Monday, November 22, 2010

Detox

Photobucket
I got a sweet little email from the girls at Urban Remedy last week asking me if I wanted to try out one of their 3 day detox's and review it on my blog. It came about just as I was thinking about doing something like it so I said yes straight away. I had previously read about their detox juices on Ms Critique's blog and had only heard good things so I was pretty excited by the idea. Confession time: I am not healthy, and I know it. Its not in the way you may think for someone of my size (you know, all fat people are fat due to over eating...sarcasm noted I hope) My problem is I actually under eat. Most days all I eat is dinner, often not finishing my meal. My meals are all mostly healthy though, as a vegetarian I eat a lot of vegetables, beans and soy, but I do fill up on carbs (potato and pasta) and cheese (lots of cheese!) Anyway this whole under eating thing has meant my body is in "starvation mode" and stores everything I eat as fat because it doesn't know when the next meal is coming. It is a problem I try to fix every now and then, but I just feel sick if I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm barely hungry as it is. I do eat chocolate every night after dinner, and drink a fair amount of coke (about 1 can a day). I also don't exercise unless it is incidental to my life, as in walking somewhere (which I do a lot of as I don't drive). Anyway my hope was for this detox to help me wean myself of coke and onto a more regular diet.

The fresh juices were delivered to me on the Sunday to start on Monday, but unfortunately I caught a cold on the previous Friday so wasn't feeling too good on the start day. This is where it all went down hill.

Photobucket

There were 6 juices to drink throughout the day. I was thinking, gee whiz how I am meant to drink all that in 1 day, I wont be able to stomach it. I got through the 1st day without too many problems (I did eat 1 piece of inari sushi at a fashion shoot I worked on though, it just went in my mouth without me thinking) The juices make it easy as they are all so yummy (well except the one with cos lettuce). I also loved the encouraging emails that get sent to you along the way with tips and tricks to keep you going. But by the end though these turned out to torment me in my failure to stick to the detox.

Another confession: I have never ever done a detox before, or even a diet for that matter (this detox isn't a diet though, it's a way to flush out all the bad toxins and re-shape your eating habits into a more healthy balanced lifestyle). I don't think starting a detox when you have a cold already is a good idea, and I don't think anyone could continue with one if they had such a disaster of a week as I did last week. Monday night we got the news that Henry's grandfather had passed away. From that point on my determination wained and come Tuesday morning I was back to my old habits, not eating/drinking anything till about 3pm when I had the 1st juice of the day. I realised I had ruined the whole detox and decided just to drink the juices with my dinner that night (Henry bought my fave food, take away Vietnamese) and I gave Henry a few juices to try out with his meal too. Even though I had quit, I still got the encouraging emails in my inbox without them realising I had wimped out already and was back to my old ways.

I do see how the Urban Remedy detox can be a great help to re-establish a healthy eating regime. You just need to stick with it, which if you haven't ever done anything like it before could be a bit hard. I would love to try this again in a few months when things settle down for me, because I know something needs to change in my lifestyle for me to feel healthy and fresh again.

18 comments:

  1. I'm so keen to do a detox. A week of binging on alcohol at parties has left me feeling awful this week.
    Maybe I should try Urban Remedy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so glad you blogged honestly about this! It's OKAY to talk openly about diet and health.

    The fact that this program has taught you that your current habits are not healthy is a positive effect even if the cleanse itself didn't go as planned.

    Few people are saints with their diets unless their Gwyyneth Paltrow and even then we have to wonder if she sneaks the odd naughty indulgence now and then.

    If eating breakfast lunch and dinner makes you sick you're eating the wrong foods. You don't have to eat A LOT just eat regularly.

    I personally feel the meal replacement program I recommended to you on Skype a few weeks ago would still be best for you to try - because although it is designed for weight loss it ultimately teaches you correct eating habits as you go off the meal replacements.

    But you have to want to change yourself first and be prepared for the bad side effects of a body adjusting to a diet change, which may include nausea or headaches - the same effects you may experience on a juice cleanse.

    The hardest part is being in the right frame of mind and learning to say NO to bad foods. It is not an easy commitment to change to a healthy diet because you don't simply "diet" for a while then resume your old eating habits.

    It is a change for LIFE.

    I am very proud of you. xxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never heard of anything like this before. I'm kind of wanting to try it because today I felt so unhealthy and want some kind of change.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow.. just checked prices on their website and at $65 dollars a day. I would rather go to the supermarket, stock up on the freshest, healthiest food or do a few pilates classes.
    In other words, I think it's a rip off.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shardette, I disagree. Well I do agree that the prices seem steep, but when you read more about the product, the research that has gone into each cleanse, the support material that you get sent, the fact that it is proven to be nutritionally safe as they have carfeully measured the nutrients/calories etc and each juice has to be taken at a specific order as they have been found to be the perfect fit for that time of day. Essentially you are paying for a lot more than just juice and I believe it is worth it and would happily fork out the dosh next time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW! I bought a blackmores detox kit last week, and realised I had to buy a juicer to do the detox. Well, ditch that detox I'm going to do this cleanse instead.
    And I am with Haley, Shardette I don't think this is a rip off. If saves you the hassle of buying and preparing all the food for the detox. Thanks for sharing this post Haley I am inpressed and saving my pennies for this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good on you for trying this! I'm sorry to hear about Henry's grandfather, and your cold. Maybe one day you'll try it again when you are feeling more yourself.

    I tend to eat pretty healthy foods, but a lot of them (I'm hopeless on portion size!) and I realised a few weeks ago I had an addiction to sugar (when you feel you NEED a can of coke and a mars bar to get through the afternoon, that's not such a good thing!). So I stopped eating all sugar as well as foods that act like sugar (like grains, potatoes, etc), so I'm doing a 30 day detox of sorts. It's been hard, but I feel great. No more aching joints, not so much crankiness in the mornings. Weightloss wasn't my intention, but things are starting to feel a bit looser around the waist. Just the act of eating more fruit and vegetables has had me feeling better. I can highly recommend doing it (I'm following this plan http://olsonnd.com/30-sugar-free-days/)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hayley, I love your honesty!

    I hope Henry and you are doing ok...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Haley
    Sad to hear about the passing of Henry's grandfather.
    I know what you mean about the under eating problem, I too lack an appetite. I have recently found that a protein shake in the morning is a good way to kick stat my metabolism and you can shop around till you find a protien shake that suits your taste buds and your budget. I like mine with milk but you can make up most of them with water so it is too easy.
    Donna
    http://donna-streetstyle.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. These sorts of things are easy to give up on, but that's half the battle.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I get that this juice diet is not designed for weight loss, but I don't really see how replacing all of your meals with pre-prepared juices for three days teaches you anything about healthy eating.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for such an honest review!
    I'm likely to be doing this (or another) juice detox in the coming week, I'm definitely inspired by you to blog about it honestly!

    http://theobliviousblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. i really enjoyed reading your story. i just the same detox this week.
    however, i think drinking just juice when youre unwell is a really good idea, as it gives your body a break from digesting, and gives it pure nutrients to work with to fix our immune system. just a different perspective there.

    ReplyDelete
  14. These kind of "detox" programs are not safe. It has been reported on repeatedly that it is healthier to eat meals than rely on a quick fix juice, shake or pill. Being in the spotlight and I'm guessing a role model to many people I am disgusted you would promote this on your blog. There are sooo many better options for people to be healthy. Start by ditching the soft drink, exercise more and eat lots of healthy fresh food. Its seriously not that hard. I urge you to look into what you are promoting, especially on what is a fashion blog aimed at younger girls.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Starvation mode is actually a myth- http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501.

    I've never done a detox before either, but it sounds interesting... :]

    ReplyDelete
  16. Also I just remembered a blog I really like: http://msbitchcakes.blogspot.com/

    It's a weight loss blog, but I like that she focuses on healthy eating and promotes a healthy lifestyle. (I don't really care about weight loss, I just want to be more healthy...)

    I'd never really thought of how unhealthily I ate and I never exercised, but Sheryl's blog really motivates me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I didn't subscribe to the thread so I only just saw all the replies!

    I agree to some extent what G was saying. Extreme detoxes are not safe and I believe liquid diets fall under that category.

    I just know that for myself, I could not possibly drink all my meals for a week. I am a size 8-10 but need to eat 3 decent meals a day.

    I just finished my own invented healthy eating plan that went for a month. It included no gluten, alcohol, fried goods, red meat, seafood and sugar.
    It was hard at first, but you realise that bread is totally unnecessary in life. Brown rice, quinoa, vegies, fruit, lentils etc ARE BETTER FOR YOU!!! :)

    XX

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave me a message but remember to play nice!