Thank you to Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for sponsoring this post. All opinions and experiences are my own.
A couple weeks ago, I told you about the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox in September. Well, wouldn’t you know it, September is here and it’s almost detox time. Starting September 11, I’m detoxing with Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for five days. That means no juice, no coffee, no nothing. It’s not gonna be easy but hopefully it’ll be worth it. I’m also going to be trying out a few detox products I’ve heard are great for supporting the diet, such as an ion cleanser in the form of a foot bath! It’s supposed to help remove toxins from your bloodstream, and I’ll probably need a relaxing footbath while I’m going through the withdrawal symptoms of cutting out food!
Today’s the Friday Five 2.0 and our topic is post-race meals and snacks. While I’m a big fan of eating all the food after a race, today I’m going to tell you why I’m taking part in the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water detox before my race.
I have a confession. I’ve never done a detox before. I’ve never juice cleansed. I have never stripped down my diet completely. So in taking part in the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox, I’m making a HUGE leap. I’m a little anxious, that’s for sure, although I read up on it lots on Quicksilver Scientific, so I’m feeling a bit better about doing a detox. Here’s why I’m doing it:
5 Reasons Why I’m Detoxing with Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water
1. I’m an autoimmune, inflammatory disease sufferer.
And it stinks. My symptoms aren’t too terrible and for that I’m very grateful. But they’re still there nonetheless. I desperately need to clean up my eating. I’m mostly good on the beverage front, but caffeine is a possible trigger so my body may do very well without it. I’m hoping to more or less cleanse my system with the upcoming detox.
2. As an inflammatory disease sufferer, I feel more prone to inflammation induced by training.
This is completely anecdotal and I’ve done zero research on this topic. But I swear, being predisposed to inflammation makes me a prime candidate for a chain reaction of inflammation as it relates to training. If my friend’s ankle hurts, mine hurts threefold. If my hip is achy, not only is it my hip but also my knee and ankle. By going through the detox, I’m hoping to reset my inflammatory response. We’ll see if my theory holds. This may also need to be more of a long-term experiment of one. Tbd…
3. I need the extra minerals!
Did I mention I’m an inflammatory disease sufferer? I did… Well, as it turns out, one of the big triggers for me is dairy. Which I already knew but I’ve been denying for years. I eat fairly clean already but I know I don’t get enough calcium without yogurt or other forms of dairy. I could do the dairy-free substitutes but they don’t always agree with my tummy so I’d rather just not have any “dairy” at all. One of the big draws to me with the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox is the amount of calcium in 8 fl oz of sparkling mineral water. Gerolsteiner has 84 mg! Not to mention the magnesium, which as an athlete, I also need more of. There are studies to suggest that magnesium requirements are higher for athletes, so the magnesium and calcium in sparkling mineral water are perfect for me.
4. A nutritionist and fitness expert will be leading us through the challenge.
Ariane Hundt, a Nutritionist and Fitness Expert in NYC, will lead us through the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox in the Sparkling Detox Facebook group. I’m excited to follow along and reap the benefits from her expert advice. I feel like I always ask a lot of questions of nutritionists in my circle and this will be a really great resource for me. Plus, Ariane was born in Germany and grew up drinking Gerolsteiner! Something that fascinates me is that the more German-born people I talk to, the more I hear they grew up drinking Gerolsteiner — even more so than plain old tap water. I can’t wait to hear what Ariane and others have to say about it!
5. I like a good challenge!
What can I say? I like a good challenge! It may be inane, but it’s true. I want to see if I’m able to hold myself to only drinking Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for five whole days. I think I can do it. What do you think?
I’m really excited to start the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox on September 11th. I hope you’ll join me. If you’re interested and want to participate, you can purchase Gerolsteiner on jet.com or at Sam’s Club! Don’t forget to join the Facebook group and use #SparklingDetox on Instagram.
Don’t forget to link up with Fairytales and Fitness and me for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup. Check out the other bloggers in the linkup — it’s fun to find new blogs to read!
xo
Let’s talk!
Are you joining me for the Gerolsteiner Sparkling Detox on September 11?
Vegan/non-dairy friends: any advice on ditching dairy for good?
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73 Comments
Coffee would be the hardest for me to give up! I hope you’re able to get your inflammation under control through the detox. The extra minerals in the water is definitely a plus! I gave up dairy years ago. Well, I’ve tried adding greek yogurt back in my diet, but I feel better without it. I drink Almond milk but other dairy free foods high in calcium are leafy greens, beans, and almonds. Good luck with the challenge!!
Thank you! I eat a lot of leafy greens and beans. Unfortunately I can’t eat almonds or nuts. I think the calcium in mineral water will do me good!!
Hmm, that calcium level is tempting. I avoid dairy for the most part and have been supplementing, but since I tend to drink a ton of bubbly water every day, this would be a great addition.
Sounds like it might be what you need! I’m intrigued with the calcium and magnesium in mineral water. I didn’t know anything about it until this detox!
I’ll be right there, detoxing with you! I did this challenge last year and thought I’d die without my coffee. Surprisingly it wasn’t as hard to give it up as I’d thought!
That’s good to hear! Did you get headaches from it? I only drink coffee and water as it is, so I’m a little worried haha.
No headaches!
That’s good to hear!
I love water – plain, sparkling, seltzer – give me all of it! I so think it would be hard for me to give up kombucha during the challenge because I love it so much, lol.
I wish I could ditch dairy but my love for cheese and greek yogurt runs deep, lol.
My love for cheese and yogurt runs deep, too. It’s hard but not as hard as I thought it would be. My tummy doesn’t like dairy and neither does my inflammation so I’m willing to nix it completely!
I’ve never had kombucha!!
I will be doing it right along with you! I am enjoying drinking it
Woohoo! The first time I had it I was skeptical. But now I really like it!!
My husband has a been going through a program that encourages a dairy-free/gluten-free AND sugar-free diet. Good for him, but it’s driving me crazy! If I am asked to give up something, I just crave it more. I should do a water cleanse…but I can’t do sparkling water ;-( Just not my gig….
So far I’m dairy free, mostly gluten free, and heading toward sugar free. It’s all so inflammatory and my gut, joints, and skin hate it! I’m willing to try anything.
So not a fan of sparkling water — sorry!
I recently went through my own little detox, which I hope to blog about this Tuesday. Change is almost always good — and I have no doubt that you are more susceptible to inflammation than most people — OTOH, most people are eating a SAD (standard american diet) diet, which actually tends to promote inflammation (wish I could get that message across to the hubs).
I only drink tea and water and home made smoothies. I’ve been drinking more smoothies lately and noticing my skin looks better, too!
The American diet is disgusting. I’ve been on the healthy/conscious eating wagon for a long time now and it amazes me what people still put in their bodies without even thinking twice about it.
What a great reason to participate in a challenge. Our bodies could all use a good detox every now and then.
I agree. Everyone can benefit from a detox.
I like my coffee way too much to give it up for 5 days! But I feel like I do drink a lot of water.
Haha that’s the one thing I’m really nervous about!
The only challenge for me would be coffee – I could chew run gum, I guess! Good luck and I hope you notice a positive change!
Brilliant idea! I’ve been nervous about caffeine headaches but I’ve got plenty of rungum. Thanks for the idea!!
I stick with tea, water, and the a glass of wine with dinner. I gave up soda when I was in high school, when I practically drank it every waking second. I still have it once in a while, like when I go to the movies, but that’s like 3 or 4 times a year. It wasn’t as difficult to give up as I thought.
I was just thinking about that this morning — I used to drink Mountain Dew and eat Slim Jims almost every day as a teenager. How gross!! But at the time it was delicious.
Now I stick with my water and coffee. 🙂
I’ve never heard of a detox with mineral water, but it sounds interesting.
Trader Joe’s sells Gerolsteiner, too! I get it there regularly!
P.S. Yup, another German here who grew up drinking Gerolsteiner 🙂
I’ve only been to Trader Joe’s once in my life! Ha! I can’t stand the parking lot at the one by me. People drive like maniacs. Just not worth my life. Hahah!
There are a couple of you that have told me you grew up drinking Gerolsteiner. How cool!
Love sparkling water! Need to try this brand. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It’s really good!
Vegan tips!
1. I think the easiest swap is almond milk for dairy milk. There are DOZENS of brands now, so experiment with finding one you like, I usually go for the unsweetened kind – no need for added sugar!
2. After that, I think the next thing is looking at what dairy remains in your diet: where is there butter? where is there cheese? where is there milk? where is there whey? Then take baby steps finding alternatives. These alternatives could be products that just don’t include those ingredients (there are a lot of pasta/breads that sneakily add whey protein and/or milk, but again there are DOZENS of products that just don’t add that or use pea proteins).
3. Cheese seems to be the hardest to give up for people (mostly because it activates the same parts of the brain as heroin so it’s hugely addictive, or course it would be hard). Luckily in the last 3 years there have been HUGE improvements in the vegan cheese alternatives. I personally make all cheese dips. Also Nutritional yeast is a godsend for adding cheesy flavor to dishes.
If you ever want recipes or brand recommendations let me know! I am more than happy to help!
I rarely drink milk so giving that up isn’t a problem. I did try non dairy cheese and it just really killed my stomach, so I think I’ll probably just ditch cheese completely. I use nutritional yeast on popcorn and such so I’ll keep that, for sure!
Thanks for all these tips!!
Wait are you only drinking water and not eating anything??! I’ve done a juice cleanse and absolutely hated it lol. My first and last. I definitely didn’t give up coffee during it either #coffeeaddict #whoops #goodluck!!
Oh NO! I am most definitely eating!! This is just a way to get rid of crappy drinks you don’t need — like lattes, juices, soda (or as we say in Cleveland, pop), etc.
Even if I wanted to not eat for a week, which would be insane and unhealthy, I wouldn’t be able to because I’m in marathon training. It would be dangerous!
Just ditching the beverages. 🙂
So interesting..I’ve never really thought of the benefits of drinking mineral water. Perfect for all the writing on inflammation I’m doing. Love hearing your thoughts as it’s something you struggle with. Thanks!
Yes, it is perfect! Hopefully you can use some of that info. 🙂
I’ve never really thought about detoxing with mineral water so I’m curious to hear how it goes. I’ve never done a detox myself but I’ve considered one at least a zillion times 🙂
We shall see. Fingers crossed! 🙂
Sounds like a great way to jazz up water!
I was skeptical at first but sparkling mineral water is really quite good.
I’ve done a 3-day detox before and I swear the hardest part was giving up the coffee! But I admit I’m so curious about this challenge. The extra magnesium and calcium are both very tempting!
It is truly the one thing that’s making me doubt myself! COFFEE!!!
I literally lived on sparkling water during my last pregnancy. It saved my life !!! I always feel great after I take a break from coffee….butttt I love it so much I always find my way back! ?
Really?? Why did you make the switch to sparkling water during pregnancy?
I hope your detox helps you! So to clarify, the challenge is to not drink anything else but water? (Along with eating of course.)
Yes, correct. You can eat whatever you want (healthy foods preferred) but no drinking anything else but sparkling mineral water. Should be fun! Want to join?
Nah, I’ll just stick with my boring Brita water haha.
Haha, water is delicious in any form. 🙂
This is such a great “get healthy for fall” kickstarter! Can’t wait to get bubbly with it!
I’m really looking forward to it!
Wow. This will be interesting to see how this turns out for you. I have done a detox before but nothing this in depth. Glad they have some experts helping along.
What was your detox like? I’ve never done one so this is all new to me!
Think I’m going to jump on and do this!! Just need to pick some up this weekend. I can cut the coffee for only 5 days. It does fall when I have the GoodBelly Challenge but I can always blend that in a smoothie bowl or just do the yogurt shots on those days.
Yay! So glad you’ll be joining. It’ll be an adventure with the whole no coffee thing, for sure. Good luck to us both!!!
I’ve heard great things about this challenge!
So interesting! I actually love sparkling water! I have to give this one a try.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised!!
I’m glad you found something that works for you! I don’t drink carbonated anything, that’s just my personal preference; but for those that do — water is way better than sodas!
I don’t drink carbonated anything either. This is a first for me!!
Idk about caffeine, but I do notice that I flare a bit after a tough workout. Booooo! I may need a detox. Modified, of course, to include caffeine and alcohol. Is that ok?
How have you not given up alcohol yet? It’s such a trigger for me! Do the detox! It will be fun! ??
I’m interested in joining but not a fan of giving up coffee. Even for only 5 days.
I don’t think anyone’s a fan of giving up coffee! It’s the most unpopular idea ever.
I pretty much only drink water as it is!
Great ideas as to why you are participating!
Me too. I love water!
hope you will have a great time at this challenge..its always fun to do it as a group!
Absolutely!
I am so curious to hear more about this. I have never done a detox. I have Hashimoto’s though so have been reading more about foods and inflammation.
I don’t know much about Hashimoto’s but for me I try to stay away from sugar (not always successful but when I binge I can feel the consequences), alcohol, and processed foods.
I love this challenge, it’s so fun to do as a group!
I agree! So much motivation from others!!
Sounds like a great detox! I can’t wait to find out how it affected you and your symptoms!
Stay tuned!
I’ve got to try this brand… I love sparkling water, had never thought that it contained calcium.
I was surprised, too! I’m really enjoying it.