I meant what I said in the comments of Jen’s latest post today. There are SO many reasons I love food. Let me share some of them with you here:
Variety
Okay, it’s true. The Isagenix shakes taste good. Both the chocolate and the vanilla. But twice a day, every day? With only one "real" meal (and an insufferably virtuous one at that)? It gets old. Sorry. But it does.
Flavour
I miss certain flavours. Namely: sweet. I am not normally a sweet-tooth type person (ask anyone! I’m strictly a Salt & Vinegar chip gal!) but I really, really want to taste something purely sweet again. I actually dreamed about gummi bears last night!
Texture
Again, as with variety, I love the different textures of food. I love smooth, creamy yogurt and burst-in-your-mouth juicy grapes. I love the crunch of an apple and (equally) the crunch of the odd chip. I love, love, love the crunch of a toasted bagel and the soft bready insides. I even love the sliminess of oatmeal. And nothing – NOTHING can beat the stretchy smoothness of melted cheese. Nothing.
Temperature (hot, cold)
I love to have a hot coffee in the morning, and a hot bowl of oatmeal. Or a hot coffee and a cold grapefruit; straight from the fridge! I like to mix it up, like, say, dressing a cold romaine salad with some strips of hot flank steak, straight off the grill. And ice cream: hard or soft. Gelato. Sherbet. Popsicles…
Cooking/Baking
I love to cook and bake. And I’m not bad at it, either. I really enjoy puttering around in the kitchen, making something yummy to nourish my family, whether it be a simple or elaborate meal, a batch of cookies or a custom, 2-tiered birthday cake.
But it’s hard to cook when you’re not going to enjoy even the littlest morsel of what you’re making. That has actually been the hardest challenge throughout this cleanse so far: making bagels, oatmeal or waffles for my kids in the morning, fajitas or paninis for lunch, and homemade macaroni & cheese or lentil soup for dinner, knowing that I can’t have any.
Social activity
But truly my favourite thing about food is enjoying it with my loved ones and friends. A cup of hot, fresh coffee with a slice of freshly-baked banana bread and the company of a great gal pal. A nourishing meal shared among my family, as we wind down after a busy week and share our stories around the table.
A platter of cheese, crackers and apple slices for a crowd of hungry youngsters after a day at school. These are the things I love most about food.
So. That’s what I’m missing most as I continue on my cleanse journey. But in the end, I stood on the scale this morning and it read 170. So I can’t complain. Well, okay, I will continue to complain about the deprivations, but I’ll also continue with the cleanse because it’s so very worth it.
If you have any questions about Steve Bentley or Bentley Coaching or Isagenix contact Steve at performancecoaching@sympatico.ca or by phone at 416.407.6361. You can also go to www.performancecoaching.infoseekdirect.com and www.cleansedforlife.com.
oh my goodness….it’s totally the social eating for me. we get together with friends…whether it’s me going for lunch with coworkers or us having a bunch of people over for dinnre…all the time. and it’s just enjoyable for me. i love to cook. i love to cook for other people. i love other people to cook for me. i HATE to be somewhere and NOT be able to eat in front of people and then it starts all the annoying conversations about why you can’t eat those things…
I was thinking about this a lot this morning. I think if you look at this as a quick fix or a diet then it is bound to fail and definitely does seem a bit extreme. I did not start this to lose weight (although a few stubborn pounds coming off is a bonus) but I started this because I want a healthy body for the long term. I am investing in my body now so that I can live a long and healthy life.
The closest practical thing I can liken it to is the spring clean. Every year (or a few times a year) I get overwhelmed by the feeling of clutter and do a complete purge – clean out the closets, throw out the junk, give toys, clothes, and books to charity. I start afresh. If I didn’t, the junk would overwhelm me and it would impact my ability to find things and function within my house. That is what I am doing for my body. Stripping out all of the junk and giving it a breath of fresh air. Then, using what I have learned to try and minimize the junk building up again moving forward so it doesn’t get to a place that is so overwhelming.
I am still new to this so am not 100% sure yet but I have learned a lot so far and definitely feel more in control. I don’t think this is for everyone but if it is a holisitic approach to health that you seek over the long term I think this would be a great place to start.
Hi there Ladies. Margot, those are great questions and thoughts. Thank for raising them. I hear these from some people and certainly want you to have all the info.
Well I have to say first off that I really LOVE to help people with their health, fitness, nutrition and wellness. I’ve been doing coaching people professionally for 17 years now (I’m soon to be 42 and have been competing at a high level in various sports for 26+ years now (skiing to Ironman Triathlon) and have coached people to World Championship races, over 400 Ironman races and have been named Coach of the Year before) and I’ve certainly learned a lot over the years. As a performance coach I’ve worked with everyone from world champions to people just trying to get into shape. Everyone has their own particular goals and challenges and no person’s goals are any more or less important to me than anothers. To the person with the goal it’s all they care about and that’s good enough for me. Winning big races or fitting into a pair of pants, doesn’t matter. Over the years I’ve seen a LOT of issues that people have with staying healthy, or in many cases even knowing what ‘healthy’ is in the first place. I coach some of the fittest people you’ll ever meet and they weren’t necessarily healthy when they came to me.
In all the years I’ve helped people improve their health I have to say Isagenix is easily the best system I’ve ever seen. I say ‘System’ because it’s not a product. I don’t believe that any one product can help our beautiful, diverse and incredibly complex body do what it needs to do. It’s easy for people to think (hope) that you don’t need super foods and that just eating regular available food products are going to keep you healthy. That might be the case if we only lived to 35 years old, didn’t live in a veritable soup/cloud of man-made toxins, and the food we eat is/was ripe and completely nutritious when picked and eaten (without genetic modifications, etc, etc), Yes, then I’m sure real food would suffice. Unfortunately, we live well beyond what we ever lived before (which is a good thing) and our bodies need a LOT of extra help to handle that ‘stress’. We also live in an environment that our bodies weren’t designed to live in or cleanse us from. We aren’t adapting to the toxins in our environment and that’s a big reason why we are increasingly getting sicker and sicker at younger and younger ages. There’s nothing natural about what we breath, eat, drink or put on our skin any more. Our bodies need help to protect us from the toxins in our environment and to combat aging. And the foods we do eat are either purposefuly full of chemicals and/or bad fats, and/or devoid of nutrients and minerals.
Isagenix isn’t the miracle. What it does is allow your body to be the miracle it was designed to be and is. By cleansing your system Isagenix simply acts as a catalyst to allow your body to do what it wants to do, what it was designed to do. Isagenix floods your body with extremely nutritious foods (it is all food, even though it isn’t in the form of something you’re used to) and that influx of special nutrition allows you to do the cleansing. It’s so hard to get all the nutrients from what’s in Isagenix into your body each and every day on an ongoing basis by eating regular foods. It would be too hard to gather all the foods, impossible to figure out the proper combinations needed, extremely expensive to recreate, and too hard to eat that much produce. Instead Isagenix makes it easy by combining it in concentrated easy to ingest forms.
I often talk to people that say they wouldn’t put anything in their body that isn’t normal food, or isn’t approved by their doctor, yet they’ll drive from that conversation and take their kids to a local fast food restaurant to have lunch. I still have a McDonalds hamburger and french fries that I bought in December 2006 as a test and they look exactly the same today as they did the day I bought them. Mmmmm, if some self respecting bacteria isn’t going to attack a 13 month old burger and fries I’m not sure if I want them going in my body.
When your body is given the nutrition it needs to function effectively your cells (all 75 trillion of them (that’s 75,000,000,000,000)) all regenerate as they should and that incremental benefit grows and grows and allows you to be the miracle you are. It doesn’t matter where you are on your wellness journey, your body can and will adapt and improve given the right nutrients. Nutrition is the key and you cannot get it from regular food alone. In the time it’s taken you to read this far your body has had about 3,000,000 cells die off and regenerate. Your blood cells for example regenerate every 3.5 to 4 months. Jen/Kath, yes you’re going to feel great in a week and a half on Isagenix; but wait till you’ve been taking the shakes and Ionix once a day for a few months. You’ll be amazed at how incredible you’ll feel. I believe Chris Ross who responded before can attest to that feeling. Sure you can go back to eating regular food after the cleanse, but why when there’s something so easy and inexpensive and effective to take. Ask yourself what kind of nutrition did you have coursing through your body as those 3 million cells were reborn. Was your system awash in high density nutrients, minerals, enzymes, coenzymes, and the proper balance of macronutrients that the best scientists in nutrition with decades of experience have been able to put together in a convenient, tastey, affordable, effective and safe ‘System’ (Isagenix); or were you awash in a nutrient mix from a hastily eaten bagel, a rush through the drive thru at your local coffee shop, and a quick meal at a local burger joint, before heading home to cook a ‘healthy’ meal of some unripened (and hence un-nutritious) vegetables, some starchy carbs and a chicken grown in a factory. I can hear your cells crying out already. Yes you really are what you eat.
It’s very hard to eat properly. Certainly not impossible, but very hard. What Isagenix does for me and for those that use it is provide a great kick start to better health. It breaks the chain of cravings that many people are slaves to. I allows your body to use and provide energy as it should, it allows you to rest, sleep and recover as you were designed to do so that you can adapt to the physical and mental stresses of the day (assuming you have stress in your life) and hit tomorrow feeling better than you did yesterday. For people with excess weight to lose they will start to release that fat. I have many people that I’ve coached through the cleanse lose over 50 pounds and my goodness do they ever love me for that. That love is what has me doing this because I see first hand the lives I’m changing every single day. Oddly enough though, every one of the people that loses a lot of fat weight on this system doesn’t thank me for the weight loss or the inches they’ve lost. They thank me for giving them their lives back. For providing them with a way out of a downward spiral they had no idea how to get off. They thank me for the energy, mental focus, regaining of control over their bodies and for the relationships that they are able to get back. When people are trapped inside a body they don’t want they are mentally not where they want to be.
I’m not saying Isagenix is going to do any of the above for anyone that uses it. Everyone is unique and special. What I am saying though is that this is an amazing system that will allow someone to improve the quality of their health and all the benefits that come along with that. Ideally when you’ve done the cleanse try to incorporate some of the products into your daily regime. They work, taste great and having a shake a day and an ounce of Ionix is a great way to keep those great nutrients in your body. However, you can just go back to what you did before but hopefully with the thought that you’ll be more aware of what you put into your body, and that YOU are in control of what passes your lips.
I’m glad that Jen, Kath and her husband are all doing the cleanse and reporting on their results. I don’t doubt that all three will experience different outcomes; some good and some bad (detoxing symptoms are weird things). I know that they will all be better, healthier, and more energized, and if they have fat to lose they’ll be leaner too. One of the many great things about this cleanse is the option it gives people afterwards. It gives them a choice on how to incorporate healthy eating into their regular routine. You can choose to use the Isagenix Maintenance Plan (which I do personally because of many of the points above) or you can just try and eat healthier and see how that goes. Either way it’s better than continuing on with the same old plan which wasn’t working. I’m not out to change anyone’s mind in terms of what they put in their body. I’m just throwing out there the existence of a great system that I know will work for you if that’s what you’re looking for. The cost is basically not an issue. It actually costs less to do the cleanse than it does to eat normally and not do the cleanse. Your simply redirecting your grocery dollars. Aside from that though how can you put a price on your health. You all reading this are women and mothers and hence you are in fact the most important person in your household. If you don’t take care of yourself there’s no way you’re going to be able to take care of anyone else.
If your sick and tired of being sick and tired then Isagenix will help you I’m quite certain.
I’ll revisit this later once Jen and Kath have gone through their cleanse portion of the system but I sometimes do daily cleanse calls to coach groups of people through their cleanse. I’m always available to coach people very effectively through their personal cleanse experience but can do a group cleansing call if the interest is there. Once Jen and Kath have given you their take on it all I could start up those calls for the Urbanmoms.ca group. Daily calls that last 15-20minutes where we talk to keep everyone on track. Give ideas on exercise to do each day, food and recipe ideas, setting and achieving your specific goals, etc. Kind of a cleansing bootcamp with a conscience. If you’re interested in that let me know at steve@bentleycoaching.com I’m very good at coaching people through the cleanse and doing it properly is a great part of what I get to do each day.
I hope the above was useful. Again, if you’re looking for something to create a change in your life and you think this might be a good kick start then I urge you to try it out. I absolutely love helping people improve their lives and better health and nutrition is a great place to start. You never know where it will take you. Have an amazing week. Cheers, Steve
Totally agree with you in principle. But the scientist in you is being too literal. A balanced lifestyle is never black and white and none of us is perfect (think bad to naughty Adam and Eve). And I agree that we shouldn’t be “living on” or existing on any system. But as in life, the reality is in the middle here and however you get there is up to you. I see Isagenix (or any detox system) as a kick-start, a structured “let’s make this easy for you to get started” kinda program that helps those of us who need it. After the 11 days or 30 days, or whatever, you’ll need to go it on your own of course. But why not take a little help along the way. I don’t think you’re actually saying this but you’re implying it’s a quick fix; a short-term solution. I don’t think they say that at all. In fact their whole principle is about taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle. Many cultures have been detoxing/cleansing for centuries. It’s not new. They understand the longterm health benefits of cleansing your body regularly. This is no different. The weight loss is a side benefit; albeit an important one to many people. The girl who sits next to me at work decided to try the 9 day Isagenix cleanse at the same time as me last spring and she has since lost 45+ lbs, is eating sensibly, started some moderate exercise and “thinking” about quitting smoking (yeah- she smoked all through the cleanse if you can believe it). She was depressed, heavily overweight and a tiny bit suicidal. Isagenix has been life altering for her. She and I make shakes together at work in the morning and then make or buy a super healthy lunch (most days). I often get off track at dinner time – I’m no saint – but at least I’m going in the right direction and I would credit the Isagenix system for putting me on the right path. I don’t think anyone would stay on any system fulltime although my co-worker really likes the structure of it so she uses the products almost full-time. I see it kinda like a life coach, or a teacher, or a personal fitness trainer, or a pychiatrist or any other support network you choose to help you stop a bad habit or start a good one. Sometimes we just need help getting started right? What you do with it after that is up to you. I showed my doctor all the products before I started and she gave me clearance on everything first. My husband did it with me and he lost 15 lbs the first time. He’s completely changed his attitude about food, portion size, NOT eating snacks right before bed, getting more sleep, etc. etc. It’s been great for him and he’s lost 5 more lbs since. The actual 11 day cleanse has you eating very few actual calories which is intentional for detoxification purposes. You could not sustain this long term. But you quickly see how little food it takes to fill you up and satisfy you. Wow – it’s an eye opener. Many of the nutritionists I have spoken to say that it’s virtually impossible to consume all the nutrients and vitamins in the correct order, combination and quantities each day. We’d be eating every 15 minutes and bloated. What’s worse is that the majority of the food we eat is void of most nutrients by the time it hits our dinner tables. So I’m cool with supplements in moderation too. All in moderation. Of course if you go back to bad eating habits you’re going to put the weight back on – duh! If you have a puff of a cigarette you’re a smoker; and if you stop exercising then you’ll go back to being a couch potato. Is it just me or is that not obvious? It takes about 3000+ calories to put on one pound – that’s over and above your daily caloric intake- which is anywhere from 1800-2200 calories per day depending on who you believe. It’s surprisingly easy to do – one pound at a time. So guess what – if you go back to eating more calories then you burn – no surprise, you’ll put the weight back on. There’s some good scientific facts for you! Not hard to see how people put on weight and start to feel sluggish, moody, and tired. Oh – and did I mention this? The Ionix supreme is the single most incredible hangover remedy I’ve EVER known. It tastes like crap but a shot before you go out and one more in the morning and you’re good to go!! PLUS – NO PMS since I started using all the products!! I think it’s all the vitamin B and zinc or something. Anyways -my husband says that pays for the product alone.
Happy cleansing ladies! I’m proud of you.
I totally agree with Criss that our bodies (& poor livers) were not made to process all of the pre-packaged, preservative-laden “foods” that we turn to during our busy lives. But our bodies were not made to exist on supplements & shakes either. Our bodies are made to eat food. Not carbs, proteins, fats, & micronutrients. Certainly those things are in the food that we eat, but we have to remember that we eat food.
I guess in the end I just don’t buy into any system that offers a “short-cut” to a healthier (& therefore lighter) me. It sucks, but we have to be aware of what we eat, the portions, & generally when we do our eating. For some people it is more of a battle, for some it is less. Genetics are sometimes a b*#ch (I know because I can’t get a tan, took 10 yrs of french but can barely speak a word, & generally suck at most sports). I guess I just wonder if it is really necessary? Kath, Hubster & Jen, if it works for you & you generally feel better after it, then great. I hope it does (& look forward to hearing all about your conclusions & enjoy that someone else is willing to be the guinea pig). The really interesting thing would be to study 2 different groups of people, 1 who took part in the cleanse system & the other who ate a balanced food regimen of 4 meals daily (approx 60/20/20 carbs/fats/protein) both with lots of water, & see what both groups feel like afterwards. I’m a science-nerd…I can’t get away from good old-fashioned research even if I try.
I wish you 3 good luck with the rest (which btw, how much longer is that?) & I eagerly await the end results.
Btw Kath, don’t get too discouraged about the hubster having such great numbers, its all in the genetics. Men can be lean so they can go out & run after the water buffalo, but us women are genetically programmed through thousands of years of evolution to maintain that last 10 lbs so we stay “fertile” or at least “fertile-looking”. Again, genetics are a b*#ch. Excuse me while I go put on some 50 SPF sunscreen.
Okay so I have to pipe in on this conversation. I’m on day 7 of my 3rd round of isagenix cleansing and yes – I’m a huge fan. Not that I have any weight to lose per say but because I feel so damn good when I’m not filling my body with all the crap we generally consume (even on a ‘good day’). Not to pick on Margot but I too was very skeptical about cleansing in general so I really did my homework before I started. I was feeling tired all the time and this frustrated me given that I generally eat extremely well and am very health and fitness conscious. Basically there are two schools of thought on cleansing/detoxing (see January issue of Elle magazine). Some doctors think our bodies naturally cleanse themselves through our extraordinary livers and many, many specialists do not. I know how I feel after a few weeks of eating regular packaged food so I would fall into the camp of NOT believing that our poor livers were designed to clean out the toxicity and other polutants of modern day life (including my secret indulgence of a bag of Lime Tostitos with seven layer mexican bean dip – that’s a food group isn’t it????). And because we know that toxins love to hide in our organs and wrap themselves up with fat – not the most medical explanation I know – then losing weight is a natural by-product of cleansing. Isagenix is not a typical ‘colon’ cleanse – its’ a detoxification system. Whether you’re detoxing to lose weight OR you lose weight because you want to detox, I think the end result is a healthier lifestyle – no?? And it was a real eye opener for me to see what portion sizes should really be? And yes we should all be drinking more water and eating more fruit and veggies anyways but the reality is that it takes extreme measures sometimes to really knock out bad habits that have formed over a lifetime. I didn’t realize just how true the statement was that ‘we are what we eat’. It worries me that we live in a society where so much emotional baggage and so much of our identities and our notions of fun and family are wrapped up in what and how much we eat? Easier for me to say now I guess -I’m on my third go around and the truth is that the first time through all I could think about was what I WASN’T able to eat -even though I’m not a big eater! How silly. It’s a mental game not a physical one I think. And at the end of each cleanse all my friends tell me my skin looks great, I feel so much more alert, I am bright-eyed all day long, and in a much better mood! I always go out and buy myself a great new outfit with all the money I’ve saved from bringing lunches and not eating and drinking! Much better than a silly old cheese tray if you ask me. The solution of course is to find a happy middle ground which I hope I have now and I have Isagenix to thank (and myself right?) – they keep me honest, which isn’t easy in our crazy, busy, mom lives! But I couldn’t wait for that first latte or the first glass of Chardonnay either!!!
Hang in there ladies!! You rock!
Margot – I’m going to get back to you on all of these…just let me figure it out.
Btw, we are absolutely starving our bodies from a calorie perspective! But the suppplements add all the vital vitamins, etc. your body needs. Hey, I’m not sold yet and I know Kath isn’t either so let’s wait and see. We’ll be the guinea pigs!
Check back soon either here or on my blog for your answers.
Okay, I just HAVE to be the devil’s advocate here (sorry, it’s the biology major in me). Partially because I just spent 2 days at a sports nutrition seminar & partially because I watched the video & it seems like a diet to me, not really something you live on (even with the lovely shots of mountains & beaches). So these are my questions:
What exactly are you cleansing? Your body? Your mind? Your spirit?
How does this differ than, say, the slim fast diet/shake plan?
Do you believe that this is something that you can live with? Or is this just a one time thing? If just a one-time thing will the results you have all seen be undone when you return to the normal world of eating?
Are you just “starving” your body & thus seeing the results of that?
Anyway, just thought I’d ask….I’ll go bug Jen about it too!!!
Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese. Sorry. Just the thought of it. You know me and my cheese.
Anyway, I couldn’t agree more. I am over the chai tea latte physical addiction but I really miss the social aspect of my morning drink. And although I haven’t been really hungry the smell of food is torture. And finally, I have not even been able to sit at the table with my family when they are eating and I have a shake so I miss the dinner time chats.
But, like you, I am feeling results from this cleanse so I am going to see it through. This is the half way point!