5-Day Pretox Challenge 2016 – Day 1

After an absence of a few weeks due to family issues, I decided to use the days before Christmas to embark on a new challenge.

I’ve been thinking a lot about stress lately.  We’ve been having rather a stressful time this end, This, coupled with the fact that I’ve had to be away from home, has meant that it has been much harder to eat the way I need to.  So when I stepped on the scales yesterday I got a horrible shock.

“Time to take action”, I thought. Well, I can’t tell you what I thought first, because that’s not printable.

Feeling the pressure can mean that healthy eating takes a back seat

Turning a negative into a positive isn’t always possible, particuarly when you are feeling really low, but this week I felt strong enough to try, and a new challenge was born.

The past 24 hours have been spent putting together a meal plan, writing recipes, and doing all the technological things that are needed for an online programme.  Let me tell you that the eating hasn’t been a challenge at all, but the technology most certainly has!  In fact, some of the things I need to do are still very much a work in progress.

I call my challenge the ‘5 Day Pretox’.  Now let me say at the outset that I’m opposed to detoxes, cleanses, juice fasts and so on.  I will be posting about why on another occasion, but suffice is to say that there is no decent evidence to support them, and in some ways they may do more harm than good.  Just don’t go there.

Nevertheless, the title was too good to waste, so Pretox it is.  It’s simply 5 days of eating home-cooked, low-GL, low-carb food, and eliminating sugar, alcohol and caffiene.  The aim is to maximise one’s nutritional status before the festive excesses get under way.

You eat 3 meals every day; you can choose from a selection of breakfasts, and then you eat the lunch and the supper from the meal plan provided.  The plan is not vegetarian, but each day I will show you how to adapt it.  If the order of the meals doesn’t work for you, or you don’t like a particuar ingredient, no problem!  Simply swap it for something else on the menu.  Add as many extra servings of steamed vegetables or salad to your meals, drink water and herbal teas throughout the day, and include a piece of fruit every day as well.

Today’s supper – delicious!

There are no obscure ingredients – I picked up everything from the supermarket in less than 20 minutes – no time-consuming recipes (everything takes half an hour or less – often much less), and certainly no expensive supplements or disgusting juices.  This is just real food, and enough of it to keep you satisfied.

For example, today I had a fabulous soup for lunch, and grilled salmon with a lovely basil and pea pesto and lots of veggies for supper.

If you want to join me, you can do so for FREE.  Everyone who joins me on the challenge will get:

• A meal planner and shopping list

• Daily emails, recipes and videos

• Support via Facebook through my page Nutrition with Susannah

Click here to sign up for the challenge.  I look forward to seeing you there!