30th Day

Well, today is day 30 of my colon detox program. I just weighed myself in at 261.2 lbs. Yes, that sounds like a lot, and it still is, but do you know where I once was? Let me tell you…

11.22.08 | I found the LIVESTRONG application in the iTunes store and added it to my phone. This was it. This was, for some reason, the last little shove for me to start actively working on my health and my weight. It enabled me to count my daily caloric intake, log whatever exercise I did each day (honestly it hasn’t been much until recently), record my weight everyday and show a little graph of my progress (which, unfortunately, has way too many glitches in their app), and their website provides a lot of great information. It was actually fun to use this! It made me want to live healthier and that’s exactly what it did!

That day, November 22, 2008, I weighed in at 276.8 lbs.

Today, January 9, 2009, I weighed in at 261.2 lbs.

I’ve lost (roughly) 15.6 pounds! I say “roughly” because our body’s weight fluctuates about 3 pounds, so I can’t guarantee that number until a few days from now if my weight continues to drop or remain the same. Either way, I feel great, I have more energy, and….well….I look good.

But this isn’t all about LIVESTRONG or eating healthier or working out. A piece of the credit goes to DrNatura and their product called Colonix. It’s an all natural “formula” that helps promote healthy colon function. I started this 30 days ago on December 11th along with my roommate who surprisingly did it even though he wasn’t willing to entirely follow the rules. Oh, well. It’s his money 😛

The “rules”: In the morning, I tookk 4 Paranil capsules. These are vegetarian pills that contain 18 high-quality herbs that are used to purify the liver and the colon. 15 minutes after taking the Paranil VegiCaps, I mixed up a drink with the Colonix Intestinal Cleansing Fiber. This is an all natural, vegitarian, “fiber supplement that cleanses the colon of accumulated toxic build-up and prevents the formation of new build-up through the use of herbal dietary fiber.” This was the hardest for me to get down because it doesn’t mix too well. I’ve found it bearable to blend with 8 oz. of Rice Milk or Soy Milk and half of a large banana. I upped the 1 scoop to roughly 1.5 scoops, where I then chased it with 12 oz. of water. 

By this time, I’m full and just about ready to go to the bathroom!

At night, I’ve taken 2 capsules of FloraProtect, which is “a high-potency, stable freeze-dried, professionally formulated probiotics supplement… It contains 8 different species of beneficial bacteria with a minimum of 4 billion cells per capsule.” Basically, this these capsules shoot right through my non-digesting stomach and enter my intestines where they then break down and release the probiotics that make my intestinal cells all squeeky-clean after flushing them out during the day. And after the pills, I put the kettle on and make a cup of KleriTea, which I really enjoy, but my roommate gags almost every time he takes a drink of it. This tea is “a combination of 12 specially selected herbs that assists the body in the detoxification process while helping to restore normal bowel function and regularity”. I’ve come to steep the tea for 10 minutes, which is the max time to steep it. If you know tea, the longer you steep the tea bag (leave the tea bag in the hot water), the stronger or more potent the cup of tea will be. This is the case for KleriTea, but not just for the taste–it causes the tea to have a stronger effect on the body.

And for each day, I’m supposed to drink 64 oz. of water a day. Total. However, on some days I’m just really thirsty and emailed their customer service (which is so good! they respond within 24 hours!) and they said I could drink up to 80 oz. a day, but more than that would dilute the fiber and capsules too much. On top of drinking the water, we’re supposed to eat foods as often as we can that do not have any preservatives in them (primarily as little sugar and salt as possible). DrNatura.com states that over time, if we stay away from foods loaded with preservatives, then we’ll begin lose our desire for them. This isn’t just because we’re abstaining from them, but it’s because of what the Colonix program is doing: Our intestines are more than likely filled with not only crap, but this stuff called plaque. It’s definitely crap, but it doesn’t come out of us as easily. This plaque actually absorbs a lot of the food and nutrients that we eat rather than our body absorbing them. Preservative-filled foods don’t have a lot of nutrients in them already, so when we eat a lot of it, our body ends up getting loaded with more plaque, which then makes us want more food because our body isn’t absorbing the entirety of the food–it’s just storing it in the nooks and crannies of our intestines.

That’s a lot of info….does it make sense?

Whether or not all that info above makes sense to you, this will: this stuff works. My love handles are almost gone, my stomach is flatter (but not that flat), I don’t have much of a desire for sweets, but my mouth still waters for Arby’s. I’ve had it once over the last 30 days it was just one chicken club sandwich with a few fries off of Amanda’s plate. 🙂 I’ve had only about 5 or 6 beers over the last 30 days (another thing people need to avoid while doing the program) and I’ve had, I think, 1 Thomas Kemper Ginger Ale, which really is the most soda I drink on even a quarterly basis.

After today, I have a 5-day resting period. I think I may make it only 4 days for me since the last day of the second 30-day phase I’m going on a winter camp with the youth group I work for. The second phase will be a little different as I introduce the Toxinout program along with the Colonix program. Even though these “programs” aren’t cheap, I really believe it’s worth it. I haven’t experienced the drastic results as this testimony will show you, but that has everything to do with the individual’s current state of health and their past lifestyle (ex: Did you eat fast food once a day for at least 5 days a week? Did you drink astronomical amounts of alcohol during your college days? You’d have more extreme results than I have.)

So take a look at Colonix if you dare. I think it’s worth it, but it’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself. Don’t be afraid of poop. Everybody poops. We should poop more than we actually do, but we’re afraid to because it’s yucky. Or if you don’t want to even bother looking into it, all I ask is that you rejoice with me in my new-found health and passion in life…..because it really has everything to do with life.