Day Four #Clean9detox

What a positive day Day Four has been for me. Today I have found the plan easy peasy! 

I gave myself a nice lie-in today and woke up around 10am (it is bank holiday Monday afterall!). I wasn't at all hungry and so I allowed myself to wake up a bit before having breakfast. So around 11ish I had:

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20mins before the aloe). 

120ml of Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water. 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra + 300ml of either skimmed or soya milk. I combined the two today. 

After breakfast I was full- not that I had been particularly hungry in the first place! Due to a later start and my lack of appetite I forgot to take 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets for a snack before lunch. (I had the tablets in the evening instead). 

For lunch I had: 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20mins before the shake). 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra + 300ml of soya milk. (Definitely prefer the shake with soya milk rather than skimmed, it's less sweet). 

2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. 

I counted shopping as my exercise today as I did a fair amount of walking. Also if you're into clothes shopping you'll know it can be more energetic and tiring than a workout sometimes. Blog post to come on my purchases later!

Finally dinner. By which point I was quite hungry (around 5:30pm). 

120ml of Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water. 

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20mins before the meal). 

A 600 calorie meal (processed food nor recommended). 

2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets

As you can guess from the picture, I again had pork. Not because I didn't know what else to eat, but simply for the fact that it was a spare chop leftover from yesterday and it's quite possibly my favourite meat. I only had the one this time though, and instead had two small baked potatoes, 1 tomato and a chopped cucumber. I also added a teaspoon of butter and halved it onto my potatoes. This gave my meal more flavour and I really enjoyed every mouthful. For pudding I made myself a mini fruit salad containing an apple, strawberries and an apricot. Yum yum!

( Like yesterday, I used food scales to weigh out my food and the MyFitnessPal app to calculate the calories). 

Around 8pm I took my earlier forgotten Bee Pollen tablets. 

It's now just gone 11pm and I'm about to get into bed. Feeling really good about today and I'm very confident I will complete the Clean9 plan :)

X

Day Three #Clean9detox

Hello! Today was Day Three in my nine day detox and I can tell you it has been so much easier than yesterday! AND I was very impressed with my results so far. 

Before I tell you about how my day went, I'll tell you how the plan has worked for me so far and reveal my results. 

Drum roll....

Surprisingly I have in fact lost 2kg in weight and even more shockingly a whole 2 inches around my waist! I was stunned at these readings because being pretty thin and toned already I wasn't really expecting to see any physical results- more just a energy boost and feeling less sluggish I guess! So yes, very happy so far!

So, what did I eat today?

I woke up at around 9am feeling very hungry. The type of hunger where you feel a bit sick! So I quickly opted for breakfast. Today this consisted of: 

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before the aloe). 

120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water. 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk (or you can do skimmed milk). 

Let me tell you I was super pleased about the addition of the vanilla shake for breakfast as I do really enjoy them. In fact I aim to continue having them after a hard gym session post finishing the clean9 plan. 

As the shake tends to do, my hunger was relieved shortly after having it and I felt fine. I did a little bit of this and that before taking my snack of 2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water around 11ish. 

At 12 noon I decided to go for a swim. The plan recommends 20 minutes of daily light exercise such as a walk, run, cycle or swim. It is also recommended that you don't do too much exercise as this could possibly affect your results with building muscle etc. However, considering I'm referred to as a fitness freak or gym junkie...I could go on...I figured I may aswell live as I normally do and do the same exercise routine. Based on the fact I always do similar amounts of exercise each week I'm guessing aswell that I won't be shocking my body and building muscle fast, in fact I reckon I've pretty much built all the muscle I can for now! 

So, I swam for around 40 minutes. A nice leisurely lane swim and I really enjoyed it. I don't know if this is just me but whenever I go swimming I always feel starving shortly after leaving the pool. Indeed I started to get hungry and I headed home for my lunch (around 2ish), which was:

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before the shake). 

1 scoop of Forever Lite Ultra with 300ml of soya milk. 

2x Bee Pollen tablets + min 240ml of water. 

Again I really enjoyed the shake and I was pleased that there was no Aloe Vera Gel in this meal because, whilst it's good for you and a key part to the plan, it's not pleasant tasting and I have to hold my nose and shot it quickly. 

After that I was busy doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and that entertained me for a while :) Then at around 6pm it was dinner time! I was so excited! Actual FOOD! However before I could eat a proper meal I had to have:

120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + min 240ml of water, followed by

2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules (20 mins before a meal). 

Then I could have a meal equivalent to 600 calories. *Please note that this meal should not contain processed foods. 

2x Bee Pollen tablets. 

As you probably saw above in the photo, I decided to have 2 small pork loin chops, a small baked potato, boiled carrots and boiled mushrooms. I added in a slice of honey dew melon for dessert. I calculated the calories by weighing the food and using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone to roughly work out what was what. 

Technically I could have been a little bit naughty and put on a couple of spoons of instant gravy, however I decided I wasn't that desperate and would prefer to try and follow the plan strictly. Regardless, I fully enjoyed every mouthful! It's funny how when you haven't eaten for so long it makes you appreciate food so much more. Delicious! 

Since then I've been drinking water like the plan suggests and I have to say I've remained full. It's just gone 9:25pm now and I'm getting ready to relax and catch-up on last nights' Dr Who! <3

Feeling much more positive after having had some real food today and getting some great results already! 

Day Three, done!

X

My ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

So I got nominated and it's a really great cause, so click the picture to see my Ice Bucket Challenge video!

Donate by texting ICED55 to 70070

x

Elemis Tan Accelerator

Hello. So I cannot believe I haven't blogged about this before! It's Elemis' Tan Accelerator lotion and it's amazing. It's without question one of my most used and loved products of all time. 

So what is it? ... Well, as it says in its name, it does indeed accelerate a tan. It's pretty good for that actually. However this is not the reason I first purchased the product. 

When I was younger I'd often go on a couple of abroad holidays each year and whilst I enjoyed going away, my skin didn't. More often than not I'd break out in awful pricky heat rashes. If you've ever experienced prickly heat yourself, you'll know how unpleasant and uncomfortable it is. 

May 2011, Greece. I developed the most severe prickly heat rash on my stomach that I had ever experienced and to be honest it ruined my holiday. I was miserable! However during that time my friend told me about this 'tan accelerator thing' that helps to prevent prickly heat and sunburn. I was certainly interested. 

So prior to my holiday in Septemeber 2011 to Gran Canaria, I bought myself a bottle of the Elemis Tan Accelerator. It recommends it's best to apply the lotion about one to two weeks prior to your holiday to help prep your skin. I used the lotion like I would a body moisturiser and applied it all over my body once a day for about 14 days. 

The result: A fantastic holiday in the sun, without any rashes or sunburn! Amazing. Obviously, as a then pale skinned person, I was also using high factor sun cream, but I didn't experience any sunburn. Usually I would still burn a bit, with or without sun cream as my skin was that sensitive! 

I enjoyed using the product so much that after my holiday I decided to continue using the lotion and bought another bottle. Why?
1) The smell. It's delicious. I can't quite describe the scent but I really love it. I suppose it reminds me of holidays.
2) Good skin moisturiser. It's very easy to rub in and instantly sinks into your skin. I don't find it sticky and it does lightly tint your skin.
3) Great for sunbed use. Yes, I know, sunbeds are BAD. However I do enjoy a quick sess every so often and find the lotion really helps to protect your skin whilst accelerating the tan as it were!
4) I figured if I ever go abroad again, my skin will already be prepped and ready for the heat.
I've been using this on a weekly basic ever since...So, wow, pretty much 3 years!
At £22 from the likes of John Lewis, it's not particularly cheap but the fact that I continually repurchase speaks volumes in my eyes! It depends on how often you use it and how much you apply, but on average I get through a bottle about every 5-6weeks. If however you want it prior to a holiday and you're applying all over your body everyday, then I'd say a bottle (125ml) would last you 10-14 days depending on how liberally you apply.
All in all I'd give this product 10/10 and would recommend it to anyone, especially the fairer-skinned population! 

Day two #Clean9detox

Day two and alive and well! :)

*Please note that the plan for Day Two is the same as Day One's so if I speak about breakfast, lunch and dinner and you're interested in what this entails then please read Day One. 

I woke up a little hungry this morning at around 8:45am. I proceeded with breakfast and this helped to relieve the hunger, however I did have a ever so slight headache at this point. Nothing to warrant pills or anything but there was definitely a niggle there. 

I snacked on the Foever Bee Pollen tablets (x2) around 10:30am, at which point the headache seemed to go away. At 12:15pm I felt quite hungry but just drank water for a little while before helping myself to lunch. However rather than the skimmed milk I opted for unsweetened soya milk in my vanilla shake today. I really enjoyed this and liked it more than the skimmed milk as it was less sweet and not sickly at all (which I know some people complain about). 

I then went for a steady 1.5 hour walk with a friend. I felt good and it took my mind off of food. However around 4:30pm I got really hungry and had to try really hard to fight the urge to eat something. I just drank some more water and tried to distract myself. 

At about 6:30pm I had my dinner/tea and surprisingly felt quite full after having this. A few hours later I took my final dose of the Aloe Gel along with more water. 

Now at 11:20pm I feel quite good. I'm quite tired but I'm glad I didn't feel the need to nap today. Maybe if I'd have been at home then I might have had a little sleep but because I stayed busy it wasn't a problem. 

I would guess at this point that Day Two is quite possibly the hardest of all the nine days because on

Day One you had eaten real food the day before and it's new and exciting and in Day Three you get to eat a 600cal meal of real food again. So Day Two is hard because you're hungry from Day One and you're missing the concept of eating food, chewing and tasting etc. 

Bring on Day Three! :D

X

Day one #Clean9detox

Hello. So I've made it through day one and it hasn't been too bad! :)

I woke up feeling really positive about the detox but a little scared I'd be too hungry and have to give in and eat something. BUT I managed to follow the plan to a tea today so if you're interested in what Day One looks like then keep reading!

For breakfast (8:45am) I had 2 of the Forever Garcinia Plus capsules. It recommends you take these 20 minutes before the next step, so I got myself ready for the day before taking 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. (Let me tell you, the gel isn't very pleasant tasting at all so I held my nose and drank it fast which seemed to work pretty well!) 

It then says to incorporate 20 minutes of exercise. As I went to show rehearsals (I'm in a musical) I counted that as my exercise. 

Around 11am I went ahead and had my allowed snack of 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets + 240ml of water- the water is a minimum recommendation btw, so I've been drinking 250ml bottles each time. 

At about 12 noon I started to feel a bit peckish. This slight hunger continued until 1pm when I went for lunch/dinner, whatever you call it! For this I had 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules 20 mins prior to another helping of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. I was then very pleased to have a vanilla shake (you get a choice of chocolate or vanilla when you order the plan). The shake was made up of one scoop of powder and 300ml of skimmed milk. This was like heaven. It tasted so nice after not having had any food and only drinking water and was the closest thing to a meal I guess. I then took 2x Forever Bee Pollen tablets. 

After lunch I felt a lot more revived and not hungry at all. I then set off for a dentist appointment and after leaving the practice at around 2:30pm I did start to feel a bit tired. The long drive home didn't help and I felt really sleepy by the time I got in. Often I'll have a power nap if I have chance, so taking a nap wasn't something I did specially because of the plan. However I did sleep for around 2 hours- a little longer than I would usually!

For dinner/tea (6:30ish) I took 2x Forever Garcinia Plus capsules 20 mins prior to another helping of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. Then I had 2 more Forever Bee Pollen tablets, before leaving for a pamper party. 

Whilst at the party I had a really good time trying beauty products etc and didn't even think about food. I just drank water which wasn't a issue because I was driving anyway. 

I arrived home at around 10:30pm and had my final dose of 120ml of the Aloe Vera Gel + 240ml of water. 

Now it's 11:15pm and I'm feeling fine. Perhaps a little bit peckish but I'll be off to bed shortly so tomorrow is a new day! My friends who have done the Clean9 plan said the first two days were the hardest but by day three you can have real food again! Looking forward to Day three haha :)

Wish me luck! 

X

Clean9 Cleanse

Hello. So tomorrow I'm starting a 9-day cleanse, following the Clean9 plan. 

You may have perhaps heard of it? If not, then basically it's a plan to help get rid of the toxins and nasty stuff that'd built up in your body. 

Many people lose weight, shed inches around their body, tone up and define. The increase in energy and feeling better in yourself is also made note of. 

So, I thought I'd give it a go!

I shall be doing an update on how I'm getting on following the plan with a series of blog posts everyday using #clean9. In those posts I will also give more information on exactly what the plan entails. 

Wish me luck!!! :)