DAY 0 - The Day Before The Detox - Before Photos

It's that time again. Tomorrow I start the Big Juice Spring Clean detox organised by Jason Vale. It's also known as the 5lb in 5 days programme. This time I couldnt give a poop about the weight loss. I just want my freedom back.

After the 7 day detox back in January, I had my freedom back. Freedom from the food trap and freedom from the 35 year eczema trap. For the first time in my life I could proudly hold out my hand for change in a shop. I could proudly shake hands with someone and I could deal with food for visitors without feeling the need to put gloves on. I wasn't ashamed for the first time in my life and I am eternally grateful to Jason for giving me that freedom.

However, after nearly 3 months of eating solid foods. (occasionaly unhealthy ones but 95% healthy) I am right back where I started. I'm coming to the conclusion that maybe strawberries are a culprit? I LOVE strawberry and banana smoothies you see.

Anyway, I've decided to upload the before photos for this detox. Please look away now if you're easily repulsed. (Click to enlarge...if you dare)

How To Juice Fast

This is a great video if one of your  non juicing excuses is "It takes too long". No it doesn't, as Jason proves in this video.

Emotional Eating With A Twist

I wasn't going to blog again today but something odd just happened with regards to emotional eating. As you may (or may not) know I have a real problem with responding to emotions using food.

I had promised my 4 and a half year old lunch out as it is the last day of Easter holidays. We have a half hour walk to our cafe that does fresh smoothies. We were about 5 minutes away and she was screaming about something. She was going on and on and on and I was getting more and more gggrrr.

I turned and said if she didn't stop screaming and shouting (I can't even remember what the hissy fit was about) then I would turn around and walk home. She carried on. We set off on our 25 minute walk home.

By the time we got through the door I was feeling faint (honestly) with hunger. I was also fuming and usually my response would be to stuff my face with the most fatty calorie laden food I could find.....BUT.....

...I didn't. I was soooo angry that I was missing out on my smoothie in my favourite cafe that I decided to make my own! I ended up making a batch soooo big that the fridge is full of flasks and I've already had a pint glass! I can't believe how productive I got in anger. Shame I didn't use it on the housework. lol

Anyway, this is the recipe. There would be a photo but I drank it in anger too. lol

Take 5 apples and juice them by pushing the thingymajig down whilst going GRRRR
Grab 2 bananas and peel them imagining all your anger stripping away.
Instead of chopping them, rip them into little bits and fling into the blender.
Grap a several handfuls of summer berries, and squish them in your hands to remove stress before putting into the blender.
 Pour the apple juice into the blender calmly (or you'll get wet!)
Switch the blender on to full purely so it makes a lot of noise whilst you say "GGRRRR" until you feel better.
Pour into a glass, pop a straw in and sit back and relax. 

This makes a LARGE batch. lol

Spring Detox Starts Monday!

I've not posted for a while but this is due to a busy life. When I do get on the laptop I'm sorting out the facebook group of the same name. Click here to join

We have 187 members to date and I'm anticipating quite a lot more once the detox starts on April 8th. Well, this will only happen if somebody mentions it on Jasons page of course.

I can't believe that 3 months down the line the group is still so popular. I originally started it just to keep in touch with about 10 of the people that I'd got used to reading on Jasons page through the Worlds Biggest Juice Detox in January. It was supposed to be continued support. Word got out and it got busier and busier and as a result I've made LOADS of  new friends. :-)

The group has got me through many blips and I can say without a doubt that if it wasn't for the group I'd have gone back to my old ways.

Today I asked in the group what the most inspiring things that Jason has said that stick in their minds. I have a terrible memory so will paraphrase my favourites.

Eat it and shut up, or don't eat it but SHUT UP! I hear that when I'm having a craving of some sort.

I also like the one about moping around hoping I won't eat something that I don't want. Or something like that. It is soooo true.

So, an update on where I am just before the Spring Detox starts. I weigh 10stone 1 pound which means a total of 16 lb loss since January 7th. I would give my measurements but its something I didn't do. I'd love to know how many inches I've lost. I can say that I've gone from a supermarket size 14 to a supermarket size 10. Admittedly they are slightly stretchy jeans but I do have a pair of supermarket size 10s that I can very nearly do up. I use the phrase "supermarket jeans" because I know that Next and other high street would label those as size 12. I say that because I bought some size 10 Next jeans that I plan to get into!

So, nearly time for the Big Juice Spring Clean. (also known as 5lb in 5 days) If you haven't yet got Jasons book then the link is below.

The Effect Of One Day Of Not Juicing

Today I went into town to meet my best friend. We were meeting early so it meant I had to catch the earlier bus. Because of this it meant practically getting out of bed and out the door. I figured one morning without juice would do no harm. WRONG!

By the time we got to town I was starving. We went to a cafe in Asda and I bought a bottle of water. By the time I'd got to the till I'd been smelling the bacon for 5 minutes. I stood there drooling and the girl said "It won't do you any harm!". I figured one bacon butty wouldn't do any harm and I was starving. I ordered one. Whilst she was serving it up we got chatting about diet. I said it I'd been juicing for 3 months and had lost 16lb. She was amazed and I ended up having to write all Jasons details down on the back of my bus ticket for her!

I sat down with my bacon butty. The first bite was scrumptious (I now know that was because I was ending the hunger). The second was not so yummy. The third tasted of fat. The fourth never happened becauseI put it in the bin.

About 10 minutes later the tingling began in my fingers. I just knew that it was going to be a flare up of my eczema. I try so hard not to scratch in public but within seconds it had turned into a burning and they had gone red and inflamed. I just couldn't hold back. Within another 5 minutes I was bleeding quite badly. I was also very angry at myself.

My friend and I went on the hunt around town for somewhere that sold smoothies or fresh juice. One place (where we ended up having lunch) billed their juice on the menu as "Fresh apple juice". This turned out to be from a carton. There should be a law against that!

Anyhow, I didn't get back to my own town until about 5pm. By then my smoothie cafe was closed, my hands were wrecked and so was my self-esteem. I got home and did a juice but the damage was done.

I'm hoping that they will heal over night but I'm not going to hold my breath. That was the damage caused by not juicing all day.

Seven Stages of Avocados

I just had to add this because it amuses me. I swear it also applies to pears! Anyone who knows me will know that I call Avocados "Avo-piggin-cados".

I remember the 7 day detox. I ended up doing the first 5 days minus the avocados and spent those 5 days cursing them. It was almost as if every morning if I said to them "Ripen for Pete's sake!" that they would. Can I now add that Avo-piggin-cados are deaf also. ;-)

Had a Blip? This Will Help....

For those morning after the blip days......