Shake Days

Still loving the shakes and starting to get used to the ginger liquid.  I have a system- drink half the shake, pour the Ionix Supreme on ice and take the shot, chase it quickly with a cold glass of water, then go back to the shake to get rid of any remnants of ginger flavor.

So on the 30-day Isagenix program, you basically do what I've been doing (2 shakes a day, 2 oz. Ionix Supreme, and a big lunch) six days a week then on the seventh day you drink "Cleanse for Life" and eat Isadelights (dark chocolate infused with amino acids).

The premise of all of this is that most toxins we are exposed to (in food or the environment) are fat-soluble and it's the liver's job to change them into water-soluble substances that can be eliminated easily.  Apparently the crazy amount of pesticides and chemicals and other crap in our modern food and environment can cause the liver to be overloaded, and not all the toxins can be converted to leave the body with water. Which I think is why they say to drink plenty of water when trying to lose weight.  Anyway, those toxins end up getting sent to fat cells (because they are fat-soluble I'm guessing), and those fat tissues are programmed to be very stubborn in order to protect our organs from toxicity.  A small amount of the stored toxins are constantly cycled out of storage, through the body, and sent to the liver in hopes that it will handle them. If it cannot, they are sent back to "storage." And so these poisons are continually present and circulating in the body (which can't be good for the immune system, especially during times when it's got bigger fish to fry).  Basically, by the time most Americans reach "middle-aged," the liver turns into a fat-storing organ, and becomes enlarged and deposited with fatty tissues.  The general solution for a "fatty liver" is cleansing to improve function;  with improved function comes reversal of fat-storage and release of body fat.  

Have you ever seen that British show, "You Are What you Eat?"  That's what I think of when I think of all this.


Anyway, I hear time and time again by my friends who do all those starvation cleanses (Master Cleanse, anyone?) that it is a great way to kick-start their diets, and I guess it's because it prepares your body to go into non-fat-storage mode.


I think what Isagenix does right is that it doesn't just have you "cleansing" the liver, but it provides healthy, complete, nutrition that is easy on the organs at the same time.  This is something I don't see on the other cleanses;  they look dangerous, because you're not feeding your body anything at all (cayenne pepper and lemon juice don't count as food, guys).  Even on the full-on "cleanse days," you are still feeding your body a zillion nutrients.

So, since I only have 14 days of product (and since I went to a wedding yesterday and ate unmeasured portions of fried chicken, prime rib, boysenberry punch, and wedding cake), I think I'll count the "shake days" that I've already done as a warm-up to the program, then on day 6 (tomorrow) I'll follow the actual plan for the Isagenix 9-day cleanse http://www.cleanserevolution.com/isagenix-9-day-program-schedule.html

I can see why someone would want to do the 30-day program instead of the 9-day, though, because on the 9-day program, there are 2 cleanse days in a row, and that sounds rather difficult.  And on the 30-day thing, people seem to lose weight a little slower and more steadily and create longer-lasting good habits.