A couple of days ago I mentioned that I would be conducting yet another experiment on myself, this time being an experiment in mono dieting.
If you haven’t read my original post yet I suggest you do that before reading this update. It will give you a better understanding of what mono dieting is, that it’s intention is not for weight loss, but a way to prevent breast cancer by allowing your lymph glands (sometimes called “lymph nodes”) to empty and cleanse themselves. I also gave you a list of ways to mono diet, and a few more definitions of mono dieting (what it is and what it is not).
I said that my goal was to complete 3 days of mono dieting, after which I would determine if I wanted to go any longer than that. Remember, there are different ways to mono diet, and I ended up choosing mainly fruit with some vegetables towards the end. Below is what I chose to do, as well as how I felt doing it. 😉
Here’s what I did:
Monday: I only had fresh fruit juices.
Tuesday: Only fresh fruit juices until about 6pm, I then began eating fresh fruit.
Wednesday: Only fresh fruit juice in the morning, ate fresh fruit in the afternoon, and ate fresh vegetables in the evening, along with some fresh fruit.
Here’s how I felt:
Monday: I didn’t feel very positive about the whole experiment but I was determined to see it through for at least the 3 days that I originally committed to. I didn’t have a lot of energy and ended up taking a couple of naps when I could, however I still continued on with my regular activities, which included my current home improvement projects at the end of the day.
What was surprising to me was that I didn’t get a caffeine withdrawal headache like I expected. I am tea drinker, and even now as I write this post I haven’t had any since Sunday evening. That is quite amazing to me, as well as the fact that I didn’t suffer any side effects (unless the lack of energy was one).
Tuesday: I felt better with more energy and in the afternoon almost felt like I was getting sick with a low-grade fever. I drank some more water and figured that my body was processing out some stuff and a few hours later I felt fine.
That evening I started feeling very hungry even after eating some more fresh fruit. I really wanted something more substantial but was bound to see this experiment through.
Wednesday: I felt the best since starting this experiment. I felt much more positive, lighter, and I had more energy. In the evening I did decide to eat some fresh veggies to have something with more substance. I still wanted to have something else (protein or whole carbs) but I went to bed to complete my 3-day mono diet successfully.
Today: I feel really good. I’m no longer mono dieting but I am eating very light (fresh fruit and veggies with a small amount of protein and whole carbs added in). It is recommended that you do eat light after mono dieting because your system is used to it, and I also have quite a bit of fruit to use up. I thought when I started this that I might want to go longer than 3 days, however I was getting so hungry that I decided it would be better that I mono diet in small amounts rather than as one long extended period.
Overall I’m happy with my results and how I feel today. Like I said, I wasn’t too thrilled the first day, but I think that makes sense. Would I do this again? Yes! Per Harvey Diamond’s book, he recommends mono dieting every once in awhile to allow your body to have a break and cleanse itself so that your lymph glands don’t get overburdened. He doesn’t give any regimented advice because this is supposed to be a positive experience that you look forward to rather than a conditioned response to “dieting” (for weight loss) that many people have. Therefore, if you wake up one morning and decide you want to have only fresh fruit juice that day, then you do it.
If you choose to mono diet your results might be different than mine. I didn’t experience much stomach upset from all of the fresh fruit, however if you mainly eat processed foods, you might experience a “cleansing effect”. Good to know if you plan on mono dieting when you must be in the office. Might be better to do this on a weekend. 😉
Some people choose to mono diet 4 times a year when the seasons change. It’s really up to you. Like I suggested in my original post though, I would recommend reading the book first to get more of the details. There are also examples of women who have mono dieted and healed themselves from cancer, even though mono dieting is presented as a prevention rather than a cure.
This is a very useful experiment. Do you have any recommendation with regards to what kinds of fruits would work well? More citrus fruits or maybe more tropical fruits? (I am hoping tropical fruits are OK to use….) Thank you for your advice.
Hi Asako!
Actually, it’s whichever fruits you like, as long as they are fresh. I used bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, peaches, and pineapple, all fresh.
I don’t see why you couldn’t use all tropical fruits as long as they are fresh. 🙂 And of course, you can also use fresh veggies. One recommendation in the book is for an apple/celery juice, so you can certainly combine fresh fruits and veggies if you like….fresh fruit alone though, is suggested before noon.
I hope this helps, and if you mono diet let me know how it goes for you. 😉
I see, the key is “freshness”. I will definitely try and let you know how I felt.
Hi JoLynn – that must have taken quite a bit of discipline – especially missing out on the coffee.
I know weight loss wasn’t the aim of the exercise, but did you lose any over the three days?
@Asako, hi! Right, it’s really all about fresh fruits and vegetables to 1- allow your lymph glands and system to cleanse itself, and 2- to get the most nutrients out of the food, which it has in its raw state.
There was a good point in the book….humans are the only beings on Earth that cook their food, all others eat their food raw, except of course for domesticated animals….actually, that’s what we are, too! 😆
@Catherine, hi! Amazingly, not having the caffeine was very easy…I was very surprised about this. I don’t know if it makes a difference that I’m a tea drinker, only drinking coffee occasionally (and not lately), but I didn’t have any caffeine withdrawal headaches. 🙂
Good catch – I didn’t included my weight loss in the article…I thought about it later and decided to leave it out because I didn’t want to promote this for purely weight loss. But, I will tell you that I lost 5 pounds in 3 days. 😉
Was that mainly water? Well, I just jumped on the scale to verify for you (a day after my mono diet experiment), and my weight is up only 1/2 pound after returning to eating whole foods.
I’m not writing this to recommend to anyone who reads this to go on a “weight loss diet” that matches the mono diet, but when you mono diet you do drop some pounds if you have extra weight on your frame. The main reason I say that I don’t recommend it is because your thoughts play such a large role in it, and I think that if you approach this as a weight loss method, you could feel like you’re on a diet, but the mind set I had was “I’m cleansing my system for health and wellness”…I don’t know if I could have done this as a weight loss “diet”. 😉
Hi JoLynn,
Good on you for sticking to the mono diet. I think I’m going to try this too. Didn’t Harvey write another book as well? I believe it was with his wife, wasn’t it called fit for life?
Hi Dee,
Thanks! And yes, you’re exactly correct, Harvey Diamond did write Fit for Life
. I haven’t read it yet, but I know there are many people who swear by it. He gets into the topic of your body’s circadian rhythms, which is why he recommends only fruit or fruit juice before noon each day (aside from the topic of mono dieting).
Let me know how you feel after mono dieting and if your experience is like mine (or better!). 🙂
Thanks JoLynn – so it sounds like this would be a great way to kick start a weight loss diet too, by cleansing your system at the beginning. I may give it a go.
I am definitely starting my weight loss diet today, so I’m hoping you will keep me on the right track with this blog!
Most of the fruits and vegetables are grown using chemicals. So organically grown fruits and veggies should be more effective for cleansing.
Hi Shaiju,
That makes sense that organically grown (if they are labeled certified organic) would be “cleaner” for you, thanks! 😉