Guidelines
As you are preparing for this two-week Gut Restoration Intensive, there are several factors that you need to know. Please read this article in detail. Read it several times to make sure you really, truly understand!
Hydration is King, but not Queen.
If you’re not already drinking enough water, now is your time to slowly begin increasing your ounces. Ideally, you are drinking half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you are 130 pounds, you’ll want to shoot for about 65 ounces a day. Rather than going from 0 to 100 overnight, increase your water by one glass each week until you hit your recommended totals.
If you find that you are on the opposite side of things and you’re drinking too much water, remember that drinking too much will flush you out too much and cause mineral deficiencies and sometimes malabsorption of other nutrients. Pursue the same concept as above, but in reverse. Reduce your water by one glass a week until you reach your ideal totals.
Remember: it is the QUALITY rather than the quantity of water maters. Don’t forget about your electrolytes which mainly include sodium, magnesium and potassium. By drinking warm lemon water with a pinch or two of salt first thing in the morning is a great way to rehydrate. If that doesn’t sound appealing, try an electrolyte powder like LMNT instead!
Understand the detox.
We all have a toxic load. This means that we are all carrying a bit of inflammation from pesticides and other toxins on - and in - the food we eat, heavy metals in the water we drink, pollutants in the air we breathe, stress from our daily lives and work… Everyone’s toxic load is different. During this intensive, you will be significantly reducing your toxic load by clearing your body of most food-related toxins. In the long run, this is going to help you feel more energized, improve your digestion, clear you mind and improve your overall health and wellness.
However, depending on your toxic load, the initial days of a protocol like this one might cause fatigue, muscle soreness, headaches, moodiness and other similar symptoms. Why? Because toxins are leaving your body. When you start to clear your body, these toxins are filtering and moving through your bloodstream before they actually exit. This can sometimes make you feel worse first, before you start feeling better. But trust me, it goes away! For most people, by day 3, they are already feeling so much better.
So, don’t quit! If you find the first few days of this intensive to be, well… intense… keep the following things in mind:
Sleep and rest as much as possible where you can.
Remember the hydration bit we talked about!
Consider taking salt baths to help pull toxins through the skin (plus these are very relaxing)
And if you are worried or continue to have issues, reach out to me directly so we can adjust accordingly.
Nourish, don’t restrict.
This intensive is NOT about restricting food. Rather, it is highly encouraged that you eat until you are full and satiated. If that means having a larger meal, then go ahead and eat a larger meal! Listen to your body. Weight loss is NOT the goal of this intensive, but you will probably find that for most people, it is a common (and nice) side effect. And no, it’s not because you are restricting food. It’s because you are feeding your body with needed, necessary nutrients. When we give our bodies what they need, inflammation tends to come down with ease, and as a result, so may your waist. Please remember, too, that each day is planned wholistically. If you are finding that it is too much food for you, simply reduce the serving size. But please try to eat all the food that is outlined.
Reframing some key foods.
No food is intrinsically bad or good (ok, other than maybe pop tarts and ding dongs… those are truly just bad). But in all seriousness, there is usually a place for most foods in a person’s diet. That being said, this isn’t necessarily true as we are traversing the world of gut healing. There are some foods that - no matter who you are - will cause gut inflammation. And during this acute phase of healing, it’s better to simply avoid them. Don’t worry, you can slowly add them back in later, but for now, keep the following foods out of your pantry and mouths:
Gluten - this entire intensive is gluten-free, dairy-free and cane-sugar free. Gluten is the protein binder found in all wheat products. Where wheat is used, gluten is. This includes bread, cereals, crackers, soy sauce, processed foods, cakes, cookies, etc. Gluten is simply NOT what it used to be. There is 3x more gluten in wheat products than there was in the 1950s. This is due to the extreme changes in mass agriculture and how much we have changed the wheat crop. Gluten is highly inflammatory for most people, and if you are having gut-related issues, it’s bound to make matters worse. Please avoid.
Dairy - some of you may find that dairy is actually OK for you; however, for the purposes of this intensive, we need to leave this out also. Like wheat, dairy can have a place in a healthy diet. But the nature of how we breed and maintain our cattle and the residues of antibiotics and other toxins used to elongate a cow’s ability to milk, it’s best to avoid this too. Not to mention, dairy is known to have a delayed reaction in most people’s intestines. Meaning, it’s likely you don’t realize you may have a dairy intolerance because symptoms can take as long as 72 hours to present in your body. For a lot of people, they may not make this connection, and therefore think it’s not dairy. So, for now, please avoid it.
Added sugar - added sugar, which is the sugar purposefully ADDED back into a food product is singlehandedly the worst dietary trend of our time. Added sugar (not to be confused with naturally occurring sugars like those found in fruit or whole grains) is found in just about everything. From cereals, to breads, to sauces and prepared foods, most of our food - even the “healthy” ones - have insane amount of added sugar. The biggest culprits include cane sugar (which has the best marketing team - everyone thinks cane sugar is healthy. News flash: it’s not) to high fructose corn syrup to molasses and agave and invert sugar… you’ll find that sugar has many different names. This intensive is nearly sugar free, aside from the conscious inclusion of honey or maple syrup in a few homemade sauces and/or breakfast porridge. But believe me, the quantities in this intensive are about 98% less than what most of us are eating every day.
Alcohol. Many of us don’t realize how detrimental alcohol is to our gut - and liver. While some alcohol can also have a place in a healthy diet, for the sake of healing and repair, this inflammatory toxin is going to be excluded for the next two weeks. If you have a social outing that you must attend, I will allow ONE glass of red one on ONE day of your week. Dealer’s choice, but user, beware.
The first three days…
As I mentioned, it’s very likely that you will feel extra tired, sore and maybe a bit agitated the first three days of this intensive. This is not because you’ll be hungry - remember, eat as much as you need to be full and satisfied! It’ll be because you are clearing toxic build-up. As such, the first three days of this intensive, I will also highly suggest avoiding exercise (other than light walking or stretching), alcohol (as already mentioned) and coffee, too. Coffee can come back after day 3, so long as you stick to one 8oz glass AFTER your breakfast. Yes, coffee AFTER you eat. But for the first three days, no coffee, no exercise, no alcohol. Trust me, it’s better this way.