Detox Diary: Humpday 3 of 5 Juice Cleanse with Beauty Cleanse

I am an extremist. A total health nut or go all crazy on the sweets and end up in a carbiside (carb-suicide), which I'm guilty of, the past 2-3months. So when this whole juice cleanse hype came along, it caught my attention yet I didn't wanna jump into another fad diet and was a little apprehensive on taking just liquids.

But at the same time, all that holiday feasting unlocked my dark side of uncontrollable desserts and sugary cravings that's beginning to get out of hand. Plus all that late nights and feasting, I was definitely thrown off the healthy bandwagon and seems like my body was a waste basket. The best solution:

cold turkey!! 

I was so excited when the good people of Beauty Cleanse and Jayne from Nuffnang came to my rescue  to pull me back into a healthy clean regime with their nutritionally customized cold pressed juice. I had to start somewhere, why not here!

Reasons for detox:

1) Give my body a much needed rest from all the binge eating

2) Flush out toxins from all the "goodies" I've accumulated

3) Reset my metabolism from all that yo-yo fad diets 

4) Say Bye Bye to the sugarholic in me

5) Hello to glowing, radiant skin and rid of excess weight and water.

So here goes...

What I did for Pre-Cleanse:

Cut down on meat, poultry, wheat, dairy, sugary drinks, high fat food.

Introduce lots of raw fruits and vege into your diet.

Hydrate with lots of water and a slice of lemon with water in the morning.

Avoid a big dinner before your cleanse to ease your body into it.

The juices were personally delivered by Beauty Cleanse the night before, comprising of a cool storage bag with 18 juices ( the remaining 2 days will be delivered on day 3 to maintain its freshness), and a few organic supplements, which include, the Colosan Powder, Spirulina, Acai Berry, Flaxseed Oil, Green Superfood, Milk Thistle and Pu-er Tea. These supplements aim to support your cleanse and maximize the potential benefits.  You may also to chose to have the cleanse without the supplements.

Day 1 Tuesday:

9am: Warm lemon water, Carrot Blend(carrots, celery, cucumber), 1tbsp of Colosan Powder *laxative effect*

11am: Light green vege juice Blend (apple, cucumber, celery, kale, ginger)

A really light blend and tasted pretty alright and nutritous. It has a slight raw taste but manageable.

12.30pm: Time to break a sweat.

Exercise is encouraged to promote the detoxification process

2pm: Purple Blend (beetroot, red cabbage, apple, celery, ginger) 

This definitely replenished my energy, kinda yummy and not too sweet.

3pm: Baking Time. You must be wondering if I cheated. Nope! A couple of friends b'days were round the corner and yeaps I managed to bake without being tempted to try. Seems like this whole juice thing is working its wonders. I wasn't hungry or craving any sweets or solids. 

430pm: Dark green vege blend (celery, cucumber, mint, romaine)

With the exception of the minty taste, this one was a little hard to swallow. It's basically a full on vege juice.

7pm: Spicy Lemonade (cayenne peppers, lemon, honey)

 This blend is one of my top fav!! It's refreshing and helps to curb off any cravings by dinner time. I like how the cayenne peppers give a nice spicy twist to your usual honey lemon drinks.

9pm: Cashew nut milk (cashew nuts, cinnamon, honey)

I heated this one up cos I wasn't used to so much cold liquid and having something warm in my tummy was gonna make me feel better. This is another hot fav! Perfect drink before bed time. I'm not a milk fan, nor have the habit of drinking milk. But surprisingly, it doesn't have the overly rich and creamy milky taste, but a light wholesome flavour and I like the cinnamon added to it.

My thoughts: I didn't feel hungry the whole day. No headaches, nor dizzy spells, no dessert cravings or craving for solid food. And I felt pretty good and all ready for a good night's rest. 

No problems running around the whole day, with the exception of having a number of runs to the bathroom.

Definitely enough energy to get through a normal day smoothly.

Day2 Wednesday:

Added a ginger tea to my AM routine, cos I was starting feeling a little bloated.

Mix and match the juices a little, but keeping the carrot blend as the 1st one and the nut milk as the last and an hour or so before bedtime.

I managed to resist the breakfast spread *curry puff, kueh kueh, sandwiches, banana cake, chocolate truffle cake* O_O at script read, kept reminding myslef, "You're only cheating yourself!!"

The downside of this cleanse is that your tummy might feel bloated and kept wanting to run to the bathroom. The beauty cleanse team assured me that it's normal and perhaps it's the effervescent effect of the colosan powder.

Day 2 has got to be the hardest for me, cos I was really craving hot soupy food and started to get a little cranky. Working on a heavy schedule on this day might be a little tough, especially on your colleagues cos you might get a little snappy.

Took some peppermint tea to help with the bloatedness and nettle tea for the water retention.

Day 3 Thursday:

Today I'm feeling alot better!! 

Gone is the bloated and sloshing of liquids in my tummy feeling. Starting to really enjoy and embrace my cleanse, by chewing on my juices as suggested and taking this whole process with a positive attitude :)

I managed to get through work and a shoot quite smoothly. In fact, I wasn't feeling lethargic or hungry. I guess keeping yourself moderately busy is advisable cos you keep you mind off any cravings. Though I was craving some proper food, I didn't feel hungry at all. And the amazing thing is, I was craving for clear hot vege soups, or a vege noodle soup. In fact, the thought of greasy hawker food is making feel a little nauseous.

Stay tuned for the next 2 days of my cleansing commentary. I'm down for 2 scrumptious dinners and a lunch meeting this weekend, and let's just all see how I'm gonna fare. ahh I'm getting a little worried too....

Pillow was licking the colourful bottle and wanted some too

Get back into my skinny jeans SHAPE UP PLAN

Lemme guess, every February, it's the same story...you're faced with post-holiday pineapple tart coma, kueh bolu tummy tops, and then you're trying to convince yourself that those skinny jeans must have shrunk in the wash *wink*. I'm no stranger to post-holiday diet guilt and sometimes go on a rampage to lose that muffin top with fad diets and telling myself "I'm not eating ever again!" Then the hunger pangs sets in, and you're back to square 1. There's nothing wrong with enjoying an extra cake or kueh during the festivities, but that doesn't mean you can't get back into shape. Now that the holidays season is over, it's back to life, back to reality...take a peek into my list of things to get back into shape.

First up: Don't skip meals
One common mistake I'm guilty of is all-or-nothing, which is a no-no when it comes to dieting. Cos this will only mess up your metabolism more than your holiday pig outs. Focus on taking nutritious, balanced 200-300 calorie meals 4-6 times a day.
An example would be a hard boiled egg with an avacado on a whole wheat toast (~200 cal)
Homemade slice fish bee hoon soup (~350 cal)
1/4 cup of almonds (~200 cal)
1 apple (~70-100cal)
baked salmon steak (~250 cal)
stir fry veggies (~150 cal)
It's not just about calorie counting, but eat a variety of foods, with a rough proportion of 1/2 the plate of veges, 1/4 complex carbs, and 1/4 proteins (about the size of your palm).
And eat like a princess, small bites and chew more! Cos most of your digestion starts in your mouth.

via andypost.com
add herbs like basil, dill and chopped mangoes to spice up your healthy meals

Drink up
Sip water all day instead of downing and gulping it all in. You've also probably heard about drinking 1-2 glasses before meals. This made more sense to me after reading an article lately. Other than filling yourself up, drinking water while eating will actually dilute the enzymes essential for digesting your food. Hence, drinking about 10-15 mins before meals is advisable, furthermore, it takes about 20 mins for your brain to realize you are full, so by drinking 10-15mins in advance, it will probably help you feel satiated and prevent you from overeating.
Recently I've also been adding Cinnamon Tea to my diet. Personally, I think it does help with my digestion and circulation. I don't feel so bloated after or in-between meals, and I feel 'warmer' as I'm prone to cold fingers and feet, hence better circulation overall. Studies have shown numerous benefits of cinnamon, such as lowering cholesterol, blood sugar levels, anti-bacterial, anti-oxident properties and supports healthy weight loss by giving your metabolism a boost!

Boil 1 stick of cinnamon with 1 1/2 cups of water and let it steep for about 20 mins.

Sweat it out
You can't run away from the good old fashion way to get fit. That is to sweat it out, be it in the gym, at home, or even doing household chores. Recently I've been plagued with a pull in my ligament behind my knee, but that's no excuse to shy off exercise. I've been staying away from lower body workouts, but here are 2 videos that can tone up those flabby arms and banish those kueh bolo muffin tops. Don't aim to camp out in the gym, cos just 30 mins a day is good to get you started. But say you're feeling lazy a couple of days a week, don't do nothing! Even 5 mins of simple cardio, pushups, or climbing the stairs amount to something. Basically, just do it even if it's for 5 mins, beats having done nothing at all.

5-4-3-2-1 workout
if you have 5 mins:
1 min high knees
1 min jumping jacks
1 min mountain climbers
1 min run on the spot
1 min burpees

4 mins:
1 min lunge
1 min mountain climbers
*repeat 2x*

3 mins:
10 push ups
15 tricep dips
15 booty lift bridges aka glute bridge
*repeat untill 3 mins*

2mins:
30 squats
30 V push ups

1min:
plank/side plank

*dont forget to warm up and cool down*  


Get a hobby
This is something I struggle with everytime I plan to go on a diet or get in shape. Getting obsessed about losing numbers but end up adding on my food cravings! I figured the best way was to divert my attention to something else. Get started on a pet project or interested in something new, to get your mind off eating for a bit, and it'll help you wean off those sugar cravings at least for a bit.

via metzgerbusiness.pressbooks.com

Smart Swops
Make smart swops in your everyday choices. For instance, swopping white rice for brown rice or Quinoa. Quinoa (always have troubles pronouncing this, "keen-wah"), the supergrain of the future is rich in proteins and fiber. And it's flexible, you can either have it as a sweet breakfast porridge or savoury as you would with your rice/noodles.
Swop the use of bottled drinks into "lightweight equipment" you can use as mini dumbbells instead of emptying it into your stomach and filling yourself with non-nutritonal empty calories.
Swop the lift and take the stairs instead.
And if all else fails, swop those skinny jeans into relax fit for just a bit. Don't fret about losing weight fast, cos if you're gonna lose it fast, chances are you're gonna put it on faster and heavier.  
Cut yourself some slack and get back on the fit wagon healthy and gradually and dieting won't seem so scary after all.

via womenshealthmag.com

via theguardian.com