian detox;
Removing unhealthy, processed foods with preservatives and allergens from the diet.

Types of detox programs

Fasting on plain water

The most effective and most difficult type of cleansing to overcome. Start with a 24-hour fast - the easiest one that you can do on your own, you don’t even need to consult a doctor. The goal is to survive without food for a day.

The human body cannot remain idle. He is constantly at work. Its daily workload: digestion of food, extraction of energy, distribution. In the absence of such a task, he finds a way to occupy himself - he cleans himself. That is, not only you will starve, but also your microflora, all the bacteria that populate the gastrointestinal tract, all the parasites, viruses and fungi - the whole cheerful company. Fasting will also relieve us of unnecessary ballast.

When fasting on water, it is permissible to drink only water, in any quantity, and no food. It can be done from breakfast to breakfast or from dinner to dinner. If you decide to fast for a short time, then you won’t get the effect from just one time. In any endeavor, a system is important. Do a water detox once or twice a week for a month. You may feel weak, chills (the body will turn on the energy-saving mode, reduce the heating temperature), by the end of the day you will smell acetone (this is normal).

The most negative thing at this stage is that your brain will constantly push you to eat something, picturing in your mind a juicy steak, a fragrant roll with a golden brown crust, or a piece of cake. You are flint if you can handle it. If you feel great (and sometimes you do), extend the fast further, as the most effective cleansing begins after 24 hours of fasting. Some (not all) experience nausea and vomiting. This used up all the glycogen in the liver. The liver will then begin to break down fat to produce fatty acids. Ketones can be formed from them, one of which is acetone. Its smell will be heard from you during fasting.

In general, the body also needs other substances, protein, for example. He will take it from the muscles, about 100 g per day. And now attention, it is assumed that your body will use defective, diseased cells for this. This is what cleaning is all about. At the end of the program, start with a light vegetable salad (carrots, cabbage, for example).

Vegetable decoction fasting

You need any decoction of vegetables, a total daily volume of 600 ml in three doses of 200 ml. Various seasonings are added to the broth: ginger, turmeric, lemon juice, parsley. Decoctions are made from:

broccoli;
cauliflower;
beets;
celery stalks;
carrots;
pumpkins or zucchini;
parsnip roots.

Herbal tea and water can be drunk in any quantity. Cleaning lasts 3 days. This is also not an surmountable obstacle for everyone. If you do not last the entire period, you can do it in short cycles of 24 hours twice a week.

Juice detox

In this option, it is more rational to choose vegetable juices and a mixture of juices from vegetables and fruits. Pure fruit juices contain a lot of sugar. This will cause significant spikes in blood sugar. The second reason to minimize fruit juices: harmful microflora loves sugar.

Juice detox lasts on average from 3 to 10 days. It has the following beneficial properties:

Fruits and vegetables are rich in minerals and vitamins. Any juice can provide you with additional nutrients and improve your overall health.

Juice is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds that can improve your immune system and help you feel more energetic.

Vegetable juice is good for intestinal microflora. Add vanilla and cayenne pepper to apple, cucumber or lemon juice. In three days on juices you will not only cleanse your body, but also lose 1.7 kg of weight.

Detox smoothie

For gut health, add fiber—come from chia, flax, or oats. Most smoothies, by weight, are made up of fruits or vegetables. You also need fat (avocado and coconut oil).

You can use water or coconut milk for the base. Fruit is a natural sweetener; no added sugar.

Vegetable detox

A great option for those who want to start cleansing. It is the simplest and most gentle. The goal is to eat only vegetables: fresh, boiled, baked. The more choice of vegetables, the better. We eat five to six times a day in small portions.

Vegetarian detox

For vegans, this diet is the norm. But for most people, switching to a vegetarian diet is a difficult decision.

Try eating only plant foods for 5 days, this includes cereals. No meat, processed foods, fast food, pastries, bread, chocolate or sweets.

What positive effects can you get?

Here are just a few advantages:

Removing from the diet foods containing harmful substances and heavy metals;
Loss of excess fat;
Improved diet with more natural foods;
Improved skin hydration;
Reduced stress levels, quality sleep and relaxation.

All of this leads to overall improved health, regardless of the type of detox diet.

Safety and possible side effects

Before detoxing, you need to study its contraindications and side effects. Many such diets involve, if not fasting, then at least limiting the number of calories consumed. Any fasting can cause fatigue, irritability and bad breath.

Long-term fasting, longer than recommended, can cause vitamin, mineral or energy deficiencies, as well as electrolyte imbalances. You should be careful with a fast that lasts more than 30 hours.

Some types of detox also recommend "cleansing" the colon with laxatives. This is wrong; doctors do not recommend such procedures.

The benefits and harms of detox

In addition to the problem of excess weight, detox relieves a wide range of diseases, such as:

allergies;
migraine;
digestive problems;
chronic fatigue;
acne;
hormonal imbalance.

Interestingly, the list of side effects largely coincides with the list of indications for use. Due to the use of laxatives, which are included in most complexes, diarrhea, nausea, dehydration and, as a result, destruction of intestinal microflora are added to this list. Which, in turn, leads to a decrease in immunity. That is why detoxification should take place under the supervision of specialists in a clinical setting after a full medical examination. In any case, detox days for weight loss are weekend or vacation time.

How to start the program: basic rules

Before you begin cleansing, a preparatory period is necessary. Limiting your usual diet is stressful for the body. To minimize the risk of failure, you need to prepare both mentally and physically.

We all know that the most important thing is to want and start. Desire is already half the battle. Motivate yourself for the program. The hardest thing is to give up coffee and tea. This may cause headaches. A week before the program, limit your consumption of refined foods, sugar, coffee, dairy products, and stop drinking alcohol and smoking. Increase your vegetable intake.

Physical exercise

The loads should be light. During the cleansing program, you will have to forget about active fitness for a while and do swimming, yoga, and walks in the fresh air. A hot bath or shower will ease the situation. You can also add a massage.

During cleansing, try not to use cosmetics, perform spa treatments with natural oils, and do not use perfumes.

If you carry out a cleansing program using vegetable broths and juices, you will not have the strength for heavy training. Enough walking and yoga. On a vegetable, vegetarian detox and on a program that excludes processed foods and fast carbohydrates, you can add light fitness and swimming.

Important! Do not neglect additional procedures, such as baths and saunas, sweat for your health and have spa treatments. Spend more time outdoors and get more sleep while detoxifying!

Menu for seven days

Regardless of the number of days, be it a three, five or seven day plan, you will have plenty of options for enjoyable and healthy meals that will help you cleanse your body. Below is the diet for seven days. From here you can take any dishes, rearrange them, you can simply follow the plan to be sure that you are doing everything correctly. Please note, this is a gentle program. Start with this menu if you have never practiced food restrictions before. This diet does not include bread, rolls, pastries, sweet coffee with cream or tea. But not every modern person can handle such a varied menu for seven days. Having completed these 7 days, you can switch to a vegetable detox, and then to a smoothie.

Day 1

Breakfast: egg omelet with tomatoes, garlic, onions and peppers + 1 banana;
Snack: blueberry smoothie;
Lunch: chicken breast baked with broccoli and brown rice;
Dinner: boiled chickpeas with vegetables + boiled Brussels sprouts.

Day 2

Breakfast: yogurt with chia seeds and fresh fruit + grain-free muesli;
Snack: carrots;
Lunch: boiled salmon with zucchini;
Snack: cottage cheese with celery and tomatoes;
Dinner: baked chicken with vegetable salad.

Day 3

Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs and avocado;
Snack: Sliced apple with cinnamon and honey;
Lunch: quinoa with vegetables and sweet peppers;
Snack: Smoothie made with almond butter, banana and protein powder;
Dinner: boiled chicken, avocado and grapefruit salad.

Day 4

Breakfast: banana;
Snack: grapefruit;
Lunch: turkey with salad and vegetables;
Snack: chia pudding with berries and rhubarb;
Dinner: green vegetable salad.

Day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal with berries, nuts and cinnamon;
Snack: baked apples;
Lunch: baked steak with Brussels sprouts;
Snack: protein powder;
Dinner: chicken baked in garlic sauce.

Day 6

Breakfast – grapefruit with honey and bananas + boiled eggs with herbs;
Snack: any smoothie;
Lunch: boiled fish;
Snack: chickpeas with garlic;
Dinner: beef steak, baked with carrots.

Day 7

Breakfast: avocado and scrambled eggs;
Snack: carrots;
Lunch: boiled lamb with cauliflower;
Snack: berries;
Dinner: boiled chicken with Brussels sprouts.

Herbal cleansing

This detoxification option is based on short-term replacement of regular food by taking herbal infusions in combination with freshly prepared cocktails. It is advisable to include one or more fat-burning foods (ginger, pineapple, grapefruit, seaweed, broccoli and others) in a detox smoothie for weight loss. The duration of the course is no more than 3 days.

1st breakfast: coconut milk + banana.
2nd breakfast: oatmeal + orange juice + berries.
Lunch: sprouted wheat + ginger infusion + dill.
Afternoon snack: almond milk + green apple + lemon juice.
Dinner: milk thistle infusion.

Recipes for detox cocktails for weight loss

Vitamin fresh

What you will need:

2 oranges;
1 lemon;
4 carrots.

Pass the washed and peeled ingredients (you don’t need to peel the lemon) through a juicer. The output will be 2 glasses of juice.

Green refreshing smoothie

Water 2 cups;
Cucumber 1 pc. large or 2 pcs. medium (depending on size);
Celery stalk 2 pcs.;
Parsley;
Banana x 2 pcs.;
Spinach 1 bunch or 3 handfuls;
Mint leaves 5-8 pcs.;
Lemon juice 1/2 pcs.

Cut into pieces and mix in a blender.

Strawberry smoothie

Strawberries (one cup);
1 banana;
Half a lime;
A bunch of mint;
Glass of water.

Chop all ingredients and grind in a blender.

Smoothie “Watermelon”

400 g seedless watermelon pulp;
two ice cubes.

Grind everything with a blender and drink chilled.

Citrus cocktail

Lime 3 pcs.;
Grapefruit 1 pc.;
Orange 2 pcs.;
Water 400 ml;
A pinch of cinnamon.

Squeeze out the juice, dilute with water, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Energy soup

Apples (can be replaced with carrots) 4 pcs.;
Water – 300 ml;
Sunflower sprouts – 100 g or a bunch;
Pea or buckwheat sprouts – 200 g or two bunches;
Spinach – 300 g;
Avocado – 1 pc.

Grind in a blender, place in a bowl, add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Detox water

Water infused with vegetables and fruits will not only help you wake up and get your body working, but also improve digestion during the day, cleanse the blood, improve immunity, remove toxins, and speed up metabolism. Spices and herbs enhance the fat-burning effect and add a note of freshness to the drink.

Cut the lemon into slices and add water (400 ml). Drink in the morning or before meals.
Pour watermelon (200 g) with water (400 ml), let it brew, cool.
Cut the apple into slices, add 400 ml of water, add a cinnamon stick, a little anise, let it brew, drink when thirsty.
Pour fresh cucumber, half a lemon and a sprig of mint with water, drink as needed.

Detox drink “Ginger”

First option:

2.5 cm ginger, peeled and grated;
1 lemon, cut into pieces;
A pinch of turmeric;
1 tsp. honey;
2 glasses of water.

Pour hot water over the ingredients, let steep for 30 minutes, drink warm.

Second option:

Grapefruit (freshly squeezed juice from 1 pc.);
Orange (juice);
Grated ginger (3 cm of root);
Juice of 2 carrots.

Mix in a shaker and add a couple of ice cubes.

The drink contains lycopene, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C. Grapefruits are rich in soluble fiber called pectin, which has a beneficial effect on lowering cholesterol levels. Grapefruits also support natural detoxification pathways through the liver and increase the production of glutathione, which is a cleansing enzyme.

Detox cocktail “Pineapple”

600 g pineapple, cut into pieces;
1 teaspoon spirulina powder;
Several ice cubes;
A bunch of mint.

Grind everything in a blender, cool, enjoy the drink.

Preparing the body

The preparation stage for cleansing is called pretox. It is no less important than the detox program itself. You have to not only limit your usual diet, but be mentally prepared to go the distance to the end.

With full confidence in the excellent results of the detox program, the body will be able to more easily tolerate an almost complete refusal of food:

The main point of preparation is to stop drinking coffee . The drink will successfully replace a cup of green tea and will give you vigor and energy.
Reducing the amount of dairy products on the menu.
Increase portions of vegetables and fruits. It's nice to see a rainbow of green, yellow or orange fruits on your plate. And an abundance of vegetable recipes will not only prepare you mentally for fasting, but will also improve your metabolism and tidy up your skin.
Sport. Don’t be afraid of excessive exercise, because there is yoga, Pilates and swimming. A set of simple exercises will help tone the muscles and joints and saturate the blood with oxygen.
Relaxing evening baths with lavender or sage oil will help you mentally tune in. It is enough to soak in a cleansing bath with sea salt once a week, and add a little lemon juice to it in the morning to recharge your energy for the whole day.

Morning exercises and replacing high-calorie goodies with fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs and hard cheeses will help prepare the body for the detox program. Small meals also contribute to a smooth transition to a diet; dried fruits, nuts and apples are suitable as snacks.