The Struggle is Real

Day 2

Good morning! Today I woke up feeling pretty positive on #clean 9! I was at my boyfriends house in Bedford and I had to catch a train at 10:45am so my morning consisted of showering and getting ready before taking my: 

1. Garcinia Tablets x2
2. +20 minutes, then my 120ml of Aloe Vera
3. Half a pint of water 
4. + 1 hour, then Bee Pollen Tablets x2

If I'm completely honest I am ecstatic that it is the last day of the cleanse and tomorrow I can actually consume real food.
The struggle is real- this takes a lot of commitment and a real want to change a lifestyle.

Today I experienced my first worry. As we drove past a fried chicken shop, Dominoes and a McDonalds I had huge cravings for any kind of food, normally I wouldn't even like fried chicken! However in between this  unhealthy binge mindset I have faith in myself to maintain this healthy diet. Alongside healthy food (I do this already to be honest) I have set myself the challenge whilst I'm at home from University to go running 3 times a week and at Uni I will replace this with the gym.

Lunchtime and I consume 5 slices of cucumber off of the free food list as I am at a family party with the most incredible BBQ and desserts... I'm jealous... but I am determined and I am surrounded by supportive people who encourage me to keep it up!

I take my shake , my aloe vera and the 4 tablets. 

Afternoon- I spend some time walking my 2 Labradoodles and I have a nice bath and watch the programmes I missed over the week. I take the aloe vera and tablets around 8pm (a little late for dinner) and have a very relaxed evening home alone!

I hope this gives a small insight into the kind of things you can do on the clean9 2 day cleanse. I put myself in 2 quite difficult situations of a delicious meal time at my boyfriends home and a family party. However I remained 100% strict with myself and I am really excited to have a low calorie dinner tomorrow night. It is important to do exercise too. Today I was busy spending time with family and friends but I still ensured I went on a 40 minute brisk walk, I would really like to increase my general fitness as I have always been quite fit. Next week I will be running 3 times a week so I will let you know how I am feeling!

Thanks for reading 

XoXo

Clean 9 Feeling F9

Forever Living : Clean9

Day 1

Today is the day. 

When I heard about the #clean9 programme my first 2 thoughts were:

1: Lanzarote is in 3 weeks 

2: But I could cut down on the chocolate! 

But the impatient and impulsive person that I am got the better of me. The idea of a detox and cleanse on the body alongside dropping a couple of pounds was the decider, and the package that was sat under the bed in the study waiting to be used by my mum 6 months ago was opened.

The programme was an exciting prospect for me from day 1. I have to be honest, I am a lover of food; the socialisation and tastes of the world. I love nothing more than eating out and eating with friends and family, after all, it is essential for our survival. However I am also like every other girl in the world, body conscious and always looking to improve myself, I enjoy exercise and general fitness but the idea of a quickfix is tempting. 

So how do I view the Clean9 programme? 

As a challenge, something I want to do for myself. 

Everybody who knows me will be aware that I have never had much willpower when it comes to the last few minstrels in the packet, however they also know that when something is important to me, I have huge determination.

What is Clean9? 

A nutritional cleansing programme. 

The Aloe Vera based cleanse is used to kick start and maintain a healthy digestive system and a healthy energy level. 

The programme includes- 

• a tape measure
• a shake bottle 
• a measuring cup
• Forever Lite Ultra with Aminotein (Vanilla)
• Aloe Vera Gel
• Forever Garcinia Plus Tablets 
• Forever Bee Pollen Tablets

I should mention, on day 1 and day 2 of the cleanse you are not allowed to eat.

Day 1 included the Aloe Vera Gel 4X. This was probably the least palatable thing I have ever tasted. I couldn't stomach the gel without a couple of drops of blackcurrant to mask the taste, and even then I had to chase it with plenty of water. This was a worry as it was the second step of my day 1 after the 2 Garcinia tablets. I remember my mum telling me she had tried it and found it non-descript however I found the taste, texture and smell to be disconcerting.  

That morning I also went for a run down to the bottom of the river before briskly walking back up the hill, after this I took 2 Bee Pollen tablets as a light snack- haha!

At lunch time I had my shake! This tasted okay and did actually keep me feeling full until the evening! What I found to be most difficult was being around other people whilst they were eating, this tested my willpower, they were all encouraging though which helped me a lot. I also had to take more Aloe Vera... (still vile!!) after the Garcinia tablets and Bee Pollen. 

I then took a 45 minute walk with my boyfriend and his dogs to increase my energy levels as this was one of the first times I felt I had dipped. 

The evening was the hardest! My boyfriend's family had a mouth watering BBQ and I fancied everything that they were eating, so I spent the time chatting and drinking the Aloe Vera (which remained to taste so bad). I think the evening was also a big struggle because I am used to eating a bigger meal and snacking afterwards, so this was hard. 

I think that this was the only part of the day that I felt quite under-energised and weak. I really wanted some food and felt like I was beginning to get sleepy around 8pm. 

At this point I gave myself a little reward- 3 strawberries and 5 grapes, this gave me a little sugar which boosted my mood and energy.

At about 11pm I went to sleep.

I hope that this short diary entry is helpful to anybody who wants to try a cleanse/diet method. I have never spent a day without food because I am an active person, I am also not a fan of diets or fads because I believe in a healthy lifestyle with everything in moderation alongside exercise.  However, due to this absence of never not eating something in a day I was concerned that the empty feeling would make me feel nauseous, but the often little reminders to take the Aloe Vera and tablets helped me to keep determined, being around supportive people kept me very pre-occupied too! 

Enjoy your evening!

XoXo