The beginning of the year brings out all sorts of different protocols to help people achieve their goals. When it comes to weight loss people are promised, or think they can get, accelerated results from doing cleans or detox. Is it worth it to starve yourself for a weekend? Does a detox that sends you to the bathroom every 30 minutes help reset the body to prime us to lose weight more efficiently?
Cleanses and Detoxes are a waste of your Money
Does your body need to detox? Do you have a liver? If the answer to the second questions is yes, then the answer to the first is no.
Do you need to do a cleanse? Can you eat a diet high in fruits and fibrous veggies for the same amount of time as you plan on "cleansing?” If the answer to the second questions is yes, then the answer to the first is no.
The supplement industry (will dive deeper here in a following blog post) is full of people who use cherry picked data and a general sense of fear to drive you to buy their products. Our body is really good at it’s job. Like really good. So good in-fact, that if you do have enough toxins in your body where you would need to detoxify, you’d be really sick and probably in the hospital. Most of the supplements that are billed as detoxes/cleanses have little to no scientific backing their safety, efficacy, or value. Save your money!
A Cleanse/Detox is a great way to accelerate fat loss
“I feel so great after I do my cleanse!” “I need to get a jumpstart on my diet by doing this detox.” “Karen’s selling this awesome detox/cleanse package and she lost 15lbs in a week!”
Change is hard. Sometimes we do need a kickstart, a way to initiate the mindset shift that is necessary for success. A laid out plan, where you spend a lot of money, is a simple way to get buy-in. Literally and figuratively. Buy-in is imperative for any play to succeed. If this is a way that gets you to go all in on your goals it can be a great way to get started.
A nice by-product of most cleanses is that they are high in fibrous veggies and packed with nutrients that most diets lack. This leads us to feeling better and usually lose weight by consuming a more nutrient dense diet than we typically do. This typically include more satiating/less palatable foods and therefore we unknowingly eat fewer calories. Eating more fruits and veggies is never a bad idea. And cleanses/detoxes can be an easy way to get them in.
Andrew’s Final Thoughts
Outside of some initial motivation, I think that cleanses and detoxes are a giant waste. Waste of time, money, and effort that could be used somewhere more effective. Time is wasted by not learning how to eat properly. It’s wasted by not learning how to think objectively and doing your research. Money is wasted by buying products that could be put towards real food, teaching you real lessons on what you like and don’t like. Money that can be put towards qualified people teaching you strategies that will work for longer than a week (or however long the cleanse lasts). Effort is wasted on a strategy that is doomed to fail. Detoxes are selling you a magic bullet, one that says this is an easy way to achieve your goals. This effort could be put towards developing a plan that will work for you and your tastes, habits, and lifestyle.
The quick and easy way is always attractive. We feel as though the task at hand is too big for us to really accomplish. There aren’t any obvious harsh negatives to doing this cleanse or that detox. Maybe you’ve “tried everything,” or the monetary investment isn’t that big, or you can do anything for three days. However, these are all based on fear. That little voice that is saying “you’re not really going to accomplish your goal,” so you resign to trying the latest fad. The actual way to accomplish your goal isn’t sexy, or really all that cool, but it works. You have to do the work, everyday, to get better. Will a detox accomplish that? Maybe, but I think you’d be better off learning how to properly fuel your body, no matter your goal!
Check this out for more detailed information on cleanses and detoxes!
Have you had success with a detox or cleanse? Have you every done one before? Sound off in the comments!