Yes folks, it's that part of the year we all hate...Winter is almost over, Spring is knocking at our doors and despite all the benefits of entering a warmer season, many of us girls are a bit scared of getting rid of all those fluffy, "hide my shapes" pullovers and coats. Why? because many of us out there put on some extra weight during all those holiday special treats, Valentine's Day (not applicable in my case), surprise parties, night outs with lots of alcohol (yes, you do get fat if you drink alcohol), staying inside just because it's soooo much warmer than outside etc. So, just to get myself back in shape, I started this smoothie diet, it's a detox diet actually, having lots and lots of benefits for your body. Today is my 2nd day and with the exception of one tiny incident (yesterday) I love it. The smoothies are delicious and what is fun about them is the fact that you can let loose of your imagination. Combine carrots with apples, grapefruit, oranges, strawberry, avocado, cucumbers, beets, broccoli, ginger (be careful with ginger though, make sure not to shred too much of that stuff as it's super super concentrated- 1" will do). The result? A spectacular bright colour, an exquisite taste and also the sensation of actually eating something consistent. Now, make sure not to strangely combine veggies and fruits. Go with the colour rule- choose different veggies or fruits which all have the approximately same colour. My favourite breakfast smoothie is the apple-carrot- grapefruit(or orange) one. It's an energy booster and it also leaves you feel nourished.
If it were to provide you with a daily menu of the Smoothie Detox Diet (SDD), this would look like:
7 am (or upon rising) : glass of still water with lemon
8 am: a herbal tea or a diuretic one (personally I go with the diuretic tea)
10 am: Breakfast smoothie- Carrots and apple
11.30: liquid intake (ideal would be water, coconut water- but that's hard to find in TGM, so just make sure to drink plenty of water- minimum 1,5 l of water/day)
13.30: lunch- Salad with Carrot and Ginger Dressing
16.00: snack- a handful of mixed seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
18.00: dinner- Broccoli and Arugula Soup- again, arugula is difficult to find so just replace it with fresh salad, spinach or watercress
Tips and Tricks:
Don't cheat!!! Be honest to yourself and admit that you have put on some weight. No, it's not just that blouse or those pants that make you look fat, it's you!!! (sorry for being so frank).
Be ambitious! Don't give up the next day and rush to the local convenience store and load yourself with unhealthy food (snacks, pop corn, chocolate, cakes, soda etc).The result would be just a supplementary calories intake making you even fatter.
Hydrate yourself! Remember this is a DETOX diet, you want to get rid of toxines trapped inside your body and the only way you can do that is by "washing" it on the inside.
Practice sports!!! This is the most important link of the SDD chain. In order to eliminate the toxins you will also have to practice some sort of sports. If you are completely out of shape you can start by walking for 20 min. every day and gradually increase the time with 2 min. per day. At the end of the 1st month you will be able to walk for about 1 hour which is a good warm-up for the next stage--> a gym subscription. If you have back problems or any other inconvenience which does not allow you to practice sports or go to the gym you can go swimming instead. Swimming is said to help not only your posture but it is also an excellent method for stress removal.
Drink water!!! And I mean WATER. Not coffee, black tea, green tea, store juice, cocoa, milk etc. Try sticking to still water, not mineral water.
Keep away from dairy products, gluten products (any type of food containing gluten- bread, baked goods),nightshades(potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplants) and fat meat.
Don't exceed 7 days of the SDD. After "surviving" the smoothies week, don't forget all about the hard work you had to do just to loose those pounds. Remember it's always easier to loose weight than to keep it at a reasonable level. Change your lifestyle!
And last but not least: consult your family doctor or nutritionist and let him/her help you personalize this diet. I am sure you all heard this before: there is no magic, one-diet-fits-all SDD.
For more about the SDD, useful recipes and other info you can always visit Gwyneth Paltrow's web site www.goop.com
