Shapeshifting

Well, it's been a a few weeks since the last blog and I have to confess that I haven't been all that good all the time... but that's kind of the point, isn't it?

I'm not where I want to be but with various things going on recently and with me disappearing off to Majorca on Tuesday to see my Son for a few days I don't actually want to spend all my time continuously watching what I eat. Therefore I have been pretty darn good from Monday - Thursday but have enjoyed the weekends. Weight loss has slowed up and has been static for the last week, but I was weighed and measured last Wednesday and have lost 5lbs since the previous "proper" weigh and measure two weeks prior but, interestingly, I am now losing inches.  My waist and chest combined lost nearly 4 inches in that same period and I have had to buy some new clothes; I had a couple of work suits that were literally hanging off me!

So it seems that everything is settling a bit but I am changing shape and this must now be noticeable as in the last few days I've had several people comment on it and my daughter, who hadn't seen me for a week, said "Oh my God Dad you're well skinny now."  Well, quite.  Except in medical terms I actually still am classified as morbidly obese so that doesn't actually sit with the "skinny" argument but I knew what she meant, bless her.

I know what the next few days will bring as it's very hard to be super healthy on holiday but when I return it's back to the hard work and then to see if I can lose another stone and a half by Christmas.

The Proof of the Pudding...

... really is in the eating. With apologies for the longer than usual blogpost here, but last weekend I accidentally seemed to undergo some sort of unplanned science experiment, the results of which I would not have believed if it hadn't happened to me.

But first, let me take you back to last Friday 13th September, the last day of my juice fast.

So, after my day off the previous week, I returned to the strict regime although I must admit to also sneaking the odd handful of nuts or other healthy morsel leading up to the Friday - the last day of the fast. I avoided unhealthy or processed stuff and it literally was only a bite or two of anything but personally I could not wait for the weekend.  I think my appetite had been whetted quite a bit.

Yes, yes, I was missing food.  Big time.

The weight loss had got up to 2 stone 6lbs over the 30 days, so had slowed considerably and who knows, if I had not veered slightly off course may have topped the 2.5 stone mark, but that's good enough really. The lighting in the photographs isn't overly flattering but there is a big difference from the initial picture taken, especially in the torso.  My clothes are much looser and there are a couple of suit jackets that just hang off me. I must have lost 3-4 inches off my chest measurement.

Abi, Dawns brother Mark's girlfriend, had come down on the Friday and we had a busy weekend planned, so it was good to finish and be able to eat "normally". We celebrated with a whisky (or 3) on the Friday night and I couldn't wait for Saturday morning.

Well, that was a mistake.  I had not had a drop of the spirit for over a month and when I awoke on Saturday morning I felt decidedly woolly headed... not a feeling I had become recently accustomed too!

I had some work to do (as usual) so took myself into the office at about 8:00am.  For once, I did not make a juice and instead paid a visit to my local Costa to grab a drink "to go" but, instead of opting for my usual Chai Latte or Cappuccino accompanied by a Belgian Brownie or cupcake, I elected for a healthy Gingersnap Peach fruit tea and a Granola bar; a healthy-ish option I think?

I did however struggle to get going.  I was paper shuffling and email checking for far too long and it was a good hour before I managed to get stuck into the work that I really needed to do.  For most of the previous month I had managed just to get up and come to work, hitting the ground running. I should have taken notice of this warning sign.

Saturdays lunch was a simple bowl of muesli with some chopped up fresh plums - see, that's also quite healthy - and I had nothing more than water or fruit teas to drink until we went out for an evening meal to a beautiful and quirky local restaurant in Southend called Bacchus, which is well worth a visit.  Beautiful food. It's part of the San Fairie Ann group and their website is here - http://www.sanfairieann.com/.  It is a fine dining restaurant but not ridiculously expensive.  We had a main course and dessert, with a couple of drinks each - no bottles of wine - and including a decent tip came to £70 per couple, certainly not OTT in todays market.  My Lamb shank was delicious and fell off the bone. All in all, we enjoyed a good evening with good company, being Mark and Abi, and one of Mark's old friends Brian plus a friend, who really, really didn't want her picture taken so I've done the decent thing and edited the photo slightly.

We didn't go mad with the drinks - just 3 for me all night including the late one on the way back at Zabranos in Leigh - and looked forward to Sunday and the birthday party we'd planned for Mark's birthday earlier that week and also my son Dave's birthday on the Saturday.  The weather forecast was meant to be rotten so the original BBQ was in doubt, but as it transpired I managed to get started and most of it done before the rain came.  Anyway... what's a British summer without at least one BBQ in the rain?  Many thanks to Dawn's old friend and Godfather to her children, Simon, who had to resort to extreme measures to keep his head dry whilst keeping me company in the deluge (he's an avid West Ham fan!).

So all went well. I drank about 4 bottles of beer ALL DAY and nothing after 7 o'clock.  The food was usual BBQ fare minus the burgers, so just essentially chicken and sausages with some Samosas, Pakoras and Bhajis that I had heated through. I didn't have the time to make these, so they were shop bought (hangs head in shame). There was however a selection of healthy salads, like home made beetroot coleslaw using yoghurt instead of mayonnaise, tomato, mozzarella and basil, minted potatoes, plus some crisps, sausage rolls, french bread and ciabatta with, naturally, a birthday cake (thank you Home Made Bakery - it was delish.).  Being chef, I didn't really have the chance to eat much so just scavenged the odd bit from the grill and then some of the more "snacky" bits when I returned inside.

So that was my weekend.  Not a juice in sight (it was nice not to have to do all that washing up) and quite busy but certainly not what I would have usually consumed beforehand, so I was patting myself on the back for keeping everything in relative moderation.  I had really enjoyed it.

But then I woke up on Monday.

Well, I cannot remember feeling as bad as that for a long, long time.  Slow, lethargic, woolly headed, nauseous, unable to concentrate... seriously, I was totally shocked.  I had been absolutely fine the night before.  I had too many appointments that day to cancel, otherwise I would have done.  It wasn't something bad like uncooked food, as everyone else was fine; it must have been the type of food that was giving me grief. I went back to juices for the day but it was mid afternoon before I felt any better and in the evening I had exactly the same detox headache that I suffered on Day 3 of the original plan. On the Tuesday I was fine, back to how I had felt, with decent energy levels and clear thinking.

I have spoken to several people this week and have established that yes, because my body had been used to 90% nutrition for the previous month, it was indeed giving me a backlash against all this processed stuff I had shoved into it over the weekend.

Now I don't want to feel like that again.  Ever. I could not believe how just one weekend of mild enjoyment would have had such a monumentous effect on my daily well-being.  Those who know me will probably have said that I was most likely to brush that type of feeling aside with ease, as I have a reputation for an iron constitution, can eat or drink anything, never get hangovers or sick and would have simply dismissed the natural and well being argument as "new age, liberal rubbish."  Well I can tell you that the effect of just one weekend has completely shaken me.

I can't stay on just juices for ever, but I can incorporate at least one or two into my regular diet.  This weekend I am out on Saturday night again at friends for a meal and some drinks but will have a couple of juices during the day, plus Sunday as well (before enjoying my Sunday lunch), and will report back next week as to how that felt on Monday.

Oh, one last thing; the weight loss has now hit the 2.5 stone mark, so no harm done.

A Day off

Ok, ok I admit it.  I have had a day off from the fast.

It wasn't planned, it's just the way it turned out.  Friday was meant to be a regular, normal day with possibly an evening down in Old Leigh with some friends to celebrate their birthday, but with me drinking water.

However, it didn't pan out that way.

All started well and the weight loss is now up to about 2 and a quarter stone, so I'm extremely happy with that.  I'm starting to notice the looser clothing and today wore a suit suitable for the funeral I was attending at lunchtime.  This was the first time this particular outfit had been donned for a while (since May I think) and the clothes felt as though they were hanging off me.  So far, so good.  Latest picture below.

But then, mid morning I had a call to attend at the local hospital in the afternoon to do the part of my job I find most upsetting; an emergency Will.  This is essentially for someone who doesn't have long to live and the Will generally has to be written at the bedside.  This particular lady apparently had deteriorated quickly and her ability to give instructions was in doubt.  I managed to get past that bit, but then came the production of the document itself, which had it's complexities and was delayed by first a failing printer, then the ink running out and the unavailability of a second witness.  It all became a bit of a race against time but we got there in the end and she was able to sign and have the peace of mind to know that her affairs were in order.

From there, I made the trek across the hospital to meet my partner who was having an emergency eye examination for something that we had been worried about and which could have been serious.  Her optician and GP had felt that some discovered damage in her eye could have been caused by possibly a tumour or MS, but luckily it appears not and there is a secondary cataract which can be lasered away.  What a relief!

So, with all that had gone on, we decided to wander up the road for some nibbles and then onto our friends drinks which I celebrated in the same way as everyone else; with a beer or two.  Actually, it was just one as the bar was hopelessly understaffed and I was at the bar for nearly half an hour before being served.  The food was the best bit though I must say and how I've missed you!  We shared a Greek Platter, Breaded Deep Fried Calamari and it was bloomin' gorgeous.

I suppose this will be my challenge - after I decide that the fast has finished properly, what then?  I really don't want to go back to what I was doing but the temptation is there and it will be hard, much harder I suspect than the fast itself.

Oh well, we will see.

Plus points though  -

1) Several people commented on how well and good I was looking,
2) My going out clothes pleased me the most as I wore a shirt I haven't been able to get on for some time and jeans that have never ever been that comfy even if they fitted (last time I tried they wouldn't do up) were now loose.
3) I spent the evening socialising with my friends and realised that if that part of my life was denied to me, what would be the point?

Sometimes things just need to be celebrated.

This should save a few quid...

Twenty days in and the weight loss is slowing up.  Only two more pounds since Friday so maybe my optimism re the other stone before next weekend 14th was misplaced.

But it's in the right direction and I think I'm changing shape.  People are visibly noticing when they see me now and over the past couple of days I've had two people tell me that I look taller; one of them actually didn't recognise me initially (the Groucho Marx wig and glasses was nothing to do with it, honest.)  Most of the inches have come off of the upper torso meaning my jackets fit better and tomorrow I'm seeing some mates I haven't seen since the beginning of July and it'll be interesting to see if they notice (I don't think they follow this blog).

Anyway, beetroot juice is currently the favourite and a fabulous recipe consists of 2 beets, 2 apples, 3 big handfuls of spinach and/or leafy greens, 6 carrots and a 2-3cm piece of root ginger.  On the plan it is called "Un-beet-able" and it certainly is.  Deep red in colour, full of iron and extremely tasty.

There are several other beetroot recipes and I am going through them like wildfire at the moment, so it's probably just as well as this lot were harvested from the garden earlier together with about 20 apples and some tomatoes, also pictured.  The toms aren't featured in the juices but there's nothing like growing your own produce, is there? Saves on the grocery bill too!

Next photo probably this Friday.  Cheers for reading

Insane results after 15 days!

Well, the first 15 days are done (finished yesterday) and I have decided to do another 15. The main reason for this is that yes, the magic TWO STONE figure has been reached.  I don't think another two stone is likely in the next 15 days but one would be good.  It really is an insane amount of weight to lose and I'll review the situation again at the end of that 15 day period.  I'll basically repeat the 10 day juice fast recipe but I may find some alternative recipes to vary it up a bit.  Here are the comparison pictures, definitely a lack of overhanging stomach!

I'll list my favourite juices over the next few blogposts and give the recipes that you can also try.  This is Joe Cross's Carrot Apple Ginger recipe, especially nice in the morning.  You need four apples, six carrots and a piece of root ginger about 2-3 cm wide.  If you have a whole fruit juicer, no prep needed so just wash the fruit and juice the lot!  That will make two large servings of about 375-400ml each.  Have one in the morning and either put one in a flask for later in the day or give the other one to a friend! For other recipes and the details of the plan I followed, go to www.rebootwithjoe.com and look up the "Plans" section under the Rebooting tab.

It hasn't all been plain sailing and I have missed food a bit. This weekend I am missing out on three different birthday parties but will stay drinking just water.  Dawn has had a very stressful week one way or another and succumbed to the lure of Sauvignon Blanc but had been eating some light meals anyway.

For me, I also have to say that the odd handful of blueberries and piece of fruit has been eaten as opposed to juiced but I'd be getting it anyway so that works for me.  There has also been a couple of food tastings as I have been cooking for the kids but I am proud to say that nothing processed has passed my lips.

It seems to be a "top-down" diet that has most worked on the face and upper torso so far.  I am yet to notice a significant difference in the waistline but my shirts and jackets are much looser; a good few inches looser I would say!  That is a big bonus and I hope that I will be a size smaller very soon.

I'll continue to update every few days but if you are thinking of doing it, I do recommend it, if only for a short while.

Seeds of doubt

And so we are into the last third of the initial plan and I am now starting to miss food a bit. This weekend has seen a bit of a challenge.  On Friday night, I cooked a large Chilli con Carne for the family and out of force of habit, instinctively tasted the dish to make sure the seasoning is correct.  Now that won't do any harm to the diet, but it did give me a taste of proper food for the first time in 10 days and that has stirred doubt and temptation.

Then today, we went to a friends birthday party where there was cake, cake, cake, more cake, Prosecco and oh, did I mention cake?  No sooner had I resisted all temptation and arrived home than two girls knocked at the door selling fairy cakes they had made and were selling for charity. ARRGGHH!

To make things worse I made a chicken roast dinner for the girls with peas, roast potatoes and glazed carrots and the smell has been driving me insane!  Almost every Facebook status update that hasn't been about the localised flooding seems to feature some unbelievable food that my friends are making, eating or savouring.

Should I continue on the juice fast at the end of the 15 days or should I drop to two juices a day and a meal? I decide to take two courses of action - 1) Weigh myself to check the latest weight loss and 2) Venture into the garden to see the natural produce we are growing and which will hopefully form part of the juices and salads soon.

So, the weight loss - I am on day 11 of the plan and have lost 1 stone 8 lbs and wore a loose shirt today that was almost tight just 2 weeks ago.  This gives me the impetus and encouragement I need... is it possible that by the end of the 15 day plan I could have lost TWO STONE! I know the weight loss will decelerate but further 10 days could mean another half a stone.  I think I'll soldier on.

So, noble follower, your juicing blogger is back on track and as everyone has been posting pictures of their food, I'll leave you with my pictures of the apples, pears and tomatoes in the garden that we'll soon be able to harvest.  Yes, those red apples are really that red.

Tipping the Balance

So, at just about the halfway point I am devouring green and red juices like there's no tomorrow and am becoming expert in cleaning the juicer, which continues to annoy me on a daily basis.

And I hope that some of you at least are enjoying the blog and that some have also been inspired to try it out for yourselves. I know an old friend of mine has and I had a long chat with her tonight about the programme itself.  So with this is mind, I thought I'd share some tips for anyone interested.

1 - Make sure the juicer is man enough for the job!  One for around £100 - £140 should be fine.  Phillips are a good range recommended by another juicing guru, Jason Vale, while the reboot king Joe Cross always uses ones made by Breville, but these are in the £400 category and probably too much.  A couple of weeks ago on holiday we went to a Food Festival and there was a mobile juice shack and they used the Phillips ones which they swore by and had never let them down.  Don't be tempted by cheap juicers; they burn out quickly and don't get enough juice out of the fruit and vegetables.

2 - Fruit will overpower the flavour of vegetables every time.  Therefore, a juice containing vegetables like spinach and kale won't taste of them if you add fruit like pears or oranges.

3 - When on a detox or juice fast, you don't need to take additional supplements as you will be getting probably more nutrients than you have ever had before.

4 - On a juice fast, drinking more green juices and water will increase weight loss.

5 - Joe Cross recommends "drinking a rainbow" every day, so make sure there are some red, yellow and green juices.  The most nutrients and healthy stuff are in the green juices.

6 - When buying fruit and veg, check with local greengrocers or in the "Reduced" sections of supermarkets as they will often have nearly out of date stuff very cheap. It doesn't matter what it looks like don't forget.

7 - Shop for a day or two at a time as you seriously will not have enough room to store any more.

At the end of this fast, I am undecided what to do.  I may do another 10 days or I may go to 2 juices a day plus a meal.  We'll see.  But as there are only so many juice pictures I can post, here are a couple of pictures of me now, as the weight loss now stands at 1 st 4 lbs.  Please ignore the coat hanger which looks like it is coming out of my head.

The (Juice) Fast Show

Well, Day 6 is here and the juice fast begins. Hopefully the detox programme will have dealt with all of the usual side effects of fasting like the headaches, etc. and the weight loss will be just as dramatic.

So, what other side effects have been apparent?

Well, there has been a change in my energy levels.  I used to be able to function with very few hours sleep and although seemed always extremely tired, was like one of those Duracell batteries that kept on and on before having a quick sleep recharge and then off again. Every 2 or 3 weeks I needed a good rest but otherwise I'd just cope.  Now however, I have noticed that actually I don't get steadily tired at all and can just deal with everything until about 11:30pm when I all of a sudden become so tired I can't do anything so I have to go to bed.  It feels like a sudden stop as opposed to a gradual slow down, if that makes sense.

I'm sure I don't have to explain the differences in the digestive system and the subsequent toiletry effects when someone goes from being an alcohol drinking, sugar needy carnivore to what is essentially a protein free Vegan diet.  At the other end, one interesting thing is that when you chew, the food seems to give the front of your teeth a little bit of a clean - if that's the right word - which doesn't happen when you just drink juices and soups, so that my teeth both today and yesterday (fluid days only, no solids) feel unclean all the time.

Over the last 2 days I have also felt quite thirsty, much more so than usual.

Other than that, there hasn't yet been much bad to report and I have easily given up the whisky, beer, coke, chocolate, crisps, meat or whatever without any major withdrawal symptoms.

I will have to buy a new juicer though.  This one has been ok and does the job, but for some reason now doesn't line up properly when being assembled and will only work then the handle holding it together is held in place manually. However, this morning, as I was juicing carrots for the Carrot, apple and ginger juice I had for breakfast (yum!) the handle slipped, releasing the top cover and spraying a load of pulped carrot shavings around both me and the kitchen. Not good.

I'll leave you with a Pear Pie Juice, which doesn't look great admittedly but was actually gorgeous considering that it's predominantly Sweet Potato. It also had 2 pears (you can use peaches as well), an apple, a handful of blueberries and a dash of cinnamon.

OMG! I am officially staggered...

It's the end of Day 4 and the only solid food I've had today has been a big detox salad at lunchtime consisting of various different lettuce leaves, avocado, tomatoes, radishes and celery.  Otherwise it's been a liquid day with an Island Smoothie for breakfast - Mango, Banana, Lemon, Coconut water and a handful of spinach (which was REALLY NICE) - Carrot, Apple and Lemon Juice both mid morning and mid afternoon with 2 portions of soup, Squash and Apple and a Green Detox soup with water and herbal teas throughout the day.  Tomorrow I don't think there are any solids at all in readiness for the 10 day Juice fast starting on Tuesday.

A very colourful carrot, apple and lemon juice.

It has not been too hard so far really, I must admit making the girls Shepherds pie was another trial but I came through it unscathed and it all makes it worth it when you realise that in just 4 days I've dropped a stone in weight.

I wasn't really expecting to have any substanti...

Hang on a minute... Did I just type that?

IN JUST 4 DAYS I HAVE DROPPED A STONE IN WEIGHT.

Yes, that's right.  A stone.  Four days.  ONLY FOUR DAYS!

Now I know I said I'm not going to publish weights (and I'm still not) but on the basis that my scales actually do register my weight and although they are inaccurate they are consistently inaccurate, I rather nervously weighed myself on the morning after my "Last Hurrah" and was actually horrified.  Now when I did Lighterlife several years ago I lost 8lbs in the first week and I was bigger then than when I started this so there was even more excess to drop off, which I know it does quickly, mainly fluids.

But a stone!  OMG!  However, it's not only that... I have so much more energy during the day.  For instance, this morning I was up at 7:30 and prepared the smoothies and juices for the morning, went to my office to work from 9 until 12:30, went shopping for the next two days recipes, came home, made the lunch for me and Dawn, made the Shepherds Pie, carrots and peas for the girls, put 2 loads of washing on, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, sorted the ironing, paired what seemed like a million socks, (all of that whilst watching Crystal Palace v Spurs and Chelsea v Hull on the iPad), washed up and cleared away, made the evening juices (the soups were done yesterday) and then had a shave and shower before sitting down to write this at about 9 and I don't feel in the least bit tired.

Dawn did all the Mums taxi bit and plenty of other stuff around the house as well, while two of the girls have also totally blitzed their rooms so it has been a bit of a life detox as well.

My word.  I am still amazed.  Looking at the typical juice fast weight loss, I reckon that I could be another stone lighter at the end of that 10 days.  If you're still thinking about this then just get on it, seriously.  You won't regret it.

I'll post another picture after day 5.

Totally, absolutely staggered.

Green is the Word

Day 3 of the detox programme and everything is green. Breakfast starts with a Shamrock Smoothie which is, indeed, green, as shown.

Now nice is laying it on too strong. Similarly, vile, putrid and makes you gag is also probably too strong. Somewhere in between is fair and nearer the vile end of the scale would probably be more accurate. However, would I prefer this over taking a ton of medication? I guess the answer would be yes and it isn't even close.  And I guess that's the point.

But if we are talking about green, the check out the colour of the green lemonade juice here - it is almost neon in colour!  I promise you, no effect or adjustment has been made to either photo; they really are that green.

Lunch consists of a squash and apple soup, which is really, really tasty and we have a rest from the green. The evening food is the same as last nights offering and I think tomorrow there is even less solid food as we prepare for the 10 day juice fast.  In fact, just a salad is allowed so it'll be a bit of leaf to crunch on and on Monday, it's all liquids.

So is it beginning to have a positive effect?

Well, I did realise that actually this morning I had a lot more energy than normal and there was a spring in my step as I walked to work.  I also accomplished quite a lot more than I usually do at work and I seemed more tolerant than normal as well.  For some reason I am more tired of an evening than I usually am, but then I am going to bed earlier and I suppose that's not such a bad thing either.  No headaches, although Dawn has another one but it's not as bad as yesterdays.

Sundays will be another challenge as no doubt the kids will want a roast dinner - I wonder if you can juice that?

Err... and how many hours are there in the day?

I've come to the rather quick conclusion that this detox lark takes a hell of a lot of time.  It's not just a question of being organised, it's like being a permanent sous chef.

No headaches for me today, although Dawn has had a monster one, more like a migraine. It really doesn't seem like it's only day 2 as there is so much that I've read and done, plus I seem to have been a permanent fixture in the kitchen!  This morning we had the rest of the Berry bake from yesterday and a Green juice, being kale, cucumber, celery and pear.  Whilst it looks like Radioactive waste, the taste of the pear is predominant and it is unexpectedly ok.

Lunch is Avocado and Vinaigrette salad, similar to yesterdays evening meal (I used the left over dressing) and a raw carrot ginger soup which was absolutely fantastic in flavour, but all this involved a ton of prep in making the salad as well as making another green juice for the afternoon, cleaning the juicer, making the carrot juice as the base for the soup, washing the juicer, blending the soup, washing the blender... it is a big job and not one that someone could do casually whilst working and having an hour for lunch.

But the food part of the 5 day detox is coming to an end and more liquids are being introduced over the next 3 days before the juice fast begins properly on day 6. Hopefully the downsides of the fast will already have been overcome by then.

Maybe it's just as well. The food portions are huge. I cannot imagine that weight loss would be possible on this detox plan; neither Dawn nor I could manage the Green Detox soup (so we'll have that tomorrow) as the evening meal consisted of Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Mushrooms and Herbs. Look - its massive and completely filled us up.

Very tasty though, but extremely difficult for me to resist the girls' Chinese takeaway consisting of Seaweed, BBQ Ribs, Sweet + Sour chicken, Special Fried Rice, Spring Rolls and Prawn Crackers. Normally I would have polished off what leftovers there were, but not today.  In fact, I am pleased to say that I dished up the whole lot for them and didn't even lick the spoon.

Well done me.

Let the Games Begin!

Urghh. So this morning I awake after last nights "Last Hurrah" session (I didn't have the kebab) and my immediate reaction was to reach for the milk, sugar and PG tips, maybe with a comforting bowl of Honey Nut Cornflakes to accompany it.  Fortunately I don't really suffer from hangovers but this would usually be definitely needed for a condition I can only describe as "Sticky Mouth"...

BUT STOP!  I ALMOST FORGOT... I have to be good.

Well, I hadn't forgotten at all actually and I really do need this detox and healthy eating regime as I feel stodgy, bloated, heavy with nowhere near as much energy as I should have, or in fact need.

So the kettle went on and I reached for the ingredients to make the opening drink of the day; simply boiling water poured over a large slice of lemon and some slices of root ginger.

Breakfast is the Berry, Apple and Cinnamon bake I made last night, shown here

which is just strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples thrown together with cinnamon and nutmeg before being baked on a medium heat for 45 minutes.  And it is delish!  I've made enough for tomorrow as well.

Now, about 30 minutes after eating this I was suddenly aware that I felt pretty good and awake!  I'm sure it wasn't psychological as I wasn't thinking about the plan at all and I was instead surprised at just how good I felt bearing in mind the previous evenings session.

Today's meal plan involved a juice, Ginger, Apple and Carrot which was quickly made and stored in my flask for mid morning and I glanced at the lunchtime menu; ok, maybe I should have been a little more organised as there was a lot of stuff to do in just an hour - thank God I a) work locally and b) am the Boss!

So the Reboot Green salad consisted of loads of leafy greens plus at least 4 vegetables of choice; I went for tomatoes, celery, avocado, radish and cucumber, all topped off with an Olive Oil/Balsamic Vinegar dressing with sweet potato and carrot "fries" on the side.  They took about 5 minutes to peel and prep plus 30-35 minutes to cook and then of course I have to eat the meal (which was gargantuan by the way - no hunger issues) before off I went to work with my flask again full of the Ginger, Apple and Carrot ready for the afternoon.

All through the day I have been steadily drinking water and tonight's feast is some more Sweet Potato and Carrot "fries", with a Kale and Avocado salad with sauteed Greens and Garlic.

However, as the evening wears on, I develop a headache.  This is normal on a detox as the sugar and caffeine withdrawal causes the body to scream out for the stimulants it is used to and I just need to push through and keep drinking water.  My beverages of choice over the next weeks will be herbal/fruit teas and water, probably between 2 and 2.5 litres a day.  I haven't managed quite as much as that today, but maybe tomorrow will be ok.

I do not intend to publish weights on here, mainly for two reasons;

1) - my scales are cheap and quite inaccurate, and
2) - I'm not 100% convinced they will go up high enough and I don't want to find out.

But the odd picture will do, and here's a "Before" shot so progress can be monitored.  It's a deliberate hang-dog expression and yes, I am pushing my stomach out to heighten the effect.  Honest.

Launch day 15th August

Watch this space!

One last Hurrah!

So everything is ready.

The juicer is working and I've downloaded my (initial) 15 day plan; a 5 day Detox followed by a 10 day juice fast.  After that, we'll see how we go.  The shopping has been done for the first two days of the Detox plan and later I will be preparing the Berry Apple Cinnamon Bake - I'll hopefully include pictures in tomorrows blogpost.

In case anyone hasn't caught on, Joe Cross is the one who has inspired me to this point.  I saw a programme on TV called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and caught the same juicing bug as many other people who have managed to sell out most juicers in the UK it seems!

This year has seen the pounds pile on a bit, basically through a huge increase in eating convenience food and less than a little exercise.  But it's the additional health benefits of the juicing that has made me quite keen to do something.  At this point, I'm not concerned about the plan and am confident I will have no problems whatsoever following it; I have done extreme fasting before and once the first 3 days are out of the way, it's a doddle.  It'll be fine.  I'm actually really looking forward to starting properly and am fast-forwarding a few months when the visible difference will be extremely discernible and the clothing a size or two smaller.

But I will be going out with a bang, so to speak.  An old school mate of mine appeared on Facebook a few months back and we tracked each other down after 35 years or so... he's up from the South Coast tonight and has kindly invited me out for an evenings drinking with his mates again, who were all a really nice bunch and made me feel very welcome.  Seems rude not to, especially as it'll be the last chance for a while, so I may as well take advantage of my last night of "freedom".  I may even end up grabbing a kebab on the way home for good measure.