My Overall Thoughts of the 7-day raw food detox

I thought I'd share my final thoughts on the raw food 7-day detox and give you some tips and tricks that helped me get through it.

Honestly, it wasn't that hard at all. And I had plenty of temptations around me (Hello, Valentines chocolate!) but there is just something about being full on whole un-processed, un-cooked foods.Though I find it impossible for me to become a 100% raw foodist at this time in my life, I will definitely continue making a lot of my meals consist of raw foods.

DISCOVERING "NEW" FOOD
 I found a new appreciation and liking to foods that I didn't really consider "snacks." For example, I was completely content with a couple of orange slices or a baggie of carrots and I didn't need anything else with them. And I found a new LOVE of avocado. I began to actually even crave salads and raw foods.

SIMPLICITY
You can't beat the simplicity of throwing together a healthy dinner in 5 minutes after a long day in the office! It was unbelievably nice to not have to worry about having to slave in the kitchen for an hour when I got home.

ENERGY
I  know I've talked in depth about the about of energy it gave me, but I just can't say enough about how truly great I felt all week. I felt like I could on for hours in  my workouts and I work up in the mornings with no use for coffee.

WEIGHT LOSS

 I read a lot of articles online about people that lost over 10 pounds in a week eating raw foods alone. I did not though. I lost about 2 pounds, but I think that may be more to working out like a crazy woman for the week. I definitely think that keeping up with the raw food meal plan, would assist with weight loss though. I just don't think that 1 week is going to completely detoxify your system of all the toxins after all the years of junk food eating.

Some tips I've learned along the way:

 - PREPARATION is KEY! Have a meal plan. Have snacks ready in the fridge. Cut and slice all your foods
 - Drink a ton of water. And I mean a lot. This really helped with water retention with me. If you can't get  your water in, add some fresh lemon or lime. Keep your water with you at all times.
 -Sleep. The first day of the detox, I was exhausted! I could barely keep my eyes open. I know this was from beginning the cleanse. Sleeping for 12 hours that night made me feel a million times better.

All-in-all, this is something that I would complete again. As I mentioned, I will continue keeping some of my meals raw and then maybe 2 or 3 times a year, complete the 7-day detox again. I love the way it made me feel!

Any questions? Feel free to ask!

Stay beautiful and fresh, my friends :)

XOXO,
Crystal