This 5-day detox is simply a modified fast. As you know, I am a firm believer in modified fasting. The concept is based on the Fasting Mimicking Diet by Dr. Valter Longo. I created many meal plans and posts about it. Read Modified Fasting: How You Can Benefit From Fasting Without Starving to learn more. Here, I will provide a smoothie version of a modified fast to help you accomplish a healing 5-day detox to balance your hormones and lose weight.
5-Day Detox Guidelines
Before I start with the smoothie detox recipes, let’s talk about what is unique about this 5-day detox. It follows a specific macronutrient ratio and calorie number based on Dr. Valter Longo’s research for the Fasting Mimicking Diet. It goes as follows:
Day 1
- Calories: 1090
- Protein: 10% or 27 grams
- Carbs: 34% or 93 grams
- Fat: 56% or 68 grams
Days 2-5
- Calories: 800
- Protein: 9% or 18 grams
- Carbs: 47% or 94 grams
- Fat: 44% or 39 grams
Why These Numbers
Before we move on to the recipes, I want to explain why we are following the macronutrient ratio I have outlined. It’s all about autophagy. This 5-day detox will allow your body to heal naturally, which will help you balance your hormones and lose weight. The way it does that is through the process of autophagy. Autophagy is how your body repairs itself by replacing damaged cells with new ones.
Calories
Many, many studies provide evidence for the benefits of intermittent fasting. However, there is a bit of controversy about whether these benefits are due to intermittent fasting or the natural calorie restriction that accompanies it. This overview of what we know on the topic of fasting diets mentions studies done on rodents that gave them 10-40 percent fewer calories than usual, resulting in increased lifespan and reduced rates of several diseases, especially cancers. Intermittent fasting, on the other hand, does not in itself necessarily increase longevity.
In the worm C. elegans, a fasting diet increased lifespan by 40 percent. A study with fruit flies found that calorie restriction—but not intermittent fasting—was associated with living longer.
Calorie Restriction and Fasting Diets: What Do We Know?
All that to say that the importance of calorie restriction for health, longevity, and healing cannot be overlooked. Dr. Valter Longo has spent decades studying the topic, and that is how he came up with the 5-day 60% calorie restriction fast in the form of the Fasting Mimicking Diet.
Macros
The macronutrient ratio is also important because the mTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) Pathway, which slows down autophagy when activated, senses the presence of carbs and protein. An abundance of carbs and protein decreases autophagy. In the context of this 5-day detox, you will not only undergo calorie restriction but reduced carb and protein consumption. As you can see in the outline, the number of carbs is still higher than, say, if you were doing the ketogenic diet, but combined with severe calorie restriction, it is effective in inducing autophagy, which will help your body achieve a state of homeostasis.
5-Day Detox Meal Plan, Recipes, and Shopping List
Now, that we have the geeky stuff out of the way, let’s get to the meal plan and the recipes.
5-Day Detox Meal Plan
Did you know that coffee helps induce autophagy? If you are a coffee lover, you will love that you get your morning coffee for breakfast. If you don’t drink coffee, just have tea (as long as it doesn’t have additives like some herbal teas do). You can also have a glass of apple cider vinegar (ACV) or lemon water (1 Tbsp ACV or lemon juice).
Some of my smoothie recipes include the Power Shake. The Power Shake is a superfood powder that is made completely from whole foods dehydrated at low temperature. It has made a huge difference in my energy levels and I would never go without it. You can purchase it for this 5-day detox (and hopefully beyond) or simply modify the meal plan to use only the recipes that don’t include it.
Each day of this 5-day detox includes two smoothies. You are going to start the day with your coffee, tea, or ACV water and wait until around lunch to have your first one. My meal plan takes into account a morning coffee that contains about 1/4 of full-fat coconut milk (as far as the calorie number and macronutrient ratio goes).
Day 1
- Coffee (95 calories)
- Green Machine Smoothie (545 calories)
- Blackberry Beet Smoothie (453 calories)
Day 2
- Coffee (95 calories)
- Blueberry Smoothie (338 calories)
- Green Detox Smoothie (371 calories)
Day 3
- Coffee (95 calories)
- Creamy Mango Smoothie (341 calories)
- Choco-Banana Smoothie (379 calories
Day 4
- Coffee (95 calories)
- Strawberry Green Smoothie (356 calories)
- Anti-Inflammatory Pineapple Smoothie (342 calories)
Day 5
- Coffee (95 calories)
- Raspberry Kiwi Smoothie (356 calories)
- Mango Carrot Smoothie (332 calories)
5-Day Detox Smoothie Recipes
Now, your smoothie recipes.
Green Machine Smoothie
- 1 cup frozen mango pieces
- 1 cup orange pieces
- 2 cups spinach
- 5 1/2 Tbsp Power Shake
- 1 Tbsp hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 64 g Protein: 16 g Fat: 27 g
545 calories
Blackberry Beet Smoothie
- 1 cup frozen blackberries
- 1 small beet, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp raw cashews
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high power blender.
Carbs: 32 g Protein: 9 g Fat: 35 g
453 calories
Blueberry Smoothie
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 banana
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 44 g Protein: 5 g Fat: 18 g
338 calories
Green Detox Smoothie
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
- 2 cups spinach
- 5 1/2 Tbsp Power Shake
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 36 g Protein: 12 g Fat: 23 g
371 calories
Creamy Mango Smoothie
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup frozen mango
- 1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped or riced
- 2 Tbsp hemp hearts
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 20 g Protein: 10 g Fat: 26 g
341 calories
Choco-Banana Smoothie
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 a banana
- 1 Tbsp cocoa nibs
- 1 Tbsp almond butter
- 1/2 cup water
- some ice to get the smoothie texture
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 25 g Protein: 7 g Fat: 30 g
379 calories
Strawberry Green Smoothie
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 5 1/2 Tbsp Power Shake
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high power blender.
Carbs: 34 g Protein: 11 g Fat: 21 g
356 calories
Anti-Inflammatory Pineapple Smoothie
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 2 Tbsp almonds
- 1 tsp fresh ginger root
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 30 g Protein: 7 g Fat: 25 g
342 calories
Raspberry Kiwi Smoothie
- 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 medium kiwi, peeled
- 5 1/2 Tbsp Power Shake
- 1/2-1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high-power blender.
Carbs: 50 g Protein: 12 g Fat: 14 g
356 calories
Mango Carrot Smoothie
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup frozen mango
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 Tbsp raw cashews
- 1 cup water
Blend all the ingredients in a high power blender.
Carbs: 31 g Protein: 6 g Fat: 22 g
332 calories
5-Day Detox Shopping List
Use this grocery shopping for your smoothie detox:
- frozen blackberries
- frozen blueberries
- frozen raspberries
- frozen mango
- frozen strawberries
- frozen pineapple
- spinach
- beets
- fresh ginger root
- carrots
- raw cashews
- hemp hearts
- almonds
- Chia seeds
- full-fat coconut milk (you will need about one cup a day)
- kiwis
- oranges
- bananas
- cauliflower
- cocoa nibs
- almond butter
- Power Shake
5-Day Detox Tips for Success
This 5-Day Detox is the most effective Spring cleanse you could ever do. Why? Because it includes all the elements from the Fasting Mimicking Diet in the smoothie cleanse style. Smoothies are quick and easy to make. You have no excuse!
However, you may find that you get hungry during your smoothie cleanse. Why? Because you are consuming only around 40% of your regular calorie intake. It’s natural to feel hungry when we restrict calories to that extent! Keep heart. It’s all part of the plan and will give your body maximum autophagy benefits. You will balance your hormones and kickstart your weight loss journey.
Here are some tips to help you throughout the 5-day detox:
- Enjoy your coffee with coconut milk each morning for breakfast.
- Drink plenty of water between meals and drink herbal teas if you wish.
- Wait as long as possible before drinking your first smoothie of the day.
- Drink the second smoothie close to the time when you normally tend to snack and crave foods (many of you will find that happens later in the evening).
Also, check out my 30-Day Intermittent Fasting Transformation to take full advantage of the benefits of this smoothie cleanse. The 30-Day Transformation will give you added guidance and motivation you can benefit from during the detox and take you on an intermittent fasting weight loss journey. It provides everything you need to know to lose weight using intermittent fasting.
Smoothie Cleanse Video
