My Paleo Cleanse Journey

Throughout university, I always focused on my studies, but I also socialized a decent amount. While socializing, fast food and drinking became a norm, which I realized two years later; although fun, it really affected my weight and my energy levels. The freshman 15 happened and I needed to do something to fix it! I did not want to feel bad about myself anymore so I decided to go on a detox to start fresh from what I had done to my body. I started searching around for a solution for a detox and quickly became overwhelmed with the choices available to me. Programs such as “the master cleanse”, the “juju cleanse” and “Dr. Oz’s 48 hour cleanse” were just some of the thousands of available solutions to my problem. I thought to myself- “what do I do now?!”. I didn’t know where to begin until my mom handed me a business card for a Naturopath. Now I know what you may be thinking…either you think I’m crazy or you are cheering “hurrah another believer in medicine!”. The truth is, it all comes down to your values, informing yourself of your options and what you feel comfortable with. All I am here to do is tell you about my experience and you be the judge. I started out my 30 day cleanse journey by going into my naturopath’s office for an appointment. Luckily Dr. Som Thammasouk’s office was located in Kitchener and although it seemed far initially, the bus ride was quick and I got there in no time. It would be easily accessible to any student in the Kitchener Waterloo region. Dr. Thammasouk greeted me at the door and welcomed me in for my appointment. We talked about my past history, and what I have been doing currently. Her questions were very holistic in nature and she was trying to understand my life as a whole, rather than asking about my current problem, which is what I was used to in traditional medicine. I really liked that and it made sense to me. Instead of masking the specific issue, why not try to figure out what lead up to the issue occurring? I liked her style. Next, she gave me some homework- a sheet that had questions about all of my body parts and how they functioned , my activity and energy levels and my mind and emotions. I had to rate their functionality on a scale and base my assessment on the past year. This sheet helped provide Dr. Thammasouk with a comprehensive look into my medical status. I was also given a food diary that I was expected to fill in with all the foods I had eaten over a period of a week. Once I was completed those profiles, I simply emailed her the sheets. How easy! After the preliminary assessment, we ordered blood work that would assess my hormone and nutrient levels. It took a while to get those done because we had to work in collaboration with MD doctors As soon as the results were in, Dr. Thammasouk realized my hormones were imbalanced and I needed a liver cleanse. Finally! I have some clarity. She also conducted a live blood sample test using a specialized microscope that was hooked up to an HD television and showed me the excess yeast in my blood stream. I love sugar and it showed physically

and scientifically! I immediately started cutting out refined sugar out of my diet (chocolate, candy, cookies etc) and started eating more wholesome options like fruit, almond butter and nuts. I will be honest, this change was severe for me since I really did enjoy my sweets and it wasn’t very pleasant at first. As time went on and I became more and more committed to my end goal- to feel better, I started welcoming the idea of unrefined sugar more and more.

Dr. Thammasouk and I both worked out a meal plan that followed a diet that was considered paleo. I ate nuts, veggies, and lean meats. Everyday, I made breakfast smoothies that contained Mediclear Plus, which assisted in my detox. I also had treats made of almond butter, oats and honey. That’s when the real innovation started to happen! I came up with all sorts of creative recipes for deserts that were still delicious and good for me. I ate them, they tasted rich and sweet and I didn’t feel bad afterwards.

I was so excited about the delicious discoveries that I have made, and the way I was feeling, so I continued on my cleanse journey while regularly exercising, and was amazed at the results! The biggest difference between how I was feeling before my cleanse and during/ after is that I felt more energized, fit and less bogged down. Although the cleanse was hard in the beginning, I always reminded myself of my end goal in feeling better. I didn’t choose to go on a liver cleanse to loose weight, that was just a bi-product, but rather, I choose to go on a cleanse to improve my health.

If you decide to go on a cleanse yourself, I will say that it won’t be an easy task and you will have days where you just want to eat what you love, but keeping your eye on the prize in whatever you wish to achieve and believing that you can make it to the finish line is probably one of the best feelings after the process is done. Achieving a cleanse can be pretty difficult in today’s world if you don’t cook for yourself or do careful planning. Luckily there are restaurants in the KW region such as Rawlicious, Thrive Juice Bar, Seven Shores Urban Market and Café , Jane Bond Café, Queen Street Commons, The Healthy Owl Bakery Café and more (http://www.happycow.net/

north_america/canada/ontario/kitchener_waterloo/) that cater to a paleo, gluten free, or vegan diet. I would love to see more restaurants like these, that promote truly healthy eating. Going on a cleanse shows characteristics of strong will power and determination and make you feel awesome. So readers- are you up to the challenge?

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to email me at nspapp@uwaterloo.ca. I would be happy to help!

#WeightLoss