By Bobbi Priel and Jared Price-Morin
To improve on my customer centered care, stop smoking and
look after my body, I decided to do the mediclear cleanse. I wanted to be more
support for our clients while getting healthy myself. I spent a few weeks
mentally preparing myself and my boyfriend, Jared, for the cleanse. We were
both ready to get our health on track, until Jared read how many weeks we would
be on cleanse and what foods we would need to eliminate! No wheat, dairy,
caffeine or tomatoes to name a few. Wait, what? No tomatoes? What is wrong with
tomatoes? I am sorry but even my teenage daughter knows I don't do morning
without a cup of coffee. Just when I thought I might have it hard, I was
reminded that Jared is a restaurant manager and was surrounded by all the
temptations that he was supposed to avoid. A predicament that he referred to as
his own personal hell. This might be more than we bargained for. Still, for the
sake of cleaning out the filthy cluttered attic that we called our bodies, we
pressed on. Strange how we felt we were about to be deprived for three weeks
not realizing we were actually about to feast on delicious and healthy foods
and getting more energy!
The first step in making the best of the cleanse was to read
the mediclear booklet and before filling the cupboards and fridge with the
appropriate food and juices. How exciting to find mediclear friendly foods that
don't taste like cardboard or even worse nothing! Don't bother with Safeway or
IGA, Wholefoods or Choices will have the diet appropriate items you will need.
You can find some items at the local markets but stores that specialize in
healthy living were far more easy to navigate. I preferred Choices for stock
and their points program but Wholefoods deli had more ready-to-eat items. The
best advice is to take the time to shop and go up each aisle. You would be
surprised what little gems you will find. I almost did a cartwheel when I found
rice flour raisin bread with no wheat, dairy or eggs! Not the best by itself
but very tasty toasted with jam. Stay away from the rice flour, dairy and egg
free croutons unless you have a good dental plan and unusual taste buds. They
were hard as rocks and tasted like dirt. Let's face it, a crouton is meant to
be made of good old fashion bread. Warning read labels! We purchased more than
one bottle of salad dressing only to discover that tomato was a common, if not
obvious, ingredient. Once we filled our cart, we went home and ordered
take-out! You would think we were having our last meal and definitely ate it
like it was! We thought we were ready-but nothing prepared us for the taste of
the actual shake.
The mediclear powder looks bland, smells alright but it
definitely did not taste alright. Jared said it smelled similar to malt. I will
refrain from telling you how he described the taste as men can be a little
dramatic in this department. Let's just say he recommends drinking it near a
sink or other such receptacle. I am happy to report he drank the recommended
dosages and survived every last drop. Preparing a shake was like a science
experiment. After many trials and errors, I finally came up with a mixture that
made the shake easy to consume. I had to make a smoothie with a banana,
pineapple and coconut juice. If I could not blend a shake, pineapple proved to
compliment the mixture-if that was possible. It took a few days but I finally
got use to the drink. The first few days of no-coffee was not easy. I
experienced a few headaches but found Inca and roobios chai the best
substitute. Also, Japanese green tea in small doses helped to curb the
withdrawals. I am happy to report that my daughter and Jared survived me
without my morning coffee. Sadly, we found no substitute for red wine. Jared
spent the first few days grumpy and dizzy. A bad combination but he, and more
importantly I, survived.
For week one and three, we purchased our meats or fish from
our local butcher and seafood market. Most of the time, there were
pre-marinated items that were mediclear friendly. If we were in a hurry,
Wholefoods had a pre-made salad that had a yummy tomato free salsa and chicken.
We were like kids in a candy store when we would find treats like rice dream
ice cream. However after tasting it, Jared, being ever the stubborn one, acted
more like a kid whose bike just got stolen. Again, with the theatrics. I quite
enjoyed the available treats. Eating out was not ideal because of the
ingredient modifications but possible if you investigated restaurant menus
ahead of time. Jared is a testament to this as he ate five meals a week at the
restaurant he managed. It just takes some imagination and a willing and
cooperative Chef. Lastly, most establishments cater to celiac diets.
Nobody warned me about the physical challenges. I certainly
was not expecting to get constipated. Jared experienced quite the opposite. You
might think this falls under the category of "too much information"
but I was quite alarmed about this side effect until I learned I was not the
only one to experience it. So if you are one of those people, don't worry too
much as it is common and treatable. I avoided mentioning anything to my
practitioner until I was beyond uncomfortable but it was quite a relief when
they, due to my grouchy and short-tempered behaviour, prescribed bowel moving
herbs. It took two formulas, one with salt and two acupuncture treatments to
move things along. Like all good things, this came to pass.
We found taking the time to prepare meals in advance helped
us not starve and brought us closer. Mindful eating lead to mindful time
together. The cleanse was more than a physical benefit. Even our teenage
daughter joined in the preparations and was learning the benefits of healthy
eating. Although cleansing can be trying at times, the clarity of mind and body
it helps you achieve far out ways the negatives. We have never felt healthier
or more full of energy than we did upon completing this cleanse.
**editor footnote: please see Bobbi's Mediclear Suggestion
page for recipe suggestions on our website under resources http://acubalance.ca/content/bobbis-mediclear-suggestions
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