Womans World Cover Story: My 24-hr Christmas Cleanse

December 14, 2009
Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS

Award-winning nutritionist and New York Times bestselling author.

womens_worldcoverA Sneak Preview of Fat Flush for Life Principles – Even in Winter, You Can Still Cleanse, Lose Weight, and Be Healthy.

Should you detox in winter? While I don’t generally recommend it long-term, I’ve found ways to cleanse—even right around Christmas—safely and effectively.

In fact, one Woman’s World reader who tested my one-day detox lost five pounds and four inches. “In one day, you can lose all the weight you’ve gained since Thanksgiving!” You, too, may want to consider an easy one-day juice diet—before the next round of holiday goodies hits your waistline.

The secret, which is the premise of my book, Fat Flush for Life, the Year-Round Super Detox Plan to Boost Your Metabolism and Keep the Weight Off Permanently, is to modify the detox protocol for each season of the year.

Even if you live in Alaska or Florida, the seasons have an impact on your health—regardless of the climate. This is a premise of the age-old tradition of Oriental Medicine.

In winter, it’s important to strengthen your adrenal glands and kidneys. That means your diet needs to support and nourish these organs—and any detox plan or even a quick one-day cleanse must do the same.

Fat Flush for Winter
This is the season when the body naturally slows down—even if your hectic holiday schedule demands otherwise. Both physical and psychological stressors—colder weather, overwork, holiday decorating, shopping, baking, and partying—can exhaust you, making it hard for you to deal with added stress.

This time of year, cravings for sweets and sugar are common. But they only increase your tendency to pack on excess pounds—and make balancing blood sugar levels even harder, creating more cravings in a vicious cycle.

In addition, many people, particularly those with high blood pressure or those who retain fluids, may need to watch salt intake. Too many salty foods create bloating and add water weight. You may also feel fatigued, suffer frequent pain in your knees or lower back, and have trouble waking up and getting going in the morning.

Without enough of the right kind of salt, calcium may be deposited in the joints. Unfortunately, there’s as much confusion over safe sodium as there once was about fat. That’s why I recommend the right kind of salt in Fat Flush for Life.

The Christmas Cleanse
Pick one quiet day before you plan on feasting. Then skip solid foods and sip cleansing juices (like cranberry and pomegranate) and lemon water to unlock your body’s natural fat-burning capacity. For this warming, winter recipe, pick up the latest copy of Woman’s World, which features this special Fat Flush for Life beverage. This issue goes on newsstands today.

The fruit acids and vitamin C in this cleansing drink can increase the body’s ability to emulsify fat by as much as 30%. Cranberry is a powerful diuretic, and drinking plenty of water helps flush excess fluids from cells and tissues.

To help balance blood sugar on this one-day cleanse, I recommend sprinkling a little cinnamon onto your hot lemon water. This sugar-metabolizing spice, plus cardamom and cloves add flavor to my Holiday Detox Juice—and offer plenty of health benefits too.

Need a Little More Food?
Some people may feel a bit light-headed on a liquid diet, even if it’s just for a day. In that case, mix in 1 to 2 scoops of the new Fat Flush Body Protein. With one of the highest protein efficiency ratios on the market, this special blend of yellow pea and brown proteins contains essential amino acids and 20 grams of complete protein.

Fat Flush Body Protein will keep you fully sustained and energized for at least four hours. Naturally sweetened with calorie-free stevia (a sweet herb used for centuries) and inulin, a digestive tract-friendly prebiotic (feeding healthy bacteria that support weight loss), this powder offers great taste without bloating, gas, or digestive upset.

Vegan and sugar-free, Fat Flush Body Protein is ideal for anyone who’s sensitive to dairy or gluten. For recipes using this powder, check out the Fat Flush Smoothie Shakedown.

Last but Never Least
Your body doesn’t tolerate lots of raw foods in the winter. In addition to eating low-glycemic, fiber-rich seasonal fruits (apples, berries, pears, and pomegranates), steam some of your favorite seasonal veggies (bok choy, broccoli, carrots, chard and other leafy greens)—the brighter the color, the more carotenoids they contain. Fat Flush for Life contains a complete list of superstar foods ideally suited for this time of year.

Sources:
Fat Flush for Life
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19766760
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19021808
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19793508
www.unikeyhealth.com/shakedown

Related Articles and Podcasts

Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books including The Fat Flush Plan series and her latest book, Radical Metabolism. She’s been rewriting the rules of nutrition for more than 40 years and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of diet, detox and women’s health issues. 

For a FREE daily dose of tips and strategies for maintaining healthy weight, conquering insomnia, and much more…check out my Radical Health Tips.

I’d like to meet and greet you on my Facebook groups, so won’t you check us out at the Radical Metabolism RevolutionFat Flush Nation, or my Inner Circle!

55 Comments

  1. Carol

    Thanks for another fabulous cleanse Dr. Ann Louise! I’m headed out to buy a copy of Women’s World today!!

    Reply
  2. Lise

    Hi Dr. Ann Louise,
    I already have a copy of the Woman’s World and the juice recipe…detox in it. It says 1 water with lemon every 2 hours. It says 1 cup of juice every 2 hours. So on and so on. How long are we suppose to take this detox recipe? Is it only for one day or are we suppose to continue drinking it every day? Please let me know. It said to go online for more information, but I did not find the information I needed.
    Thank you very much.
    Lise

    Reply
  3. Ann Louise Gittleman

    Lise: The cleanse was created especially for Woman’s World and is a jumpstart to Fat Flush for Life. It is only designed for a day. If you have other questions, post on our Forum, where our moderators will be happy to address any other concerns 🙂

    Reply
  4. Evelyn

    I went out looking for the Woman’s World today and the December 14 issue doesn’t have the cleanse in it. Please advise
    (this issue features “lose 7 lbs a week” based ob a salad dressing)

    Reply
  5. Liz Beck

    The Women’s World issue is actually 12/21.

    Reply
  6. Robyn

    I have the Woman’s World issue and all of the ingredients ready to go. I am very excited, but have one question. After making the juice should it be refridgerated? The article does talk about warming it up before drinking so I am assuming that it goes into the fridge, but wanted to double check. Thanks

    Reply
  7. Annie

    I was able to pick up my copy of WW yesterday (the issue date is always later than when it hits the news stands).
    Is there time to order the special protein before Christmas? I’d like to give it (along with the new FAT FLUSh book) to a friend who introduced me to the first Fat Flush Plan.

    Reply
  8. Debie

    Good morning. I live in Canada. I went to the store to look for the magazine, they don’t have the one you are talking about. They carry Woman’s World, but it is very different than the one you show. I looked it over and it doesn’t have the same detox one you are talking about. Is there any way to get a copy of this? Or to send the detox diet to me? Thanks for you time!

    Reply
  9. chris

    2lbs in a day is a lot!

    Reply
  10. AMY

    Hi .I live in Canada and just got copy of the Woman’s World.Question I have about this detox it says every waking hour .Will you explain that .Maybe I have to wake up every hour hehhe.And how often I can use this diet?
    thank you

    Reply
  11. Administrator

    Amy – good question!

    Waking hour means every hour you are awake that day. So if you wake up at 7am, have one at 7am, 8am and so on until bedtime.

    As far as how often, this is not a “regular” diet plan. I would recommend it as a seasonal detox a couple times a year, but you can get more advice on a one-day detox in Dr. Ann Louise’s book “The Fast Track Detox Diet” which features a similar protocol and discusses detox in more detail! Hope this helps!

    Reply
  12. Melinda

    Hey guys I just tried it and it works. For everyone that is unsure, dont be. It taste good, your never hungry, and is relaxing to have warm drinks in the winter. I lost 5.3 lbs.

    Reply
  13. Kathi

    I have tried everywhere to find this issue but with no luck, the Dec 28th is already on stands.

    Does anyone know how I can get ahold of this article? Thanks

    Reply
  14. Mary

    Cardamom is very expensive. How important is it to include that spice or can you substitute it with something else?

    Reply
  15. Susan

    I can’t wait to but the Womans World magazine tomorrow and am really looking forward to trying this detox. I ordered the FF Body Protein on Dec 12th and received it Dec 18th. I live in Canada and thought delivery might take longer but thankfully it didn’t!

    Reply
  16. Ann Louise Gittleman

    Hi There:
    If you can’t find Woman’s World, then do pick up Fast Track – its the prototype to the current program. The spices are not that essential. I think you will absolutely love the FF Body Protein – I can’t live without it 😉

    Reply
  17. Susan

    Thank you so much for your response Ann. I tried to find the Woma’s World magazine today but the issue we get in Canada must be different than the one in the US..the date is the same but the cover and contents of the magazine are not the same. I was discouraged until I read your suggestion about the Fast Track. I will pick that up today. Thank you again!

    Reply
  18. Barbara

    I just received my copy of Fat Flush for Life and I do not see the Christmas Cleanse in the book. What recipe is the cleanse using? Can you give me a page number? Thanks so much for your help.

    Reply
  19. Ann Louise Gittleman

    Barbara,
    The one-day cleanse was based upon many of the Fat Flush for Life beverage and spice recommendations but does not appear as such in the book. As you will see in the blog, the recipe (which I call the Christmas Cleanse) appeared in Woman’s World. Please go directly to the Hot Metabolism Booster program which is the detox that I recommend for cleansing this time of the year.
    Blessings,
    Dr. Ann Louise

    Reply
  20. Ann Louise Gittleman

    This just in….We will be publishing the article once it is off the newsstands 🙂

    Reply
  21. Debie

    I found the magazine,here in Canada, picked up the stuff and followed the plan exactly. I didn’t lose even half a pound!! Why? I ate salads, and fruit smoothies and protein 2 days before, just to help things along. (I have your fat flush plan book) I continued eating this way the next 2 days after the detox day. I didn’t lose any weight. I don’t understand, can you explain this?

    Reply
  22. Alysa

    I went to the store last night hoping to be able to pick up a copy of this recipe of the Christmas Cleanse and there was a new issue of Woman’s World on the shelf. Is there anywhere online or in the stores that I am able to get this recipe? I would greatly appreciate it!

    Thank you

    Reply
  23. Woody

    I also need to know if this needs to be refrigerated and can I have my normal cup of coffee with cream in the morning before I start the cleanse?

    Reply
  24. LindyLoo

    I cannot find this magazine article anywhere – none of the Woman’s World magazines I’ve seen have this article, so the places I shop must either have older ones or newer ones. Is this the same recipe as the “miracle juice” in Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet? I have that book.

    Reply
  25. Linda

    I’m just getting ready to go in the kitchen and make my detox juice for tomorrow and I am very excited. My daughter and I are both doing the detox. As for the person who talked about how expensive cardamom is, if you get it bulk like at Winco, then you don’t need much and you can get enough for less than a dollar. I hope that helps! I will let you know how it works tomorrow.

    Reply
  26. Janis Keel

    Hi,
    I missed the issue of Women’s World. Can I get a copy of the detox juice recipe?
    Please send it to my email inbox.

    Thank you.
    Janis Keel

    Reply
  27. Janis Keel

    Oops! LOL I just saw that the recipe is published on this website. Sorry!

    Janis Keel

    Reply
  28. Kelly

    I did the detox today, it wasn’t awful, I wouldn’t say I never got hungry, but it was very managable. I realized how much of my eating is out of habit. There were two times during the day I popped something in my mouth while feeding the kids and had to spit it out right away. I will definitly do it again sometime! Thanks!

    Reply
  29. josie

    I am going to do this tomorrow, I didn’t see any answers to what you can actually eat if you feel sick or dizzy or anything during the day. Any ideas??? And can you have coffee or anything in the morning??

    Reply
  30. Karen

    I tried this diet yestarday. And I was surprised it actually worked. The drinks do help curb your appetite, but you will still want to eat, but it’s not so bad. You really get tired of drinking the stuff though.

    The whole day I would get on the scale waiting to see lbs gone, but I only saw the weight loss the next day when I woke up. I lost about 5 lbs.

    Note: I did have trouble concentrating during the day, so make sure you don’t have anything important planned. After the first couple of glasses, my stomach felt a little queezy, but it went away pretty fast. I also felt very cold. I stayed under the covers and I was still cold, but that might just be me.

    Reply
  31. josie

    Did you get dizzy or anything Karen? Did you drink any water in between or anything else or just strictly detox and water???

    Reply
  32. Bonnie

    I would like to know if you can have your coffee with cream in the morning? Can you drink anything else during the day?

    Reply
  33. Diane

    My business partner and I both did the 24 hour detox yesterday! I followed it to a T. She cheated and also drank wine. She lost 5 lbs. I GAINED 1!

    Why is this?? HELP

    Reply
  34. Heather

    My mom and I did this yesterday.
    Mom says, “it is very hard for me to loose weight (slow metabolism), but I lost 1 1/2 lbs. with this!”
    I will say that it did curve my hunger the first part of the day, but I went to bed hungry with a slight headache. But it was all worth it when I woke up in the morning 6 lbs. lighter.
    We both feel slimmer in the waist too!

    Reply
  35. Karen

    Hi Josie.

    I did not drink any water. Just the lemon water and the detox.
    I didn’t feel dizzy. I just found it hard to focus, like finding my words.

    Reply
  36. Carole

    I tried the detox for a day and mid morning developed a headache which stayed wil me all day. Finally at 6:00pm I ate something thinking food would help. It didn’t. I woke up fine the next day. Why would I get a headache from this? Thank you.

    Reply
  37. AnnW

    Carole,
    I have not tried this detox yet but will as my sister above, Karen lost 5 lbs doing it. I would think your headache may be from caffeine withdrawl as it happens to me from time to time when I don’t get my morning coffee or you’re doing too much on nothing in your stomach or it’s that time of month. When I go on this, I plan to do nothing strenous or anything that requires my attention like studying. You did not mention if it worked for you.

    Annie

    Reply
  38. Nicole

    I tried the detox and got a headache about 16 hours later. I took a tylenol and ate a bit. I also noticed that I wasn’t going to the bathroom very often. I did not loose 5 lbs, Could this be because I was drinking the juice slowly? Should it be drank within a certain timeframe, like within 5 minutes? How often can I do this detox and is it safe to keep drinking the juice after. I enjoy the flavour very much.

    Reply
  39. Arlene Miller

    I am wondering about my blood pressure medicine on a day when I do this detox. I am doing it today, and know that I have to take the medication with food?? How do I do this??

    Reply
  40. Karen

    I did this detox on Jan 4 and lost 5 lbs (see Karen Jan 5, 2010).
    It’s Jan 15, 2010 and I’ve gained all the weight back.
    Not bad since I was expecting to gain the weight back within the first week.

    Reply
  41. Diane

    Can the cardamon be replaced with anything else or can we just skip it all together. I have the juice already made but don’t have that ingredient and wanted to get started on it.

    Reply
  42. Julie

    Hi all, should I be warming the lemon water too?:

    Reply
  43. Deanna

    Can I have any coffee with this detox plan?

    Reply
  44. Denise

    We were wondering how often this detox plan can/should be done, and seems coffee is pretty much just water can we still drink it on the detox day. Can a person drink more water than the every other hour?

    Reply
  45. Marie

    Is there a substitute for cardamom? I don’t have any.

    Reply
  46. Dana

    I’ve done this diet twice now and it works!!! The first time I lost 5 lbs; the 2nd time recently I lost 4 and it has stayed off. It certainly curbs your appetite and it curbed my sugar cravings. Since the last detox, I have kept up with watching calories in/calories expended and continue to lose. I’m very pleased!!!

    Reply
  47. Vickie Spratt

    i love what i’ve been on your web site

    Reply
  48. janet

    your 24 hour holiday detox says to use cardamon , i don;t have it on hand i found it cost way to much, can i use cinnamon only

    Reply
  49. Liz

    It is best to use all the herbs. Certainly you can do it with cinnamon only but it may not be as effective.

    Reply

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