My first ever detox!

So it's been 9 days of cleansing and detoxing. Quite frankly, 9 days off the booze and caffeine was an absolute miracle so the fact I was able to keep this up shows me that I still have some will power - phew!

The Clean 9 Forever Living detox is essentially a great weight loss kick starter. For me it was more than that - a way of cleansing my body and pressing the reset button. I have suffered with IBS for a number of years and it is getting increasingly worse - and for no apparent reason. My food triggers are random and don't seem to have a pattern - tuna I have found to be a nightmare (so random!!), gluten is fine in small doses, milk is off the menu but hard cheese is fine. Obviously wine is not a problem AT ALL!!

So I started the Clean 9 detox on a Thursday. The first 2 days are the killer - no food (except some fruit and veggies that are on the' free list' throughout the detox), lots of Aloe Vera gel to drink (which is totally disgusting - reminds me of the texture of something I won't mention, but those of you who have tasted (both!) will understand ;)) but is a great gut healer!), tablets to curb hunger and encourage the metabolism to get working and a protein shake for dinner. The shake (I went for chocolate) is fabulous mixed with almond milk....I am going to get some more of this as it great as quick fix when you haven't got time for lunch!

After day 2 it's pretty much plain sailing as you can eat your evening meal as normal - limiting to 600 calories. I found myself really looking forward to and savouring the taste of my food. I snacked on grapes, sugar snap peas and frozen blueberries and relished the taste. I have already done a Tesco shop since I finished the detox and its full of healthy snacking options -  the mid afternoon sugar low is my downfall and healthy snacks like these are tasty, filling (ish!) and not going to pile on the pounds.

In all I lost about half a stone in weight. My clothes fit better, my skin looks clearer (a cliche but genuinely have noticed the difference). I think the good habits over the 9 days have set me in good stead.....ok, so I had a massive night out on the Friday I finished the detox and drank my body weight in gin, wine and few sambucas to really finish me off. But food wise I am all about going back to basics - clean eating, lots of fruit and veg, zero gluten, no dairy apart from cheese (I LOVE CHEEESE!!). Wine will be reserved for weekends and bank holidays (phew!). I feel I have pressed the reset button and it feels good!

Where to get Clean 9?

There are loads of suppliers of Forever Living but my favourite is the lovely and very knowledgeable Anna Walker-Bettles. She is local to Bedford and having used the products for years, is a great source of information and guidance. Her daily texts to check I remained on track helped me through the whole detox process! I am happy to provide an intro if you want to get in touch with Anna!