Wild Rose Detox (My Experience With The 12 Day Cleanse)

I want to start off by saying I was not compensated for this post. I am simply sharing my own experience with the 12 day detox and if you are considering doing something similar you should always check with your health practitioner to make sure it is safe for you. 

For more information on products from Wild Rose you can visit your local health food store OR go HERE, to their website.  

The detox consists of 4 supplements - 3 in pill form and 1 in drop form, that you take twice daily with your breakfast and dinner. At the same time you follow a list of approved foods for the best possible cleanse result. (Visit HERE Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox 12 Day Cleanse for more information on the supplements and for a complete list of approved foods). 

Mainly you are eliminating flours, sugars, dairy, and any vinegar, etc. You focus on eating "cleaner", if you will. More veggies, more natural proteins, fruit (but not tropical fruit), and such. 

Starting in January of this year I have made a concerted effort to cut white flour and sugar/artificial sweeteners from my diet so I thought the food portion would be fairly easy to follow. It ended up being trickier than I thought. Not being able to use soy sauce, vinegar, bananas, or dairy was a big adjustment. I struggled a bit to come up with meals that were okay for the cleanse and were also still exciting to eat. If it's boring and bland, odds are I'm going to be more apt to not want to eat it. 

Luckily, there was a Wild Rose D-Tox Cookbook available when I joined the Facebook group for the cleanse. It had several recipes that I tried that I will probably add to my regular rotation. They also inspired me to create some of my own recipes. I don't have a link to the cookbook but I am sure you could Google it or ask for it by going to the above links.) 

Below you will find my 12 day breakdown of what I ate and how I was feeling each day. 

Day 1.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Overnight oatmeal & chia breakfast pudding.

Mid-Morning Snack: a few almonds

Lunch: Baked eggs in sweet potato shells

Mid-Afternoon Snack: a few strawberries

Dinner: Chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli

Mood: Normal. 

Day 2.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Brown rice pudding with cinnamon and almonds

Mid-Morning Snack: a few almonds

Lunch: Warm asparagus ham and egg salad

Mid-Afternoon Snack: 2 plums

Dinner: Curried baked trout with new potatoes and broccoli

Mood: Headache that started around lunch and went through the remainder of the day. Nothing that bad just "nagging". Otherwise, normal.

Day 3.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Apple crumble

Mid-Morning Snack: a few blueberries

Lunch: Tuna stuffed tomatoes

Mid-Afternoon Snack: a few sliced cucumber

Dinner: Chicken fajita lettuce tacos

Mood: Headache off and on throughout the day. Otherwise normal. 

Day 4.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Blueberry crumble

Mid-Morning Snack: Boiled egg

Lunch: Chickpea salad lettuce wraps

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Peach slushie

Dinner: Chicken breast and sweet potato fries. 

Mood: Headaches were gone today but definitely felt a few twinges of nausea throughout the day. Nothing major, just noticeable. 

Day 5. 

Food Plan: Breakfast: Apple crumble

Mid-Morning Snack: a few blueberries

Lunch: Spinach salad with chicken

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Skinny potato fries

Dinner: Broccoli cauliflower Caesar salad

Mood: A little nausea on and off throughout the day. Definitely felt less bloated today than usual. 

Day 6. 

Food Plan: Breakfast: Onion and pepper omelet.

Mid-Morning Snack: a few slices cucumber

Lunch: Broccoli cauliflower Caesar salad

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Peach slushie

Dinner: Quinoa & beef meatloaf with asparagus and brown rice

Mood: Feeling back to normal. No nausea or headaches. 

Day 7. 

Food Plan: Breakfast: Raspberry crumble

Mid-Morning Snack: a few raw carrots and cucumbers

Lunch: Egg salad on brown rice crackers

Mid-Afternoon Snack: a few strawberries

Dinner: Quinoa & beef meatloaf with asparagus and brown rice

Mood: Normal. 

Day 8. 

Food Plan: Breakfast: Cauliflower broccoli pancakes with peppers

Mid-Morning Snack: a few blueberries

Lunch: Turkey meatballs with brown rice and carrots

Mid-Afternoon Snack: a few cucumber slices

Dinner: Baked potato with tandoori chicken drumettes

Mood: Burst of energy today. Feeling very "bright". 

Day 9. 

Food Plan: Breakfast: Steak and egg with some cucumber slices

Mid-Morning Snack: a few strawberries

Lunch: Tandoori chicken drumettes with peas

Mid-Afternoon Snack: a few strawberries

Dinner: Steak and cauliflower fried rice

Mood: Sugar cravings from mid afternoon on. 

Day 10.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Peach Smoothie Bowl

Mid-Morning Snack: None.

Lunch: Egg salad on brown rice crackers

Mid-Afternoon Snack: few slices of cucumber

Dinner: Ham with roasted cabbage and brown rice

Mood: Still craving sugar and now feeling a bit bloated. 

Day 11.

Food Plan: Breakfast: Brown rice cakes with almond butter

Mid-Morning Snack: a few cherries

Lunch: Ham with roasted cabbage

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Brown rice cakes with almond butter

Dinner: Roast chicken with seasoned wedge potatoes

Mood: Feeling quite bloated all day. Otherwise normal. Sugar cravings VERY strong.

Day 12.

Food Plan: Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with peppers

Mid-Morning Snack:  a few raspberries

Lunch: Chicken wings with roast sweet potato wedges

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Popcorn

Dinner: Roast chicken with baked potato

Mood: Very strong sugar cravings. 

I stuck very close to 1,200 calories a day as that is what I have been doing since January. 

I lost a total of 5 lbs in the 12 days. I had lost 6 lbs in the first 7 days but then around day 10 I gained a pound back. I also lost 1/2 inch off my chest and 1 inch off my waist. This is not a weight loss cleanse though, just to clarify. Weight loss can be a result of it but is not the purpose for it. 

**The results of this cleanse will be different for everyone. They can even differ for the same person each time they do it..**

Over all, I think my skin benefited from doing the cleanse the most. I usually have quite dry skin and I found that it was smoother and almost had a glow to it. I thought the first week would be the hardest but it turned out the last 4 days were the most difficult. I really missed having peanut butter and bananas and yogurt and those last 4 days I was struggling with some pretty massive cravings. 

I think because I had already cut out flour and sugar that it was a little easier to follow the food plan. 

I also was expecting a little more...errrm.... eliminating to be happening. You take a mild, herbal laxative as one of the supplements that helps you get rid of the toxins. I've spoken to people that had quite dramatic effects from the laxative. Myself? Not so much. Nothing out of the norm, truth be told. I'm curious if I would have the same effect the next time I do the cleanse. 

So, would I do the cleanse again?

Yes. I think I would. 

I didn't get the burst of well being and energy that some people experience BUT I did find that it was a great way to get focused on eating clean when things are a little out of control. It was the perfect jump start I needed after plateauing in my weight loss.And, because the food list is fairly restricted, I felt like going back to my regular healthy eating gave me way more choices - which was great because I was starting to feel like my regular healthy eating was getting boring. 

Conclusion: am I a huge believer in cleanses? Well, to be honest, not really. I do however, think they are a great way to get you back on track if you are struggling. I think I will do another round of the Wild Rose D-Tox in a few months to see if I benefit in any different ways. 

Any questions? Feel free to comment below. If you have any questions about the detox/cleanse specifically then please visit HERE for more information.