What Lisa Did: 5 Day Juice Cleanse

Hi everyone!

I'm off to Sharm el Sheikh on holiday next week and don't think I could be anymore excited!

As many of you know, I work out a lot and try to eat as healthily as possible whilst still allowing myself treats. However like many women I want to look my best, particularly on holiday as I'll be in a bikini 80% of the time and don't want to worry about posing for photos - I just want to feel happy and confident.

 I've been reading a lot lately about juice cleanses, they seem pretty hardcore but are supposed to work wonders for your digestive system, skin, hair, nails and can be an aid to weight loss too.

I'm only going to write about what I've done and the effects I've felt so far, if you want more factual information I'd suggest looking here:

http://www.juicemaster.com/juice-therapy/why-juice

http://www.justonjuice.com/7-day-juice-fast-plan/

And for another blogger's perspective on the juice cleanse (she did a 7 day cleanse, she's braver than me!!) click on the link below:

http://www.whatiboughttoday.com/review-7-day-juice-cleanse

I've chosen to do my own, tailored version of a 5 day cleanse. I am drinking juice/smoothies for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. I am then eating a small 'solid' meal in the evenings but still sticking to low fat, high protein, low carb recipes as I was doing before.

Having looked at the recipe shopping lists on the Juicemaster and Justonjuice websites, it was going to be pretty expensive to buy all the ingredients raw and the recommended supplements too. Plus I don't have 4 250ml bottles/flasks to fill each day with my blended juices/smoothies. A lot of supermarkets now offer their own ranges of fruit and veg juices/smoothies so I carefully chose a selection of these, making sure to check the ingredients for any hidden nasties that I need to avoid.

Here's what I bought:

I'm on my third day of the cleanse now and for the most part I am feeling pretty good - my digestive health has definitely improved (I suffered from constipation and mild IBS before), I have plenty of energy although more in the evenings; my energy levels in the mornings are very low. The only thing I am struggling with is missing variety and different textures at lunch and breakfast times, as you all know I love food and always look forward to my next meal. When everyone in my office is tucking into sandwiches & salads for their lunches I feel a bit jealous knowing all I have is another juice/smoothie!! They do taste really nice though.

I started off the week weighing 79.5kg (12st 7lbs). This is mostly comprised of muscle as I need to be a fairly decent weight for playing rugby (although a little of that might be cake weight!!). 

The aim of this cleanse isn't necessarily to lose much weight but to cleanse my body of toxins that affect my health. However if I end up dropping a couple of pounds and creating more lean muscle into the bargain then all the better!!

I'll post pre-holiday with my results.

Let me know what you think - would you try it?

Lx

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Where Lisa Went: Marlow Regatta, darling

Last weekend I went to Marlow Regatta. I really enjoy this yearly event and hadn't been for the last couple of years. Rowing is really exciting to watch, one of the women rowers lost her oar at one point which was the source of much hilarity to everyone (including her!). Marlow Regatta is the smaller, less celebrity studded sister to the Henley Royal Regatta, I think I prefer it that way.

We picnicked and drank plenty of prosecco.

And watched the rowing, obviously. I don't have many photos of that as there wasn't a lot of room in the viewing area of our enclosure and it was full of people jostling to watch the races.

We were happy to watch from afar and sunbathe though.

Our gazebo even had a chandelier, you know, for that decorative touch!

I've no idea what's happening in that photo...

At Marlow Regatta you're encouraged to make an effort to look smart if you have tickets to the enclosure, so everyone was looking very dapper.

My dress is from H&M (it's now in the sale!) and my Rayban lookalikes are from Primark.

A lovely tipsy day out was had by all!

Lx

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Latest adventures!

Hi there,

As I mentioned in my last post I have been out and about quite a lot recently, I realised that my last proper post was mid-way through May. And here we are, Mid-way through June now!!

So, here are some photos of what I've been up to.

We had our annual Club Supper at my rugby club. This is an end of season sit down dinner where awards are given to players from all three mens' and the womens' teams. We get dressed up all fancy, usually we see each other covered in mud so it makes a change! Then we all get really smashed on free wine and it descends into chaos shortly afterwards. Which is why there aren't that many photos of the event!!

My friend Rhiannon won an award for 'best team spirit' - I was so proud!!

The morning after we all went for a very hungover brunch at one of my favourite places: Baroosh (post to come on there soon!). Needless to say it was slightly emotional.

Rhiannon's boyfriend Steve turned 30 recently and had the imaginative idea of hosting a 'Cowboys and Indians' themed party in the park! Knowing how much I enjoy fancy dress I was there like a shot.

And it was a lot of fun.

I met up with some friends I hadn't seen in years and went to a delightful little deli in Reading called Picnic.

I treated myself to a delicious chorizo and cous cous salad...

...and a big old slab of chocolate cake!!

If you're ever in Reading you should check them out, details here.

At the end of May I went away for a weekend of carnage with my rugby pals. We all drove down to Bournemouth for a 7's Rugby Festival. We played a bit of 7's but mostly drank, danced, paraded around in ridiculous costumes and watched a lot of rugby played by people taking it a lot more seriously than us!! Oh, and drew on each other's faces. As you do.

And we're really awesome at human pyramids!

Our Saturday night dress code was 'Airline Suave'. I obviously had to challenge the status quo by not dressing as an Air Hostess or Pilot, instead opting to don some garish high vis gear and go as an Air Marshall.

I certainly stood out!!

I had a great time. I wore hardly any make up, my hair was a state and I spent a whole weekend with some really good friends playing and watching some awesome sport. Exactly how a festival should be if you ask me, I think the meaning of festivals has been lost somewhere and now everywhere you turn it's full of hipsters trying to get photographed for a street-style blog or website. Not my cup of tea I'm afraid. I like to dance like a loon, pull stupid faces, get sun burnt and not give a damn about what I look like or who's watching.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the concept of 7's rugby, normal rugby union is played with 15 people a side and lasts for 40 minutes each way. 7's is much faster and more challenging as you only have 7 players per side and play for 7 minutes each way. It's a lot of fun as no one has a set position so it pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to think on your feet. I'm definitely going back next year!

I'm not sure if I mentioned in here that I was bought a vintage pin up style photography shoot for my 30th birthday back in February. Recently I received the photos back from my experience and am so happy with them. I feel she really captured my sense of fun and femininity and I really enjoyed dressing up and posing for the camera!

I've become obsessed with an app called 'Snapchat' on my phone. You can take photos of yourself then draw and write things on them. Then you can send those photos to your friends. It's quite amusing and pretty addictive!

I hope you've all been having fun in the sun recently. Although I don't know where it's gone now!!

Here's hoping it makes a return soon.

Lx

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