Week 9 weigh in

Another six pounds lost this week, taking my total at week nine to 67 pounds! I was surprised to see my run of slimmer of the week beaten this week, but I was really pleased. One of my fellow slimmers put up a seven pound loss in group this week and the smile on her face was awesome. So this week I came home with only two stickers for my log book, my four and a half stone award and Slimmer of the Month award.




This week in group we voted for the Woman of the Year award. It is an award for the person who has inspired fellow members on their weight loss journey over the past year. Our consultant read out the names of each nominee and gave them a rose, with the winner getting a rose, an award and a winner's sash. The lady who won really deserved the title and has achieved a lot over the last couple of years, but the thing that struck me was the look of accomplishment on the other nominee's faces. It really meant a lot to them to know that other members had felt compelled to nominate them, and that their contribution to the group had been noticed.

I found that in addition to my fixation on the achievement awards I work hard to attain each week, I really do get something special from the group meeting. From insight into other people's struggle with food issues, food ideas, triumphs and failures, every story shared in group does help me to stick with the plan and to not lose sight of my goal of developing a healthy relationship with food.

To all the ladies in my group, you all deserve an award for being an inspiration each and every week. Thank you.

Exercising on an empty stomach

There seems to have been a shift in thinking amongst the fitness gurus about the benefits of exercising on an empty stomach after they discovered a report in the Strength & Conditioning Journal. The cherry picks data from various sources to support it's own argument. The main data source is two studies that used just six and seven moderately trained athletes respectively. Such a small sample size cannot yield any significant results as the variation amongst the six subjects would cloud the statistical results.

The fitness gurus that just regurgitate the headlines forget to consider that the studies were conducted on people with low body fat. There are hundreds of studies that show when an individuals body fat drops below optimal levels, some muscle mass is is consumed during exercise. For those of us with lard to spare, the chemistry is different. Firstly we burn through any glucose left in the blood, then the hormones tell the liver and muscles to release the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Once that is used up, excess fat is burnt.

When you exercise in a fasted state, your body is already releasing the growth hormone that is used to repair your body. This means that you can work at higher intensity levels, build more muscle and your body gets more efficient at burning stored fat for energy. You also release more fat oxidising enzymes, which is the scientific term for burning fat.

There are also studies that show that endurance athletes who train on an empty stomach perform significantly better on subsequent fed races, as their bodies learn to switch from burning food energy to fat stores during long endurance races.

For my own testing, I worked out on Friday after eating a balanced lunch and performed well. This morning I worked out at 10am, after not eating since 4pm yesterday and the post workout report from the gym's computer system showed that today's work out was at a higher intensity and I burnt around 23% more calories during my 45 minute workout. I know that my sample size of one is statistically insignificant, but I will switch between fasted and fed workouts and record the results to see if the data shows any significant variation in performance levels.

Working out hungry may not suit everyone, but if you feel it works for you, then stick with it. For any weight loss or fitness subject out there, there will be people that say it works and those that say it doesn't. We, the unfit masses, need to exercise our brains as well as our butts to sift through the good and bad science to find out what applies to us and what applies to the elite athletes, on whom most of the studies were based. Whatever you find, sitting at the computer reading about it, ain't gonna shift the excess pounds. Get up and get active.

The Science
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Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men. Halberg N, Henriksen M, et al. Dept. of Muscle Research Centre, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2005 Dec;99(6):2128-36 ⤴
The correlation between metabolic syndrome and prostatic diseases. De Nunzio C, Aronson W, et al. Department of Urology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. European Urology, 2012 Mar;61(3):560-70 ⤴
Insulin resistance and breast-cancer risk. Bruning PF, Bonfrèr JM, et al. The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Bruning PF, Bonfrèr JM, et al. The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. International Journal of Cancer, 1992 Oct 21;52(4):511-6 ⤴
Insulin resistance and cancer: epidemiological evidence. Tsugane S, Inoue M. Cancer Science, 2010 May;101(5):1073-9. ⤴
Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men. Halberg N, Henriksen M, et al. Dept. of Muscle Research Centre, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2005 Dec;99(6):2128-36. ⤴
Usefulness of routine periodic fasting to lower risk of coronary artery disease in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Horne BD, May HT, et al. Cardiovascular Department, Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah, USA. American Journal of Cardiology, 2008 Oct 1;102(7):814-819. ⤴
Growth hormone increases muscle mass and strength but does not rejuvenate myofibrillar protein synthesis in healthy subjects over 60 years old. Welle S, Thornton C, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1996 Sep;81(9):3239-43. ⤴
Growth hormone in health and disease: Long-term GH therapy--benefits and unanswered questions. Clemmons D. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2013 Jun;9(6):317-8 ⤴
Adult growth hormone deficiency - benefits, side effects, and risks of growth hormone replacement. Reed ML, Merriam GR. Geriatrics and Extended Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Madigan Health Care System, Tacoma, WA, USA. Frontiers in Endocrinology (Lausanne), 2013 Jun 4;4:64. ⤴
Basal growth hormone concentration increased following a weight loss focused dietary intervention in older overweight and obese women. Miller GD, Nicklas BJ, et al. Department Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. The Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging, 2012 Feb;16(2):169-74. ⤴
Sex differences in anxiety and depression: Role of testosterone. McHenry J, Carrier N, et al. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 2014 Jan;35(1):42-57. ⤴
Beneficial and adverse effects of testosterone on the cardiovascular system in men. Ruige JB, Ouwens DM, et al. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013 Nov;98(11):4300-10. ⤴
Andropause or male menopause? Rationale for testosterone replacement therapy in older men with low testosterone levels. Cunningham GR. Endocrine Practice, 2013 Sep-Oct;19(5):847-52. ⤴
Effects of testosterone and progressive resistance exercise in healthy, highly functioning older men with low-normal testosterone levels. Hildreth KL, Barry DW, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013 May;98(5):1891-900. ⤴
Effects of Ramadan fasting on 60 min of endurance running performance in moderately trained men. Aziz AR, Wahid MF, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010 Jun;44(7):516-21. ⤴
Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Sports Medicine, 2005;35(4):339-61. ⤴
Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements. Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, et al. Sports Medicine, 2010 Dec 1;40(12):1037-53. ⤴
Exercise in the fasted state facilitates fibre type-specific intramyocellular lipid breakdown and stimulates glycogen resynthesis in humans. De Bock K, Richter EA, et al. Journal of Physiology2005 Apr 15;564(Pt 2):649-60. ⤴
Increased p70s6k phosphorylation during intake of a protein-carbohydrate drink following resistance exercise in the fasted state. Deldicque L, De Bock K, et al. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2010 Mar;108(4):791-800. ⤴
Metabolic responses to exercise after fasting. Dohm GL, Beeker RT, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 1986 Oct;61(4):1363-8 ⤴
Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism. Heilbronn LK, Smith SR, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005 Jan;81(1):69-73. ⤴
Training in the fasted state facilitates re-activation of eEF2 activity during recovery from endurance exercise. Van Proeyen K, De Bock K, et al. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011 Jul;111(7):1297-305. ⤴
Training in the fasted state improves glucose tolerance during fat-rich diet. Van Proeyen K, Szlufcik K, et al. 2010 Nov 1;588(Pt 21):4289-302. ⤴
Effect of training in the fasted state on metabolic responses during exercise with carbohydrate intake. De Bock K, Derave W, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2008 Apr;104(4):1045-55. ⤴
Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009 Mar;23(2):560-70. ⤴
Adaptations to skeletal muscle with endurance exercise training in the acutely fed versus overnight-fasted state. Stannard SR, Buckley AJ, et al. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2010 Jul;13(4):465-9. ⤴
Beneficial metabolic adaptations due to endurance exercise training in the fasted state. Van Proeyen K, Szlufcik K, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011 Jan;110(1):236-45. ⤴
Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009 Mar;23(2):560-70. ⤴
Using molecular classification to predict gains in maximal aerobic capacity following endurance exercise training in humans. Timmons, J.A., Knudsen, S., Rankinen, T., et al. Panum Institutet and Center for Healthy Ageing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2010 Jun;108(6):1487-96. Epub 2010 Feb 4 ⤴
Effects of Ramadan fasting on 60 min of endurance running performance in moderately trained men. Aziz AR, Wahid MF, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010 Jun;44(7):516-21. ⤴
The effect of ramadan fasting on physical performances, mood state and perceived exertion in young footballers. Chtourou H, Hammouda O, et al. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 2011 Sep;2(3):177-85. ⤴
Ramadan fastings effect on plasma leptin, adiponectin concentrations, and body composition in trained young men. Bouhlel E, Denguezli M, et al. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2008 Dec;18(6):617-27. ⤴
Effect of carbohydrate ingestion during exercise on post-exercise substrate oxidation and energy intake. Melby CL, Osterberg KL, et al. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2002 Sep;12(3):294-309. ⤴
The protein-retaining effects of growth hormone during fasting involve inhibition of muscle-protein breakdown. Nørrelund H, Nair KS, et al. Diabetes. 2001 Jan;50(1):96-104. ⤴
Intermittent fasting does not affect whole-body glucose, lipid, or protein metabolism. Soeters MR, Lammers NM, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009 Nov;90(5):1244-51. ⤴
Protein feeding pattern does not affect protein retention in young women. Arnal MA, Mosoni L, et al. Journal of Nutrition, 2000 Jul;130(7):1700-4. ⤴
A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults. Stote KS, Baer DJ, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007 Apr;85(4):981-8. ⤴
Protein pulse feeding improves protein retention in elderly women. Arnal MA, Mosoni L, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999 Jun;69(6):1202-8. ⤴
Splanchnic and leg substrate exchange after ingestion of a natural mixed meal in humans. Capaldo B, Gastaldelli A, et al. Diabetes. 1999 May;48(5):958-66. ⤴

At the gym

I joined our local gym today. I was going to try to hold off spending the money, but pounding the pavements was starting to take it's toll on my joints. Whilst I was unfit, hauling my ass round our little town was exercise enough, but all that walking over the last eight weeks has improved my fitness quite surprisingly. I found that I wasn't able to push myself or my heart rate into the ideal fat burning zone by walking. The pace I need to reach now puts too much stress on my overloaded joints and spinal injury.

The cross trainer, pictured to the right, is a great bit of kit. It gives a whole body workout without the jarring impacts of a treadmill or pavement or the numb butt of the exercise bikes. The fluid elliptical movement of your feet is similar to running and works the same lower body muscles. The longer two pole handles are linked to the foot plates and allow you to push and pull working you upper body. You can also let go of the handles altogether and work your core muscles as you constantly adjust your balance whilst moving.

The machine also has several resistance settings, that mean you can use it as a warm up exercise, as your main workout or as a cool down machine. Personally I use it as my main workout as I walk to and from the gym as a warm up.

For my main workout I did 3 fifteen minute sessions. Each session I set the machine at a low resistance and pace myself so that my heart rate holds steady at 120 bpm for five minutes. I then double the resistance and pick up the pace for a minute, pushing my heart rate out of the aerobic zone, up to 150 bpm into the anaerobic zone for one minute, then drop the resistance and speed, so my heart rate drops back to 120. After two minutes at 120 bpm, I repeat the faster pace etc until I've completed 15 minutes. I take a short 3 minute break, grab some water and then repeat the exercise again.

I based the workout on interval training, although at a slightly more relaxed pace and intensity, as I'm guessing workout facilities in the local heart attack ward are a little sparse. You calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. The idea fat burning zone is 55 - 65% of your maximum, the anaerobic zone is between 65-75%. Shorter sessions of interval training has been shown to be more effective than spending hours plodding along on the treadmill. Ideally it should be one minute at high intensity, then two at a lower intensity for about 30 minutes. Although my fitness level has improved significantly, I'm no where need ready for very intense levels.

As my fitness levels improve, I'll up the intensity of the intervals to maintain the optimal fat burning effects. As my core strength improves I'll be able to add weights into the workout to push the muscles that don't get pushed hard enough on the cross trainer.

Week 8 weigh in

Well this week seemed difficult, but the scales still rewarded me with another 5lb loss, taking my total now to 61lbs in 8 weeks.

I say difficult because I had some mysterious illness that hit over the weekend. It felt like a cross between flu, without the snot and being drunk. I also developed the desire to eat, even when I didn't feel hungry. Luckily there was no junk food in the house, and I was in no fit state to drive to the shops, so I couldn't do that much damage. By Monday I was feeling great again and back on plan.

I read somewhere that when you are eating a high fat / calorie diet and your liver and kidneys can't cope with the high influx of chemicals and toxins, it will store some of the fat soluble chemicals in fat cells. When you start to burn the stored fat, the toxins are released and the liver then does it's thing. I wonder if this brief 'illness' wasn't just my body opening up a new strata of lard and the stored fatty toxins from a couple of greasy kebab, chips and garlic bread meals making an unwelcome return.

This week was the first week when I didn't manage to get another weight loss award and the sticker for my book, but I have been more active over the last few weeks and was awarded my bronze F.I.T. award. This award is for increasing your physical activity and sustaining the level for four weeks. Over the last month I've managed to do at least two bouts of gardening and at least 3, 15 minute walks each week. To get my silver award I need to step my activity levels, so that I'm exercising for at least an hour and a half each week, split into 3 sessions.

So to save my poor knees and the town's pavements from my constant plodding, I'm joining the gym tomorrow. I'm luck in that our local gym doesn't tie you in to a lengthy contract, you can just pay for each month you use the facilities. From previous health kick I found I enjoy the elliptical or cross trainer. It provides a good cardio workout, with almost no strain on my knees or injured spine. I'll report in later in the week with a progress report.

Week 7 weigh in

It's Wednesday again and that means off to group to get weighed. To say I'm overjoyed with my loss this week is somewhat of an understatement. Week seven saw a seven pound loss. This got me my four stone award. Another certificate for my motivation wall and a sticker for my weigh in book.

I'm now at the half way point of my 100 pounds in 100 days challenge with 44 pounds to lose by October 3rd, in fifty days time.

The sun is shining so I'm going to hit the garden, destroy some weeds and burn off even more of this lard.

Does my bum look big in this?

My wife went after my favorite t-shirt the other day with a pair of scissors. It's now enjoying life as her night shirt instead of , as she refers to it, part of my badly dressed scarecrow ensemble. After losing a lot of weight, my clothes don't fit me very well. I know I've still got a long way to go, but it turns out, it took quite a bit of fabric to cover the 50lbs of lard I've shed so far. My jeans are only held up with a belt and the aforementioned t-shirt looked like I was a kid wearing his dad's shirt.

Whilst loose fitting clothes help conceal unwanted bulges, baggy clothes do you no favours at all. If anything they can make you look bigger than you actually are. They are also quite uncomfortable. My jeans had an extra 3 inches of fabric on the waistband, that bunched up under my belt and dug into me when I sat down.

I'm guessing I'm not the only (slightly less) fat bloke out there that has older clothes, in smaller sizes, that were grown out of, in the pursuit of ridding the world of pepperoni - one pizza at a time. So out came the storage boxes and we began mining the strata of clothes that had built up over time. At first I felt a little down by the thought that I had put on the weight in the first place. Thinking about each year that I added more clothes to the pile. But then remembered that I had managed to undo the last couple of year's excess in six weeks. In another couple of months I'd be down to the fashion mistakes of the 2010 layer or possibly lower.

It would be nice to go shopping for new clothes, but as we are on a budget this will have to do. The other thing I don't like about clothes shopping at my size, is that the high street shops don't cater for big chaps. You get dirty looks just approaching the door. There are a few specialty stores, but they know they have a captive market and seriously overprice their stock. I'll go clothes shopping in the new year when I'm back into sizes that don't need a number in front of the XL on the label.

After trying on many different t-shirts, shirts and trousers I felt great. I now have some clothes that fit properly and feel comfortable. My neighbour stopped my a couple of days ago and complimented me on how well I looked. The strangest discovery is that I feel thinner. I am aware that the main reason I feel thinner, is the weight I have lost, but now that my clothes fit me, it makes me feel thinner.

I have found that having clothes in a smaller size is a great motivator. I have another reason to stick to my plan and lose more weight. To renew this feeling I have by getting into a smaller pair of jeans.  

100 Day Challenge

After last week's weigh in, I decided to set myself a challenge to keep myself motivated. I had already lost 49 pounds in six weeks and it occurred to me that it might be possible to try to hit the 100 pound loss in 100 days. At that point I had fifty eight days in which to lose another 51 pounds.

I know this is a very tall order, but if you have read previous posts, you might have noticed I like targets and awards to work towards.

So far it has had the desired effect. When the late night munchies hit, I just ask myself if the snack I want is worth the empty calories, compared to the feeling of completing my challenge. I know on the Slimming World plan, the idea is never to go hungry and that with all the free food and syns, there is always food available and sweets and other tasty snacks are doable, in moderation. The plan is a simple way to limit calorie intake, making the weight loss program easier to follow. It is also supposed to teach you how to make better food choices. I feel that eating because the food is available is not a good habit for me to continue with.

Our bodies are much better at knowing what food we need to survive than we think we do. One in four people in the UK are now obese, that's pretty damming evidence that we are doing something wrong. Our bodies have evolved to store fat when food is plentiful and to use that fat in times of famine. We don't normally experience famine in the western world, just food - available 24 hours a day.

I bet you have heard that if you skip a meal or two your body will go into 'starvation mode' and you will stop losing fat and your body will start to consume lean muscle. Think about that statement logically for a moment... When no food is around, your body will ignore body fat, an easily available energy store, in favour of destroying the muscles that it needs for you to be able to hunt down food. It doesn't make sense does it? The 'starvation mode' story is actually based on misinterpreted science. During 1944 the University of Minnesota conducted a study on the effects of near starvation on healthy volunteers. The story arose from this study. What the story fails to account for is that when body fat falls below 5%, then lean tissue is consumed. Many studies have shown that when body fat is above 20% in men and 25% in women, the body consumes fat when calorific intake falls below the bodies metabolic requirements.

So going to bed hungry will not cause you to stop losing weight. One pound of fat contains 3600 calories, more than a days worth of energy for a healthy person. I've made friends with my hunger and learnt to tell the difference between habitual hunger, emotional hunger, thirst that gets reported as hunger and actually feeling hungry.

I'm not issuing a challenge to anyone else, this is a hard task I have set myself. I am working with my GP and I have a lot of weight to lose. I'm eating a healthy, balanced diet, rich in the essential micro nutrients needed. If you do attempt this, I urge you to find medical supervision (although some doctors need to be educated in the science of weight loss, rather than what they learnt from the University of What Everyone Knows). I have nine weeks left to lose 51lbs, I'm 100% on plan, I've gotten more active and am ready to step up the exercise next week by hitting the elliptical trainer at the gym.

Week 6 weigh in

I had my first wobble this week after the weigh in. Which considering I lost another 4lbs this week seems ridiculous. I mean I've lost 49lbs in six weeks. But after the last two weeks of losing 7lbs each time, four pounds seems like a blow, considering that I have stuck to my eating plan 100%.

I didn't mention my feelings at group as my fellow slimmers would just think I'm nuts complaining about a huge loss, which in reality it is, but the four pound loss still affected me. I have talked in earlier posts about how I am an emotional eater and that I used to use food to help cope with situations I didn't or couldn't face. Today was the first time I considered using food to treat how I was feeling.

I didn't reach for the chocolate biscuits or pizza though, I faced the problem and talked it through with my lovely wifey. She reminded me of how I was six weeks ago, how proud she was of what I have achieved and that I'm starting to return to my old self. To put the loss into perspective she encouraged me to go out to buy twelve, two liters of pop so that I could see for myself what 49 pounds looked and felt like.

One liter of water weighs one kilogram and body fat weighs about 0.9kg per liter. For the sake of a quick demonstration a full two liter pop bottle is close enough in size to see what 2 kilos of fat would be like. So I loaded up eleven and a half bottles into four carrier bags and lifted them up, but only just. I know that the weight was distributed over my whole body and not concentrated on my hands, but it was still shocking to feel all that weight put back in one go.

My wife then challenged me to carry the whole weight upstairs. On my first attempt I didn't even make the first step. I could only manage half way up on my second attempt before I gave up, sweating profusely. This was the thing that snapped my out of my destructive thoughts. The craving for junk seemed to disappear as I put the bags down.

So for next time I get upset over a weigh in that wasn't what I was expecting I need to remember the following list;

• Body weight fluctuates daily. If my weigh in had been the day before, or the day after, I will weight a different amount.
• I'm exercising more. As I get more active, my body composition is changing. Sore muscles hold on to water, so if I pushed myself to exercise harder, my weight may not be 100% accurate that week.
• I'm feeling better and experience less pain from my spine.
• Get the scales out and fill up my back pack with the weight I've lost so far, then try carrying it, it's a great wake up call.

I need to make sure that I focus on how good I feel from the weight I've lost and the healthy food I'm eating. Whilst the numbers on the scale give me measurable goals to work towards, how I feel each day should be my reward and incentive. 

They only want to detox your wallet

How many times have you been told or read in a magazine that you have to detox to be healthy? Would you believe me if I were to tell you that cleansing and detoxifying are just a marketing terms to help detox your wallet?

The detox fad has gained a lot of ground lately and the list of products, plans and treatments you can buy is astounding, considering none of them are based on actual science. There is a medical term 'detoxification' which describes the treatments to rid the body of actual life threatening toxins such as lead and other heavy metals for example. The detox advocates would have you believe that you need to periodically cleanse your liver, kidneys and gut for optimal health.

Your body encounters all kinds of chemicals, both naturally occurring and synthetic. It does an excellent job of processing these chemicals, separating beneficial chemicals from the harmful ones. Your body then eliminates anything it doesn't want or need via the liver, kidneys, bowel and skin. Nothing gets stored for periodic cleansing by you. If you eat a balanced diet, don't over-do the booze and obviously don't smoke, your body will work fine. When you constantly barrage it with junk, your digestive organs need to work hard to process the food. Which is why cleanses and detoxes appear to work, for a week or more you live a virtuous life of pure detox water, detox treatments and other wallet lightening procedures. In turn for laying off the junk, your body responds by working normally. Two weeks after your detox, and you are eating the same junk as before, you feel like you need to detox again.

You will notice that the detox advocates and salesmen warn about all the harmful toxins that collect in your body, but fail to mention what these toxins are called. They just make sure that you know you shouldn't have them, because they have been linked with illness and cancer. If you do some research into detox therapy, you won't find a single clinical study that shows a link between a detox system, specific toxins and links to clinically demonstrable effects. It is all just the placebo effect. I'm not saying that this isn't good, we humans have an inbuilt belief that we accumulate badness in whatever form and need to make amends for it. The cleanse is just another way we 'pay' for our unhealthy lifestyle.

Try this free 'detox' system; for the next 10 days, you are only allowed to eat food in the following ratio. 50% vegetables, 25% carbohydrates and 25% protein. There are no bad carbs, no bad protein and no bad fats. You cannot drink alcohol for the next 10 days and limit your coffee and tea to just 2 cups, which can only be drunk before 6pm. For the rest of the time just drink water or sugar free soft drinks (without caffeine). If you still need to snack between meals, follow the same 50-25-25 rule, so if you have to eat that snickers, balance it out with some fruit or veg. Restaurants are off limits, without exception, they will add salt, fat and other unnecessary ingredients to your food to make it taste 'nice'. (Also avoid diet meals from supermarkets like the plague, low fat does not equal healthy, when they add sugar and salt to compensate for the flavour lost from removing the fat).  

After 10 days your digestive system will feel just as good, if not better then after your detox. Your wallet will not have lost weight, but you might have.