I have put on a few pounds of late. Christmas has been and gone leaving me with an extra 5lb and a holiday in Spain left me with another 5lb. I want to get back to being a little healthier, I have great focus for a while then I start to feel good about how I look and the focus dwindles, sound familiar? I eat a vegetarian diet, which on the whole is really healthy, but I have started eating more and more of the unhealthy foods like cheese, pizza, chips, crisps and alcohol!! I really need to get myself back on track, so I have devised myself a challenge based on the experience I have had at a Juice Retreat in Spain. I achieved an amazing weight loss whilst at the retreat, (15lb in one week!) I was there for 7 days and I followed the Program strictly, to the letter and I exercised lots!
I want something that is going to give me a great weight reduction and set me on the right path to a healthier lifestyle so here is what I am going to do!
What am I going to do?
I am going to follow a juice diet, juicing all kinds of vegetables, I have kept mine a little bit repetitive to make it easier. I make the juices to about 400ml!
Making the juices a bit annoying, its time consuming and messy! So I make up all of the juices for the day in the morning, and pop these in the fridge to keep fresh!
Drink at least 2 litres of water a day. I always lose track of how much I drink so I add a slice of lemon to my drink bottle every time I fill it up. Then when I empty it out I can see if I have hit my target for the day.
I will be having 3 Colonic Hydrotherapy treatments over a 7 Day period. I am a real fan of colonics, I am convinced that this is the reason I lost so much weight at the retreat! I have juiced and exercised without the colonics and not achieved the same success as when I had them at the retreat!
The exercise part of the challenge is easy for me, I am used to pounding the treadmill at the gym and lifting weights until I am nearly sick, so the two 30 minutes sessions of exercise a day are going to be like a holiday. I have chosen to do a 30 minute brisk walk with hills, and 30 minutes on the rebounder (mini trampoline). I suppose anything that creates a bit of a sweat and gets the heart rate going would be good!
So here goes….
Start Weight 12stone 1.2lb (this was a bit of a shock!)
A typical day!
DAY 1
I woke up today with a little bit of a headache, too much to drink at a family baptism on Easter Sunday. I did think for a fleeting second should I start tomorrow instead! But no I am starting today!
8.30am I started my day at with 1 pint of lemon water (1/2 lemon squeezed into a pint of water).
9am Breakfast was a green juice made with avocado, celery, broccoli, lemon, apple, pear and cucumber – sounds awful I know but it is really yummy. I also added a teaspoon of ground flax seed to this to get my health omegas. I was starving and this really did satisfy me
After Breakfast we went for a walk, it was a 2.5 hours walk but at a slow pace as we had the grandchildren with us, I have counted this as one of my exercise sessions for the day!
1.30pm Lunch was a tomato, celery and red pepper juice I also blended a chilli into this to give it a bit of a kick! A bit of a kick this blew my head off, it took me about 30 minutes to drink it (note to self, go easy on the chilli)
4pm I had my first of the three colonics today, this isn’t my first ever colonic, I have had quite a few over the years.
As the afternoon wore in I felt really tired, so I had a power nap about 30 minutes (well it is a bank holiday and I am not in the pub!)
It is really important to listen to your body when you are doing a juice detox! In the beginning you may feel more tired and you should rest if you can.
6pm Dinner – this was a carrot, apple and cinnamon juice, this is the first time I have had this and it was really tasty, maybe a little bit sweet, but I enjoyed it.
7.30 Rebounding for 30 minutes
Throughout the day I drank at least 2 litres of water, I would add a slice of lemon to the bottle each time I filled it up, this allowed me to keep track of the amount I am drinking. This part is really important, it helps to flush out the toxins and rehydrates.
9.30pm Bedtime this is really early for me, I slept right through until 8.30 the next day and I felt really rested when I awoke! As the week went on though I found that I awoke earlier and earlier, it seemed I did not need as much sleep!
Throughout this process it is really important to listen to your body, if you feel hungry have some water, it can be a sign of dehydration. If you have no energy, then rest. If the exercise is too much lower the intensity.
I continued my journey for 7 whole days, the juices were a bit repetitive, but I did switch them up a little by adding spinach, courgette in fact almost anything green to make sure I got loads of nutrients! I put in plenty of lemon to take away the bitterness of some of the veggies. It’s a bit trial and error to start with but once you find juices you like stick with them! Just try not to overdo it with the sweetness, 1 apple or 1 pear or 3 carrots should be the base of your juices with green vegetables being the bulk.
FINISHING WEIGHT 11.4 LB
THAT’S AN AMAZING LOSS OF 11 LB
I must say that I am absolutely over the moon, I feel like I have achieved exactly what I set out to do. Juicing and Colonics, a powerful weight loss combination! Why not book in for your Colonic Hydrotherapy and start your very own weight loss challenge today!
Can I just add that I did this plan with the support of my daughter Chloe, who managed a 5 day detox with 2 Colonics and lost 7lb
My sister Stephanie, who did a 7 day detox, 2 colonics and lost 7lb
Weigh loss results will vary depending on the amount of weight you have to lose and the commitment you have to the program.
Always consult your doctor before starting any new diet or detox plan.
Further details and recipes can be obtained by contacting Beauty Matters Garforth info@beautymattersleeds.co.uk
Melanie P x
UPDATE – I was weighed again 7 days later and the weight had stayed the same, the loss had been maintained with a healthy balanced diet.
We are always interested to hear your Weight Loss Challenge stories.
