Try it Tuesday

Juice feast

I received a suggestion about weight loss, which is to try out a juice feast (still consume high calories but without the fibre of a high fruit diet.) I'm considering it for two weeks before I leave.

What are your views and experiences? I am 60kg, which is the most I've weighed in my life, but I've been stuck on this for over a year and a half now. 

It was inevitable considering the amount of fat I ate in cakes, biscuits and pasta sauces, but it's about time the fat started shifting itself. 

I know people talk about being healthy, but at the end of the day I've only ever had one goal - to be a skinny bitch!

I'd like to hear from you if you've successfully lost weight doing a juice feast, especially if you're female and had a similar build to me (5`6", 60kg, belly and thigh fat!).

Yes I want to be healthy, but I also want to be sleek.

Jennifer x

Try it Tuesday

One for the girls

Epilators are the most painful DIY way of removing unwanted hair (leg waxing is by far the worst pain I've had, it put me off ever going for a bikini wax!!) but it is the best in my opinion.

I have always been lazy in terms of removing unwanted hair on my legs and armpits, but I find it embarrassing when I'm caught out, so that's why I invested in an epilator. You endure pain for a few minutes but remain hair free for a couple of weeks with an odd top up here and there.

The hairs grow back much differently to shaving and most of the time you hardly notice it has grown back because it is so soft.

It will be my grooming product of choice from now on. Firstly I don't want to contribute to so much waste with disposable razors and secondly because the results last a long time.

My advice is buy a good brand and get it on sale. I bought a Braun silk epil 7 at over half price from Boots, it was RRP £120 but I paid £50, plus I got Boots points. (Prices are from 2012)

They are excellent devices to have, so invest and try it out for yourself!

Jennifer x

Try it Tuesday

Breathe

That might sound crazy, but recently I have been more aware of myself and how I react to life. I am actually more conscious of how overwhelmed my thoughts make me, so I've started to stop and breathe for a few seconds.

My mind is always on go, if I'm doing one thing I am thinking about the next. Sometimes I think about my travels and wonder where to start (actually I started by renewing my passport so at least that's out of the way!) and then I drown myself in a list of mental tasks and become overwhelmed.

I have managed to conquer this by acknowledging what is happening (the flood of thoughts), I stop whatever I am doing (stood up or sat down with my body still), mentally tell myself that I am overwhelmed and that I need to relax, and then I take in a few deep breaths. I take note of my surroundings and try to feel everything in that moment (by feeling I mean sense wise: smells, hearing, touch, etc)

It's amazing how quickly I relax by doing this. 

Most people, particularly those who are stressed, need to stop and breathe. The world is so fast paced and business orientated that our health is often over looked. Simple techniques like this could really help in those situations.

So when you feel like your head will explode, stop and breathe!

Jennifer x

Facebook 

YouTube  

Try it Tuesday

Sleep

In 1910 adults got an average of nine hours sleep each night; in 1795 it had decreased to seven and a half; and in 2000 it has decreased further, to seven hours. Making a Good Brain Great, D. G. Amen, M.D

Since discovering the raw food lifestyle, I have put a lot of emphasis on sleep. In the height of summer it is more normal to sleep less because we have more daylight hours, whereas in winter it is normal to have more sleep. 

The problem we have nowadays is most people do not make any seasonal changes.

I often get questioned about my long sleeping hours at home and they are often disrupted too because my family play the TV too loud or use raised voices. These are problems if you live with other people, so discussing your sleeping patterns with your house mates is a good idea. Also, I have been told to buy ear plugs, so I will give that a try.

Sleep is so important so I hope that you can try to get as much as you can. 

Try to go to bed earlier. Make sure you don't watch TV or be on the computer just before you want to sleep. It is important to wind down. I know this and I still manage to distract myself with my smart phone. Therefore, turn your phone off or place it somewhere far away from your reach when you get into bed!

Purposefully leave lights off in your house. This will allow your body to become tired naturally and you will have no problem going to sleep!

Read a boring book. This tried and tested method does work!

Have a partner? It is very important that you can agree on a specific bed time. There is nothing more disturbing than having your partner go to bed after you. They may turn on lights, make noises undressing, shake the bed when getting into it, be cold, which you may feel, etc. If you cannot agree then sleep separately! Seriously, there are many times in the past when I would have preferred to sleep in a different room. Sharing a bed is so important that you need to get it right!

I haven't scratched the surface, but I will leave it here.

Start small if needs be, get at least 15 minutes more per night. We often forget who is important in this life. It's not your boss, your mum, your dog, etc, it's YOU! Only you can live your life. 

Jennifer x

Facebook 

YouTube  

Try it Tuesday

Oil Pulling

What is it?

An ancient practice that strengthens and whitens the teeth and nourishes the gums.

What are the benefits?

It removes toxins from the body and can increase the metabolism and the rate at which fat is burned.

How do I do it?

I use 1 teaspoon of raw organic coconut oil and swish it around my mouth for 20 minutes. It is good to incorporate it into your morning routine. So I usually have a drink of water, go to the bathroom, put the oil in my mouth and get in the shower.

After 20 minutes you should spit it out. Do not swallow! Then rinse out with distilled or mineral water (if you don't have a distiller) and brush your teeth with sodium bicarb. Do not rinse with tap water and do not clean your mouth out with tap water after brushing. Also, once you rinse your toothbrush with tap water do not put it back in your mouth.

Tap water contains disgusting chemicals and the whole point of oil pulling is to get rid of toxins, so do not use tap water!!!

This is what is left after distilling tap water!!

When should I do it?

You need to do it first thing in the morning before you eat anything. My suggestion is to drink some water first and then swish the oil.

Why should I do it?

If you want healthier teeth and gums and overall better oral hygiene then I recommend oil pulling. 

There are many websites out there with more information and a lot of videos too if you need more convincing.

Jennifer x

Facebook 

YouTube  

Try it Tuesday

Distiller update 3

So I did an experiment with Evian water and these are the results.

As you can see there is no yellow liquid or lumpy scum, just white chalky residue, which is obvious the minerals in the water. A good sign in comparison to tap water. 

I did have some Eden Falls going, but I think I removed the lid too early after it had finished it's cycle because all that was left was clear water and no residue! I am going to try again and then I will post my results.

So on the basis of the photos above, mineral water is a lot better than tap water, but there's still a debate about the gfloride content.

The next post I promise to show the distilled Eden Falls and I will distill distilled water!

Jennifer x

Try it Tuesday

Distiller update 2

Last week I posted some photos of the scum that the tap water in my dad's house left in the distiller. This week I am posting the photos from my experiment of distilling the filtered water from where I used to work.

So these photos are the water from last week, quite disgusting...

You would imagine that the filtered water would look better...

To a certain degree the water is a little better, there is no lumpy white stuff :P but there's still a lot of scum. 

I have not tried any other waters out yet. I was told the best water to drink is Eden Falls from ASDA, so I will distill that to see how much scum is left from that. I showed my (now ex) colleague about my experiment and he asked me if I've ever distilled distilled water...so that will be another experiment. I was going to try distilling filtered tap water from the house, but I don't have a filter and I don't plan on buying one just for the experiment, so if you have one and can filter 5 litres and pass it onto me then that would be fabulous :)

I hope you've liked my update on the distiller, if there's anything you want to know then post a comment.

Jennifer x

Try it Tuesday - update

Distiller update

Today I want to post some photos of my distiller and let you know what's been happening with it.

I got it last week, cleaned it out and set it on a cycle. The instructions said the first 2 litres should not be drank, so I didn't drink it. The second batch should have been OK, but it had a weird musty taste. I used that to wash my fruit and veg with. The third batch also tasted musty, so again I didn't drink it.

I was losing hope and thought that it might be because I bought the plastic container and not the glass container. Thankfully Steven was able to help me. It turns out that I should have soaked the carbon filters overnight and instead of using one I should use two. I think it had about 4 or 5 cycles before the water started to taste normal.

During these cycles the scum on the bottom was just disgusting. I cannot believe that we drink it unknowingly and willingly!

Here are some of the pics

How disgusting are these!

I am doing an experiment tonight. I had been drinking the filtered water at my work so I want to distill it and see how it compares with water straight from the tap (the photos above are with tap water from Merseyside, you can definitely taste chemicals in it normally).

Tempted to buy a distiller now? I got mine from here with cashback from Quidco.

Currently nothing to report health wise. I have only been drinking it for the last 2-3 days.

Jennifer x