Start the Diet Now Advertisement
If Oprah is doing it, then it must be good. The 21-Day cleanse, which has been made even more famous since Oprah Winfrey’s taking the challenge to do it, is a clean-eating and vegan 3-week plan to detox and overhaul your physical, mental and spiritual self. It’s not nearly as stringent as the Master Cleanse or other liquid fasts.
Designed by spiritual counselor Kathy Freston, who is also the author of “Quantum Wellness,” the 21-Day Cleanse focuses on eating plant-based foods while eliminating sugar, gluten-containing products, alcohol, caffeine and animal products. The belief is that by eliminating these certain triggers and addictive foods, you can retrain your brain from craving them and ban your Twinkie addiction forever.
There is no guarantee that you will lose weight on the 21-Day cleanse, but the likelihood is pretty strong that you’ll see the number on the scale drop as you scrap away processed foods from your diet.
The 21-Day Cleanse is much more than just an eating makeover. Freston calls the cleanse a makeover for the body, mind and soul. Energy is expected to increase, aches and pains are expected to dissipate, and moods are expected to become more stable. While following her 21-day plan, expect to also apply her eight pillars of wellness into your daily routines. The eight pillars are:
- Meditation
- Self-work
- Conscious-eating
- Exercise
- Visualization
- Spiritual practice
- Service
- Fun
If these additional components make you feel a bit squeamish, then start out by following the conscious eating plan which is the mother of the eight pillars and then see if you become more open to any of the other seven pillars.
Do You Know the Best Diet Shakes of 2024?
- Very healthy way of eating
- Elimination of certain foods can increase willpower and energy
- Ideal for people with medical conditions and gluten allergies
- Instills healthy-eating habits
- Great for the environment
- Vegan and vegetarian friendly
- Takes into account the emotional and spiritual component eating habits
- Some of the meals take time to prepare
- Sustaining this way of eating long-term may be difficult
- No guarantee to lose weight
The crux of the 21-Day Cleanse is what you eat and what you don’t eat. With its avoidance of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten and animal products, this vegan diet is a way to give your system a rest from overly processed and hard-to-digest foods.
Recipes and sample menus are all provided in Freston’s book. A typical breakfast includes steel cut oatmeal topped with fresh berries, walnuts and a splash of agave nectar (a natural sweetener) or wheat-free pancakes.
Lunch might be baked tofu with kale and brown rice or a tempeh-salad over mixed greens.
Dinner includes dishes like black bean cakes or Cajun-seared portobellos with avocado cream.
If these recipes seem a bit over-the-top for your culinary skills, substitutions like simple salads made with fresh and preferably local ingredients, soy-based yogurts, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, gluten-free bread and natural nut butters can be used to whip up quicker breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
You are expected to exercise three to six times per week for 30 minutes a time while on the 21-Day Cleanse. If possible, exercise should be done outside like briskly walking, jogging, or bike riding.
If you are someone who wrestles with emotional eating, sugar addictions or just generally feels that your diet is overly-processed, then the 21-Day Cleanse is a surefire way to challenge yourself when it comes to what you eat, how you eat and how your food choices affect you physically, emotionally and spiritually.
With its reliance on fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and soy-based foods, the 21-Day Cleanse is jam-packed with nutrients, minerals, protein and fiber.
Unlike many other cleanses or fasts that leave you racing to the fast-food drive-through in the morning for breakfast, this one has you eating and eating well so that cravings for sugars, processed fats and heavy starches are quelled.
Its inclusion of consistent exercise, mindfulness and compassion make the 21-Day Cleanse a rewarding challenge for those who are up for it.
Twenty-One Day Cleanse, 21-day clean, Oprah’s Cleanse, Quantum Wellness, Oprah's Diet, Oprah Diet, Oprah Vegan Diet
- Oprah 21 Day Cleanse
- /100
-
-
-
User Feedback
(Page 1 of 1, 10 total comments)Catherine
I like to go on this diet plan, but I need the will power to do this. Good luck to all.
posted Feb 5th, 2011 3:22 pmNina
Amazing experience and really looking forward to doing it again. Don't rely on the complex recipies in the book. It is easy to create hearty soups and fantastic tofu main dishes (tofu, peppers & onions is my favorite) that follow the cleanse.
posted Jan 17th, 2011 10:26 pmJLynn
It appears that all the personal trainers and or doctors money can buy, can't keep the weight off Oprah. She is up and down like a yo-yo. The woman has to have drive and will power to have become the richest woman on the planet. Sure makes it tough for the rest of us to lose a few pounds.
posted Nov 11th, 2009 3:50 pmDeborah
+Loved it!!! I feel not only healthy, but also better connected to my planet. Late summer has been a great time to start. /this is not only a 3 week change but a life style change.
posted Aug 29th, 2009 2:29 pmMARI
+Hi Oprah, I enjoy seeing your show. You have given me a lot of hope and I am going to try it.
posted Aug 12th, 2009 11:26 amThanks,
rosanna afuyog
+ild like to start your diet
posted Dec 21st, 2008 11:13 ammisozi
+hi i want to start your diet but don't where to find it i want to loss wight.i weigh 94kgs,pliz help
posted Nov 24th, 2008 4:19 amkeitha london
+i will likeot buy it
posted Oct 25th, 2008 5:38 pmmandy
hi oprah im from south africa, going to start your diet, love u
posted Sep 4th, 2008 8:23 ambeaten heart
i am egyptian girl.i love you oprah.i see the program and i will start diat now oprah.i love you
posted Jun 19th, 2008 10:29 pm