Oprah Begins 21-Day Diet Detox

After hosting self-help author and personal growth and spirituality counselor (and Huffington Post blogger!) Kathy Freston on her show this week, Oprah is adopting her suggestion of a 21-day cleanse. People.com reports on Oprah's detox:

The talk show host, 54, is going vegan for a 21-day detox plan. In addition to swearing off animal products, Winfrey and three pals from her production company are also banning caffeine, sugar, gluten and alcohol.

What inspired the massive menu overhaul? The small-screen queen credits Kathy Freston's book Quantum Wellness and online sessions with Canadian motivational speaker Eckhart Tolle. (She's also getting help from chef Tal Ronnen.)

Watch Oprah and Kathy discuss the detox on Wednesday's show:

From ABC, 5/21

So far, Oprah has blogged about her vegan detox twice. On Sunday, she wrote:

So this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about it differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods--and what I'm willing to do to change.

Don't know if I'm going to feel better or worse, but I'm willing to try to see if my body at least feels differently.

So this first day wasn't hard at all. For breakfast, I had steel-cut oatmeal with fresh blueberries, strawberries, chopped walnuts and a splash of soy milk and some agave nectar. For lunch, chunky mushroom soup with wild rice and pecans. As a snack, a handful of roasted almonds. And for dinner, a baked potato drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper with a salad of shredded lettuce, cranberries, pine nuts and tiny orange slices with a vinegar and oil dressing.

Very satisfying. Day 1 also started with the meditation mantra that Kathy suggests in her book. I'm ready!

On Monday, she reported that she was loving her detox food, courtesy of Kathy Freston's chef, Tal Ronnen:

Well, I feel like I got baptized in Vegan Land today. Kathy Freston sent her chef, Tal Ronnen, to help me and three friends at Harpo who are doing the 21-day cleanse.

Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying. I had been focused on what I had to give up--sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. "What's left?" I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast--strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes.

Oprah will continue to blog about her detox at Oprah.com.

Comments

[cheshirecat831]

Life without cheese is just not worth living. Particularly without d'affinois and other French double and triple creams!

[SifSkade]

Did you check out that menu? Absolutely lovely for people who either have personal chefs or plenty of time on their hands -- the average working person/parent doesn't even have time to shop for specialized ingredients, let alone prepare them.

[kati]

Not so long ago the word 'vegan' was hardly known. Now it seems just about everyone has some idea: no flesh, no dairy, no eggs, no honey, no leather, no fur, no wool and whatever else belonged to the original owners. Thank you Oprah!

[tkondaks]

Oprah, the poor dear, was born in the wrong century.
Of the approximately 50 centuries of recorded human history, it is only in the last approximately 75 years that fat, overweight strudels like Oprah wouldn't be considered the belles of the ball. And, hey, make that just in the Western World because in most third world countries, those love handles that she's spent a good portion of her billion plus fortune trying to lose are actually considered....LOVE HANDLES.
Oprah, your genes are made to store fat...go forth and eat. If you don't you're going to continue to be miserable. And, hey, you're laughing all the way to the bank, so who cares if you look like Elizabeth Taylor circa 1975?

[MNmommy]

Seriously. Who Cares?

[edva]

There is a lot of significance in the fact that we need to seriously address the grossly inhumane treatment of "food Animals" provided for our pleasure and profit, at the cost of tremendous, needless suffering on their part, while we blithely look away; and the fact that Oprah's action will hopefully make people conscious of that sad fact in regard to eating meat, which is not only un-necessary for our sustenance, but unhealthy and extremely destructive to the environment as well.

[CarbondaleKid]

In addition to the terrible inhumanity, Corporate production of animals for our dining pleasure, as you say, extracts a huge toll on our planet. Except for a small amount of home-raised chicken and perhaps fish caught nearby, we will all be eating vegan very soon, IMO. We Americans live with a perpetual "Berlin Air Lift" of food and flowers flown in for our consumption and enjoyment. That can't continue for long at this rate of oil price increase. We each might examine the living of our life and think about how much oil and gas we use that is wasted. In the future, we will spend the lion's share of our travel time on our bicycles or feet. Our clothes will dry on a clothesline in the yard. We will suffer from the heat in the summer and have cold feet in the winter, just like our ancestors from as recently as three generations ago. This entropy is inevitable given the rapidly declining availability of cheap oil.

[irkthesmirk]

Probably about 7.8 million people who watch her show every day. Who cares what YOU think?

[BetterAmerica]

Considering 99.8% of bloggers on this site love Obama, they should love Oprah too.

After all it was Oprah that brought him so much success.

[toocoldout]

I love Oprah. A lot more than Obama actually.

[BruceGFriedrich]

It's surprising to me how many people will take the time to post something negative about someone; what does that accomplish? Oprah is trying to do something positive for herself, and she's encouraging others to do likewise.

Why does that inspire such venom from so many people, and HuffPo readers no less? If I had negative feelings about someone (Oprah or anyone), I'd keep them to myself. I suppose the anonymity of the internet makes people meaner... pity.

For the record, the Freston book has a lot more to it than this detox plan. It's worth checking out, though it's sold out on Amazon and B&N right now. You can pre-order it at the former, which also has some good reader comments that say a lot more about it.

[marco34la]

I know. If only the dam colonists would have kept there mouths shut and said nothing bad about England... we wouldn't be in this mess. I mean Oprah of course is a different story. She hasn't done anything wrong... well maybe except to use her clout as the most visible person and powerful person in tv to campaign, endorse and glorify a man who hasn't even served a term in the Senate as the the democratic nominee. It's an abuse of power and irresponsible. In the same manner many people don't anything about cars, and just take the advise from someone they know or trust... there are many house wives sitting on their couches listening to Oprah, who don't know anything about politics and will listen and "buy into Oprah's PICK' in the same way they buy the books and products she endorses.

Meanwhile -- she's got a school in africa where girls are being raped and denied visitation rights
from the parents. So, her judgment is seriously in question. Better she ask Obama to try and clean up her school before she throws her 300lbs behind him to clean up our country.

[toocoldout]

But Oprah did not use her show to campaign for Obama. Indeed she was careful to make sure Bill Clinton and Elizabeth Edwards got equal air time, and has not had Obama on since the fall of 2006. Are you saying Oprah was wrong to use her personal voice as a U.S. citizen to campaign for Obama? Should all influential people keep their political opinions a secret? If so, Bill as a former president should not be throwing his clout behind Hillary. Would he be supporting her if she wasn't his wife? As for Oprah's school, it's an all girls school in a country with the highest rate of rapes in the world. It's inevitable sexual abuse will occur there, but Oprah'd done everything in her power to minimize it including only allowing female dorm staff. And that's assuming the accusations are even true.

[The 13 Colonies]

No Oprah hasn't done anything wrong, but if I had a dollar for every diet she's been on I wouldn't have to worry about losing my house.She pays a Chef to cook for her, low calorie meals. I give anythingto get that salary.................................................

[toocoldout]

So do you have a problem with people who have trouble losing weight? I admire the fact that she's fat. She joked about her weight problem marketing the issue brilliantly, and opened up the door for a ton of fat women in media.

[AxelDC]

Oprah is getting ready to run as Obama's VP. He'll get 99% of women voters with that pick.

[marco34la]

Just the black women voters. Oprah was only "made possible" by the millions of white american housewives who watched and supported her. Oprah turned her back on the very people that gave her the ability to succeed by not endorsing a white woman as the first Us President.

Not only is Hillary unquestionably more qualified, she would have been the best candidate and chance for a democratic white house this fall. Instead Oprah's thrown her 300lbs behind some guy who wasn't even in the senate for 7 months before leap frogging to Presidential election.
She chose race over sex... and this is from a woman who said in 1987 that "i've found that it's been more difficult to get ahead not because I'm an african american, but because I'm a woman and women are not taken seriously in business." Yeah... Go Oprah! Good Job!

[AdrianIII]

POOR OPRAH! She has to go through a 21 day vegan detox with nothing but her own personal chef and unlimited funds. Must be really difficult!

[AxelDC]

I'd go on a restrictive diet like that if I had a personal chef, too.

[pikaomega]

I am severely Bi-Polar I, and after my release from a psychiatric unit in Dec. 2005, I vowed that I would never go back. I decided that since the drugs and sex and booze that for years had been futile, my final "Hail Mary" play was to be completely changing the way that I lived.

I have been a vegetarian for many years, but (much to the surprise of many) that does not entail a healthy diet. I began to revise my diet, which now consists mainly of fresh veggies and fruit, with lentils and soy thrown in to keep the anemia at bay. My pup and I started to take regular walks, starting slowly and ratcheting up as we went. This, along with a tight medication regiment, became the means in which I regained control of my life.

I live in St. Louis and am fortunate to have a wonderful farmer's market stocked with mainly local produce, and I spend a fraction of what I might if I was eating the way that I had been. Prep time on a plant-based diet is minimal and the physical and mental bonuses are immeasurable.

My way of life is not for everyone, but, my advice, for what it's worth, is to honestly take stock of your habits and make improvements that fit your abilitiess and needs. It is hard at first, as any change in life will be, but the benefit is priceless.

[Kashathree]

Good Grief, Oprah. Get over yourself. You have failed so many diets so far, and, frankly, we're tired of it. Life is NOT all about you. Cleanse away. You can afford cooks and personal trainers. Most of us cannot. Headlines like this make me glad I stopped watching your show. You just can't get enough camera time, can you.

[BluePatriotWoman]

Kashathree speaks for me.

[fcsakes]

Go for it Oprah - I don't care how many people you've got helping you! Anyone who is willing to try something new and different for the sake of tortured animals AND good health is all right by me!

I've had some bad vegetarian meals and some that were fantastic. It just takes a little messing around in the kitchen - there are plenty of sites on the web with recipes from simple to elegant that do not require stuffing a calf in a box he can't turn around in for however many short miserable months of life he has.

[bth94131]

Wow, surprised how so many people are nasty to Oprah. Why? So she is trying a new diet based on a book she read. I would never go vegan, but hey let her try it if she likes. More meat and cheese for the rest of us!

[Irons]

If I had Oprah's support system, I'd probably be perfect.

[biogroup]

When I read the menu for her first day of the diet I was shocked. Could her nutritional advisors be nuts?
First of all judging by her heath history Oprah is possibly in or near a pre-diabetic state (i.e., having 2 or more fasting blood sugar (FBS) readings above the normal range of 70-85 mg/Dl.)
Diabetes is at epidemic levels and if she is at risk she would need to be on a diet that prevents her from developing any further problems.
If she does not have to worry about developing diabetes and is simply concerned with health and weight control, she should be concerned with keeping her FBS levels between normal levels.
The first day of the diet includes the worst " cooked grains. The steel cut oats, wild rice, and baked potato turn into glucose in the body. A baked potato is nothing but a big lump of sugar as far as our bodies are concerned. In the setting of another type of diet the fruit would be O.K., but mix it with the grains & Oprah gets more sugar.
The soymilk is a bad idea. 90% of soy is genetically modified (GMO). It is diabetogenic and has lots of other bad qualities.
The nuts are great but where are the dark leafy greens and real vegetables, particularly raw vegetables? Where are the superfoods? Have Oprah call me. I"ll have her 25 lbs lighter, and feeling great in 1 month.

[fitfavored]

Good points!

[jennyjen]

Excellent post. Can you tell us more? Recommended reading? I would also like to know if you are employed in a health related field? The professional way your post is written leads me to believe that you are. Thanks again for the great information. You could be a blogger here at Huffpost - I - for one would love to see that happen.

I have been a vegetarian in the past - felt wonderful - menstrual pms problems went away. Have been foolish and self destructive for the past decade + and want to go back to what I know works - it is more difficult the older I get - I am close to Oprah's age. That is why I was so moved by your post Biogroup. Any advice would be welcome.

For those who think they would be healthier if they could afford a chef and a trainer. Good luck. Outsiders can't change your brain. So why not buy a recipe book and join a gym - do you think Oprah's trainer works out for her?

[biogroup]

Thanks for your support...
I have stacks of books and research on the subject which went into designing a diet for my own family. They have thrived on it...
Am now writing a book on the subject. Also working on my first full length novel...
Have background and education in medicine, human physiology, ecology, etc..
Could post my recipe for our family's staple breakfast , my "Decadent Chocolate Anti-oxidant SuperShake." Keeps us going (kids, big guys and all until late afternoon). I could also (as I get some free microseconds) share my favorite current books on the subject - they can be overwhelming though without a firsthand guide.
Would consider writing for Huffpost although I don't know if they would be open to my point of view. Glad you appreciate my writing however.
Vegetarian is great. At least gets us away from the toxin loaded "agribiz" promoted animal product food chain. (More on this later.)
I was moved beyond "simple vegetarian" by health problems in our family and we got such super results I want to see everybody feel as good as we do. Glad to share anything that makes the world a better place.
Let's hope Oprah is guided to the answers that are right for her...

[Cutie02]

Brilliant post. I saw all the soy products and wondered how she didn't know about Soy being GM. I loved the other ideas. And yes it's missing the Greens. It's a shame so many vegan foods use Soy. :(
It really makes finding recipes hard.

Oprah should do a show on Genetically Modified foods. It's a real issue!

[biogroup]

Thanks! Yes, it is a shame that so many think soy products are "healthy." Ninety percent of soy products are genetically modified (GMO) and even those that are not are known to set off a toxic reaction in the body that helps set off the degenerative diseases associated with the diets ot the modern world.
I agree that the issue of Genetically Modified foods is a REAL issue, unlike many of the so-called "issues" Oprah features on her show.
Imagine... Most newborn babies fed alternatives to breast milk or to cow's milk formula are fed soy bean based formula. Yikes!
And women are led to believe that soy products help prevent breast cancer, etc. I will cite better references than me as soon as I get a minute free...:)