Well, folks! It’s here! Mine & Shay’s week-long detox has been the topic of many comments and DMs. I think I’ve left you all waiting long enough, wouldn’t you say? I recently shared another related blog post, “Let Me Re-Introduce Myself: Meet the New Healthy Jillian” but for those of you wanted to hear about my detox specifically, this one’s for you!
To start, I want to emphasize that I am NOT a doctor, and I am by NO MEANS giving health or medical advice. This blog post is simply me sharing what’s going on in my life as usual—the highs and the lows—and if someone finds it inspiring to kickstart their wellness journey, I’m thrilled to hear it!
I also wanted to issue another disclaimer: if discussions about food or body are sensitive topics for you, I fully support your choice to skip today’s blog. Please make the choice that feels best to you about whether to read or not read this blog ❤️ Sending love your way!
ALSO, please bear with me through this blog… the intro to this detox is LONG but I think I needed to contextualize WHY I was doing the detox before diving into the specifics.
With that said, if you ARE keen to hear about my recent detox, keep on reading…
Before I share the details of the detox, I need to contextualize why I was motivated to do it in the first place.
For me, 2023 is the year of wellness. For those of you who managed to eat healthy these last few years and continue to move your body during a global pandemic regularly… let me just say that I’m impressed. As for me, I was acting like a bit of a daredevil when it came to my wellness… Instead of intentionally nourishing my body with the nutritious food it needed, I was trying to balance two kids, my relationship, friendships, family and three businesses all while using pasta, alcohol and coffee as fuel… NOT GOOD!!
If I’m perfectly honest, I was in denial about how bad this was for my body. I kept joking about my bad habits but always giving off the impression that I was totally fine with it and that these health habits weren’t negatively impacting me… the truth was, they were…
In the last few years, I’ve noticed an increase in my irritability and moodiness. I was finding it so hard to make it through the day and having to put in a lot of extra effort to be pleasant… which would exhaust me more.
By the time 2022 came around, these health habits felt cemented into my day-to-day routine (as was my irritability and perpetual exhaustion). Of course, that’s when I got a huge wake-up call: simultaneously, my mom’s health worsened, and my Team Jilly and Team Jilly Box were getting burnt out from Covid. Everyone needed my support more than ever, so there I was, trying to support everyone while feeling SO depleted of energy from my lack of healthy habits… I knew instantly at that moment that something needed to change.
The Start of Something New
I was looking for ‘the right time’ to implement healthy habits again. Of course, we all know there is no perfect time to start something new… Or, if there were, it would have been yesterday, LOL.
What happened was I hit an all-time low and knew that I HAD to start feeling better immediately. While Shay and I were in Toronto this past January for the Joe Fresh try-on, I just wasn’t feeling great. When I looked in the mirror, I remember feeling sad. I didn’t see the usual light in my eyes or glow in my skin and I knew in my heart of hearts that I was unhealthy. So, on the plane ride home, I reached out to a friend of mine, Vanessa Grutman. Vanessa is a certified health coach with a background in Kinesiology. She also just so happens to be the co-founder of Project Skin MD… which you all know I HAVE to stop at every time I’m in Vancouver!!! Before, Vanessa and I had been talking about this detox for my mom, but I realized then that I was the one who needed it. So, sure enough, when Shay and I landed, I ordered my package from Vanessa to get started on the detox.
Interestingly enough, when I ordered my package, it was on backorder (yep, it’s pretty popular!!), meaning I couldn’t start immediately. I’ll admit I was a little disappointed because I was eager to get going. But, in the meantime, I decided to make the best of it and start making healthy changes to my diet. I began by eliminating bread from my diet (as I sometimes used it as a crutch to avoid eating other nourishing foods) and meat… because I’d gotten a bit sidetracked from eating plant-based, which is important to me.
Timing is interesting because Team Jilly and I had a trip booked after I got back from Toronto to go to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel Wellness Weekend hosted by Catherine Roscoe Barr. You can read all about my experience here. Going into it, I didn’t fully understand how big of an impact this retreat would have on kickstarting my wellness journey. But, sure enough… it was LIFE-CHANGING. At the retreat, I also continued to eat a plant-based and fish diet and started limiting my coffee intake to one cup per day… all still going in a good direction with nutrition! So, not only had I managed to start my wellness journey on my own by changing my diet, but I also got the support I needed from Catherine and the amazing people who put together the retreat, Plus, by the time I got home from the retreat my order from Vanessa with my package to start the detox had arrived… talk about perfect timing!
By this point, I was also SO motivated to start the detox after being surrounded by so many incredible people for four days at the retreat… I couldn’t wait! In fact, I was SO eager that technically I had planned to start the detox on the Monday following the retreat, but instead, I started as soon as I got home on Friday—the day I arrived home!
A Breakdown of the Detox
So, here’s a quick overview of how it worked:
It’s a seven-day detox. To start the detox, you receive The Dr. Cabral Detox package that includes, according to Vanessa’s website…
- The Detox Shake: a vegan, hypoallergenic protein powder, fortified with a wide range of activated vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, detox co-factors, and electrolytes.
- AYU Detox: a combination of three ayurvedic herbs, has been formulated in careful synchrony to support the body through both phases of liver detoxification.
- FM Detox: provides your body with important amino acids, antioxidants, herbal extracts, trace minerals, and essential vitamins to promote and enhance detoxification, while protecting the liver.
The first two days of the detox for me were tough. I was essentially fasting for two days except for drinking shakes. It’s not terrible, but after two days of this little food, I missed my regular meals a lot. Here’s what you can consume during those first two days (other than shakes, of course): water, lemon water, herbal tea, and ginger water… but that’s pretty much it.
Here’s the good news: once I got to lunchtime by the second day, I was like, “I’ve GOT THIS!!”
I heard from a few other people who did the detox with me that they were feeling groggy those first two days, but my only symptom was feeling a bit fuzzy-brained. I was having trouble focusing and remembering things. But, otherwise, that was my only negative symptom!
On day three, I started my day with a shake and salad without dressing. Next, I had my second shake of the day and ended the day with a keto-style meal.
By the time the fourth day rolled around, I was feeling PHENOMENAL!! I even noticed physical changes to my face. (I looked like I’d lost some water retention in my cheeks.) Overall, I was feeling healthier and cleaner. It was a feeling I wanted to just continue to build upon by continuing to prioritize my health. “How much better can I feel?” was the phrase I kept repeating to myself.
Takeaways
Now that the detox is over and I’m back to eating big full, nutritious meals each day, I wanted to share my big takeaways:
I’m SO GLAD I did this detox, and I look forward to doing it in the future. I am considering doing it in maybe a month from now when I’ve wrapped up all of my travelling, just to reset and get back into my groove at home. Going forward, I would like to do this detox once or twice a year (most likely in January and once in the Fall).
Another big takeaway was realizing that I am TOTALLY CAPABLE of going without caffeine and alcohol. I felt AMAZING when I limited my intake! In fact, after some reflection, I think I am done with coffee for now. It just doesn’t feel like it’s serving me, so I’m going to go without it for a while and let you know how I’m feeling. Instead, I’ve been consuming tea or Matcha for a little pick-me-up in the afternoon. I highly recommend it!!
Parting Thoughts
Overall, I’m feeling great. I feel lighter on my feet, more energized and significantly less irritable. While getting back into a healthy lifestyle isn’t easy, I’m proud of myself for sticking to it. Of course, I don’t want to say that my reason for feeling so good is 100% the detox. Detoxes are GREAT but not the solution to everything. For me, though, it was a fantastic way to kickstart my journey to eating healthier and reducing my caffeine and alcohol intake.
In addition to the detox that I’ve committed to doing ideally twice a year, I’ve committed to some other changes in my life that I’m sure have had an impact on how I’ve been feeling:
- Exercising twice a week (although lately, I’ve been going to yoga FOUR times a week, which is a massive win for me!!!)
- A self-care routine in the mornings and on quieter nights once the kids are asleep (dry brushing in the morning and Epsom salt baths at night 3-4 times per week)
Additionally, this detox introduced me to some vitamins that I plan to continue using:
- I start my day with Omegas and multivitamin Megagood for Women Over 40
- Next, I have my Ashwagandha tablets (which are supposed to help with stress)
- With any big meals I eat, I take an Enzyme Force
- If I do have alcohol (which I have been keeping to a minimum), I take a Charcoal Capsule before bed
If you have ANY questions about the benefits of the vitamins listed above, reach out to Vanessa on Instagram at @vgrutman! But, just a reminder to please consult with your doctor before embarking on a detox or trying new vitamins.
I hope this blog post was interesting and maybe even motivating to kickstart your wellness journeys—wherever you may be on that path! Here’s to continuing to support each other and our wellbeings!
xo,
Jilly
