JJ Virgin 28 Day Cleansing Group starting for the New Year

I am thrilled that I'm going to cleanse my body for 2014! I'm going to be using JJ Virgin's basic plan, her book the "The Virgin Diet" and you are welcome to join me. It's a great program for anyone that has been struggling with weight, or leaky gut. And if you are new to the paleo lifestyle, no matter if you are vegetarian , vegan or not this program will help you to cleanse your system and start from a place of health. Most people struggle with some sort of internal issues - and just changing your diet from SAD to Paleo isn't the quick answer that they'd hoped. So this program is a good start for you, in fact in my opinion this program should be done before ever doing a Whole 30 because this really addresses the leaky gut problems.

What is the 28 Day program 

You may want to know what the layout of the program is. And what's great is that it really is more of a 21 day cleanse, and the last week is reintroduction, where I will probably try out dairy first, eggs second after I see how I do with dairy. The program run is:

Week 1: Jump Start Week 
 2 shakes, 1 meal, optional snack
Week 2: Heal Week
 1 shake, 2 meals, optional snack (You can do 2 shakes if you prefer.)
Week 3: Reverse Week 
 1 shake, 2 meals, optional snack (You can do 2 shakes if you prefer.)
Week 4: Reintroduction Week  {gradually reintroduce eggs, dairy, and gluten. If you can tolerate these foods, eat them in moderation. If you can‘t, eliminate them again for at least three months and then
re-challenge. }
1 shake, 2 meals, optional snack

What do you eat on The Virgin Diet?

Well let's start with what you don't eat. Similar to a paleo diet there is no gluten, no peanuts, no soy, no corn, no artificial sugars. Like the Whole 30 there are no sugars, but also there are no eggs. You are working your body out of the allergens, so that you are able to figure out what truly causes your body issues. I'd even recommend you go through this, do the re-introduction plans, and then when you know what your body can and can't tolerate you then do a Whole 30 program.

For the Virgin Diet my protein choices will be sardines (maybe once a week or twice a week since it's no eggs), pea, hemp and sprouted rice protein. I'll be sticking mostly to the proteins in the Mediclear SGS shake which is very detoxifying. My fat choices will be ground flax meal, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, coconut milk, and I'm thinking about starting to use some cod liver oil although struggling with it. LOL.. Maybe sacha inchi seed oil instead.

Obviously where you can go wild is with the non-starchy vegetables. Her list includes:
• Arugula • Asparagus • Bamboo shoots • Bean sprouts • Beet greens • Bell peppers (red, yellow, green) • Cucumber • Broccoli • Brussels sprouts • Cabbage • Cassava • Cauliflower • Celery • Chicory • Fennel
• Chives • Collard greens • Coriander • Jalapeno peppers • Dandelion greens • Eggplant • Endive • Garlic
• Green beans • Leeks • Kohlrabi • Kale • Onions • Lettuce • Mushrooms • Mustard greens • Parsley • Radishes • Radicchio • Shallots • Spinach • Spaghetti squash • Summer squash • Swiss chard • Turnip greens • Watercress • Zucchini

And there are a shocking number of great starchy vegetables in her list of items to have as well. Pumpkin, root vegetables and the sweet potato are obviously favorites of mine.

This will be my daily shake: 

2 scoops MediClear SGS
½ scoop Thorne Medibulk or Suprafiber.
1 T Chia or freshly ground flaxseed meal
1 cup frozen organic berries (your choice. I prefer frozen organic blueberries)
1 cup coconut milk (So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk. If you use the canned coconut milk choose the light version and dilute 1/4 cup coconut milk to 3/4 cup water.)

Add ice and blend to desired thickness

Add-ins:
1 tbsp nut butter
handful of Kale
1 T chia, hemp or freshly ground flaxseed meal
1 scoop greens powder. (I like the Alkalinize, Designs for Health - Paleogreens or the MacroGreens)

My husband HAS to have snacks because he tends to get low blood sugar issues (genetics) that make him not fun to be around. I will be sending him off to work with an apple and nuts, and then a Designs for Health - PaleoBar in the Chocolate/Almond flavor. They have that L-Carnitine which has been a big impact on him pre-workout. He's been using this L-Carnitine supplement for several months. And then I can't do nuts at all due to allergies, so I love the Designs for Health - Cocommune PaleoBar. It's my daily reward for being so good, and it is made up of about 50% lauric acid which becomes 2 mono-lauren in the gut. This dissolves the lipid envelope that protects most pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites which works hand in hand with the Mediclear-SGS to remove the toxins in your body. It's honestly just a brilliant treat, I feel like I'm cheating on my clean eating without actually cheating.

My biggest challenge over the holidays has been the sweets. And it's nothing artificial or really bad for you, but it's not healthy to be munching on that much honey sweetened and sugar sweetened items. So we'll bring back the treat of the cocommune bars and see if I can move past this. Get back into some functional fitness routines and really change my next year for the better!!