Tag: advice

5 lbs in 5 Days: Day 1 Motivation

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Today is the first day of your journey to a healthier life!

Congratulations on making the decision and following through. The sun was shining when I opened the curtains, always a great start to a juice cleanse, and it felt so good to open the windows and breathe fresh air. Central heating is so stifling and dehydrating. My skin feels parched after the winter months and I can’t wait to see the results of a week of juicing, improvement in your skin is usually the first thing you notice when you begin juicing.

Don’t panic if you gain a spot or two! Your skin is a major player in detoxing, internal problems are often mirrored in your skin and when your body is cleansing, your liver and kidneys are working hard so your skin gives a helping hand to eliminate the rubbish you have accumulated. They will soon disappear.

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Turbo with a Kick, one of my favourites!

Today’s tips:

The timings on the app are for guidance only. When I did my first cleanse I found some gaps between juices too long and others too short. I was getting too hungry sometimes and forcing down juices at others. Don’t let your blood sugar dip too low but don’t force anything down either.

Sip your juices slowly while sitting down and try to do so without working or texting at the same time. Take time out to just juice.

I recommend investing in a set of stainless steel straws like the one in the photo. They are dishwasher safe and come with a tiny cleaning brush. It is better for your teeth to sip rather than drink juices and also better for you and the environment to ditch the plastic straws. They are inexpensive and can be bought on Amazon.

Rinse your mouth out after each juice but don’t use a brush until after 20 minutes.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND HERBAL TEAS!

Get a good night’s sleep.

Juice Master

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Super-Juicing: Day 13, Does It Have To End? Plus Tips on Preparing for a Juice Programme

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Here we are, the penultimate day of my Super Juice Fortnight and I don’t want it to end! I am loving the Sweet ‘n’ Smooth Veggie Blend for breakfast (see Jason Vale’s Super Juice Me! Plan*), despite the ever-present parsnip in the list of ingredients – and of course it was very swiftly replaced by a sweet potato!

It’s become so much of a routine now that my husband’s cooking no longer bothers me – not even the melted cheese! (see Super Juicing Day 6: Melted Cheese and Spicy Teacakes).

I am so full of energy and have been very productive, writing new blog posts and recipes, editing old ones, making cards and participating in a Blogging 101 course.

None of the usual January slump.

My brain is firing on all cylinders, I’ve made decisions I’ve been putting off for ages, I am bursting with ideas for writing – my body can’t keep up!

Many people find January a difficult month to do a juice cleanse due to the drop in temperatures, others find it an ideal time after all the Christmas over-indulgence, when they are full of New Year resolve.

Spring isn’t too far away – I have crocuses out already in the third week of January and daffodil buds that have been bursting to open for a couple of weeks now – so if you didn’t manage to join in the January Juicing, but have seen the stunning results achieved by others who have:

Why not plan to do it in February or March?

Here are some tips on how to begin:

  1.   Begin by reducing your intake of processed foods, sugar, coffee and alcohol while adding fresh veg and fruit. This will reduce any withdrawal symptoms you might experience in your first few days of a juice cleanse.
  2. At the same time as you are preparing yourself physically, prepare yourself mentally by reading a book or watching a film about juicing and how to go about it.*
  3. Make sure you use a nutritionally-balanced plan.
  4. Buy the best juicer and blender you can afford. Seek the advice of regular juicers, read my reviews and those of other bloggers/consumer sites. If you’re reluctant to splash out until you’ve given it a try, you can often find secondhand juicers at car boot sales and on eBay.
  5. Introduce one juice a day to get into the habit and get used to the preparation, timing and consuming of it.
  6. Find a good local source of organic fruit and veg if possible
  7. There will always be people around you who are sceptical, arm yourself with the knowledge you need to commit to your goal, don’t try to engage them, let them see your results.
  8. If possible, recruit some like-minded friends, or find support online, there are Facebook juicing groups and lots of juicers on Twitter who will provide support and advice.
  9. See your doctor before embarking on a cleanse, have your BP, cholesterol, blood sugar and so on tested, then again later on.
  10. Don’t just weigh yourself, take your measurements too. It is usually these that are the most startling if you need to drop a size or two.
  11. You don’t need to juice just to lose weight. Do it for your health!

You will be so pleased with the improved condition of your skin and your hair, your eyes will shine again, you will have more energy, feel more alert. Many people experience improvements in aches and pains and chronic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, as well as more balanced hormones and a resetting of your taste buds!

You will discover which foods irritate your digestive system, produce mucous, make you feel tired and which make you feel more alive.

You will be flooding your system with all the nutrients it needs and it will thank you for it!

NB You don’t need to do a cleanse to beenfit from juicing, just adding one green juice a day will make a difference to your health and sense of well-being.

I have one more day of my Super Juicing and I am so looking forward to the shakes for tonight and tomorrow night’s meal – they both have home-made almond milk in them (see Nut Milks, Shakes and Smoothie Recipes). Yum!

*http://www.juicemaster.com for Jason Vale’s Juicing Plans

You can watch Super Juice Me! The Documentary free on YouTube here:

*Joe Cross’s website also has juicing plans and resources while his film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is another inspirational tool when considering juicing.

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com

Copyright: Chris McGowan