Detox Delights

Detox

When it comes to eating healthily and going to the gym I have been a very naughty girl this year.

I was never a huge gym bunny, despite the fact my mother is a fitness instructor, until my second year of uni. Freshers fifteen really caught up with me and I decided to put my free gym membership (from working at Virgin Active) to use. I worked out 3-5 times a week, ate well (if you ignore the occasional cheesy chips) and wasn't as excessive with my drinking as first year. Over my second and third year I lost about a stone and a half. 

Not only did I have a free gym membership, I worked out with two of my best friends (one who had a car, making the weather an inexcusable reason not to go to the gym), and I had motivation. Holidays. My month long trip around Vietnam last summer with my teeny tiny best friend was a huge motivator.

Fast forward to this year. I lost my free gym membership, live with my I-only-excercise-if-it's-tennis-or-swimming-in-my-garden boyfriend and have developed a penchant for take away. Nawt good. The fact that I have only drank alcohol about five times this year, rarely drink a drink that isn't water and on the whole eat rather well has meant my weight hasn't ballooned too much. 

I have put on about five pounds that keep coming and going as they please. I can feel it on my stomach, back of my thighs and my ever disappearing slash reappearing collar bones (my favourite body part). 

Something needed to be done.

So I detoxed. David Kirsch's 48 hr detox. For 48 hrs cheating was chewing. I drank his ready made pink lemonade for three meals a day and lost 5 pounds. If anyone watches The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (guilty as charged) the Super Charged Cleanse is quite similar to Yolande's master cleanse. 

It claims to leave your feeling slimmer, healthier and more energized in just two days, without feeling hungry or fatigued. I'm not going to lie it wasn't a walk in the park (I don't think I could have mustered the energy for a walk in the park). A friend of mine attempted the detox but got so delirious she gave up and ate a Mcdonalds at the end of day one. 

I was fine on the first day. I spent most of the day shopping. Zara has always been a good hunger distraction. Drank my detox and my bubbles as well as lots of white tea- I found drinking hot drinks tricked my body into feeling full. I woke up on day two with loads of energy and I am not a morning person! I worked on day two, probably not a good idea. The sardine packed commute to work was hell. At around three I felt really faint and couldn't concentrate much on my work. I powered through, drank my bubbles and went to sleep at about 9 that night. The next morning it was over. I felt slimmer, healthier and more energized but it would be a lie to say I didn't feel hungry or fatigued.

Well worth a go if you are looking to embark on a health kick. After two days of food deprivation it makes you think twice about that slice of shortcake. It is also harder to lose weight when you have toxins residing in your body as the toxins grab hold of the fat. However, it is not the answer to quick fix weight loss loss. A couple of weeks have passed and slowly but surely most of the weight has crept back on.

One thing I was impressed with was the Thermo Bubbles.

I supplemented the drink with Kirsch's Thermo Bubbles. Another pink lemonade flavoured drink that works to boost your energy levels, increase your metabolism and curb your appetite. There is no way I could have survived the detox without these. 

In an attempt to rid myself of those pesky five pounds for good I have recently started the 5:2 diet. Coined the greatest diet revolution since Atkins it seems like everyone and their uncle are trying it. The idea is to eat what you like five days a week and restrict (or fast) for two days. 500 calories if you are a girl, 600 if you are boy. Apparently you should lose on on average 1 pound a week from this intermittent fasting, as well as seeing improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol. 

I have tried many a fad diet (often influenced by my mother) - Dukan and Grapefruit spring to mind. And whilst I don't think I will stick to fast dieting for the rest of my life it is reconditioning my thinking about how much food my body actually needs. I seem to be surviving just fine on my 500 calorie days. Yes I feel hungry but it is nothing unmanageable. I have been having asparagus and a egg for breakfast, edamame beans for lunch and salmon and greens for dinner. I have to say the recipes in Mimi Spencer's Fast Diet cook book are delicious. I have to admit (and I'm not sure if this is cheating or not) but I have been relying on my Thermo Bubbles to get me through my fasting days. On one of my 'normal' days last week I tried to eat healthily  probably around 1,500 calories, but didn't drink my Thermo Bubbles. I felt more hungry than my fast day with them.

I like the knowledge that I have rid my body of a huge built up of toxins and that thought it may be hard I don't have to eat that whole tub of Ben and Jerry's in the fridge.

If you are looking to detox/change the way you think about food/shift those extra few pounds I cannot recommend David Kirsch or the 5:2 diet enough.

I am finally getting my eating under control....now just to start hitting the gym. Might as well put my new Nikeys to use.

Check out fast dieting here: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

I'm Back....

New Year, New Me

So I have had a bit of a break from my blog of late, I have been crazy busy at work over the Christmas period and didn't have enough energy to think let alone blog.

But now 2013 has rolled in I am making blogging religiously again one of my main priorities.

Every year I make far fetched resolutions which I will have most likely broken by January 2nd. This year I'm being a bit more lenient with myself. Rather than declaring I will lose a stone in a week, I am aiming for a healthier, happier year.

Come pay day I am going to embark on David Kirch's 48 cleanse to kick start my new year new me plan, but until those funds make a magic appearance I am going to start incorporating more juice into my diet. A sure fire way to get my fave a day, as it took 3 carrots and 2 apples to make one glass of juice (!). 

On top of the juice I want to get back to drinking more water. I used to drink approximately 13 glasses of water a day, this has dwindled down to my recommended 8 and i miss the feeling of over hydration. In my book there is no such thing as too much water.

In an ideal world I would give up dairy for good, but as a bit of a cheese fiend that is not likely to happen any time soon. So to begin with I am giving up milk. To be honest i'm not thaaaat big a fan of milk anyway, and I can't taste the difference between cow and soya in my tea and coffee so score.

2012 hasn't been my skin's best year so I am hoping to have more luck in 2013, in order to push fate more firmly on my side I am going to start taking fish oil tablets. They don't come cheap, and it is more than kinda irritating having to take three a day, but if it works it will all be worth it!

I also want to get back to the gym. The past two years I have been a fully dedicated gym bunny, I need to be to shift the freshers fifteen I put on in my first year. However since moving to Putney and dealing with a significant down grade in my gym my excercise has fallen by the wayside. This year I want to pick up those trainers and get back out there.

Two more to go. Most of my resolutions this year are focusing on health and skin but there are a few added extras. Number one to read more. My granddad likes to get me books as my under the tree present, and I still haven't finished the ones he got me last year. However when I opened Wild Swans on Christmas day my passion for reading returned. Finally, and really what should be most importantly, find a real life adult job!

Happy New Year! What are your resolutions?

Rant or Rave?

Malin and Goetz Detox Face Mask Review

£29.00 from Space NK

What They Say: Detox Face Mask is a five minute foaming gel mask. Its combination of oxygenating cleansing agents lift dirt, oil and makeup up, deeply cleansing the pores without irritation, drying or using harsh detergents, whilst creating a physical barrier to seal hydration. Containing amino acids and natural almond extract the mask effectively cleanses, purifies and soothes whilst Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Soy Protein help firm the skin, helping prevent ageing.

For deep cleansing and hydration, a thick layer of gel applied for 5 minutes in place of cleanser, one to two times per week. Oilier skin may use a thin layer daily for night-time deep cleansing and oil control. Remove with warm wash cloth and water upon oxygenation.

What I Say: First off I LOVE the smell of this product. It reminds me of marzipan and I could literally spend all day just sniffing my bottle. I probably need to get out more. 

You get quite a lot of product for your money, 118ml to be precise. I've had mine for about 3 months now and the bottle still feels full. You only need one pump to cover your entire face.

I love love love applying this mask. It comes out as white, thick, gloopy gloop. My old English Teacher would be turning in his grave at my excellent descriptive skills right now. But gloopy really is the most apt word! You apply a thick layer to your face, if you are using it as a mask but more on that later, and wait for the oxygenation. Oxygenation basically means the mask foams up and turns all lovely and bubbly. You can hear and feel in puffing up, I find the tingling sensation really enjoyable, I like to feel products working on my skin. Once the product has oxygenated your face will look as frothy as a Cappuccino, do I get a point for my sneaky little simile there? 

When your skin looks a face full of cotton candy, I'm on a roll, you can either wash or tissue the mask off. A really nice thing about this mask is that it doesn't leave a tight feeling afterwards. It doesn't work its magic and then hop foot it out the door. It leaves your skin feeling soft, supple, and hydrated. All Malin and Goetz products work really well for sensitive skin types. Now I don't have particularly sensitive skin at all but with all those other harsh acne ass kicking acids I use it is nice to have something more gentle to use, and this mask really does feel like a hug for your face. 

This does leave your skin super super super clean. And you can use a thin layer of it every night as a face wash if you wish. I like this multi-fuctional aspect of the mask, once you've wash it off your good to go, you don't have to cleanse again. It only takes five minutes to work its magic. So you can apply it in the morning or evening, and by the time you've brushed your teeth and faffed around in the bathroom like we all love to do it's ready to be washed off!

Now this mask is no match for the big guns. Those angry red lumps and bumps are quite indifferent to it, at least mine are. My spots are a bit like nice try mate but we aint budging. Whilst I have loved how this mask felt on my skin for the past couple months I haven't been raving about it. It made my skin feel soft and clean  but it didn't seem to be doing anything to shout and scream about.

HOWEVER I have had quite a few blackheads on my cheeks the past week or so. I may have huge pores but they are normally quite clear pores. Alas for some reason this all went tits up. I popped this one twice a week and the blackheads were completely gone. I kept inspecting my face in one of those, they make you want to kill yourself because they are so up close, magnifying mirrors because I just didn't believe they had gone so quickly. But they had. The crater sized pores are still there but these craters are blissfully empty. 

It won't clear acne, dry or shrink your spots. BUT IT WILL CLEAR YOUR PORES. I have tried sooooo many masks that claim to do this and all of them have failed horribly. But not this little sweet treat. If your skin's congestion makes commuters during rush hour think they don't really have it that bad give this mask a go and you won't be disappointed!

Malin and Goetz's whole range is unisex and perfect for all skin types.

Have you tried this mask before, what do you think? What are your favourite masks?