10 Day Anabolic Fast 2017

Anabolic fast. Anabolic. If you are not a health enthusiast yet, that word means nothing to you and you are probably wondering how you landed on this blog post from your search keywords. You are in the right place, not to worry. Anabolic fast is a way of saying that your body is turned on to build and that requires energy so the body uses stored fat for that energy when deprived of excess carbohydrates such as rice and bread.  Of course, that’s not the scientific definition, but it is what happens during an anabolic fast.

Now that we understand anabolic, let move into fast. I went on a calorie restrictive meal plan for 10 days. That restriction was a fast. You can pretty much fast from anything. Most of the time I hear people fasting during a religious event. Whatever your reason for fasting, I recommend trying it out and taking note of the way your body responds.

As you know, or need to be caught up on, I am a happy affiliate promoter of Purium Health Products and the company has been consistently growing AND UPDATING its’ product packaging among other things.  I noticed that my weight loss journey felt like it had reached a valley so, what better time to do a cleanse and shock my body back into fat burning mode since the company has all kinds of newness going on?

Online ordering through the website was just as simple to me as the first time I ordered and I really like how a little window popped up alerting me to the fact that I could customize my order at that time with specific products that offered other flavors or supplement options.  I know it sounds silly, I think that was a really considerate thing to do and I appreciate it. Besides the simplicity in the ordering process, I am happy to say that customer service was also very kind. I wanted to set up an auto ship order for after after the cleanse. I ordered enough food for the cleanse and the next 30 days after the cleanse so I did not need the back up order until the month after that, so I called customer service to ensure that no orders would ship to me sooner than I wanted and the representative was kind and courteous.  My order quickly arrived and I was able to request that a text come to me when the postal worker delivered it because I did the cleanse during the summer here in Hawaii: the beach… Need I say more?

This cleanse is a 10 day fast as I mentioned before. It is recommended to refrain from caffeine, animal meat and excess sugar a few days before the cleanse to minimize the amount of discomfort experienced during the cleanse. I, of course, intended to do everything perfectly but reality set in and I was able to lessen how much of those things I consumed before beginning but I am sure I did not remove them entirely.

Days 1 – 3 were actually much easier than I had anticipated because I did not go in “clean,” as I like to call it, when my body is mostly carb and animal flesh free.  I did not have headaches from a lack of caffeine and I did not have crazy cravings for anything.  In fact, days 1-3 were so easy that I took them for granted and allowed myself to miss meal times by an hour or so.  That, my friends, is NOT a good idea. When the body is moving into anabolism, it is common that a person will not FEEL hungry because the protein and healthy fat will satiate them longer, but the problem with that for me is that I am retraining my body to burn fat. My metabolism needs to be awakened and awakened again. So, I had to set my phone alarm to remind myself and then set an extra alarm to remind myself again in cases I disregarded the first alarm. I’ve discovered, it’s important to find what helps you to win and to do that thing.

Days 4-6 Officially passing the day 5 halfway point was a big deal for me this cleanse because day 6 I “cheated” on my fast from excess carbs.  I wrote in my journal that I “ate like 6 maui onion chips and 2 tortilla chips and 3 madelines” while at the beach with the family.  I finished the journal entry saying that the beach is “NOT the place for me on a cleanse. The fresh ocean air turned into eat everything in site air.”  Hahahaha, ok so I can be a little dramatic, but that is how it was.  This time around the carb cravings hit me like a mac truck and I struggled with giving in when I was around people outside of the home.  Actually, that was not true, it just felt like it. I learned that to have the most successful transformation, I really needed to spend more time meal planning and prepping. True, the cleanse does provide everything you need except water for the entire 10 days in the box that’s delivered to the door, but because flexing is allowed (eating healthy snacks during the fast), it is important to participate if the option not to will leave a person craving and abandoning the meal plan. I thus began to be more on purpose about my flexing.

The problem really did boil down to planning and preparation.  I knew I was at work from 7am until 5pm and with another 30 minutes on the road if the traffic was moving well. That’s a long time to go without snacks when you are a person who is use to eating carb heavy snacks throughout the day.  I love nuts and seeds so, I grabbed 1/2 a cup of those and threw them in my work bag daily. Most days I didn’t even finish what I brought, but having a little something really helped me rediscover my discipline and allowed me to finish the last four days like a champ!

I also must add here that during the time of this cleanse, I also decided to join a 6 week squat challenge (that experience is coming in another post) which included 3 days a week of heavy strength training.  I have been reading a lot lately about body transformations and healthy diet and one thing I have learned is that it is NOT recommended to do heavy weight lifting or intense workouts on days when you have restricted your calories, specifically carb calories, to a very limited amount without balancing that with healthy fats for energy. During the cleanse, without flexing, I was eating about 1500 calories a day.  I know that may sound like “WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY?! I COULDN’T LIVE ON 1500 CALORIES ONLY FOR 10 DAYS!!! BYE FELICIA!” but calm down;  I have done this cleanse several times AND I am convinced from my own experience, my husbands experience and our daughter, friends and many, many clients that have successfully done the cleanse themselves, that it is entirely possible to live and be happy on 1500 calories for 10 days and longer if that’s a goal AND you are eating the transformation food.  Nevertheless, I did workout heavy on only 1500 calories and discovered that flexing made me happier because I had the extra energy I needed.

Water was also a saving grace I used to get through the fast with minimal discomfort.  I remember reading somewhere that dehydration cues are often misread as hunger cues. So I tried to always drink before I ate anything as a way to test myself and see if I was really hungry or just thirsty.  Also, because during the cleanse, the added fiber is helping to remove toxins from our body and our colon uses water to move fecal matter out.  Many people suffer from constipation simply because they do not drink enough water every day.  I discovered that I am so very dehydrated and I am the girl who never leaves home without her hydro (and phone). So water, I cannot say enough about how much you need to drink more than you think you do.  One recommendation is to drink at least your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 145 lbs, you would drink 145 oz of water daily to maintain hydration.  Drink more than your body weight in oz to lose weight, but the minimum should be your body weight at least.  145 oz! What?! How much is that, a million cups? Who has the time?! Calm down… it’s about a gallon. Can you take a gallon of water with you when you wake up and finish it before you go to bed that night? Just one? If that task seems daunting to you, get ready for all the health problems that are surely creeping up on you. I apologize if that sound harsh, but seriously people.  Water is essential to life.  Observe nature and pay attention to what happens when there is no water.

So day 11 arrived. The cleanse officially over. The final results are in and pounds lost must be recorded and photos must be taken for posterity or something… hahaha I always hated that part because I am one of those people who really struggles with self image so I don’t see the massive transformation that I think others seem to have.  It’s always the same with me, but I know this so, I have tools in place to help me see my win.  One tool is the handy measuring tape that Purium sends in the package with the guidebook, food and shaker bottle. I measured myself before the cleanse and again after.  That is a key tool for any type of change we make in our lives; something to record our progress and the difference.  My very first cleanse I lost 14 lbs and in my after picture I look more miserable than my before picture. It’s just how it is, so I have learned how important that before picture is AND the measurements.

So… here are my results. I began the cleanse weighing 200lbs. I ended the cleanse weighing 193lbs, I lost 7 lbs. My measurements were:

chest: 44.5 inches before / 42 inches after

waist: 37.5 before / 35 inches after

hips: 41 before / 39.5 inches after

left thigh: 26 before / 24 after

right bicep: 13.5 before / 12.5 after

I am happy to have lost 7 more pounds and 2 inches around my body. When I look at the pictures, I don’t see the difference. I still see the almost 300 pound mom of 8 struggling to lose weight. I FEEL stronger, healthier and more flexible. I don’t know why my mind won’t see what I feel instead of what I remember looking like, but more importantly, I don’t quit. I don’t quit reading and studying and learning about my body, the food that fuels it and the best way to take care of it. I recommend Puriums’ 10 day transformation to anyone wanting to kickstart their health improvement plan; to anyone wanting to lose 5 pounds or more, to anyone wanting to transition from animal heavy diets to less… I recommend this meal plan to everyone. It’s just 10 days and the results can be whats needed to make a lifelong change to a healthier you.  I know that is EXACTLY what it has done for me.  I have not returned to my almost 300 pounds weight, it’s been well over a year with Purium and now that I have reached and maintained my under 200lb goal, I plan to continue towards my ideal weight and physical condition.

I have learned these tips to help me maintain my current weight, I hope they will resonate with you and some you will use to maintain your success as you reach toward your fitness goals.

1. Drink Water. I cannot stress enough how much plain, unsweetened, unflavored, pure water is an asset to your body.  I try daily to drink a minimum of one gallon and I often fall short, but it is rare to see me without my hydroflask and that helps me. It’s once again about setting yourself up to win.

2. Eat whole foods instead of processed foods. For example, if you eat a lot of chicken, buy a whole chicken, cook it and slice it up for sandwiches, soups or shred the meat for tacos and chili. I personally own 3 crock pots and try to use them for 5 of the 7 meals in our house. Fresh ingredients slow cooked to perfection while the family is out and about doing everything else.

3. Eat breakfast daily.  Your body has been fasting all night, detoxing and in the morning when you wake up, your body needs fuel. A healthy breakfast that is protein packed and balanced with veggies will take you further into your day with lasting energy than a cup of coffee and a pastry.  The more you eat breakfast, and if you eat at the same time daily, your body will come to expect and look for this energy and utilize it well.   A great simple breakfast can be overnight oats, berries and almond milk.  You can put all the ingredients in a container overnight let it sit  in the fridge and mix together and in the morning, breakfast is prepared and ready to go. Heat and eat or enjoy it cold like I do.

4. Eat often – every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism active. When we eat, the energy that our body uses to digest our food (metabolize) it. The more often you eat, ideally you also will be eating smaller meals, and your body will turn on to digest it, thus burning energy. So, eating more often actually can help you lose weight. Just eat smaller meals more often.

5. Eat protein at your meals, every one. Yes, protein. Remember the benefits of protein are 1. it makes you feel full longer, 2. helps to build and maintain muscles,  and 3. helps to increase our metabolism because of the energy it takes to digest the protein.

6. Eat fruits and veggies at every meal. The nutrients and vitamins along with water and negative calories really do nothing but benefit your body. Notice it says fruits AND veggies.  I know there are many adults who still gag at the thought of eating broccoli or asparagus, but there are many, many different vegetables out there and worse comes to worse, drink them in a freshly juiced juice or smoothie.

7. Limit extra carbs to your post workout meal so they get burned off rather than stored. Some fitness consultants recommend only eating carbs on workout days and post workout. I recommend using an app to track your meals and macros (carbs, fats, protein, fiber) and then adjust to reach your dietary goals. This way you can see where you are and where to improve.

8. Eat healthy fats like avocados and olive oil.  This is especially helpful on days when you are limiting carbs because you still need energy to function.  Eating healthy fats like avocado will give you calories for energy, satiation and allows body to release stored fat instead of trying to store it.

So there you have it. My personal updated review of the Purium 10 day cleanse. My tips for a successful cleanse and eating to support the healthy lifestyle and progression toward your goals.  Leave me feedback on the information or share your goals with me, I’d love to cheer you on! A hui hou!

Use gift card code: maui_mami to get a $50 discount on your transformation!

📗 About D Goosby of JDs Organic Productions