A short detox can make a massive difference to how you feel for weeks afterwards.
Not only is weight loss inevitable, as you’ll lose excess fluid, but a cleanse will also reset your energy, improve your concentration and clear up skin niggles.
The idea behind our diet is to give your body a break, freeing up energy so that your cells, tissues and organs can work efficiently once again. We don’t advise diving in at the deep end straight away – you’ll get better results if you do some prep work first, so we recommend putting a few ‘pretox’ strategies in place at least five days beforehand. This involves phasing out certain types of foods, along with undertaking a few lifestyle changes. We’ve also listed handy what-to-do advice in case you get stuck and some simple after-care tips. Ready to feel great again? You’re just three days away from a new you!
Pretox must-dos
Prepare for your cleanse with these top tips
Sleep more
Sleep is a prerequisite for renewal and rejuvenation of your body’s cells. Aim to get around eight to nine hours of shut-eye to support your immune system and nourish your cognitive health.
Say goodbye to sugar
Five days before starting the detox, cut out the obvious sources of sugar like ready meals, chocolate, sweets, biscuits and the biggie: booze. Whatever your tipple of choice, alcohol will dehydrate you and deplete your body of important nutrients.
Limit wheat
Wheat is difficult for your body to digest and can cause inflammation and some digestive discomfort, so instead try to replace wheat from breads and cereals with protein-rich foods like yoghurt and eggs.
Go plain and simple
Five days before starting our food plan, keep your diet simple with easy to digest foods. Think porridge with berries and seeds for breakfast, baked sweet potato with tuna and salad for lunch and lean meat and steamed veggies for dinner. Make a shopping list before hitting the supermarket so you load up on healthy food rather than treats.
Drink up
Keep your body hydrated with water – around 1.5 litres per day should do it. This will help to flush out toxins, clear skin and reduce bloating. Aim to cut caffeine too, as it releases the stress hormone cortisol, which increases abdominal fat.
During the detox
Healthy advice to help you get the most out of the plan
Wake your body
Kick-start your digestive system by drinking a cup of warm water with lemon first thing.
Body brush
Dry brush before your bath or shower, starting from the soles of your feet and moving upwards, as this kind of lymphatic massage helps to detoxify, too.
Sip water regularly
Continue to drink 1.5 litres of water and sip on nurturing herbal teas.
Have an Epsom salt bath
Have a hot bath or foot soak with Epsom salts in the evening to help your body release toxins.
After-care rules
Top tips to maximise your results post-detox
Take it slowly
Ease yourself back into three meals a day slowly, keeping the good stuff in your diet as much as possible. Leafy salads and white fish, veggie soups and chicken with roasted veggies are all excellent choices.
Green up your diet
Eat something green at every meal (think kale, spinach, watercress) as the green veggie family can really help to keep your liver ticking over. Plus, greens can help regulate your body’s natural pH and may even help ward off disease.
Try eating fermented foods
Gut-friendly fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are a useful addition to a balanced diet, as they increase levels of healthy bacteria, which help to keep bloating at bay.
Get sweating!
Exercise is just what the body needs following a detox. A good sweat session helps to remove unwanted toxins from the body, so combine high-intensity workouts like running, cycling or our metabolism-boosting workout
(on page 70) with low-key yoga for the perfect balance.
Stay off sugar
If you find it difficult to control your sweet tooth once you’ve finished the detox, try swapping out nasty sweeteners and ordinary sugar for stevia. This naturally sweet plant extract won’t spike insulin levels or create any of the roller-coaster energy crashes that come with regular sugar. Xylitol is another good sugar substitute.
Detox SOS
Give your body a boost with these super supplements
1 Vega Aloe Vera Herbal Complex
Regulate your body’s pH levels with these aloe vera capsules. They also help to repair the intestinal lining and give your body a push to flush away waste.
£5.09, nutricentre.com
2 Neal’s Yard Remedies Power Berry Complex
Supercharge skin and protect it against the ageing effects of harmful free radicals with this blend of bilberry, acai and rosehip.
£17.50, nealsyardremedies.com
3 Sun Chlorella ‘A’
This green algae detoxifying agent is rich in the vitamins and minerals that help to improve digestive health and liver function.
£21.95,
victoriahealth.com
4 Optibac Probiotics Extra Strength
With 20 billion live bacteria per capsule, this high-strength probiotic supplement helps to finely tune the balance of healthy microorganisms in the gut, which relieves bloating and aids overall digestive health.
£22.49,
optibacprobiotics.co.uk
5 Holland and Barrett Milk Thistle
This milk thistle supplement contains the active ingredient silymarin, which supports liver health by blocking certain toxins from entering the liver and boosting cell regeneration.
£13.99,
hollandandbarrett.com
THE 3-DAY SUPER CLEANSE
Our diet involves replacing breakfast, lunch and snacks with juices, soups and smoothies, while still allowing
a nutritious dinner at the end of the day. Breakfast is a cup of lemon water followed by a different green juice every day to help kick-start liver health. This is followed by a filling mid-morning smoothie snack, a hearty soup for lunch and a protein-rich healthy dinner. Our diet is designed to revitalise rather than restrict, so if you feel very hungry between lunch and dinner you can add in a cup of miso soup.
You should refrain from intense exercise while undertaking the diet (relaxing yoga and meditation is fine).
Please note:
If you have a medical condition, please seek advice from your GP before embarking on the diet. Do not follow this plan if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.
DAY 1
BREAKFAST
Cup of hot
water and lemon upon rising
Super greens juice
Juice the following ingredients:
Chunk of cucumber
1 pear
Handful of spinach
Handful of parsley
Juice of ½ a lemon
½tsp grated ginger
MID-MORNING
Coconut delight smoothie
Blitz together:
1tbsp chia seeds
250ml coconut milk
Handful raspberries
1 banana
LUNCH
Pea and mint soup
Blitz together:
Sweat 1 onion,
1 celery stick and
1 carrot. Pour in 300ml vegetable stock, 200g garden peas and a handful
of fresh mint. Add 1tbsp low-fat crème fraîche and blitz
until smooth.
DINNER
Baked cod and steamed vegetables
Scatter ½tsp ground cinnamon and ½tsp ground nutmeg on
1 cod fillet. Add the juice of half a lemon, wrap in foil and bake in the
oven. Serve with unlimited steamed mangetout and kale.
DAY 2
BREAKFAST
Cup of hot water and lemon upon rising
Balancing greens juice
Juice the following ingredients:
1 apple
1 Cos lettuce
Half a head of broccoli
Handful of kale
MID-MORNING
Nutty goodness smoothie
Blitz together:
1tbsp cashew nuts
250ml almond milk
Handful strawberries
Handful blueberries
LUNCH
Super-spicy roasted squash soup
Blitz together:
1 red onion, 1 garlic clove, 170g butternut squash, 1 large tomato. Place on a baking tray. Scatter with ½tsp turmeric, ½tsp cumin seeds, 1½tsp coriander seeds and ½tsp mustard seeds. Roast in the oven. Place the ingredients in a blender with 300ml veg stock and blitz until smooth.
DINNER
Tofu stir-fry
100g tofu cooked in 1 tsp coconut oil. Add 1 red onion, 1 garlic clove, ½tsp grated ginger, 100g baby corn, 100g mangetout, 100g garden peas and 1 red pepper. Add 1tbsp reduced-salt soya sauce and a handful of coriander. Serve on a bed of steamed, grated cauliflower.
DAY 3
BREAKFAST
Cup of hot water and lemon upon rising
Revitalising greens juice
Juice the following ingredients:
1 small avocado
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of ½ a lemon
Chunk of cucumber
Handful of watercress
Handful of spinach
MID-MORNING
Tropical purity smoothie
Blitz together:
1tbsp mixed nuts
250ml coconut milk
Handful pineapple chunks
Handful strawberries
LUNCH
Carrot and coriander soup
Blitz together:
Sweat 1 onion. Add half a sweet potato,
3 carrots, 1 large tomato and 300ml vegetable stock.
Boil until soft and add a handful of coriander to finish. Blitz until smooth.
DINNER
Soya and ginger salmon with roasted veggies
Top 1 fillet of salmon with 1tbsp reduced-salt soya sauce and ¼tsp grated ginger and bake in the oven. Serve with a side of roasted tomatoes, mixed peppers and steamed spinach.
