Karyn's Raw Detox: Day 28 - Final Post

This post is part of a series in which I am sharing my journey of Karyn's Raw Detox program. Read my other posts below:

Free Seminar
Day 0
Days 1-2
Days 3-6
Days 7-10

Days 11-14
Days 15-19
Days 20-27

Day 28 - Final Post
I'm not actually writing this post on Day 28 (last Wednesday) because I had to leave town for a conference last week and didn't have time to write. We had a "graduation" party last Wednesday which was a really good time to reflect on our journey and also hear about other's experiences. There were both newbies (like me) and people who have detoxed with Karyn before in my class. Therefore, each person's perspective was very unique and I certainly learned quite a bit engaging with others. I think the most important thing I learned at the graduation party was that going through a raw food detox doesn't not automatically make you 100% healthy or a raw foodist. The detox gives you a starting point but you still have to work hard afterwards to maintain a healthy lifestyle and continue to detox. In this post, I want to share my overall impression of Karyn's detox program. And since I strive to be honest on my blog, I will share both the good and the bad.

I feel like fresh spring flowers after the detox!

• Learning how to eat. Karyn's detox is a learning experience and one thing that she constantly stresses is to fuel your body so it can run like the magnificent machine that it is. Our bodies are extremely complex systems with atoms, molecules, cells, and organs. It is best to fuel your body with what nature intended, or it won't work properly. This means we should eat foods in their most natural form, with vegetables as the foundation. After the detox, I am always thinking about what food will fuel my body rather than what will just make me feel full or satisfy my appetite. This is tricky but I found that during the last week of the detox, I was eating less than usual, but I did not feel hungry or have cravings. I was adequately fueling my body.
• Sick no more. 80% of our health comes from our gut but our society has come to the point where it accepts diseases like diabetes and cancer as just a fact of life. Karyn proves during the detox that you don't get sick because of bad genes or flu season, you get sick because your immune system is compromised by what you put in your body. Other than detox symptoms, I felt much healthier during the the past month and I'm hopeful that I will never get another sinus infection as long as I continue to eat healthy and detox. There are also some amazing stories about people that have had chronic illness and been cured by a raw food detox.
• Supplements like crazy. This program did involve a lot of supplements that I honestly just found annoying after a while. I'm not good at remembering to take things things throughout the day and I certainly had trouble during the last month. I value the importance of the supplements but I felt like it was overkill. However, detox is supposed to be overkill on your body so I understand the process. As a new person to the detox, you will probably be as overwhelmed as I was by the amount of things you have to do and take each week.
• Hard work. Speaking of the amount of work you have to do each week, this detox is hard work. You will not breeze through it even if you are already a relatively healthy person like me. There were many times when I wanted to give up and I almost did during the juice fast. I'm not sure I would have made it if I didn't have my blog to hold me accountable. I took me a ton of time in the mornings and evenings before work to prepare all of my foods and supplements. I also chose not to go out with friends so I wouldn't be tempted to eat bad food or drink alcohol. I did go to the movies one night and it was torture trying to resist popcorn. You will have to put time and effort in to the detox to make it work.
• Invest now, save later. You will also have to spend money on this detox. The class itself is $250 ($50 off is you sign up early and half price for returning customers). You will also spend $100-$200 each week on food and supplements. You may also spend even more money on kitchen appliances if you choose. I bought a dehydrator for $180 and a Vitamix blender for $450. Of course, I'll keep using the appliances, but my credit card bill did not look good this month. Be prepared to spend money but also be prepared to save money. What will heart disease, diabetes, or cancer cost you in the future? Compared to American healthcare costs, the cost of this detox is nothing (and should be covered by insurance as preventative care). I used to buy only the cheapest foods at Wal-Mart when I was an undergrad in college because I wanted to spend as little as possible on food. But we shouldn't have that mentality considering the fact that we can't live without food. We should be spending all of our money on food. I finally started eating healthy in grad school and it was possible, even on my poverty-level research assistant salary. You will save money during the detox not going out to eat or buying alcohol at bars, for example. If you truly think you can't afford the detox, then I would suggest buying Karyn's book and doing what you can.
• Look and feel amazing. I wrote last week about how I felt completely amazing after finishing the juice cleanse and continuing to eat raw food. I am amazed at how much of a difference a raw vegan diet makes. I had limitless energy and great workouts. I never felt irritated (even in Chicago traffic). I felt completely at ease with my body and my mind. This is something that is not achievable without a healthy diet and exercise and completely makes this whole process worth it.
• Just do it. I know a lot of you are probably hesitant about giving up meat, eggs, dairy (cheese!), and cooked food. You can do anything for a month. Don't think about the detox as giving up all of your favorite foods, but rather as adding nutritious raw foods. You can go back to eating your normal diet after the detox but you'll find that it doesn't make you feel very good.

Kelp noodle salad

Moving Forward
Now that the detox is over, how do I plan to continue my health journey? My goal right now is to eat 60% raw vegan, which means eating raw until dinner. I've mastered some raw lunch recipes and I think I'm ready to do that. I also consider Vega One in my morning smoothie "raw" because it is practically raw, and very healthy anyway. I also plan to keep on eating and drinking Rejuvelac, energy soup, and sprouts salad and taking supplements of enzymes, spirulina, and chlorella. Finally, I plan to do Karyn's full detox twice per year and mini detoxes in between (including enemas/colonics). I've learned a great deal from this experience and I'm excited to continue my health journey and share it with you!

Thank you to Karyn Calabrese and her team for providing me the opportunity to participate in the detox program and share it with my readers.

Disclaimer: Karyn's Raw provided the detox class to me for free and is giving me a discount on the supplements for writing about my experience. The text and opinions are completely my own. You can learn more about the detox class here or buy Karyn's book here.