DAY 13 - goals for my new life
I didn't have time to write yesterday - sorry! - but now it's finally time for my post-cleanse plan and promises. However, first I have to admit how stupid I am. JJ's book has a whole chapter about how to break the cleanse and continue after the 10 days. The main advise is: be careful, don't eat too much. And guess what happened yesterday, of course I ate too much. And of course I felt bloated, sick and nauseous. But in my defence, it took me by surprise how little food I actually need now. I didn't eat excessively but still it was too much, I already missed the light and energetic feeling I had during the cleanse. So today I was more careful. Here are my personal objectives that I'm determined to follow now. Some of the tips are from the book, some are things that I've noticed myself: - Replace one meal every day with a green smoothie (breakfast, lunch or dinner) - The other two meals, eat healthy. - Don't eat anything you are intolerant to (with wheats or eggs) - Eat less refined carbs (for example white rice), prefer meat/fish and vegetables only - Eat protein with at least one meal every day, preferably two or three - Snacks: fruits, vegetables, oat crisp bread or yogurt for example. No chocolate! - Eat something every 3-4 hours - Drink 8 glasses of water every day - but don't eat with meals - Chew your food and don't eat too fast - Every morning: green tea / detox tea instead of black - Every evening: a cup of green / herbal tea - Chocolate and sweets: cut in half the amount you eat now - and be sure to control this so that it's not only an idea but something you're really doing! - Alcohol: same than with sweets and preferably only drink wine (or champagne..) - Avoid salt - Fight against emotional hunger! - Once every week: have lunch or dinner at a restaurant or cook something really good with your friends (or order sushi). But this must still remain healthy! - Do sports (anything) 5 times a week - Spend time outside every day and try to get enough sleep And the most important: - As JJ said: Live, love and laugh. Enjoy your life! - On very special occasions (very special!): forget about this list and eat whatever you want. A long list! But most of the points are actually really simple and easy to follow by just paying a little more attention than before. I will have to print this and put on my fridge door so that I see all the time. I will let you know how it goes! And be sure to join us - a new healthier life is only one click away! DAY 11 - feeling surprised I have to admit that I was really sceptical when I started this cleanse. Seriously, I have tried all the possible diets, or at least tried to try (often I've given up quite soon) but never have I felt like this. JJ's cleanse really is working! From the success stories I've read I've gotten the impression that people who have done this cleanse have often been overweighted and have had really bad eating habits. So I understand that 10 days of smoothies only must have been extremely hard and I'm so proud of you all. It's also a fact and perfectly natural that when you have a lot of extra weight to loose, and you radically change your alimentation, you loose a lot in the beginning. That's what this cleanse gives - a jumpstart to weight loss but what then has to be maintained. For me, since I was not fat to start with and I since was eating healthy already, I didn't expect any miracles. However, I'm happy to announce you that: - I'm 3 kilos (7 pounds) lighter than 10 days ago - I have lost 7cm (2,8 inches) from my chest, 7cm (2,8 inches) from my waist and 3cm (1,2 inches) from my hips - totally 17cm (6,4 inches) of fat is gone! So happy! And as I already wrote last night, I'm full of energy, I honestly feel really good. Tonight I went to the gym and I was a little afraid of having lost forces but no, I did a body attack class, then stretching and then walked home and I still feel like I could do something. Today I have had a green-smoothie in the morning, salads with vegetables only for lunch and dinner, one piece of oat crisp bread, fruits for afternoon snack and a chai tea latte. Plus chocolate last night as I promised. :) That's maybe a little more than what is recommend in the book for the first post-cleanse day but I don't feel bloated or nauseous or anything. The feeling of freedom - I can eat what I want! - is relieving, but I haven't been tempted to eat anything unhealthy today. Like right now, I know that I have chocolate in my cupboard but there it stays, I'm perfectly fine without. Tomorrow I will share my post-cleanse eating plan with you (I'm determined to be in my target weight by Christmas) - stay tuned! Got jealous? ;) Now it's your turn! DAY 10 - what a feeling! Here I am, day 10 is almost over and I'm still alive. I survived! Of course it's easy to say now but as I have been writing, it has been a lot easier than what I thought it would be. But still, even if throughout these 10 days I knew that I could do it, I am extremely glad that I actually did it! I'll let you know tomorrow if I have lost pounds or inches but here's a summary of the benefits and symptoms I have experienced: Benefits: - Weight loss: we'll see - Increased energy: yes! - Mental clarity: hard to say yet - Better sleep: I always sleep well :) - Reduced cravings: During these 10 days yes, I hope it will last. Now I understand when I suffer from emotional hunger (often) and when I'm hungry for real. - Better digestion: absolutely, we'll see if that will last - Less bloating: same, during the cleanse yes and I really hope that I won't feel bloated again when I start eating whole foods. Just have to be careful. Detox symptoms: - Headaches, pains, nausea: not at all - Cravings: occasionally but not too much. Now I understand when I suffer from emotional hunger (often) and when I'm hungry for real. The remaining thing to learn is to be able to control the emotional hunger... - Fatigue: some days yes, others not at all. But these last days I haven't been able to do sports anymore, long walks has been enough. I can't wait to be allowed to eat a little more again (healthy of course) and go back to being sportive. - Muscle aches: On day 6 and 7 I remember having muscle aches but that's all. Oh and a runny nose on day 4! - Skin rashes: Nothing bad but yes I've noticed this. - Irritability: Not at all! Except normal mood swings of course, no one can be happy and calm all the time. I didn't have to detox anyone from my life but on the other hand that's probably also because everyone has been so supportive. Thanks! Overall, I have had some moments of weakness but I have been much more comfortable than what I expected. And I'm motivated to continue on this new healthy road and keep feeling good. Being not too strict to myself though, now when the clock soon hits midnight and my day 10 is officially over, I will savour a small piece of high quality chocolate, one of my favourites from Lindt. Life is good. I'll write more tomorrow, meanwhile: I challenge you to join the green smoothie cleanse community! Ps. Yes, I bought heaps of food today! Veggies, fruits, fish and chicken - it looks quite delicious now in my fridge. DAY 9 - feeling ok! Day 9 done, I'm almost there I'm almost there I'm almost there... That's what I've been telling myself today, over and over again. I almost gave up for emotional hunger, my craving for chocolate was killing me and I seriously thought of taking just one small piece. But I didn't. And no wine either. I decided that I've come so far and I will not quit now. One more day to go and tomorrow guess what I will do: I will go food shopping! I'll by lots of vegetables for the rest of the week and I think salmon, tuna and chicken for days 13 and 14. It's funny how excited you can be about normal, healthy food. This cleanse has definitely taught me to appreciate it. And I forgot to tell you yesterday but I'm sure I've lost some inches on my waist. I was wearing a skirt and a top that I often wear and I don't know, I looked better, slimmer, I liked what I saw in the mirror. I will take measurements on day 11, I'll let you know then. Good luck for your cleanse, remember, you can do it! Got curious? don't hesitate, try it. Your new healthy life is waiting for you. DAY 8 - Feeling weak A week on the cleanse now and today for the first time I wanted to quit. I've been feeling so tired and weak that I can't do anything, even walking takes too much energy. So I really feel like this is a waste of time, I could be studying, doing sports, having fun, if I just could eat properly. Also, social events are starting to complicate the cleanse. Today we were celebrating a friend's birthday at her place and I was snacking on cucumber and carrots (as always) when the others had bread, cheese, ham, chips, olives, sweets etc. And wine and champagne of course. I was able to resist, no problem, but it just wasn't nice and not being able to eat or drink obviously affected my party mood. But when I came home I had a really good feeling because I survived, I didn't give in to my cravings. During this week of green smoothies only I've noticed that my self-control is really good and it is true what JJ writes about emotional hunger. I think that often we eat just because it's a habit, because we are bored or because we think that we want chocolate for example when in reality we would be satisfied with fruits or vegetables. Also, at a party when the table is full of delicious, beautifully assembled snacks - and they are there in front of us all the time - we just can't resist taking some more, and some more, instead of just having a bite of everything and then leaving it. So from now on, I know to be careful. Tomorrow I'm going on a date. I haven't decided yet if I am going to have a glass of wine or if I stick to water. I wanted to be strict about this diet, like all or nothing and no exceptions, but I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't take this too seriously. I have proved myself now that I can do it, so maybe it's time to loose a bit and enjoy life. We'll see. I'm ready for the last two days - are you ready to start your cleanse? DAY 7 - Feeling a little weird 11 hours of school today and now I’m babysitting. All I have eaten today is almost three smoothies (I wasn’t able to finish the last one) and one box of veggie snacks. I have completely lost my appetite, the only time I was hungry was in the morning but after that I’ve more or less forced myself to eat. I had lunch with my classmates and I watched them eat all kinds of delicious things and it I didn’t crave for anything. Of course most of my friends find it funny that I’m only eating carrots and cucumber but they are also really supportive and the result is that I have to share my snacks with them. Soon the whole class will be eating veggies instead if chocolate! During one class the teacher gave us sweets and no, I didn’t even hesitate when I thanked no. It’s actually a little bit sad, what if after my cleanse I really don’t feel like eating anything unhealthy anymore? I couldn’t imagine a life like that. I mean, I will continue having smoothies and being more careful with what I eat in general but every now and then you have to be able and allowed to enjoy something with sugar and calories and I hope that’s something I will still want to do! I weighted myself tonight and I have lost around 2 kilos (4,5lbs). It’s not much but I feel lighter and less bloated. Happy! However, I’ve had this weird feeling in my stomach for the whole day, I think maybe my body is starting to crave solid or more divers food even if my mind doesn’t. So I’m happy there’s only three days left! Healthy life, feeling good - it’s easy! DAY 6 - feeling motivated Day 6 already, days just fly by and I'm still pretty much enjoying this. Even being at school for 9 hours was fine, I wasn't tired and one smoothie plus vegetable snacks and sunflower seeds were enough of food. But of course I miss real solid food. I can't wait till day 11 and 12 next week when I will be able to eat vegetables for lunch and dinner and I'm daydreaming about day 13 when I can have some fish and chicken! Also, my scale doesn't work but I was just trying on some clothes and maybe it's my imagination but they felt looser. I don't feel different but what if some inches of my stomach really have disappeared? I'm not sure but even this though (or that they slowly will disappear because I will keep eating healthier even after the cleanse) makes me happy and so motivated that I just know that I will make it till day 13 without any difficulties. Wonderful feeling! You can do it as well! DAY 5 - feeling full of energy Day 5 and cleanse still going well! I did some sports today and went for a long walk. Now in the evening I can't even go to bed because I don't feel tired at all, this cleanse is giving me too much energy! Apart from that, no changes noticed, I still don't feel any lighter than before. But for my appetite the cleanse is doing what it promised, now I'm really not hungry at all or craving for anything. I don't even feel like snacking between smoothies but I do it just so that I eat something often enough. I bought the food for the last five days today and I got so frustrated again, Paris is not supporting my diet, it's impossible to find frozen (or fresh) blueberries or strawberries here! 5 more days to go! And of course, remember that your new healthy life is only one click away! DAY 4 - feeling nothing special... I'm starting to get a little bit frustrated with this cleanse! It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I don't see the point. I'm almost half way through but I don't feel that anything has changed. I can eat like this or I can eat like I did before and it's all the same. At the moment I don't have any of the symptoms described in the book (except for some cravings but I get rid of them really fast) and I can't especially notice any of the benefits either. Either my body and organism just take time to adjust or then my alimentation was healthy enough to start with. If I had to find something that has changed I would say that I have plenty of energy and I need less sleep but it's hard to tell if it will last. But I'm not complaining, I still believe that replacing one meal every day with a green smoothie and avoiding sugar, red meet, refined carbs, coffee etc must be good for one's health and if this cleanse doesn't cause me any trouble I sure am ready for a longterm healthy diet! So my new goal: maybe not slim in ten days but definitely slim for Christmas! (or for the summer..). Make your own healthy goals and start a new life - today! DAY 3 - feeling lazy I've been a little tired today and I haven't done that much. But sometimes it's good to take a rest! My cleanse thoughts today: - Today's smoothie with blueberries is my favourite so far. - I am still not hungry but I start missing the taste of real food. It's particularly hard to walk pas restaurants, cafés and bakeries and smell the food and see people eating. But I just try not to think about it and so far I'm fine. - I'm craving especially for chocolate, bread, sushi and tomatoes (are tomatoes allowed??) - I'm starting to get sick of cucumber! - I feel good but I haven't noticed any changes in my body yet, my stomach is still there... - I'm a little bored and hope that the this is over soon 7 more days to go - stay tuned! And join us by being your own book! DAY 2 - still feeling good I must be doing something wrong, this cleanse just can't be this easy! Day 2 has passed by even better than day one. I'm not tired, hungry or craving for any banned food. I've done two long walks and I've seen people. I went for a 30 min run and then did stretching and sauna after that. I can't stop moving, I'm already full of energy and really surprised about that! Also, I'm already planning my future after the cleanse, how I'm never going to eat any unhealthy food again. I seriously feel like that now, that there is no point in eating something that is not good for your body and your health. But I'm sure that will change soon.. Today's smoothie did not change much from the first one but there was some banana added which made it taste really sweet and good. Between smoothies I wasn't hungry at all but in order to eat something every three hours I've been snacking on carrots, cucumber, apples and celery. The only thing that I don't like doing is the salt water flush that I have to do every morning to ensure bowels movements. It tastes disgusting! But as JJ Smith wrote in her book: sometimes you have to be uncomfortable to achieve your goals. If you are doing your cleanse with me, good luck and let's stick together to this! DAY 1 - feeling excited! It is 5 in the afternoon and so far my first day has been easy. Today's smoothie is with spinach, apple, mango, strawberry, grapes and flaxseeds - really tasty, I liked it a lot! I've also had detox tea and snacked on cucumber and carrots. My activities today have been really light today: hairdresser's, sunbathing in the park and tidying my apartment, so I don't feel tired (okay I took a 20min nap in the afternoon but still). Next I will go to the gym for a relaxing body balance class before having my delicious smoothie dinner. I've even made plans to see my best friend later tonight so at least at the moment I don't feel like detoxing anyone from my life. To sum up, I think today has been a really good start. At some point I forgot about the cleanse and thought of having some chocolate. Then I remembered but I didn't feel frustrated or anything, I just took cucumber instead. I think the first day is easy because everything is still so new and you still feel excited about the cleanse. At the moment I feel that I can do the ten days without any trouble. But it will probably get harder soon, I'll let you know! Ready for the cleanse? Let's do this together! DAY 0 - feeling determined Hello everyone! My name is Emilia and I'm the first one of our 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse - team who's taking up the challenge to live on green smoothies for ten whole days. Wish me luck! To present very briefly my eating habits: I eat quite healthy and I exercise almost every day. I'm intolerant to wheat and eggs which obliges me to avoid plenty of unhealthy food (good!). However, I admit that I sometimes make exceptions to my diet (not good!), feeling sick and bloated afterwards. I also admit that I eat quite a lot of chocolate and sweets and once in a while have too many cocktails or glasses of wine... I know that I'm not fat and that my weight is mostly muscles but I'm still dissatisfied with my body and constantly struggling to loose those ten unnecessary pounds that are stuck around my stomach. I have tried all the possible different diets and magic pills - always without any significant result. That is why I'm so excited to finally have this book in my hands. This time I feel different, the praise for JJ Smith's cleanse is endless and all the success stories that I have read have given me hope that this will really work. Besides, I love smoothies so it can't be that bad! I don't expect to loose much weight during this cleanse but more to detox and clean my body, gain energy and feel better. And most of all, I hope this cleanse will help me start a new healthier lifestyle - something that will last. I'm so ready to love my body again! I know that this is not going to be easy, but I probably don't realise how hard might actually be. Today I finished the shopping for the first five days and I can tell you that I was already about to lose my mind. After five different stores and at least 20 "sorry we don't have its" I felt exhausted but finally had managed to buy almost everything from the shopping list. Also, I was laughing while reading JJ's tips for the cleanse: "Detox family and friends", but since I'm already a little stressed a the moment I think I'd better warn my friends right now: either you give me your full support and try your best to understand my mood swings and nervous breakdowns for the ten coming days- or you stay far away from me! So I'm sure this is going to be challenging but I'm determined to do this and I'm not someone who gives up easily. Tomorrow day 1 - can't wait! I'll share my experience and thoughts here every day - stay tuned. And don't forget: today is a perfect day to start your new healthy life! |
Not a great picture but this is my first post-cleanse salad: spinach and lettuce, fried zucchini and pepper, corn, tomatoes, melon and sunflower seeds. Delicious! Day 8 green smoothie with blueberries
Day 6 and my favourite green smoothie so far: spinach, pineapple, peaches, banana, flaxseeds
Day 4: snack and tea time! Day 3 smoothie: looks brown because of the blueberries but delicious! Day 2 smoothie I went out on my day 1 night and ordered a glass of water. This is what the barman did for me, a beautiful cleanse cocktail! Day 1 smoothie Shopping for the first 5 days |