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:
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:
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
