Lighten-up Plan
This is the detox plan for those post-Christmas feelings, for after your summer holiday, your best friend's hen or stag night or the week of your birthday - basically all those times when you've really overdone it, when you get to the point where, if you see another chocolate, you'll explode; or the smell of cooking sherry almost brings on a hangover. The Lighten-up Plan will change those feelings. It's also a good way to start the detoxing process off, and can be used for three days before any of the other plans in order to enhance their effects.
About lightening up
This plan works by bringing into play all the detox-stimulating techniques discussed in the first part of this book. It uses diet and supplements to strengthen the liver, helping it process the toxin overload that is making you feel bad, and uses techniques like body-brushing and exercise to add to their effects. It floods the body with nutrients that you've been lacking while you've been over-indulging, and, by taking out many of the typically 'toxic' foods, it breaks bad eating behaviour before it becomes a habit. It also helps repair the digestive system, so that when you come off the plan your body will be better able to cope next time it gets attacked by alcohol, sugar or four three-course meals on the trot.
Admittedly, it's a strict programme. It's the only plan in the book where there is no red meat, no sugary foods, no wheat, no dairy products and (ideally) no caffeine; however, at this point this is exactly what your body needs to help it recover from the last few days or weeks. Even so, it's not an unbearable plan. You are not surviving on just juices. Instead, you'll be eating five times a day with meals designed to balance your energy, so any cravings for sugar and caffeine are lessened - and if any do crop up there is advice on how to tackle them.
The solution
The daily aim of this one-week programme is to stimulate your detox system as much as possible.
Many of the things you'll do will need to be done every day; and, as this makes it slightly repetitive, a day-to-day plan has not been given. Instead, advice on what you should be doing or eating at a particular point each day is provided; if this varies, it will be made clear. It's easy once you get started.