Columnist: Kate Heinle
Editor-in-chief: Yasmin Alameddine
As spring break fast approaches, the concern to become ‘picture perfect’ is increasingly pervasive. In a desperate fight to the finish, the gym takes priority, salads are number one sellers, and fro-yo is a thing of the past. The ‘final countdown’ promises ensured happiness of having a beach-ready-body that was earned through hard work, determination, and self-control.
For late starters, a body re-haul can seem daunting with such a short amount of time remaining before break. With nowhere else to turn, many last minute breakers chose another path, the trending diet-fad of the season: cleansing.
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WebMD.com explains that cleansing is designed with the intention of purifying the body of toxins to return it to its natural, healthy state. Cleansers typically had digestive concerns and followed a routine designed by medical professionals, typically lasting no more than three days. Unfortunately, for all the spring breakers, cleansing was originally designed to do nothing more than clean the body, rather than lead to rapid weight loss.
Dr. Oz, a popular American doctor and television host, designed a cleanse that targets the body’s natural detox system including the liver, the kidneys, and the intestines. He claims that detoxifying programs work when they improve the activity of the body’s natural detox system. A cleanse should be a healthy solution to a sluggish, polluted body.
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However, traditional cleanses, like Dr. Oz’s, are very different from the diet solution popular to campus spring breakers. With ambiguous food regimens and dangerously long time spans, this trend has branched far from its original roots. Some popular ‘cleanses’ span from one to two weeks, and include such daily regimens as: day one-fruit; day two-vegetables; day three-fruits and vegetables; day four-bananas; day five-beef and vegetables; day six-beef and vegetables; day seven-brown rice, fruit, and vegetables. Ultimately, the restrictions of eating only ’10 ounces of beef and 6 tomatoes’ on day five would be enough to make me quit immediately. The Master Cleanse or ‘lemonade diet’ is another quick diet ‘cleanse’ that is trending as spring breakers work to get their beach bodies. This program includes the two L’s: lemonade and laxatives. This is not your regular run of the mill sweet summer beverage; it contains water, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and lemon juice. This 10 day regimen is extreme dieting at its worst, and, unfortunately, its popularity with college ‘spring breakers’ is growing.
Desperate times call for desperate measures right? Wrong. What happens when you get to your Spring break destination and you want to indulge in local cuisine or drink? The diet cleanse restricted your body of necessary calories and nutrients. Therefore, when it is time to indulge in the ‘fun’ promised by spring break, consuming alcoholic beverages and delicious foods may cause shock and ultimately weight gain. The cleanse slows down your body’s natural metabolism causing the weight to return.
We take drastic measures to reach goal that include an ideal body and comfort in our own skin, but the unhealthy consequences of extreme diets aren’t worth it. There are better ways to get your best body than to starve yourself and exercise more than you sleep. It may seem hopeless with only a bit of time remaining until spring break. But, by eating healthy and exercising, you will be happier, you will feel amazing, and you will be ready to be your best while vacationing!
