The first time I really detoxed was at Camp Eden. I was supposed to be studying for a nutrition exam but somehow got distracted doing “online” research and did a Blackmore’s online quiz. A few weeks later I got a phone call from Marie Claire magazine and I had won a trip for two people for a week to Camp Eden. It was an amazing week and a real turning point for me as it highlighted the benefits of just one week of healthy food and exercise.

It also highlighted how tough detoxing can be if you don’t make some preparations beforehand. I didn’t really seem to have a difficult time with it as I had already made a few changes to my diet whilst studying however I did see some quite unhappy people the first few days.

First up cut down the coffee or alcohol or whatever your drug of choice is before you arrive. With my group there were people going cold turkey from 4-6 coffees a day, several beers and a couple of other things which best stay unspecified! Just the coffee withdrawal was fairly bad, people had headaches and were quite grumpy for the first couple of days. I did hand out a bit of Nux Vomica 30c to those who were prepared to give it a try. One serious drinker left after 48 hours. So cut down significantly in the weeks before the detox. Halve the coffee for example and then reduce to one a day. With alcohol I would suggest alternating drinks with water and then making every second day alcohol free.

Secondly start your exercise program before the detox. Ideally walking or swimming are good places to start building to at least half an hour a day. Camp Eden had a sneaky way of making you exercise as all the activities were at the bottom of the hill and the accommodation, spa and dining hall were half way up the hill. That was at least 30 minutes of intense uphill walking each day on top of whatever else you did.

The other part of the week that was a little more confronting was the group sessions which covered a range of topics from goal planning to looking at obstacles to success. If you haven’t done much counselling work on yourself you may find it a little confronting however it was fabulous to see how much other baggage people dropped as a result of this work. So perhaps a little work on yourself to see why you want to make these changes and setting yourself some goals could be a powerful addition to your motivation.

If nothing else I would love everyone to have been with us on the final day which started with tai chi on the beach at 6am, followed by an invigorating swim (it was May) and then a whole day of playing! Yep we played hours of tennis and had a lengthy water polo match. The tired stressed group who arrived at the start of the week had so much energy at the end that they could play like kids – we just had fun all day!

If you are interested in detoxing you can make an appointment on 8084 0081 or book in to our detox workshop to see what its all about.
Email christine@elementalhealth.net.au for more information