When LA singer/songwriter Cortney Matz wrote in with glowing reports of the benefits she’s experiencing after her Six-Day Provenance Detox, we had to know more. Here are a few of her A’s to our Q’s:
Tell us what your life is like in Los Angeles, and what prompted you to try the detox:
“Life in LA is weird and wonderful. I came out here in 2013 to pursue a screenwriting career and landed in the middle of the music scene, somehow. Then in 2020 when the in-person performance opportunities went on hiatus, I started my own business hosting murder mystery parties online. Between writing, gigging and keeping up with the demands of running a business, my health habits have been all over the place.
The appeal of the detox was the idea of indulging and flooding my body with nutrients — rather than emphasizing what’s being reduced or removed. I basically grew up on a diet and did the yo-yo dance well into my 20s, so I’m sensitive to anything that feels like deprivation. Now in my 40s, I’m comfortable with intuitive eating but I know there’s more. The potential for experimenting and fine-tuning my nutrition (especially given how delicious everything else from Provenance has been) was kind of exciting.
My goals for the detox were vague, but basically:
> I know I can take better care of myself, so I wanted to see how that felt.
> I wanted to know if I could be content with fewer carbs — I love bread! And ice cream.
> I hoped I’d lose a few pounds and reduce some stubborn inflammation.
Happily, yes yes and YES on all counts, with more yeses I didn’t even anticipate.”
That’s fantastic! It’s so exciting to see our detox making a difference in life. What benefits are you experiencing post-detox?
This is possibly the weirdest shift in my health that I’ve ever experienced. I can’t tell you how weird it is to just NOT have cravings — like, I actually want those roasted vegetables and I’m actually not very interested in that ice cream.
Like… excuse me?? Who is this person?
I can’t remember ever not being in the mood for ice cream. All of life was basically a spectrum of “I could always eat ice cream, but I’ll decline for now because there are healthier things I should eat” to “must have ice cream now.”
The only explanation I can give is that I now know how it feels to have tons of nutrients skipping through my cells, and I like it. Even subconsciously, I don’t want to sabotage the good work that got started with those six days.
When reintroducing wheat and dairy, it’s fine. It’s not great — and I notice a subtle difference in how my joints feel, how my hands and feet are a bit swollen — which is tremendously empowering. It’s easy to avoid these things most days, and when I do eat them I enjoy them. Making it a point to eat less of them is a choice to feel better, more energized and well.
I’ve also adopted a lemon water habit. First thing in the morning, it’s my go-to beverage. I love coffee, and still drink it most days. But it’s not what gets me out of bed in the morning.
My sleep is better too. I’m actually napping! Occasional power naps in the afternoon, previously unheard of. There’s no way.
I did lose a few pounds on the detox, which fluctuated as I adapted back into “normal” eating (cooking for myself again after a week of pampered meal delivery). But a month later, the scale has dropped below where it was post-detox and all my clothes are loose.
But more than just changing my focus or introducing ingredients I might not otherwise have tried, this detox proved to me that my body is an incredible machine. Now I KNOW, rather than just assume because people say so, that I thrive on the good stuff.
It’s kind of addictive.
A few takeaways and tips for fellow detoxers:
I tend to be a “middle of the day” eater, so I sometimes would finish lunch and still feel hungry. When that happened, I just ate a few bites of my dinner. Problem solved — I felt satisfied midday and still had enough to eat at night.
I highly recommend bulking out your breakfast shakes. The Provenance protein is delightful, but it has a lot more staying power with the addition of some greens (I used pre-washed kale), frozen fruit, coconut milk and a spoonful of peanut butter or tahini.
Knowing that I would be radically shifting out of hyper productivity and into wellness mode, and how tempting it is to “use” food and caffeine to power through low energy or drooping resolve, I deliberately kept my schedule as simple as possible. Especially for Monday and Tuesday, knowing that I had the freedom to simply lie down and rest if I had hit a wall (which I did, both days) was the height of luxury.
What a gift to pay attention to your body’s signals — and actually try and respond rather than squelch them. When I got tired, stepping outside for a gentle walk or listening to a 20-minute guided meditation was so much more effective than chaining myself to my desk.
Cortney Matz is a songwriter, performer, entrepreneur and coach who loves to encourage artists of all disciplines in the long haul of a creative career. To learn more about her music, lyrics, coaching and performance dates visit cortneymatz.com