Is it detoxing or just eating better?

I was reading a person's request for help under "panic button" about hating what she was eating as the south beach "detox". Everyone went "crazy" over the word detox saying how unnecessary/dumb it was and it got me thinking so here are my thoughts:

In this case I think the word "detox" might be being misunderstood. As a sugar junkie, I discovered that the more sugar I ate the more I wanted. I went on a diet that said NO sugar or white flour many years ago and it changed my life. I discovered that the answer to craving sugar/white flour for me isn't eating a little but eating none because one cookie leads to 20 and let's not even talk about ice cream! And I am on a roller coaster, sugar buzz, then tired so more sugar, then buzz again, then another crash...you get the picture.

So I find I have to totally take it out of my diet, in my word I "detox" from it. After about a week of unpleasantness (headache, tiredness), I feel so much better and the cravings go away and I am left feeling great. Then I only add in the good grains and more fruit and I feel so much better and stay off the "bad stuff i.e. sugar, white flour and empty calories and get the carbs from fruit, yogurt, whole grain carbs that have higher fiber and veggies and then add lean meat and a little healthy oil or nuts. And as soon as I "slip up" and eat sugar, my body reminds me of why it isn't good for me.

So I just believe in eating to take care of myself and for maximum health but everything in moderation but for me I do better just cutting out all the crap and eating more natural and clean I actually follow the 17 day diet which "lets" me eat yogurt, 2 fruits daily and some whole grains if I wish but first I had to get off i.e. detox from the sugar and let my body know that "good stuff" was on its way. I log my food every day and run the nutritional reports and try really hard to meet all my goals for nutrition and my fitness. I just think that we shouldn't overreact with the word "detox". If it means taking all the bad stuff out of my diet, I'm all for it and It's not just about weight, it's about taking care of your body and giving it everything it needs and my recent bloodwork showed that my body likes that too with improved cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar.

If you want to call it detoxing you can, I prefer to call it eating the foods that God made, not man so I'm not eating those crazy ingredients that no one can pronounce or that shouldn't be in anything that is meant to human consumption. By the way I am NOT perfect at this. My motto is "progress not perfection"....