So Ramadan is just around the corner and I'm trying a new approach to 'preparing' for it (the old approach being....do nothing!) I'm happy to announce that I have quit smoking and coffee for a month now! Super excited as it means I'm in better health (yes, I know, smoking is terrible for you...) and also excited for the prospect of not having skull-splitting-withdrawl headaches during the first few days of fasting! Following on from the nicotine and caffeine detox, I thought 'Hey, I wonder how good I'd feel if I detoxed from suger, carbs and processed foods too!'... |
After a thorough 3 minute Google-searching, the same name kept popping up: Forever Living Clean 9. I'd seen my friend in the UK rave about it a few months back also so thought I'd give it a go. I liked the sound of the more natural approach and the fact that you still consume calories in the form of protein shakes and 'free foods' such as fruit and vegetables. I'd also heard such wonderous things about the benefits of Aloe Vero Gel that I wanted to get me some! I sought out a local distributor in Dubai, my lovely friend Adele, and she popped over with a Clean 9 system for me to try!
Here's how it works; Days 1 and 2 you do just Aloe gel, supplements and a protein shake. If you get hungry you can have some fruit or veg from the free foods list. Then days 3-9 you have a second shake per day and a small meal!
The first thing I had in the morning of Day 1 was the Aloe Vera Gel drink. Now...I'm not going to lie to you. The Aloe tastes pretty damned awful. I foolishly drank it on its own and really had a hard time with it. I later found out that mixing it with a bit of pulpy orange juice works wonders!
At the end of Day 1 I was feeling a little peckish and did have some veggies before bed because I hate going to sleep hungry. Day 2 I was really quite hungry and cranky, so I had more fruit and veg and perservered. The upside is that the protein shakes are deliiiiiiiiiicious! So you look forward to that!
Here's how it works; Days 1 and 2 you do just Aloe gel, supplements and a protein shake. If you get hungry you can have some fruit or veg from the free foods list. Then days 3-9 you have a second shake per day and a small meal!
The first thing I had in the morning of Day 1 was the Aloe Vera Gel drink. Now...I'm not going to lie to you. The Aloe tastes pretty damned awful. I foolishly drank it on its own and really had a hard time with it. I later found out that mixing it with a bit of pulpy orange juice works wonders!
At the end of Day 1 I was feeling a little peckish and did have some veggies before bed because I hate going to sleep hungry. Day 2 I was really quite hungry and cranky, so I had more fruit and veg and perservered. The upside is that the protein shakes are deliiiiiiiiiicious! So you look forward to that!
Days 3-9 you introduce a small 600 calorie meal, and an additional protein shake. This feels like plenty of food compared to days 1 and 2! I've also be training 3 times a week so I kept this up throughout the detox and just altered some timings (had my 'lunch' protein shake after my workout and my one meal an hour before working out).
All in all I lost 4 kgs and averaged a good 3cm loss on my waist, arms, hips and legs. I really didn't find the Clean 9 program hard at all compared to some of the crazy juice only/grapefruit only/master cleanses that me and my friends have tried! I had plenty of energy, didn't feel overly hungry and really didn't have any cravings or withdrawls like I usually do. I also normally react pretty badly to metabalisers and fat burners, getting crazy heart palpatations and quick pulse. I was hesitant about the Forever Therm tablets, so tried one the day before I started the program to check how I reacted; which was really well! No fast pulse, no panic-attack symptoms. Thumbs up!
If you're looking for a kick start to healthy eating and living, I would really recommend this. I'm moving on to the F.I.T 1, the next program from Forever Living, after Ramadan and I've already ordered a new batch of protein shake powder from Adele to keep having as a meal replacement. I also think that the Aloe was really good for my skin and definately reduced stomach bloating, so, although it tastes bleurgh, I'm going to get some more of that too!
The whole system costs about 500 AED, which may seem a lot but when you compare it to the cost of all the supplements and goodness you could get from a nutrition store here in the UAE, is really not very expensive at all (I pay at least 250 AED for a protein shake alone normally).
If you wanna give Clean 9 a try, or check out any other of Forever Living's lovely Aloe or Bee Pollen products, check out Adele's UAE Facebook page here, or my friend Emily's UK Facebook page here.
Toodles for now!
Dal xx
If you're looking for a kick start to healthy eating and living, I would really recommend this. I'm moving on to the F.I.T 1, the next program from Forever Living, after Ramadan and I've already ordered a new batch of protein shake powder from Adele to keep having as a meal replacement. I also think that the Aloe was really good for my skin and definately reduced stomach bloating, so, although it tastes bleurgh, I'm going to get some more of that too!
The whole system costs about 500 AED, which may seem a lot but when you compare it to the cost of all the supplements and goodness you could get from a nutrition store here in the UAE, is really not very expensive at all (I pay at least 250 AED for a protein shake alone normally).
If you wanna give Clean 9 a try, or check out any other of Forever Living's lovely Aloe or Bee Pollen products, check out Adele's UAE Facebook page here, or my friend Emily's UK Facebook page here.
Toodles for now!
Dal xx