The Detox Diaries: Days 11-14...And Beyond

I did it!!!!! [Insert Elle Woods squeal here.] And by it, I mean completing the 14 days of Dr. Frank Lipman's Be Well Cleanse After a mildly shaky start and a middle section fueled by photos of Gwynnie on a yacht, I can now say in all honesty that I never cheated once. And I'm damn proud of myself.

The last few days of the cleanse fly by. I'm in my routine with my shakes and my meals. I haven't even thought about hitting the vending machine for a Diet Coke. My sleep patterns are better than ever and I'm working out at least four times a week. And I'm seeing the results in my body—because let's be real, I'm vain and I want to look better.

I don't own a scale and hate weighing myself because no matter what the number, I turn all sorts of neurotic with moments of disorder-y thinking. (Truthfully, I turn around at the doctor's office and ask the nurse not to tell me what the number is.) I do know my own body, however, and I certainly know how my clothes fit, so there's no doubt that I've lost weight.

But what to do now? How will I survive without my structured routine? Instead of flying into a state of panic, I go to visit Dr. Lipman and his fabulous wellness counselor, Kerry. Between the three of us, we decide that I'm going to stick to the cleanse routine since it's working so well for me, but start adding in some of the foods I've eliminated like tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, and grass-fed beef. My shakes stay in and I'm going to do my best to leave gluten, dairy and refined sugars out of my diet. This holds especially true for my once beloved DCs. The good doctor tells me he'd rather me eat a bunch of bread than suck down aspartame-riddled soda like I used to. And I think I can do it. Heck I even went to the movies last night and for perhaps the first time in my life didn't have candy and/or soda. A bottle of Dasani water sat where a giant bag of Skittles once resided. Oh, how times have changed.

I'll keep you posted on the ever-continuing process. Wish me luck!

For more information on Dr. Lipman, check out his website.