Overdue Thursday

It is about time I wrote a post about what I experienced on the juice cleanse.

So Steven and I did a 3 day colon cleanse and a 1 day kidney cleanse, followed by an apple and carrot juice fast/feast. It was fairly easy and was not a struggle at all. The first 4 days (on the colon and kidney cleanse) were the worst simply for the fact that we were house bound due to needing to use the toilet regularly. It cleans you out and literally gets rid of all of the shit!

We had some good sun over those 4 days, so we lay outside on the grass, which was so good. We found that drinking carrot juice before sun bathing really helped our skin and we had an added glow. Our sunburn healed faster and our skin looked amazing.

The main benefits that I experienced were weight loss, clearer skin and improved bowel movements. 

I started taking a probiotic and this has helped with my digestion and bowel movements, as has incorporating the juice of half a lemon mixed with 500mls of water every morning. 

In January / February I was struggling to be raw and my weight was 10st.5.0, I have been raw since 13th February and upon starting the juice cleanse I weighed 10st.1.2. At the end of the juice cleanse my weight was 9st.10.4. Since I started being 100% raw in February I have gone from 27.5% body fat to 23.4% (at the end of the juice cleanse).

I had a spot problem from October last year and being fully raw has definitely help clear it up, as has sun bathing and the use of a sun bed.

I am very happy with the results from the juice cleanse and I feel like I have had a really good clean on the inside. 

Moving forward I want to start eating juicy fruits for breakfast and leaving the heavier fruits for lunch and dinner. I want to see if eating this way will improve my overall feeling and whether it will affect my weight loss.

Tomorrow I have accepted a challenge of going barefoot. I might write about it, especially as I have to go to Tesco to do some shopping for my Bon Voyage party! I just hope I don't step on any glass or sharp objects.

Jennifer x

Juicing Update and Super Fruit Haul

Juicing update

Today is the last day of a 10 day juice cleanse. It started on Tuesday 13th with a colon cleanse and an integrated kidney cleanse followed by a 6 day apple and carrot juice fast/feast.

It has gone well and I adapted to it fairly quickly. I actually really like carrot juice and intend to carry on making it over the next couple of days as it has such a smooth texture and it tastes great. The apples give me a terrible ache if I drink too much and I haven't learned when to stop to avoid this! I will write a post specifically for this though, including all of the benefits that I have experienced.

Super Fruit Haul

I want to share what Steven and I bought at the fruit and veg market today.

We filled the car

Gorgeous heirloom (or heritage) tomatoes

I wanted to have a picture with it all!

We went shopping on Monday for bananas, so I have included them in today's list. Here is what we bought and how much it cost.

Fruit 
5 Bananas - repackaged - approx 18kg - £5/box = £25
4 Mangoes - one seller charged £4/box = £8
                  - the other seller charged £2.50/box = £5
Lemons - £7/35 fruit 

Salad/Veg
Cucumber - £3.50 - 12
2 Courgette - £1/5kg box = £2
2 Celery - £6/box = £12
Carrot - £2.50/12.5kg bag 
2 Romaine lettuce - £5/10 heads = £10
Tomatoes (we went a little crazy!)
     - 1 baby cherry (organic) - £3/6kg box
     - 1 baby plum - £3/5kg box
     - 2 standard - £3/6kg box = £6
     - 1 heirloom - £6.50/3kg box
     - 1 French tomatoes 6kg - free - we were told £1 as they are very ripe, but they didn't actually charge us for them!

Total fruit = £45

Total veg = 48.50

Grand Total = 93.50

This shop will last us 2 weeks and is for 2 people. We don't normally buy that many tomatoes (Steven gets about 10kg and I get 5kg), but this juice cleanse has really made us want them. When we saw the heirloom tomatoes we just had to treat ourselves as we have never had them before and you cannot turn down French tomatoes for £1 (well technically free!). I am salivating at the thought of having a sauce over courgette noodles.

The courgettes were only £1 because they wanted to get rid of them. You cannot argue with that price. I am going to be making so many courgette noodles this week! 

Luckily Steven has 3 fridges to keep the produce, so here is where we store them at his flat. (If you only have 1 fridge, I recommend you get another one asap! Use gumtree, freecycle, ask your friends or keep your eye out in case someone leaves their old fridge out for the iron man)

Fridge 1 in the hall

Fridge 2 in the kitchen

Main fridge in the kitchen, the bottom is a freezer

Cupboard in the hall to store the fruits and veg that can survive without a fridge!

All produce was bought from New Smithfield Market, Manchester. It is a lot better than Liverpool so if you're in the North West you must visit. 

I am looking forward to eating celery the most and then trying the heirloom tomatoes. 

If you have any questions please ask!

Jennifer x

Kidney cleanse Thursday

Technically today should be my 3rd day of the colon cleanse, but due to other circumstances I am doing a kidney cleanse today with the final day of the colon cleanse tomorrow. 

During a kidney cleanse you drink freshly squeezed lemon juice and distilled water. Thankfully it is only done for 1 day. 

To prepare

1. Juice 20 lemons - 20oz
2. Mix 12oz lemon juice with 96oz water

Start the morning with half a pint of lemon juice, drank through a straw. I did this over a 5 minute period and I recommend drinking a lot of water beforehand. Then every hour drink the mixture of lemon juice and water. This is done for 12 hours in total.

If you do this cleanse after the colon cleanse then you will not poop much (or at all in my case), so if you need to go out for some time then you should be alright, as long as you take your drink with you! However, it is recommended that you stay at home and chill out. Let your body clean and heal.

This cleanse is good if you have kidney stones or eat the type of foods that put a lot of stress on your kidneys. The latter being the majority of the population; people who eat meat, dairy, salt, caffeine, etc.

Again I recommend changing to a raw vegan diet, your body will be much cleaner and you will have so many benefits, including softer glowing skin, stronger nails, more energy and vitality.

Get cleaning your insides and start a healthier diet!

Jennifer x

What I'm doing Wednesday

3 day colon cleanse

I started another colon cleanse yesterday, my last one being in March. I follow this plan, highly recommended by Steven and myself.

It starts with a pint of prune juice followed by half a pint of juice (apple, carrot, etc) and water every alternate half hour. For example, say you start at 8am with prune juice, you follow with apple juice at 8.30am and then water at 9am. It is recommended that you take 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil too, 3 times a day.

What should happen is that after 2-3 hours you start evacuating your previous days consumption and then eventually the rest of the contents of the colon. Eventually after your first visit to the toilet, which is normally very loose stools, it should become a liquid that you evacuate and this is a constant process so you will need to be resting all day and close to a toilet! The prune juice is supposed to pull the toxins from your system, which is why you do it every morning.

Unfortunately this process is not as quick as going for a colonic, however I do believe this method to be the best way as it avoids unnecessary stress and potential damage to the body. The poop shoot is a one way zone, it's best to keep it that way!

I was considering going for a colonic, but this is by far the most natural way, despite the perceived inconvenience. It is a great way to get some rest, let the body clean itself out and spend three days in your pyjamas catching up on your favourite TV, movies or books! 

If you choose to do this, it is very important that you will make a commitment to a raw food lifestyle. This is ultimately the best diet and I believe that we are naturally fruit and plant eaters. 

My top tips for doing this colon cleanse

1. Prepare your/buy a juicer (I have a standard juicer, but I'd prefer a slow juicer)
2. Prepare your/buy a distiller
3. Stock up on toilet roll
4. Get some extra virgin olive oil
5. Get a muslin cloth to filter the juice
6. Buy your prune juice from the shop - we use Asda's own brand
7. Go to the wholesale market and buy a box of apples (96 apples at least)
8. Make the juice the night before for the following day
9. Filter it until once or twice
10. Get a pint glass and a half pint glass and some bottles to store the juice/water
11. Prepare your TV, films, books, etc
12. Have a bath every night

I have lost 3lbs in the first day and that is likely to be all of the shit (literally) that was in me. Following on from the 3 days I will be juicing for another 10-14 days.

What I hope to gain from this and am seeing results of already

1. Clear skin - no more spots
2. Soft and smoother skin - it's already there, but I imagine it could be like silk
3. Weight loss
4. Improved body odor
5. Mental clarity
6. Increase in energy
7. Better understanding of my body

If you want to experience any of the above then I suggest you do this cleanse and transition to a raw food lifestyle.

For more information just ask me. I shall post an update at the end of my juicing and let you know the results.

Jennifer x