My cleanse/detox programme of choice was the Forever Living Clean 9. You can read my first post here but my 9 days are up so here's how it went down.
As mentioned before the Clean 9 has 2 stages. Stage 1, day one and two, in which all the "food" you had was one 'Forever Lite Ultra' shake a day.
Yes that's one shake in 24 hours.... Meaning you only have 2 shakes in over 48 hours. Yes, yes, I know. The rest of the first two days were filled with a schedule of aloe vera gel drinking and supplement taking.
Days 3 to 9 were less hard core in comparison. A shake for breakfast, one for lunch AND a 600 cal dinner, along with the aloe & supplements.
Firstly, here's what I thought of the contents of my kit:
The 'Forever Lite Ultra' shake in vanilla.
I mixed my shake powder with soya milk. It made a thick, creamy & actually quite nice tasting shake. After a few days it was quite surprising just how much the shake filled your tummy. If you've ever had a Slim Fast shake they're pretty similar.
Forever Aloe Vera Gel
Well, there's no way to put it nicely. This stuff tastes horrible. Baaaad. Bad bad. I pinched my nose, pretended it was tequila and knocked it back following it with a pint of water chaser!
The first day it made me shudder, by the middle of the week it was actually no problem. It really wasn't too bad at all once I was used to it.
Forever Bee Pollen
There's a huge amount of hype surrounding Bee Pollen. These little tablets were easy to swallow and had hardly no taste. I can't say I noticed any energy increase after taking them but they're jam packed full of good stuff so they're absolutely worth taking.
Forever Garcinia Plus
These gel tablets are quite big, but still easy to swallow. We had to take these 20 mins before the shakes or food. They naturally speed up your metabolism along with providing more of the good stuff for your body. I like the concept so I may well continue to take these now my cleanse is all done.
So, how difficult was it?
Day one was without a doubt the hardest. I was quite hungry, quite tired but the main thing was the enormous headache I had by the evening. Serious migraine style killer headache. This bad boy was absolutely a caffeine withdrawal headache. My punishment for consuming so much coffee each & every day. An early night was needed.
Day two much much better. I thought I would wake up starving but I didn't. My headache had almost gone and although I was feeling a little tired I was also feeling actually pretty good.
Days three to nine were easier. The first evening's 600 calorie meal was possibly the most anticipated meal known to mankind & boy did it taste good!
Each & everyday my energy levels increased, my stomach bloating decreased and my clothes fitted better. Immediate results that spurred you on to continue.
Water!! The key to success was water, water & more water. Not only did it help flush out the toxins it also helped fend off hunger pains. Yes, you do about a million wees the first two days but your bladder soon gets used to holding the extra liquid. After a few days you also get used to not snacking and find yourself no longer craving sweet treats.
With the kit you get a tape measure so that you can track your inch loss as the days go on. I decided not to measure myself as my main reason to start the cleanse wasn't inch or weight loss. Any pounds dropped would be a welcomed bonus but I didn't feel the need to measure my thighs or hips before I started.
Talking of weight loss I was very pleasantly surprised to discover when stepping on my scales of morning day ten that I had lost a total of 7.5lbs! No wonder I could fit back into my pre-baby skinny jeans with ease.
Overall I really enjoyed Clean 9. Yes, it was tough, especially the first two days but it was definitely well worth it. My stomach is less bloated, my skin is glowing. Food now tastes incredible. But, for me, the single most important thing is it has now reminded me how good I feel when I eat 'clean', how eating fresh balanced diet doesn't leave you feeling stuffed or sluggish. It makes you feel energised and well, blimin' great.
I now longer reach straight for the coffee jar first thing in the morning. My 6 a day habit has turned into an occasional treat. Now that the caffeine is out of my system I no longer depend on it to function!
I have achieved exactly what I was hoping for. Clean 9 has set me on the path to eating healthier and given me the kick up the bum I so desperately needed. The weight has stayed off too. And as for the dreaded aloe vera gel? Well, I'm going to buy more & keep taking it. I couldn't imagine my day without it!!
If you're interested in Clean 9 contact Laura Willis here.
I'm off to drink some aloe!
Love Emma
XOXO
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