Three Dog Kitchen

I get enough hits from people looking for information on Trader Joe’s detox kit that it piqued my curiousity.  So, the next time I found myself in Trader Joe’s, I picked one up.  You get 3 containers of pills - fiber, liver, and a “digestive” formula.  The plus side is that you only have to swallow pills; no drinking of funny powders.  The downside is that you may find yourself swallowing up to 8 pills, twice a day.  This may not be a problem for those of you who can swallow more than one pill at a time, but I found it to be a lot of capsules to gulp down.

Now, I admit that I didn’t alter my diet for this “detox”.  I didn’t give up red meat, dairy, sugar, coffee, etc.  Is this why I didn’t feel “cleansed” and totally energized?  Who knows.  I will say that this must be a pretty gentle detox, which is nice if you don’t want to worry about your bathroom schedule.  ‘Nuff said?  Okay.

I also did a little Googling and found claims that people heard other people lost 10 pounds doing this detox (or any detox) for just a couple of weeks.  I didn’t find too many first-person proclamations.  I’ve also come to the conclusion that if you spend 2 weeks eating only vegetables and water and maybe some bread, it’s not far-fetched to except weight to drop off.  You’re not eating much!  If I did that I could drop pounds even without detox pills.  I’d also be hungry and cranky and not much fun to be around.  I don’t buy the hype that you shouldn’t eat solid food while detoxing to give your system a break.  I think your digestive system works whether you’re eating raw carrots or drinking carrot soup.  I’m also skeptical that all the weight you drop with a “proper detox” wouldn’t just come right back after eating your first real meal.  You know, water weight explanation and all.  You certainly couldn’t exercise while on a detox - you’d pass out from lack of calories!  Of course, what do I know.  I’m no expert. 

So, I have come to the conclusion that the most practical way to lose weight and be healthy is: eat less and exercise more!  Stunning, isn’t it?  Eat a couple of salads, maybe you don’t indulge in a double cheeseburger at every lunch, have some fish (non-fried) for dinner!  Honestly, I find that when we do eat at home, it’s quite often pretty healthy.  I don’t tend to make a lot of fried foods or heavy cream sauces.  I leave those to the restaurant folk, which is why I tend to order those things when we do go out for dinner.  I also tend not to eat salads when eating out because I find them to be boring and if I’m spending money on a meal I want to really enjoy it.  I think an exception to this is the tri tip salad at Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ.  It’s a salad, so you can feel like you’re eating healthy, but it has a good amount of tasty tri tip on top.  Plus, the beans and corn and whatnot sprinkled throughout make it a really tasty dish.  Would I rather have the brisket plate with mac ‘n cheese?  Yes!  I’m just saying that their salad doesn’t make me sad and wishing I had ordered something else.