That's all folks! The end of my 30 Day Mind & Body Detox

So, it's the end of my 30 Day Mind & Body Detox programme... Or is it?!

Yes, the 30 days are up. Yes, it's been quite a journey with some big ups and downs and (cheesy though it sounds) I've really learned something about myself and my relationship with with food, my body and what goes on inside my head.

With Week 4 came a certain calm, a peace with leaving things on my plate and accepting that, better than 30 Days of Perfection, is a life long series of changes and better choices. My bum feels firmer (hooray!), my skin feels incredible and my boyfriend even commented today how he could really see a change in my shape. Yes ok, I still have a way to go before I feel uber-energised, cellulite-free and slim as a whippet but I'm SO on track for that and if I keep going on this journey then that is surely the direction I am heading in.

To that end, I am going to keep up with many of the facets of this programme ongoing. I do feel that there is benefit in short-term detoxes however what has become clear is that a gradual change is more sustainable. What isn't going to happen is the classic annual 'detox month' each year that allows me to "cheat" the other 11... remember, I'd only be cheating myself and I can honestly say that my desire to eat sugary or processed or wheat-filled foods has diminished hugely so resisting should be much easier.

But more importantly than all this outer bumpf (and yes, it really is more important) is the greater sense of inner calm and contentment and faith in my own ability that has come into it's own recently. I always said that age 26 was the age at which most women seem to make their final "adjustments", reviewing the character traits they dislike and learning to accept the ones they cannot change, perhaps even becoming fond of their quirks and idiosyncracies. It is then you can learn to love yourself and be at peace with yourself...

I now realise that this happens more than once as here I am feeling the same way about more recent changes aged 32. (I'm now also certain it will happen again and again through life). I'm excited to keep this personal development going as I feel I'm right on the brink of something big and exciting although i haven't a clue what... but I'll keep you posted :)

For now, I'm off out to celebrate a rather lovely piece of news I've just had but I'll be posting again in the next few days with the dreaded 'After' photos and a review of how I found each aspect of the programme and what I'll be keeping up with.

Until then, cheers! x

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

'The difficult second week...' - How my Detox fell apart & came back together again

Hmmm... you know how bands release a really good album and then follows 'the difficult second album'...? Well this was my difficult second week of my detox, hence the radio silence on this blog for a few days. It would be fair to say that I have not stuck absolutely to my plan this week!

Although I did climb back into the saddle after a bad morning for detoxing at Deal or No Deal last week, this past few days have been less than ideal. I have not had the energy to get up early every morning and meditate, exercise and juice veggies, and with the morning programme disrupted it was easy to let the rest of the day go...

Now I should just clarify that when I say I let the rest of the day go, it wasn't the all-out disaster of previous attempts to stick to a programme. I didn't head for the nearest takeaway menu or pick-a-mix but I did indulge in a couple of rather excellent buffets(!), one at a wedding and one at a 50th birthday party. Yes, I did eat the crudites on offer but, yes I also ate the sausage rolls! I suppose on reflection it wasn't too bad a failure but I am still frustrated with myself - it seems ridiculous that in a 4 week programme I could fluff the larger part of the second week!  :-S

I think the lesson I have learned from this past week is not to let things get too far off kilter - when I let myself get really hungry I eat things I shouldn't, when I go bed too late I get too tired to get up in the mornings, when I overcrowd my day I get too lazy to juice in the morning, etc etc.

Anyway, this week I am really reticent to get the bathroom scales or the tape measure out so I have decided not too. Instead I have treated today (the first day of week 3) as a whole new day and am happy to report I have done everything I should have done! I started my day at 7am with an hour of yoga, meditation and quiet reflection, then at 8am I did a new workout video (Tracey Anderson's dance cardio - man, that's hard!!), then I had my veggie juice, breakfast and shower. My halo is super bright today :-)

As a final note before I sign off tonight (ready to get up at 7am again tomorrow!) a few people have asked me what I am eating on this organic, no sugar, no processed foods, no cow's dairy, no wheat, no yeast, high veggie, low meat diet... Well I start my day with a breakfast like avocado or sliced tomatoes and organic beauty oil on yeast-free rye toast or very occasionally I have sugar-free muesli (although the grains are high in natural sugars) with goat's milk. Lunches vary hugely from greek salad to grilled chicken and quinoa to a mezze of homemade yummies or soup, and dinner can be fish, potatoes and grilled veggies, tofu stirfry, homemade vegetable stew or curry, stuffed peppers, or a million other things you can make with a fridge full of fresh organic produce... I also got some great ideas from Neal's Yard Remedies latest book, 'Healing Foods' (available here for £16.99) which has gotten rave reviews to which I would add my own; the book is divided up really usefully so you can find exactly what you are looking for, the recipes are gorgeous and not too "yeah man, this obscure and flavourless bean really does it for me" and diet really is a great way to improve your health... FOOD for thought ;-) Try it and see what works for you.

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x

My 30 Day Mind & Body Detox... Dispatches from the first 3 Days

What is it they say about the road to hell…? Paved with good intentions, you say?

Well the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that, whilst my last blog post dealt with the formalities of what my 30 day mind and body detox would involve, there have been no subsequent posts to check in on how I’m doing.

“Mixed” would be an honest appraisal of the last 3 days…  In the mornings I feel really proactive and then, I don’t know if it’s cutting out sugar and caffeine or whether getting up and getting on with the day at least 2 hours earlier are to blame, but I am dog tired come the afternoon!

Things I’m loving:

• OK, it sounds crazy but I’m loving finishing my shower with an icy blast. My strangled yelp still causes consternation from my other half but he’s learning to just roll his eyes at the whole thing and is even getting on board with some (other) aspects of the detox programme
• I genuinely feel my skin is softer, smoother and more toned since I started dry skin brushing and using my organic toning body moisturiser... can’t believe I’m seeing a difference already!
• I have more energy in the mornings… noticeably
• I feel happy I am being really planet friendly :)
• Realising that I have done by lunchtime what would previously have been a whole day’s worth of tasks #oohgetme #superproductive
• I can still drink red wine!!

Things I’m not:

• Getting up with a ‘To Do’ list as long as my arm before I can start my day! Meditation & yoga followed by an hour of exercise, then hot water, lemon, manuka honey and root ginger to drink (actually this is yummy) whilst I make fresh vegetable juice, then it’s off to body brush and shower… phew! There must be a better way of doing this
• The fact that I cannot stop thinking about what I’ll make for dinner while I’m supposed to be meditating, although I think this will just take practice (she says hopefully)
• There is no longer any such thing as convenience food! A quick snack means prepping veggies and dips and whatnot… This has really highlighted to me that even though I thought I was good before, I have a long way to go before I am living as well as I think I am!

There have been challenges aplenty in the last 3 days to encourage me to stray off the path of the detox but I have overcome them, even managing to eat out before going to a show last night. OK so it wasn’t organic food but I didn’t have any wheat, yeast, cow’s dairy, sugar, processed foods etc and I still enjoyed myself!

Too much information:

Consider yourself warned. So I promised there would be photos and honesty aplenty, so here are my slightly horrifying ‘before’ shots… Aged 32 and following a pretty horrendously stressful time in recent months and a horrible eczema on my face after becoming allergic to a common preservative chemical (which is not in Neal’s Yard Remedies products!) I have really started to see some ageing and a general ‘tiredness’ in my complexion. My main body concerns have been excess weight, lack of muscle tone, cellulite and less than glowing skin.

Did you know that fat is often created as a ‘safe’ way for the body to store toxins? (Dr Mark Hyman has written extensively on this) So I’m hoping that in addition to upping my water intake and exercising more, this detox in general will help me shed some fat by cutting out pesticide toxins, chemicals in beauty products and all the gunk in processed foods… We’ll see in the next set of photos :-O

My face has started to get spots and the fine lines between my eyebrows where I frown and across my forehead are a lot more visible than even a few months ago. The visible pores around my nose and on my cheeks have been a concern too. Let's see what the next 27 days can do!

Sarah is an Holistic massage & beauty therapist, owner of Edge of Eden and Senior Consultant for Neal’s Yard Remedies. You can call her on 01277 220301, email at sarah@edgeofeden.co.uk or comment below and she’ll get back to you x