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testing 1,2.
..me
h o l i d a y c l e a n s e
M artha M ille r Johnson,
BHG’s
form e r health
editor, tries o u t a p o p u la r cleansing program .
Year after year, I promise not to overindulge at the
holidays and year after year, I do. If that sounds
like you, too, consider a post-holiday mini-cleanse.
To see how one might work, I tried
The Q uantum
W ellness Cleanse
by Kathy Freston. She calls for a
21-day commitment, but I only followed it for
seven. The idea is to eliminate what Freston calls
the “Big Five”—alcohol, caffeine, gluten, animal
products, and sugar. Note: Many cleanses can be
dangerous. Check with your doctor first. I chose
this one because it’s nutritionally sound. The day
before I started, I bought some staples: gluten-free
bread, natural peanut butter, soy milk, and herbal
teas. Her book has recipes, but I have a
carnivorous husband and two kids to feed so I
didn’t make many. I also jumped on a scale—who
wants to work this hard without a payoff? Here’s
what happened:
DAY i Boy, did I miss my coffee. Herbal tea is
not very exciting. Ate a peach for breakfast, salad
with black beans for lunch, and wild rice, salad,
and fruit for dinner. Off to a good start.
DAY 2 Woke up feeling strangely alert, but by 10
a.m. had absolutely no energy. My brain felt like
cotton, and I had to lie down for 30 minutes. My
stomach, however, had not growled once.
DAY 3 The worst day. I had caffeine withdrawal
big time. Played tennis and had a difficult time
trying to think and move at same time. Didn’t
dare try to pat my head while rubbing my tummy.
DAY 5 I felt awesome. Slept great and didn’t feel
as bloated. Maybe it’s the lack of processed foods?
DAY 7 I lost three pounds! And I felt like I had
rid my body of “bad things” by getting out of an
unhealthy eating cycle. It was a great gift to me.
editor’s note
testing 1 ,2
...
me
is
a feature in
w hich
B H G ’s®
staffers try out
health practices,
products, and
procedures on
themselves.
Have an idea for
something you’d
like to see us do?
E -m a il us at
BH Gfeatures@
meredith.com.
1
J cal thy
Guide"
Walt Disney
World
2 0 0 9
book of the month
T H E H E A L T H Y G U ID E T O
W A LT D IS N E Y W O R LD 2 0 0 9
Want to know where
to find organic food at
Disney World? The
hotel with the best
fitness center? Which
restaurants serve
vegetarian meals?
Health-conscious
travelers to the Mouse
House will love Dan
Green’s insider guide on how to
maintain their lifestyle at a place
overf
l
owing with sweets and treats. He
has biked the paths, played the golf
courses, and even run in the Walt Disney
World Marathon. The book also includes
current prices of each of the items it
describes. $12.55 at
amazon.com.
guests sleeping softly
You could put houseguests to bed on a rickety
pull-out sofa. Or you could save their backs with
one of these BHG-tested alternatives.
1. CABELA’S QUEEN FOLDING AIR BED
Folded up,
it wheels around easily in its own case. Unfolded, it’s
a super-comfy air mattress on a sturdy steel frame.
Just a couple of easy steps turns it from one to the
other. $130,
cabelas.com
2. L.L. BEAN SWEDISH FOLDING COT
Don’t let
the slim size of this temporary bed fool you— we
put a 180-pound, 6-foot-i-inch teen on it for two
weeks. The cot easily withstood his weight, and he
slept very comfortably. $99,
llbean.com
3. FRONTGATE SMART SETTINGS AEROBED
Similar in design to the Cabela’s bed, the Frontgate
version has a few extra bells and whistles. It has
seven memory settings for firmness, or you can just
hit autoinflate and watch it turn into a queen-size
bed in front of you. Nifty storage pockets allow
you to tuck eyeglasses or paperbacks in right
next to you. $230,
frontgate.com
250 DECEMBER 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
