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Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for all your comments to my last post with all my goals, fingers crossed I can achieve them.

I had a great New Years Eve, me and James just had a very relaxing one. However I did go completely mental with the eating, I really over ate!

Breakfast was very tasty, mixed berry porridge with dark chocolate chips, white chocolate stars and soy cream with a Christmas amaretto coffee:

Mid morning I had a massive urge to eat chocolate so I had a few little chocies then ended up eating half a small box of After Eight (whoops!)

Lunch was some vegetable soup and a fruit salad:

When I got into town to meet James the chocolate urge came back so I got a small bar of dark chocolate marzipan, a small bar of green and blacks white chocolate and a small bar of montezuma butterscotch chocolate. They all tasted divine!

We went to our favourite Chinese restaurant a bit later and I still managed to put away a crazy amount of food:

Spicy cucumber salad with crispy fried greens, samosas and potato spring rolls

Mapo tofu with noodles, vegetables and won tons

Ice cream with melted white chocolate and marshmallows

Even after all of that I still nibbled once we got home, I had cheese and chilli jam on crackers, crisps, a bowl of cereal, a glass of wine, sweets and a large slice of this yummy lemon cheese cake:

I seriously don’t know where I put it all. I enjoyed it, by my word I’m paying the price for it today – I feel sick and bloated! I had planned to start my January Kick Start plan tomorrow but after all of that I decided to bring it forward to today. I’m not berating myself for eating like this, it was excessive but I enjoyed some really tasty treats, it wasn’t an out of control binge and I’m back to eating healthy wholesome food today.

My 2011 Kick Start Plan

Firstly, I know that I haven’t exactly been eating and drinking to a ridiculous level of excess, apart from perhaps yesterday. I also know that our bodies are perfectly capable of detoxing themselves without resorting to a special ‘plan’ or ‘programme’ although many would argue that in today’s world we subject our bodies to toxins that it can not naturally deal with.

So why the big detox you ask? Well, although this is a kind of detox, for me its more about setting aside a set period of time to really focus on being kind to myself, nourishing my body and getting myself mentally and physically prepared for the year ahead. It also gives me something to do during my least favourite month of the year! Losing the 4lbs I’ve gained over Christmas would be a bonus, but is not the focus of my plan. I’ve also been having problems sleeping recently and I’m hoping that this could help.

Here’s the guidelines I’ll be following. These are guidelines, not rules. If I happen to not stick to them 100% of the time its no biggy – stressing over things is not what I need! I don’t want this plan to become some kind of torturous experience that has to be endured – I actually want to enjoy it! I will not be restricting my portion sizes and will try and listen to my body and eating when I am hungry.

Source

Lots of:

• water (bottled or filtered if possible)
• Fruit and vegetables - raw and cooked and organic whenever possible
• Green tea, Caffeine free teas and detox teas
• Freshly made juices - mainly veggie
• Miso soup
• warm water with lemon juice
• Beans and legumes
• Wholegrains (brown rice, quinoa etc)
• Nuts and seeds
• healthy fats - olive oil, ground flax oil, coconut oil

 

some of:

• tofu - organic when possible, including flavoured organic tofu (taifun brand) - however I am going to try and limit my soy intake to give my body a bit of a break
• Wholegrain 'products' such as pasta, noodles, bread, flour products etc
• Non dairy milk - rice, oat, coconut and nut milks (I'm going to try and have a break from soy milk if possible)
• Dried fruit
• Brown rice protein (sun warrior)
• Natural sweeteners (agave, sweet freedom, barley malt, maple syrup, brown rice syrup)
• Raw chocolate and home made coconut oil chocolate

None of:

• Pre made / processed foods such as frozen veggie sausages, quorn, fake meats, fake cheeses etc
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Meat and Fish (obviously as I’m veggie!)
• Refined sugars / very sugary foods
• 'White' carbs
• Un healthy baked goods

In addition I will also be supplementing my diet with some additional ‘super foods’ that are helpful for detoxification:

• Milk thistle – supports the liver and also contains antioxidants
• Spirulina – contains a range of vitamins, minerals and protein
• Matcha Green Tea Powder – source of antioxidants
• Acai berry juice – source of antioxidants
• Maca powder – increases energy levels
• Ground flax seeds and ground flax oil – provides omega 3,6 and 9 healthy fats

I also plan to try out a short juice fast at some point. Along side this I’m also going to:

• Dry skin brush and moisturise daily
• Do a weekly home facial
• Do a weekly deep hair conditioning treatment
• Continue with my usual workout schedule – but with a little more focus on strength training and yoga

I have some great ideas and recipes for some utterly delicious meals while I’m doing this plan that I can’t wait to make, eat and share with you! Please also bear in mind that I’m not a nutritionist or doctor – I’ve developed this plan for myself based on lots of information I’ve digested over the years!

Did you enjoy your New Years Eve?

Do you believe in detoxes? Are you going to be following any kind of detox or changing your diet and exercise plans this January?