Clean 9 Cleanse and beyond...

From despondency to delight in just a few days! 

In my last post I was feeling a bit lost, a bit fed up and a bit cheated. I have been back at work for three days and somehow this detox malarkey has become much easier. I had my shake for breakfast, but made double so that I could take a ready-blended one with me for lunch. I didn't feel hungry, and by lunchtime I had decided to go for a walk. 

I popped my trainers on, drank half a litre of water and headed out, up Shirley Avenue, along St James' Road, around St James' Park, then back to work through the estate. It took about 25-30 minutes and I bloody loved it. When I got back I drank my meal replacement shake and continued with my day, halo shining. 

Dinner has become much easier now that I am more comfortable with the idea of calorie counting. I have my iPad next to my scales while I cook, and have created some really delicious meals, including whole wheat pasta with chicken and broccoli in a light cheese sauce, plus last night, lamb chops with sweet potato wedges and veggies. Tonight we even had steak!

So, the good news is that this morning, the day after finishing the Clean 9, I weighed 12st 8.75lb, meaning I have lost a grand total of 8.75lbs. And I feel great! My measurements are amazing too, as I have lost inches all over:

Upper arms have gone from 35.5cm to 31cm

Waist has gone from 96cm to 90cm

Hips have gone from 109cm to 105cm

Top of my thighs have gone from 70cm to 65cm

So, to say I'm happy is an understatement! I am determined to maintain and improve upon this, so I am going to be continuing with my daily walk and will replace lunch with a shake when I'm at work. I'll never look at food without considering how many of my 1420 calories per day they are worth. If I don't feel they're worth it, I won't eat it! I'm actually enjoying fruit teas, and may be converted long-term.

Anyhoo, if you're at all interested in doing the Clean 9 for yourself, please contact my friend Dev at Forever Living. www.innerpure.myforever.biz/store

Clean 9 days 5-6

After the buzz of the first few days of this detox, I'm actually feeling a little deflated. Don't get me wrong, I feel slimmer, am less hungry, and have totally forgotten what a snack is! But my weight is staying the same... 

Having two shakes and a 600 calorie meal for my entire food intake must surely contribute to weight loss, mustn't it? I feel ENTITLED to lose weight - I've earned this, surely? It's hard to give myself any credit for feeling a bit better, when what I was hoping for was steady, continued weightloss. 

What is making me feel worse (much worse) is that Scott started the Clean 9 on Saturday and hasn't lost an ounce (or an inch!) and is feeling really dejected. Those first two days are so tough, with zero food, just one shake, and huge amounts of foul-tasting aloe that I feel really bad that he hasn't lost any weight. He has been doing the recommended daily exercise and isn't cheating, so I would have hoped for at least a few pounds off, purely because he's not drinking, not eating crap, and is missing two whole frickin meals a day! 

All I can hope is that when the nine days are up we can continue eating healthily, as the temptation will be to "reward" ourselves. I've downloaded "My Fitness Pal" to help calculate meal calories, and will continue to use that. I still have three days to go (Scott has 6) so we'll report back in a few days, but I could really do with a cup of tea and a cake. Fruit teas are not quite as exciting as a good glass of vino, but they'll have to do... For now...

Clean 9 days 3-4 - eating actual food!

So, days one and two went by fairly smoothly. Withdrawal headaches aside, I've noticed no side-effects other than needing to go to the loo more often, but with the amount of water I'm drinking, I'm not surprised! 

I weighed myself day one and my starting weight was a frighteningly high 13st3.5. I took measurements of my waist, wip, bust, thigh and upper arm, plus Scott took photos from front, side and back. I haven't seen the photos yet, but may share them if I'm feeling very brave on day 9/10. 

So yesterday was the start of phase two. For the remaining 7 days I have the same pattern each day - breakfast; 2 Garcinia tablets, 20 mins before 120ml of Aloe, lots of water and a chocolate milkshake meal replacement, made with 300ml skimmed milk and one scoop of chocolate Forever Ultra Light. Mid morning snack is two bee pollen tablets and more water. Lunch is the same as breakfast. Dinner is where it gets exciting (for me, anyway). I can have a 600calorie meal!!! Yes, actual food!!!

Dinner last night was halfway between a stir fry and a paella - brown rice, diced chicken, peppers, tender stem broccoli, spring onion and mushrooms with a little splash of olive oil and some chilli. Seriously, I don't think I've ever looked forward to brown rice so much! I even had some fresh cherries for pudding. I used "My fitness pal" for the calorie counting, and weighed everything. I was surprised at how full my bowl of food was, certainly not a small meal. 

My evening was plagued by another headache, and I didn't really get the amount of exercise I should have had, but I did take Flo to Frankie's Fun Factory in Romsey, avoiding the tempting coffees, snacks and meals, opting instead for bottled water. So all in all, a pretty successful day.

This morning, day four, Scott has started his Clean 9. I weighed myself today and I have lost 7.5lbs already. Incredible! I just hope I can maintain the healthy eating for us all once the programme finishes.

Anyway, there you have my first few days of detox. Let me know if you want any info :)

A year on... A stone on!! And a fresh start...

I've let things slide lately, and I am not proud of that fact. My weight has crept back to just over 13stone, and I've started to feel uncomfortable in some of my clothes. A telling sign is that I no longer wear button-up shirts. Ok, so not the cheeriest start to my blog post, but hey, things can improve, right?

A little over a week ago I was perusing the wonders of Facebook when a before and after pic caught my eye (and, perhaps more importantly, Scott's eye). It was of a young chap with, let's face it, a bit of a tummy. He was a similar build and shape to Scott, and, like Scott, had a gut. Not nice, but true. The "after" photo caught our attention, because the gut was noticeably smaller, and he looked far healthier. He had just gone through the "Clean 9" detox. An old school friend of mine is a distributor for the Forever Living company, suppliers of "Clean 9" so we asked for some prices for both of us. Now, it is not a cheap fix, easy-win solution, coming in at over £200 for the two of us, but we both felt very much as though we were stuck in a rut, with Scott going to the gym two or three times a week and me... not going to the gym at all. So we decided to give it a try. And at that price, we are not about to let each other fail.

Essentially, the "Clean 9" is a nine-day cleanse or detox, using a combination of Aloe Vera gel drinks, protein shakes and some supplements. Scott is at Sonisphere on Friday, so is starting his on Saturday, whereas I am off work for a week following our trip to Cornwall, so I have decided to start my cleanse today, so here it is...

Day One. Measurements have been recorded, "before" photos in a suitably matching underwear set have been taken, and instructions have been read through thoroughly. I have set myself some targets, most notably around some daily exercise. 

Flo has preschool today, so I have to get her ready before I start off my detox. First I take two Garcinia gel capsules. I really don't know what each thing specifically does, but these are duly swallowed with some chilled water. These are taken 20minutes before my first dose of Aloe Vera gel/juice, so I take Flo to preschool in the interim. I come home to drink 120ml of Aloe. Oh. My. Goodness! This stuff is vile! It is lumpy, gloopy and bitter-tasting, and after the third sip I am ready to throw it back up. Instead I gulp down half a litre of water until the foul stuff is gone. This had better be worth it. 

My mid-morning "snack" is a couple of "Bee Pollen" tablets. These are chewable, and taste like the worlds tiniest digestive, sweetened with honey rather than sugar. Not bad, but hardly a meal. 

Lunch is definitely the highlight of Day 1 as it involves a chocolate protein shake (Scott gets the vanilla). First I take two more Garcinia capsules, then another dose of Aloe. After that, the milkshake feels hard-earned, but is suitably tasty, if a little powdery. Could do with a dollop of ice cream ;)

I've yet to feel really hungry, so I head on through the afternoon with Flo, doing some crafty gem sticking, and make it through to her dinner time without any real hunger. I make some cheese and tomato pasta for her, resisting the urge to do a bit extra for me, and prepare for my penultimate shot of Aloe, this time with Garcinia before and Bee Pollen after.

I head out for a short bike ride, as daily exercise is part of the plan. Arguably, going from a largely sedentary lifestyle to one with some exercise is going to help my fitness even without the detox, but looking at the bigger picture here, if I can do this for nine days, it will feel more like a habit than a chore by the end, and should therefore be easier to maintain. 

One final shot of Aloe before bed sees the end of day one. I will confess to using some Robinsons Squash'd to make the last two doses of Aloe more palatable, but purely because the leaflet in the Forever Living box says it's ok to add cordial or fruit juice. The difference is remarkable, and I didn't even gag on the last one :) 

So here we are. I'm in bed at the end of day one with a bit of a headache, but a glass of water by my bedside rather than my usual squash. Tomorrow is going to be a good'un, I know it!

Day Two. Still a bit of a headache this morning, but I published day one of my blog to keep me motivated. Aloe Vera gel for breakfast, with another preschool drop-off set me up for the day. Much less inclined to "do stuff" today, so I finished watching Grimm on Netflix. Lazy, I know, but "me time" is a rarity. 

I was slightly daring today, and took my Aloe with me when I picked Flo up, as we were heading into Hythe to meet my brother Mike and his little girl Izzy. I decided to leave my shake until I got home... This ended up being 4pm! I still didn't feel particularly hungry, so my appetite must be changing.

One thing I've noticed with this programme is the effect on my attitude to food. I resent others eating, which is obviously not good. Scott made himself an omelette for dinner, and I loved hearing the sounds of good being prepared. I was very tempted by Flo's left-over pasta, more because I hate waste than because I actually wanted it. Thankfully Marmite stepped in and finished the lot, so temptation was gone.

This evening I have felt quite down. This is partly due to post-holiday blues, but largely down to missing the social side of eating. I'm so looking forward to sitting down for dinner with Flo tomorrow night. I will probably spend most of tomorrow planning my 600cal meal. 

Oh, and watching Masterchef is actually torture when you are on any diet, but more so when you are not eating at all!

I will end on some positives: weighed myself this morning, and have already lost 4lbs (and I know this is water, but water takes up space in my body, making clothes tighter, so I'm happy!). Still not hungry! Had a good walk around Hythe, feeling more energised. So excited about eating actual food tomorrow I might pee!