Preparing for the challenge

Scott Schwab:

With the up and coming 8 week challenge less than a week a way, I wanted to post about the benefits of cleansing and what that does for the body and especially the changing of our lifestyle (not starting a diet), to get weight loss results.
A cleanse is great for the body, because it flushes out toxins, sugars, and other additives that hold onto bacteria and fat. The foods we eat are full of additives, sugars, and many times go through a process, where what we see is not always what we get. The nutritional value in foods today is changing and typically is not as high as it used to be. Additionally, we find that hormones are becoming more prominent in the meats we consume.
Our bodies do not know how to process these harmful things and so they sit. Usually, they sit in our stomach region, thighs, hips, and buttocks. To break them down and get them out of our system. Flushing our bodies from these toxins can be done by fasting, (or taking a 24 hour period that we do not eat or drink). However, even more effective than fasting for 24 hours is to get everything out of our system through liquids and the best liquid is H2o.
Having a cleanse that not only gives you the nourishment that you need, but will eliminate these toxins is your best bet. Now, realize our bodies need sustenance and we should only go 24 hours without food or drink. There are cleanses that will mimic the calories needed to provide the nourishment, but still cleanse the body and get it back to its natural state.
It is important that we do not starve ourselves. This reverses the effects of doing things healthy, and when our bodies go into starvation mode; we actually burn muscle and hold onto fat. Crazy, but fat is something our bodies can utilize more in the long term, so it holds it as though we may not be eating. To lose weight, we cannot avoid eating! Let me repeat, we cannot lose weight in the long term by avoiding meals. Our bodies need fuel, and the best way is every couple of hours, fill the tank.
Here are some great cleanses that you should do to start off the 8 week challenge, or any transition with lifestyle/health goals. Ideally, 3-4 days seems to be the right amount of time to get the garbage out of the system. However, realize that there are many people documented, and I have experienced it personally; that will go up to 10 days and longer. That would be at your own risk, and I wont say we need to do it that long, but we will see immediate results as we go longer. Much of the weight loss is water weight and it is normal to gain a little back upon returning to full meals. The most important thing at that point is to make sure when you are done with the cleanse, that we don't eat everything in site, but slowly work into the right foods at the right time and change the habits we had before the cleanse.
Chandi's cleanse is less intense and includes food. I would recommend, if you choose her cleanse, that you do it for 10 days plus. Her cleanse will give you the right amount of nutrients, calories, and at the right times of the day. The other cleanses are not meant to continue as a way of life, but more to get the body into a neutral state, where you can see results with the proper eating habits.

Chandi Cleanse:

Day 1
Breakfast: Fresh oats in Milk or water(honey can be used for sweetener, but no sugar)
Snack: Orange
Snack: Protein smoothie or protein in water or milk shaker
Lunch: Broccoli and apple
Snack: Almonds(handful)
Dinner: Brown rice and beans or asparagus
Cleanse: Drink a cup of smooth move tea

Day 2
Breakfast: Wheaties in milk(no sugar added)
Snack: apple or orange
Snack: protein Smoothie
Lunch: Fresh Watermelon and banana
Snack: Fat Free Cottage cheese
Dinner: Brown rice and bell peppers
Cleanse: Drink a cup of smooth move tea

Day 3
Breakfast: Fresh oats and blueberries
Snack: cantaloupe
Snack: Protein Smoothie
Lunch: Potato and Fat free cottage cheese(try to avoid butter, sour cream, and cheese)
Snack: Tomato
Dinner: Brown rice and spinach
Cleanse: Drink a cup of smooth move tea

Day 4
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs
Snack: Strawberries or blueberries
Snack: Protein Smoothie
Lunch: Green peas and kidney beans
Snack: Cantaloupe and Raspberries
Dinner: Brown rice and Halibut
Cleanse: Drink a cup of smooth move tea

Day 5
Breakfast: Fresh oats and strawberries
Snack: Watermelon
Snack: Protein Smoothie
Lunch: Brown rice and grilled chicken
Snack: Almonds
Dinner: Potato and broccoli and Fat free cottage cheese


Master Cleanse:

Day 1-up to 10
Morning:
Drink Sea Salt with 25-32oz of water (It is important to do this early and before you have to leave. Plan on being on the toilet for at least 30 minutes).
Throughout the day:
Mix
12 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemons
12 tablespoons of grade B maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
into 64oz (1/2 gallon) of distilled water
Evening:
1 cup of Smooth move tea
Drink this elixir throughout the day. No food. You may think you are not getting enough nutrients, but this elixir provides 1500 calories daily. You do not need to eat any other food, just drink the elixir. Yeah you will be hungry, but push through. You can do this cleanse upwards of 10 days, but I recommend doing it at least 3 to get the benefits and 5 to truly see a difference. We just coached someone through the process for 5 days and they lost 11 pounds!

Prune Juice Cleanse:

Day 1-3
Morning:
Wake up and drink 16 ounces or more or unsweatened prune juice. This will empty the bowels, but also starts to pull toxins from  into the intestines from every part of the body and eliminating them through the bowels.
After drinking the prune juice, within 30 minutes drink 8 ounces of undiluted and preferrably natural apple juice. Swish each mouthful, this is known as chewing. After 30 minutes drink a glass of distilled water plain. Follow the drinking of water 30 minutes later with another 8 ounces of apple juice.
This process is repeated every 30 minutes throughout the day. Plan on going through a gallon of water and a gallon of apple juice per day. Eliminate food for the 3 days, and stop drinking after dinner time.
With each of these cleanses, there is a certain level of planning that needs to happen. Additionally, your health is important, so if you start getting sick, stop doing the cleanse. I have done each of these and my body responded very well. I continued my normal daily activites as well as working out 6 days in the week.

*Choose which cleanse will work best for you and your schedule and plan to begin on Monday the 11th. Remember, any attempts to lose weight are best achieved when the food we eat is balanced and healthy. Even more important than exercise and working out, our intake is the reason that most of the time we either achieve our goals or fall short. The cleanse will help your body adjust to the change and then it is up to us to follow through with improved eating throughout the 8 week challenge and ideally the rest of our lives for a true lifestyle change.