DAY 6 AND 7 of 7lb in 7 days plan - Finished!

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday. I was very busy with work and when I finally got to sat down, I just wanted to go to bed with a book.

So that's, that. I've finished! Well, I've finished the plan but I haven't finished my journey to good health. The last 2 days have been heaven in the juice department. Theee lots of Passion 4 Juice (I think it should have a different name because it's different ingredients on the Juicemaster Delivered) and a Sherbert Lemonade. What more of a reward could I possibly have wanted?...

Well, there's the clearer skin - tick
More energy - tick
Better sleep - tick
More confidence - tick
Clothes that fit - tick
Healthier cravings - tick.
and the list goes on...

I have found the Juicemaster Delivered thing absolutely fantastic and thank you so much to Jason and his team for giving it me to try out. I shall do a full review over the next few days. I can't wait to show my results with you but need to weigh myself at the same time of day. As that was a morning, you will have to wait until tomorrow!

...but believe me, I KNOW they will be good! I'm basing that on the compliments I've received, the clothes that now fit me and the way I feel.

I also can't wait to show you the results with my eczema. So happy! :-)

DAY 5 of 7lb in 7 Days - Amazing Results Already!

I haven't done it diary style today because I haven't had the time to stop and type as the day goes on like I usually would. I sneakily weighed myself today. I had promised myself I wouldn't but when my new jeans nearly fell down I just couldn't resist it! I'm not going to tell you because there are only 2 days left and I would like to do the grand total instead.

As you can see by the photo my freezer is becoming quite empty. Only 2 days to go!

I had to do the food shop today and what a different experience that was. The things I would normally crave didn't go in the trolley at all. I have been craving salad and chicken all week so that is what I have bought. Loads of fruit and veg too. Suddenly I have found the need to read ingredients and I was horrified to see there is sugar in the precooked chicken pieces that I would normally buy to put on a sandwich.  It was my first port of call when I was thinking of the chicken salad. Instead I bought a chicken, cooked it and shredded it to freeze. I confess I had a small bit but it was better to do that than leave the craving to get worse and worse and then end up eating loads and loads.

You see, my food issue is to binge eat. That's why 5:2 doesn't work with me. I binged (trying to use past tense here) at least twice a week and have done for years. My hubby has worked out that I rebel against myself. I eat healthily with no issues and then rebel. Don't get me wrong,  I don't binge and be sick. I just binge. I'm hoping that by doing this detox it will have broken that habit.

Anyway, I'm feeling like I have come out the other side. Yay!

DAY 4 of 7lb in 7 days - Temptation And Over Halfway!

5.54am - awake with the birds again. In fact it is silent so maybe even birds have a lie in on Saturdays! Traditionally Day 3 is the hardest. I think today and tomorrow will be tough due to circumstances. Through the week, hubby has been eating at work and little one has been eating a quick defrosted, reheated precooked meal of mine that I don't like. Certain pasta dishes for example that i've frozen. However, it is now the weekend and I have both of them at home. I was very ill last night. I had a very bad fever and was shivering as much as I would when having one of my epileptic fits but sweating buckets. It was horrible. I have woken with a worse sore throat than it was before the detox. However, I am persevering! I STRONGLY believe it has nothing to do with the detox because I was already a germ factory (as hubby calls me!) the day before. It is hard doing this when unwell.

10.33am - STILL slurping my 8am juice. Do these things never defrost naturally?! I don't like to put them in warm water because somebody told me it kills the enzymes. This way they most certainly last. Hubby stole my Lemon Ginger Zinger from yesterday. I did my juices in a different order because I don't like that one. Luckily I wasnt hungry enough to want it. Well, more a case of it taking me so long to drink them that the schedule goes wonky. Lol That's a good thing. Anyway, it went into the fridge on Thurs at 6pm. Still mostly frozen when he took it out this morning! I've checked fridge temperature and it agrees with what the digital read out says. They must be well insulated bottles! Lol

7.33pm - been sooooo busy today that i've missed a juice! I've been having the ones I like first so am not too bothered that I haven't had the Detox one. I shall have tomorrow's as usual and hubby is stealing this one. He's very envious that I'm doing this. I'm going to be doing all this for him the week after our holiday. It involves a lot of Super Juice and Turbo Express so that works out well with my planned daily Super Juice.

DAY 4 VERDICT: Sorry that it hasn't been much of a post. I'm not near my tablet all day on busy weekends so the diary format doesn't work very well. Tomorrow's may well be short too as another busy day ahead. I may do more subject orientated posts on Monday. Anything you would like to read about in particular?

DAY 3 of 7lb in 7 Days - Heaven In A Glass...

6.34am - been awake since 3.30am again. That's the second night running. I don't know if it because of this bad cough etc or an effect of detoxing. I can't remember that far back. All I've done is fantasise about making a chicken salad again. The whole process of chopping vegetables, shredding lettuce suddenly seems so appealing. Lol

7.15am - GINGER SHOT- Hmm...I swear that one was stronger than yesterday. However, it was bliss on my sore throat!

8.45am - time for the 3 mile round trip to school walking. I feel weak and heavy.

9.14am - 2 people said I look pale.

9.15am - SUPER JUICE - Now the first juice of today is supposed to be the Lemon Ginger Zinger but I didn't enjoy it the other day. I'm that hungry that I needed the first juice to be one I liked so that I could persevere. I shall have the lemon one later instead.

9.36am - I'm just sat here thinking about the cravings. I've not once craved chocolate. That is so odd.  I can't understand why all I'm craving is healthy food. I guess it is my taste buds resetting? If so then that is motivation enough to continue. Last time I did this my eczema and weight were my driving force. Not this time.

11.27am - believe it or not, I'm still having my first juice. It is slowly defrosting which makes it last. I should be on my second one now but I want to save that until about 12. I'm off to run the Race For Life this afternoon with my 6 year old so need to have some nourishment working it's magic.

12.34pm - Off to run the Race For Life with my little girl at school in a minute. Completely forgot to get my juice out of the fridge so had to defrost it using warm water. (They didn't defrost with what is now 18 hours in the fridge!) Guzzled it whilst watching Jasons new show on youtube. Very funny. I will hopefully have fathomed out how to add a link to it by the time I post this tonight. By the way, I had TURBO EXPRESS instead of the Passion 4 Juicemaster. I want to save that for a treat at the end of the day.

5.45pm - Hubby phoned and in the manner a man would ask "Tell me in detail what you are wearing", I uttered the words "Tell me in detail what you've eaten" and then proceeded to salivate over Toad in the hole and mash with gravy. Lol

8.09pm - I've died and gone to heaven! Passion 4 Juicemaster is divine and way nicer than when we made it. The bottle says apple, pineapple, mango and raw almond nut milk. We had used yoghurt. I have been drinking them straight out of the bottle with a straw but decided this was worth more than that. I served it in a wine glass. It is driving me mad what the taste reminds me of. It should be easy to work it out but I can't. I even let hubby have a slurp and now he can't work it out either. Divine. I excitedly rushed to the chart on the fridge and I have it again on Tuesday. Yay!

DAY 3 VERDICT: Today was the hardest I think. Mainly because I was out of the house between 1pm and 5.30pm. I had expected to be home at 4pm so hadn't got my juice out and had to wait a while.  I had an email from Kirsty where she said today was the hardest. That gave me motivation to get through the day. Still no headache which I'm amazed by. That tells me I wasn't as unhealthy as 2 years ago. I'm feeling very positive, happy and light. Bring on tomorrow!

DAY 2 of 7lb in 7 days - Chicken Cravings, Gagging and a Juicemiss Thief

Day: 2

Miles walked: 5

Total number of minutes pacing kitchen: 45 at least

As an example of how much water retention I have, I measured my waist this morning. I have lost over an inch on my waist...In one day! I will not weigh myself though until the end. The other thing I've lost is 4 hours sleep. I couldn't get back to sleep after waking at 3 am to go to the toilet. I don't usually need to go in the night but all this juice and water made my body decide otherwise. Too much info? Sorry!

7.08am - My GINGER SHOT wasn't as strong today, much to my daughters disappointment. To quote her: "You didn't spin around as much!". This was a fair point. She still licked it out though.

9.48am - Sooooo hungry! I've just walked nearly 2.5 miles to do the school walk. We had to go fast because we were late. As a result I have worked up an appetite. I was thinking about my SUPER JUICE all the way home. I do love the fact that despite being in the fridge for 12 hours (and then on the side for 2 more) it is still icy. It takes me longer to get through. As a result I don't finish it until nearly 11 am.

12.16am - I've had my friendly bacteria and am now enjoying another SUPER JUICE. Yet again it is slushy but that's good. Still craving cold chicken and a salad....

1.30pm - Struggling! Day 2 and I want something that I don't want and am hoping I won't have! Lol I know this is now the withdrawals kicking in because I have been here before....but it isn't helping knowing that. I'm full of cold and feeling bleurgh and really craving tomato soup or mash and gravy (my choice of foods when ill). I got through the urge to chew yesterday because I knew I had a juice bar at 2pm. However, now I know I really don't like dates it has taken that comfort away. Despite being peckish yesterday I only ate half of one. It doesn't help that I know I have a juice containing beetroot to come.  It's silly to feel like this because already within a day I can feel a difference with my jeans. I didn't realise how bloated I get. Anyway, now I have that rant off my chest, I shall persevere on my quest for good health again! It's great that the juices have been made for me because it is keeping me going. Finishing the detox after such a generous offer, is the least I can do! :-)

2.08pm - tried the juice in a bar again but really struggling with the texture so have bagged half up again for later.

2.11pm - want food. Solid food.

2.28pm - there is a quote from Jason about having something and shutting up or don't have it and shut up. Either way, shut up. (What is the actual quote?). Well, I have spent 20 minutes obsessing about food, pacing the kitchen, opening cupboards. I started off wanting a chive cracker. After 20 minutes I had battled and wanted something a lot worse. I had worked myself up to wanting chips out of the freezer! I figured if I carried on like that I would end up doing something more drastic. I have had a cracker and am now shutting up. I'm going to have to find a new SOS because the juice in a bar isn't working. I can't eat bananas. Suggestions?

4.12pm - my daughter asked if she could try some of the juice in a bar that I am saving for later. I came back in from fetching the washing off the line and she had ate the lot! To quote: "It was so yummy that I forgot to stop eating it! Sorry"

My eczema today

5.45pm - SUPER CHUTE - Gaaahhhhhh!  Beetroot and celery and oh I can so taste them! I refused to drink it until my 6 year old said "Mummy, you tell me to have things that I dont like so you HAVE to drink it. You want your skin to get better don't you? And that man said you have to drink it so there!". In case you are wondering "that man" is Jason Vale. He is very well known to our little girl. He is the Juicemaster so she should be called the Juicemiss.  Lol So, yes, I drank it!

6.45pm - I'm really craving bread and butter. Proper fresh bread and lashings of proper butter. I have even convinced myself that I can smell it. Not long until the last juice. Funny thing is that I only eat bread about once a month!

6.57pm - when Kirsty at Juicy HQ first offered me this detox, she gave me a choice of the last juice or a soup. I so wish I had chosen the soup. I want food!

7.12pm - TURBO EXPRESS time. I'm just about to type yum before remembering it has celery in it. I can't taste it so it is officially yum. :-)

DAY 2 VERDICT - I'm amazed that I still don't have a headache. I really thought I would have by now. I'm happy with today's juices because it included my favourite and there was two of them. Tomorrow I have Lemon Ginger Zinger which I don't really like, Super Juice which I love, Passion 4 Juicemaster which I am REALLY looking forward to and Turbo Express which I also now like. I'm also running the Race For Life with my daughter. I hope I don't faint!

DAY 1 - The Mental Hunger Is The Hardest

START WEIGHT: 11 stone 2
WAIST: 36.5 inches
HIPS: 43 inches

5.45am - I'm awake early as usual so thought I may as well get up and start my day. It was very tempting to have the ginger shot straight away but I'm going to save that until everyone else has breakfast. Thankfully my drink of choice these days is always water so that makes in between juices easier this time. The first time I detoxed, I struggled to just have water because back then I hated it. I am wondering if my headaches last time were more dehydration? Yes there are juices but water is needed in between. My first juicece according to the chart is 8am with my second at 11 am. I'm going to stick to my usual schedule due to my habitual eating. I don't have my breakfast until after the school run so will stick to that and have my first juice then.

"Can I try it Mummy?"

7.02am - GINGER SHOT My throat is on fire! It certainly goes to show that we never put enough ginger in! The first clue was when my 6 year old daughter asked to try a tiny bit on a teaspoon. And I do mean a tiny bit. I didn't give any indication of what to expect. She drank half a cup of her morning juice straight after! Lol This then made me nervous to neck mine. When I did I found myself spinning in circles, stomping my feet and going "hachhhhh!" loudly. She thought this was hysterical. She asked me why I would want to drink that and I told her it would be good for my skin. As a result she asked to lick the pot out!...and she did. I love my daughter so much! Note to self: remember to get shot out earlier. I had to put it in warm water to defrost. I've got out juice #1 (love the fact they are numbered) but still frozen solid.

8.05am - Still frozen solid...It has another hour before I need it though. Can't wait for this one. It is the Super Juice and it is my favourite juice and the one I always make if fancy a juice. I drank it every day whilst I was pregnant so maybe that is why my daughter loves it despite it being green. I'm wondering how much like my own it will be.

10.07am - SUPER JUICE - I am now sat here with my 8am Super Juice. To be honest I prefer my own because I smoothie a lot more avocado into it. However it is still yummy! It was still rather frozen so it is like a slushy which is lovely. I also like the fact it is in a blue bottle because it means I can't see if it is turning to the off putting brown.

12.34pm -  SUPER JUICE - At some point I had the friendly bacteria that came with the pack but I forgot my wheatgrass shot! Second juice was lovely but then I knew it would be. Not so slushy this time.

2.11pm - BERRY BOOST BAR - I don't like dates so was a bit apprehensive about this. However, it was lovely to have something to chew on and after I had got used to the texture I enjoyed it. I broke it in half so that I could have some tonight at the time I usually start wanting to snack.

5.12pm - TURBO EXPRESS - Argh! Is time for the dreaded celery. It says it is 4% celery. I would have left that out if making it. Time to try. ...

5.25pm - I held off due to cooking my daughters dinner. Oh believe me I am now struggling due to the smell of food...Mmmmmm. Anyway, I have just tried the TURBO EXPRESS and am shocked. It is the same ingredients as the super juice but with added spinach and celery.... and it is lovely! I naturally had to sacrifice one slurp to my 6 year old. Her verdict is that this one is the nicest so far. That's my girl :-)

7.23pm - LEMON GINGER ZINGER - Hmm. Not my favourite by a long way. Having flash backs to my throat burning this morning. I'm going to persevere with it because it's my last juice of the day and it has ginger in it which I know is good for my skin. I still have the rest of my boost bar to look forward to later at the time when I would usually curl up with a bit of dark chocolate.

DAY 1 VERDICT - So day one is nearly over. I've not been hungry at all. The only hunger I have felt has been of the mental kind. Cooking for little one was the hardest. I've removed tomorrow's juices from the freezer. I know I shall love the first two because they are Super Juice. However the other two I am a tad concerned about. If my memory serves me right, there will be the dreaded beetroot involved! See you tomorrow!

Day 0 - 7lb in 7 days Juicemaster Delivered

Yay! Tomorrow is the day I finally get back to the "new me" of old! I miss that slim healthy woman from before. I've been wondering all day what to have for my last solid meal for a week. I still don't know what to have and it is nearly 6pm. I fancy a beef hotpot quite randomly...

It says in the instructions to remove the following days juices the night before. I opened my freezer and knocked one of the little shot cups. This created a cascading waterfall of shot cups! After crawling around under the table and freezer they are now safely back in there. Oops. It also says to remove the juice from the fridge 2 hours before you have it. As the first one is at breakfast time I shall have to hold off a while.  I would prefer it cold though anyway.

I'm not looking forward to the withdrawal symptoms. I remember the headache well. However I shall look upon it as Harold being starved.  Who is Harold I sense you wondering? I remember in one video Jason suggested naming that part of us that is craving things. I called him Harold. No idea why...

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I have the berry juice bar to look forward to at 2pm. That was a lovely surprise because precisely 2pm is when I usually sit down and relax with some chocolate before going to collect my daughter. That will help with that craving. I am very habitual you see.

My 6 year old daughter had begged to try each juice so it will have to be a very small sip!

Anyway, I will do another post tomorrow to let you know what the juices are like and how the day has gone. I shall also share my stats and a before photo. Wish me luck!

Juicemaster Delivered Parcel Ready for 7lb in 7 Days Detox

It has been a very long time since I have written on this blog but I have decided it is about time I found my juicy mojo again. I disappeared because I felt like I would have let down the members in my Inspired by Jason Vale Facebook group if they knew the truth. I lost my way you see. A lot of bad things happened last year and I turned to food. I don't drink or smoke so it was my natural response.  I piled my weight back on despite walking over 5 miles a day. I got my sweet tooth back and chocolate became my frenemy (is that the phrase? Friend/enemy).

So I disappeared into the background and got on with life....slowly. Well I hit rock bottom last week. I had been talking to a new friend over a smoothie in a cafe and remembered my before and after photos on my phone. I showed her them quite proudly. However, I hadn't looked at them in over a year and realised that I looked like my before photo. The worst of it is that I was sat there wearing the jeans that I was so proudly holding up as "fat" jeans in the after shot!

I went home and cried. I hadn't even realised. I sat and wrote a post in the facebook group about how I either needed to quit the group or I needed to sort myself out. I was immediately flooded with comments and in the end had nearly 100 supportive comments. I confess I cried when one person said that knowing I struggled too actually helped her. I now think the group would have benefited more if I had been honest when I was struggling earlier. I know that I would certainly feel less of a failure if I knew Jason had sat there with a cream bun or 3 now and then. Lol

Well, I then got an email from Kirsty at Juicy HQ saying that they would like to send me a 7lb in 7 days detox package! I cried yet again. It was a very overwhelming hour or two.

The box arrived yesterday. I shall do a full review once I have tried them of course but here is my initial opinion. They arrived extremely well packaged. Each bottle had its own little hole in polystyrene.  Off the top of my head I would say the bottles are a bit bigger than an Innocent smoothie bottle. Each bottle is clearly labelled with what it is, what's in it, what day it is for and what number juice. I found this particularly helpful in how I stored them in the freezer. There will be no rooting around for each recipe.

It also came with little containers of shots. I immediately remembered the first time we tried ginger shots and the faces we pulled! I also remember that we then added more and more ginger each time to get the same effect! Lol We nearly didn't discover the shots because they were in a layer underneath and it was only as we noticed the inventory list had fell on the floor that we realised we had something else to find.

Also enclosed was 8 Berry Boost energy bars for an SOS, a booklet called Life After The Juice Programme,  a timetable and a welcome letter.

They recommend 2 and a half drawers but I found it fitted very easily into the freezer on 2 shelves with space to spare.

I shall be starting my detox on Wednesday 24th June. I know it is an odd day to start but my wedding anniversary is on Monday and then on Tuesday I have already arranged a day out.

I really, truly can't wait to start this. Thank you to Juicy HQ and to Jason.

I shall be blogging daily. See you on the 24th!