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Moment
of truth: It's no good, I've got to do something. This morning
the scales show I am past the 10 stone mark - the same weight I
was when I was nine months pregnant.
And
despite a New Year resolution to get fit I can't find summon up
the energy or enthusiasm to drag myself to the gym to get some exercise.
The
sight of a lithe and fit-looking Carol Vorderman grinning on the
cover of her latest detox bible (Detox For Life, Virgin Books) in
WH Smith catches my eye - then I notice the book is on special offer
and on the spur of the moment decide to give it a go - tomorrow.
Day
1: The detox shopping trip. Having devoured the book (and little
else, honest - apart from a chocolate biscuit or three while no
one was looking) I'm ready to do a Carol.
At the supermarket checkout I feel
very strange to be unloading a trolley with no meat, bread or
cheese in it. |
| Clare
Parrack |
If
she can "drop two dress sizes without counting calories"
so can I. So out go milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, sugar, cakes, biscuits,
wheat, meat, fish, eggs, salt, caffeine and alcohol for 28 whole
days.
So
what on earth CAN I eat? Apparently I'll soon be feeling full of
beans if I fill up on, er, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables,
fruit, grains and lots and lots of water - a whopping two litres
a day to be precise.
At
the supermarket checkout I feel very strange to be unloading a trolley
with no meat, bread or cheese in it.
Back
home the cupboards and fridge are cleared of unhealthy temptation
to make way for this fruit and nut case's brand new food choices.
Day
2: My second day with no early morning mega-mug of tea to get
me going, and I have woken up with a pounding headache.
The
book tells me that's my body's caffeine and toxin withdrawal system
working. All I know is that I feel awful. Luckily it's Sunday so
I can go back to bed for another couple of hours.
After
a third cup of lemon and ginger tea the taste is growing on me and
I start to feel a bit better.
Day
3: Exercise and exfoliation are important elements of de-toxing
- the first to get your body working and the second because it's
through the skin that the body eliminates most of its toxins.
 |
| Dry
skin brushing revs up your circulation |
So
instead of staggering sleepily into the shower 20 minutes before
I'm due to leave for work I set the alarm for an hour earlier and
do 20 minutes of bends, stretches and crunches, then scrub my skin
all over with a body brush for five minutes before getting in the
shower.
Emerge
looking pink and feeling surprisingly perky despite the unaccustomed
hour, and the virtuous glow stays with me all day.
Day
4: Used to skipping breakfast too, but am also feeling better
for having fruit and wheat-free muesli before I leave the house.
Can't
say I like rice milk much, though.
Day
5: Hummus, oatcakes and carrot crudites are now my favourite
lunch.
No
hardship there, but I am feeling bored with entirely veg-based evening
meals, however delicious La Vorderman claims they are.
Day
6: Woke up from a vivid dream of munching my way through a mountain
of Brie and biscuits washed down with a nice claret - obviously
suffering badly from cheese and wine withdrawal! But otherwise feeling
good.
Drinking
what seems like two gallons of water a day has meant lots more trips
to the loo than usual but this seems to be settling down.
And
all that unaccustomed fruit and fibre did give me diarrhoea for
the first few days but my body seems to have adjusted to that, too,
thank goodness.
This
one says sheep and goat's cheese and milk are allowed, and so
is fish. Hallelujah! |
| Clare
Parrack |
And
after a couple of outbreaks of spots my skin is definitely looking
clearer, and I'm keeping up the exercise routine, much to my other
half's disbelief.
Day
7: I know weight loss is not the main object of the exercise
but can't resist temptation to jump on scales after a week of self-sacrifice.
Not
a good idea. Have lost only a measly pound. But tell myself it's
how you feel that counts, and I am feeling more energetic.
»Clare's
detox diary - part 2
»Clare's
detox diary - part 3
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