19 Jan 2013
How time flies, the past twelve days have gone so quickly and I am now on the final day of the Chris James Mind & Body Cleanse. There were a number of reasons why I wanted to try a 12 day detox, the first being that I had never disciplined my eating for that length of time, and I wanted to know how hard it would be. I was also confused as there is so much conflicting advice surrounding detox, and whether it’s healthy or not. Everyone seems to have an opinion but few people seemed to have tried it. I believe you need to try it yourself and make your own judgement.
As I mentioned in the first blog I didn’t lead an unhealthy lifestyle, but there is always room for improvement, especially straight after Christmas when so many of us consume for too many calories and eat an abundance of sugar, or was that only me? I need structure and wanted to follow a plan so I had some guidelines and the Chris James Mind & Body Cleanse not only guides you through every stage, it also supports your body with top quality supplements.
The last phase in the programme, the Maintenance Phase is a gentle time when your body is recovering from eliminating toxins and you are starting to eat solid food again. During this time I have had a strong sense of calm, there is no doubt there’s a sense of achievement which makes you feel good, as does the weight loss and the look and feel of your skin. My eyes are slightly brighter and my body has lost that spongy look that it had before I started the detox. My hair looks especially shiny, and other than still having a slightly croaky voice all the other symptoms that I experienced have gone.
On my final day I followed the usual routine and didn’t feel at all hungry, I juiced, roasted some butter beans and had a salad of brown rice, with pesto and avocado. I have thought that when I do this detox again I should be more adventurous with recipes. There are so many things that you can eat, and as quantities aren’t limited a person with a larger appetite could fill up with salad’s vegetables and soup.
This programme is all down to you, how much you can discipline yourself, and if you are sensible you can have very good weight loss without depriving yourself at all, at the same time you’re resetting your body to expect less food and healthier food. I would definitely do this programme again; I think the spring would be a better time than New Year, as the warmer weather would mean you can get outside and exercise more, there’s also less chance of catching a virus.
Other than knocking off a good few pounds, which has made my body look so much better, the other most noticeable benefit has been to my skin, it looks so much clearer, more even toned, softer and slightly less lined.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables means that the water content of your body has increased as your cells can absorb this easier than plain water.
Eating the right food has a great impact on the skin, The Water Secret by Dr Murad is really worth reading, and in the book Dr Murad explains the principle of eating your water rather than drinking it. “The water in fruits and vegetables is structured, meaning it’s surrounded by molecules that help it get into cells easily and quickly. For this reason I encourage patients to eat – not drink- their water. Fruits and vegetables also are rich in healing antioxidants your body needs. They also contain trace minerals and B vitamins that your body uses to metabolize carbohydrates, fat, and protein, and to synthesize DNA and new cells.” The message is to eat as much raw food as possible, and if you are cooking vegetables to steam them whenever possible.
The body brushing and detox have eliminated any signs of cellulite, another good reason to do this detox in the spring before going on holiday, it would be a great way to get bikini ready.
In total I had 14 days without alcohol, meat, fish, diary, wheat, caffeine, or sugar and 12 days of detox. I have had some detox symptoms, tiredness, cold symptoms, running nose, cough and sore throat. I did experience headaches but they were a dull ache rather than throbbing pain. I had one nasty detox spot right at the beginning. I lost my voice, but surprisingly I wasn’t at all grumpy, never felt low or that I ever wanted to give up, and only once in 12 days did I feel hungry. I didn’t feel any huge surge in energy nor had the leap out of bed feeling. I did feel totally positive throughout the whole experience and have enjoyed it, I realise that sounds strange, when a few days ago I was moaning about feeling rubbish. I did feel rubbish, and I believe you have to get worse to get better.
If you have any questions please do ask!
Chris James Mind & Body Cleanse £120.00 available from Space NK
