I am detoxing. I’m on day two of a seven-day programme which involves nothing but juices and lots of exercise. It sounds hideous, but I’m rather enjoying it. This morning I ran 5k on nothing but hot water and lemon, and returned home to a glass of juice which looked like sewage but tasted like pineapple.
I’m not detoxing for weight-loss – although I won’t deny it’s part of the plan – but because I feel the need to purge my body of too much alcohol, bread, fat and sugar. Working from home has pushed me into terrible eating habits. I sit at my desk drinking sugary tea, reluctant to eat anything which involves stopping work for too long, which means I live on toast and mini babybel, with an occasional foray into reheated pasta I can eat with one hand. I don’t eat fruit, I don’t have enough vegetables. I need to kick-start myself into better habits.
I’m also attracted to the will-power element of extreme programmes like this. It’s no bad thing to be disciplined from time to time, and surely there’s no better discipline than cooking chocolate crepes for the children whilst sipping spinach and cucumber juice? I know it’ll get harder as the week progresses, and I like the mental challenge that presents.
The hardest thing about the programme isn’t the lack of food, or the taste of the juices, or the glances from supermarket shoppers as you pile your trolley high with nothing but fruit and veg. It’s the time it takes. I figure it’s about half an hour to make a juice, drink it and wash up the juicer and blender. With five juices, that’s two and a half hours. Add to that the hour and a half of exercise each day, and that’s half a working day just spent on eating and exercising. I would struggle to combine it with a full-time job, certainly one outside of the home.
Have you done anything like this before? I’d love to hear how you did.