Results of my JuiceToU Detox

My Results

So I finally finished my JuiceToU detox and could not wait to get up this morning to jump on the scales and to my utter delight I had lost 4 pounds (2kg) over the last 3 days plus 3cm off my waist and I noticed how nicer my skin looks.

I am pleased with my results and even more proud of myself for the amount of willpower I asserted at the chocolate facial party I attended. I ate a few carrots and a bit of cucumber but if you saw what was on offer you too would be proud.

So in summary........

Juicing is NOT easy, it takes determination and willpower but EVERYONE can do it! I see willpower as a muscle which needs to be challenged to become stronger, the more you exert it the stronger it will become.

I have enjoyed my three days JuiceToU detox and will definitely be returning to JuiceToU to provide me with with another detox later this year. I think detoxing is a great thing to do every couple of months not only to give your digestive system a break, boost your intake of vitamins and nutrients but also to make us think about the quality and quantity of food that we consume, it can also be a time to reflect and refocus on continuing a healthy lifestyle.

Juicing rocks!! 

Day 3 of my JuiceToU Detox

Day 3

The last day on my JuiceToU detox has arrived and I can’t say it’s been horrible, I feel slimmer but most of all I feel healthy. I can actually pull my stomach in tight like I used to when I was a kid, there is still a fat belly there but its going to take more than 3 days to sort that out! lol

My working day actually went fast due to being busy so I did not really think much about food during the day although one of my colleagues at work insisted on reading a dinner menu out loud which made my mouth water. I also had to pop to the garden centre on my way home which has a gorgeous farm style shop there and loads of homemade cakes.

Ive just drunk my last Berry Good juice which is my favourite of the 4 and I'm ready to go to sleep so I can wake up to a healthy small breakfast in the morning, but no I still have my biggest challenge ahead of me tonight in the form of a chocolate facial party!!! rarrrggghhh You don't eat the chocolate on your face but the host has prepared cup cakes and other naughty chocolate delights plus purchased a few bottles of chilled wine. How on earth am I going to resist? I plan on taking some bits home and sharing them with the family over the weekend. I cannot let myself down after my 3 day achievement so I am just going to have to use the most amount of willpower EVER!

Exercise today - I did an ab workout with the girls and had no problems with dizziness etc.

Side Effects - nothing major to report but I did have a few little black dots over my eyes first thing this morning but it disappeared after 20 mins, lack of food can effect your eyesight so its worth noting but it was nothing to worry about.

Times I felt hungry today: I have to be honest and say that after I left work I felt ravenous and gave in again to a couple of carrot sticks and a bit of celery - no one said it would be easy but at least I ate some vegetables rather than a mars bar!

So tomorrow morning is weigh-in day and I am hoping for at least 3 pounds off.........only time will tell.......see you in the morning!

Day 2 of JuiceToU

Hi everyone

Day 2 of my detox arrived and what a wonderful day outside it was the sun was shining and the tunes on the radio this morning were pumping!

I woke up this morning with a slightly flatter stomach and felt good. Last time I did a 7 day detox it took till day 4 before I felt this good so my body must be getting used to detoxing. Some people I know who have juiced before wake up feeling quite weak and nauseous on day 2 so if anyone feels like that have a warm herbal tea with lemon in before your juice. Because I have a food addition (read my previous posts) it’s always a wonderful feeling for me when I feel in control of my compulsion to eat unhealthy food because if I can deal with the cravings during a detox then it enables me to deal with them on a normal day, I find the cravings a challenge because I know the detox will only last 3 days and then I can get back onto eating healthy.

So 4 juices again to drink today and the flavours are exactly the same as yesterday:

Juice 1 - Clean Green still can’t say I am in love with the taste but then with all the sweetness I have had recently it does not surprise me that I find it so different!

Juice 2 – Let’s Glow went down pretty quickly as I find this one quite zesty.

Juice 3 – Clean Green, can’t believe I nearly missed this juice today due to being engrossed in work! Rare thing for me to miss eating/drinking.

Juice 4 -  Very Berry - did not leave work till late so had to drink this on the way home in the car at 7.30pm by which time I was ratty, hungry and gave in to a carrot stick in the fridge :( note to self - try and stick to the times recommended on the bottle!

Times I felt hungry today: Twice so I had at least 3 extra herbal teas today. Blueberry tea is actually really nice but going to bed early helps! Drank my 2 litres of water and must have visited the toilet for a no1 about 20 times (I bet that's why you lose weight! lol)

Side effects: None.

I also exercised today with the girls at lunchtime but I did not overdo and I felt completely normal, no light headiness or fatigue.

What I find astonishing is other people’s reactions to juicing. There has been a real mix of opinions on juicing in my office/home life, some think I am completely bonkers (although no one says I don’t need to! lol) others are really encouraging and like to see me as the guinea pig before they embark on the challenge. A lot of people think juicing is faddy or stupid, there is a real misconception out there that juicing is literally just drinking fruit juice that you buy off the shelf in the supermarket, they don’t realise the amount of different fruits/veg that go into each juice. The only real thing that you miss whilst juicing is chewing.

Most of the sensations you feel whilst juicing are the withdrawal symptoms from what you regularly eat so if you have a poor diet full of sugar and bad carbs you will probably suffer more with withdrawals than someone who eats quite healthily, I would say that generally I eat quite well with the odd treat every couple of weeks, I had been juicing every morning for the last couple of weeks before embarking on this plan and if there is anything I have learnt from the JuiceToU plan is that I am guilty of putting far too many high sugar fruits in my juices, however I am still a great believer in adding more pineapple to my diet than a McDonald's or chocolate bar!

Last day tomorrow - think I will miss all the attention! ;)

My JuiceToU experience - Day 1

Juicing - what is it?

Juicing is the process of extracting juice from fruit and vegetables typically using a juice machine. The machine crushes and squeezes the juice and then disposes  of the pulp. The juices are then blended together (using a blender) to form a drink packed with vitamins and nutrients.

Juicing has been around for years and is definitely the way forward, its a fantastic way of receiving the benefits of fruit and vegetables even when you don't particularly like them! The secret is to mix them together and hide the tastes you don't like with the tastes you do.

Juicing is a brilliant way to get your kids involved with something healthy, my 3 year old Joshua loves to push the fruit & veg down into the juicer to see the juice come out, he is then more than happy to drink what he has just made.

I'm not new to juicing as I have followed the Juicemaster 7 day plan which got me hooked on the whole process. What I wanted to look into was how to make juicing even easier as it can be a chore to shop and prepare your fruit and veg and then to clean up after. This is when I came across JuiceToU, I follow many different juicing groups/companies/individuals on Twitter and noticed a few of them mention JuiceToU so I thought I would try it.

I would like to clarify that I do not work for JuiceToU or have any connection with them this is simply my personal experience from ordering their 3 day detox. 

JuiceToU's website is simple http://www.juicetou.com you select the products tab and then select the product which suits you, checkout using paypal (accepts credit and debt cards) and voila it wil be on its way. Deliveries are every Tuesday so mine arrived yesterday afternoon and was perfectly packed with ice bags to keep the juices cool, it was then down to me to find a space in the fridge to store it (I wish I had kept the mini fridge as that would have been perfect).

Now before I start talking about how I got on with the plan there are a few things I would like to prep you on if you are thinking of starting a juice detox.

1)      Firstly DON’T go off and have a huge binge the day/night before you start your detox as all that will do is make you gain extra weight/water retention which could hinder your 3 day results.

2)      Exercise is not recommended during juicing so use this as an opportunity to have a rest but if you are an exercise nut (like me) then just take it easy, walking is totally ok.

3)      If you are doing this to lose weight then weigh yourself without your clothes on the morning you start then weigh yourself on the morning of the 4th day for your final result.

4)      Take measurements of your waist and hips in cm’s, there is no point doing inches as its only 3 days but you will lose some cm’s.

5)      If you get hungry or feel like giving up just keep saying to yourself “Its only 3 days” chances are by the time you feel hungry alot of time has already passed and you have only 1 day left so hang on in there!

6)      WATER WATER WATER – you must drink at least 2 litres of water each day, buy a 2 litre bottle of water and have it next to you all the time. I find it easier to have a full 2 litre bottle rather than guess how many glasses I’ve had in a day! You can also have herbal teas (except green tea).

7)      DON’T cheat as your only cheating yourself, if you do get really desperate then it is always best to eat something that is in the ingredients of the juices for example an apple or celery rather than to give up completely or binge on something!

8)      Embrace being in control of your food intake, don’t focus on the negatives and keep yourself busy as 72 hours will fly by! I go to bed early! ha ha


Day 1

The first thing I noticed this morning was the amount of spare time I had on my hands, I usually have to cut up loads of fruit and vegetables, put them through the juicer and then clean the juicer. Today I simply opened the fridge door and took the amount of juices I needed, I work full time so I took all four in case I don’t get home in time for the 6pm juice.

My normal routine at work is to fill up my 2 litre bottle of water and make a coffee, my coffee today was substituted by warm water and half a squeezed lemon. There are 4 juices on the plan to drink per day. The first juice (Clean Green) was meant for 9am but I was slightly delayed by an hour. Clean Green contains spinach, cucumber, celery, apples and limes and on my first sip my taste buds were not instantly in love but then the majority of the ingredients are vegetables so I knew it was never going to be sweet. I could mainly taste and smell the cucumber. For those of you that are not keen on vegetables then you may struggle a little with this one but if you love your veg or are a purist you will love it. Even so, it is totally drinkable and only a small bottle so for the goodness of what it will bring its worth getting it down the hatch! 

My next juice at 12.15pm was Let’s Glow which consisted of oranges, apples, kiwi, grapes and strawberries. Given that this was 100% fruit I was expecting it to be sweet but it was quite zesty, maybe this could be down to being juiced with the orange skin on, I like to juice oranges, lemons and limes without the skin as the taste is too sharp for me. Lets Glow is sweeter than Clean Green but could do with a bit of pineapple or something just to take the zesty edge off, however if it’s pure you like then that’s exactly what you are getting. I suppose it’s a difficult task to get the taste right as everyone is different and I know I have a sweet tooth.

The 3pm juice is a repeat of the first juice Clean Green and strangely it actually tasted better than when I first tasted it this morning. These juices are definitely 100% better when really cold so don’t leave them hanging around to get warm. I know this is totally physiological but I already feel slimmer just by being so virtual!

My last juice of the day Berry Good was filled with pineapple, blueberries, strawberries, apples and raspberries and I would say this is my favourite of the 4 juices as it had a sweeter taste which is exactly what I needed tonight. 6-8pm is probably the worst time for me with dealing with hunger pangs I am usually preparing my partners dinner and leave myself till last to eat and tonight was no exception the smell of pizza in the oven tested my willpower but I take comfort in the fact that it is only 3 days of my life committed to this detox.

Times I felt hungry today: Twice - once, I downed another glass of water! Did you know that thirst is often mistaken for hunger so grab a glass of water before you worry about food, I find a hot herbal drink helps with these moments (I love roobios tea as it has a sweet taste and smells like custard powder check out the benefits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos) the other time I felt hungry was when dishing up my partner's pizza from the oven I had to do it quick and get it out the kitchen pronto!

Side effects today: a few hunger pangs and a slight headache this evening but other than that I feel fine.

Roll on day 2!

Summer Update 2013

Hey everyone

Its nice to be back writing again! Life has been busy over the last few months, my workload has increased both at work and at home which makes time for exercise and diet even more of a pressure!

Since my last update in April 2013 I have managed to keep my weight down by exercising during my lunch hour and the good news is that my measurements have seen a decrease! woo hoo! I had to stop doing the Cambridge plan as my friendly gut bacteria was low causing all sorts of complications.

I managed to get away this year to Italy with work (Lago Maggiore) and Menorca for some rest and relaxation although I found it extremely difficult to stay on track with food but luckily we had a pool to burn off the extra calories.

I still have 2.5 stones to lose so I decided to have a rethink and try something new, that's when I came across juicing. It was through a conversation with a friend in Italy, he totally recommended that I try it, he was totally impressed after visiting a retreat in Turkey where he juiced for 7 days. After some investigation on the Internet I purchased a 2nd hand juicer from EBay, borrowed a blender from a friend and spent about £70 on ingredients which included fruit, veg and a load of supplements from the health shop.

After completing 7 days on the Juicemaster Plan I felt totally amazing, never did I think about the effect food can have on your mood, I felt clean on the inside and I was 7 pounds lighter. It was a wonderful experience and one I am soon to repeat.

This time though I am going to be doing it differently, I am going to be trialling a 3 day juice detox which is delivered to your front door, so no cutting up of fruit and veg, no cleaning the juicer every 5 mins and the best bit no shopping for your ingredients.

Keep an eye out on my next few posts as they will be all about the exiting benefits of juicing with the www.juicetou.com plan.

Spring (or lack of) 2013

Hi all

Its been a few months since I uploaded a new post but I thought I would update you all of where I am now in my journey. Its been almost 6 months now since I started the Cambridge diet and in total I am still at 36 pound weight loss, I could have done more but I relaxed over December and January and put on 6 pounds, it then took me untill end of March to lose those 6 pounds! Currently I have just had another 2 weeks off the diet as I was unwell with a virus so today Monday 8th April 2013 I have started again and are calling it Day 1 of Round 2!

I am currently reading a book called "100 ways to motivate yourself" and I am finding it a really great read, simple but very thought provoking!

check it out on amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motivate-Yourself-Third-Edition-ebook/dp/B009SQECVK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365416059&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=100+ways+to+tivate+yourself

Apparently successful people plan ahead so I have taken inspiration from this and have actually written down my goals. For this part of my journey I would like to lose a further 28 pounds so I have broken this down into smaller more achievable goals. From a motivation perspective this makes me feel more in control and less overwhelmed by how many pounds I have left to lose.

So the plan is to get back onto the Cambridge stage 2 and shift the 28 pounds by July as I now have two events which I would like to work towards.  A potential holiday in Italy at the end of June and a booked holiday in Menorca at the end of July and I sure as hell don't want to be fat and wobbly on the beach this year! The first few days are always tough on the Cambridge as you are withdrawing from sugar, wheat and bad carbs but I should start to feel good again on day 4. My next weigh in will be on April 17th 2013 so I will let you all know how I get on!

Another thing to note that I am coming up to my first year anniversary since starting Crossfit and I still love it!!!!! I have not been loads recently as I have been unwell but I have booked in twice this week so I can feel the burn again, I have also started walking at lunchtimes for between 10-40 mins dependant upon how busy I am, but even just getting out for some fresh air for 10 mins helps!

p.s More recent pics to be posted soon xxx

Update Xmas 2012

Hi everyone

I'm so sorry I have been terrible with writing my blog recently - I give myself far too many things to do!

So where am I now?

Well I am 35 pounds lighter!!! I feel so much better and look so much better. One of my goal's was to be able to fit into a ballgown I had made in 2008 and guess what........I did it!. It was tight and I felt uncomfortable after eating my Christmas dinner but I am so pleased I got back into the dress!

I am still on the Cambridge Plan, although I have given myself some days off over Xmas, I put on 4 pounds but have lost a couple since but that's Xmas for you, I would say Xmas is the most difficult time of year to lose weight but I have managed to curb the cravings and reduce the food intake even though it has taken 3 days!

What's next for 2013?

Well I have a few targets set for 2013, I want to be able to wear a bikini again and I would like to get into a size 12 dress and I also really want to become a Cambridge Consultant and help others to lose weight.

In total I would love to lose another 3 stone (35 pounds). I plan to do this by continuing the Cambridge Plan plus continuing my CrossFit that I still love very much.

I'm excited to continue in 2013..............i'll be back!