Day 28-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: Gluten and wheat free muesli with psyllium husks, lecithin, honey and rice milk.
Morning snack: 2 (homemade) apple and cinnamon mini muffins. Peppermint tea.
Lunch: 2 small squares of spinach and feta pie, 1 small triangle sandwich, 1 slice of sweet bun. Peppermint tea.
Afternoon snack: A handful of nuts and seeds. Half a banana.
Dinner: 4 dumplings. Pumpkin soup. Peppermint tea.
After dinner snack: 3 squares of dark chocolate, 2 glasses of red wine.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: 40 minutes of shoveling rock.
Sleep: About 9 hours, woke up twice.

We had mother's group again today, hence the inability to resist the mini muffins and the sweet bun. But it was lovely to catch up with everyone and share all of the crazy and endearing things that our children have done in the past week.

After that though, it was another long drive to the city to collect some material from my former sewing teacher and some scoria that had come up on freecycle. It is perfect for my retaining wall, so we headed out there and spent 40 minutes shoveling rocks into the back of the ute. Wow, what a workout that is, no good for your back but good exercise. I brought my daughter's little spade and she had fun helping. Anyway, I have to go back and do it all again tomorrow as I could only fit half of it in one trip. 

I have found (probably as a result of eating things with wheat and sugar in them) that I am really bloated tonight. Joshi has devoted a chapter to particular ailments and various holistic methods for easing them. Some of it seems to be common sense, but there is also some really good advice. Here is the first half of them:

Joint aches and pains- DUE TO- a more sedentary lifestyle, poor/acidic diet, little or no exercise- TRY TO- exercise, have massages, stretch, visit saunas, drink lots of water and change your diet to something less acidic.

Bloating- DUE TO- eating gassy foods or increased fluid intake- TRY TO- avoid raw vegetables and salads, chickpeas, baked beans, kidney beans, sugary food and fizzy drinks.

Headaches- DUE TO- eye strain, tiredness, stress, low blood sugar, dehydration- TRY TO- take breaks when working on the computer, eat regularly, drink 2 litres of water a day, make sure that your glasses are the right prescription, have an eye test, avoid coffee, chocolate and other acid-forming foods.

Weight problems- TRY TO- focus on improving health rather than losing weight. If you eat properly and exercise, the weight should come off easily.

Day 27-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: Gluten and wheat free muesli with psyllium husks, lecithin and rice milk. Green tea.
Morning snack: A banana.
Lunch: Miso soup with rice vermicelli and an egg yolk (hard boiled).
Afternoon snack: A handful of nuts and seeds. Detox tea.
Dinner: Chicken curry with saffron flavoured brown rice and vegetables (cauliflower, purple carrot and snow peas).
After dinner snack: 3 squares of dark chocolate, detox tea.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: None.
Sleep: About 8 hours, woke up twice, for about 1/2 an hour each time

A much more relaxing day today, we just hung out at home except for a quick trip to the shops to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables, followed by a play in the park. I'm noticing that my vegetable intake is nothing like as much as it should be and I'm planning to sort that out as of tomorrow, lots more vege on the agenda. I still have to try out my juicer too.



So, Ayurvedic Practice.

Ayurveda is the traditional holistic medicine of India, Joshi explains that the point of Ayurvedic Practice is to achieve a healthy balance between mind, body and soul. As it is a holistic method, it takes into account your emotional and mental well-being when assessing or treating a physical ailment, as opposed to just treating the symptoms of the physical ailment. He says that at the heart of Ayurveda is the creation of harmony and that normally an Ayurvedic physician would assess a person by assessing them physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and culturally. However, Joshi has some charts and other methods which are supposed to help with self-assessment.

He states that the philosophy of Ayurveda is based on the idea that everything in the universe is made up of five elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether. The idea is (if I have understood this correctly) that in our bodies there are three metabolic types or 'doshas' and we are all predominantly one or two of these types. When you have figured out which type, or types, you are, then you are supposed to follow certain guidelines when it comes to food, exercise, etc to ensure that your health is always at its best.

The three doshas are Vata, Kapha and Pitta and they are all in charge of various parts and functions within the body. Vata governs motion and movement, responsible for the air and liquids within our body, Kapha governs the phlegm and mucus and gives the body form with muscle, fat bone and sinew, Pitta governs digestion, metabolism, temperature, intellect, vision and other things.

There is a great chart which you are supposed to complete to figure out your type and then you are supposed to look up all of the advice for that dosha. This is about where it all becomes a bit too hard for me, I seem to mainly be a combination of two doshas that seem to have completely opposing advice (Kapha and Pitta), so yeah, the whole idea seems very interesting, but I think if I wanted to go down this track I would be getting a professional assessment rather than trying to do it myself.

Day 26-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: 1 slice of gluten and yeast free toast with avocado, salt and pepper and a sliced boiled egg. Green tea.
Morning snack: Raw nut mix (Cashews, brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts). Peppermint tea.
Lunch: Burger patty and salad.
Afternoon snack: 3 strawberries, 1 liqueur cherry chocolate.
Dinner: ***am embarrassed to write this*** KFC zinger burger and about 20 chips!!! EEEK!!
After dinner snack: 3 squares of dark chocolate, detox tea.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: None.
Sleep: About 7 hours, woke up twice, once for 2 hours though....

Have you aver had a day where nearly everything seems to be just off balance? Well I had one of those days today.

We had a big day planned with a trip to the airport to collect my mother-in-law (about a 2 hour drive) with some shopping on the way to break up the trip, then driving to my mother-in-law's house (another 2 hour drive) to have dinner, give my daughter a bath & put her in her PJ's and then come home (1 hour). HUGE day and we had an extra adventure to boot.

I was up early, chopping salads, putting soup in a thermos, packing heaps of snacks, clothes, etc. Sadly, soup and salad are not particularly easy foods to eat whilst you're driving. I managed to have some tea and salad when we stopped to go shopping, as my daughter had fallen asleep on the way, but she woke up before I could get to the soup. We went shopping for an hour, great chance for her to run around. I managed to get the sports bra I need, YAY! Exercise DVD's will be much easier now. The ladies in the store were excellent and pretended to fit my daughter with the smallest bra they could find when she insisted that she wanted to try on a bra too "like Mummy!"...arrrgh! 2 year-olds!

Then we headed to the airport, I missed the turn-off and had to wait another 5 km's before I could turn back...once we get to the airport, my daughter says there is something in her nose. I asked if she needed a tissue and she said no, so, confused, I asked her what was in her nose and she said 'mandarin'...! Sure enough, a close inspection revealed a large piece of mandarin rind that she had pushed as far into her right nostril as she could manage. Arrrggh! I had no chance of getting it out without tweezers, so I thought I'd buy some in an airport chemist. We met my mother-in-law and she said she had some tweezers in her luggage, so we grabbed that and a chocolate frog to use as bribery to get my daughter to stay still while I tried to get the rind out of her nose (I couldn't help getting a chocolate for myself too). It was no good though, I couldn't get it out and so we had to make a detour via the hospital on the way home.

Of course by this point we're all starving and I neither want to stop, nor get my daughter out of the car and try to put her back in again unnecessarily, so we called into a drive-through KFC on the way to the hospital. So much for reverting to the detox foods. I suppose I could have grabbed a grilled chicken wrap instead, but I was hungry and not looking forward to holding a small struggling toddler whilst the doctor pulled something from her nose, so got what I wanted, not what was best for me.

As it turned out, it was a quick and simple process to extricate the offending rind, my daughter stayed still and the doctor gave her a lollipop which she immediately opened and devoured (so much for trying to limit sugar intake).

The rest of the day ran more smoothly, but now I am exhausted and hoping to climb into bed, forget about today's dramas and wake up refreshed and ready to try out my new sports bra tomorrow morning...

Day 25-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: Gluten and wheat free muesli with psyllium husks, lecithin, rice milk and honey. Green tea.
Morning snack: 1/2 a small wagon wheel biscuit. Peppermint tea.
Lunch: Miso soup (Organic brown rice miso paste & 1/2 a 'Massel' brand vegetable stock cube) with rice vermicelli noodles.
Afternoon snack: Skim Cafe Latte with 1 sugar and 2 chocolates.
Dinner: Homemade burgers- beef mince with salt, pepper & herbs from the garden, white bread roll, butter, beetroot, feta cheese, rocket, grated carrot, ketchup, mustard.
After dinner snack: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: None.
Sleep: About 8 hours, woke up twice.




Well, I certainly feel like I have had my 'Day of Decadence', and I'm paying for it alright...

It all started fine with my usual muesli for breakfast, then at playgroup my daughter really wanted a bit of a chocolate biscuit, so I shared one with her. Lunch was fantastic, a tasty, easy and inexpensive option. I'm going to get some seaweed and tofu to have with it next time, yum! But then my husband came home early from work, so we had a lovely afternoon at the art gallery and then went to my favourite chocolate shop for a coffee and a chocolate.

Well, they tasted lovely, after 2 small chocolates though, my body basically screamed "Stop!" it was just way too much sugar. The coffee was delicious and I did get skim milk, but oh boy, the effects! The milk made me feel ill for the rest of the afternoon and the caffeine, well lets just say that my husband and I were speed-talking at each other for the next 2 hours!! Incredible! I used to drink up to 4 of those a day, no wonder I felt like crap! Before I did the detox, it got to the point where the caffeine barely seemed to have any effect, so it was a really strange thing to feel it again.

The dinner, it doesn't seem that bad but, the bread, meat, ketchup and mustard are all banned on the detox, as they are either acidic, likely to cause bloating or difficult to digest. The whole burger just feels like a stone sitting in my stomach at the moment, so yeah I would agree with those projected side-effects.

So what have I learned from this?
- My body does not like milk- I will be asking for soy milk on the very odd occasion that I buy a coffee from now on.
- I have a very low sugar tolerance, which is a good thing- but I still love chocolate!
- Bread is an unnecessary addition to meals, it is too heavy, makes you feel bloated and is probably clogging up my system as we speak.
- I'm going to limit red meat to once a week at the most and make sure that it is good quality-free range, chemical free meat. And a very small portion.
- I can do without ketchup and mustard and probably most condiments generally.
- My daughter can share her chocolate biscuits with someone else from now on...

So there we go, I didn't plan today this way so I will need to write about Ayurvedic practice tomorrow.

As for allowing a greater range of food back into my diet, I think I'm just going to stick as closely to the detox diet as possible and occasionally allow myself the odd little thing not on the 'allowed' list from now on. I actually feel better eating that way.

Day 24-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: Gluten and wheat free muesli with psyllium husks, lecithin, rice milk and banana. Green tea.
Morning snack: One of my daughter's Carman's 'Yummo' treats (cannot keep these in the house from now on, they are far too delicious, but at least only 270 kj's). Detox tea.
Lunch: Pumpkin soup with a sprinkling of feta cheese.
Afternoon snack: Pumpkin soup with a sprinkling of feta cheese again.
Dinner: Grilled salmon with vegetables (broccoli, corn, brussel sprouts, carrots).
After dinner snack: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: 1 hour walk, with my husband and daughter, so there were fast and slow bits but there were some pretty steep hills too.
Sleep: About 7 hours, woke up twice.


It was 'Daddy-Daughter Day' today, so after a morning walk my husband and daughter went out for the day so that I could get to work. It was a long walk for my daughter, so we had a lot of breaks and my husband ended up carrying her for much of the time. Still, it felt good to do it rather than stay inside all day. Not a particularly varied diet today either, a bit lazy, but I always get too involved with what I'm doing and can never be bothered with much food preparation when I'm working. Sometimes I forget to eat entirely. Also realise that I should have done the Liver Flush today but forgot...oops...

So, what are the rules for the Maintenance Program? Well, Joshi has already mentioned what might constitute healthy choices at various types of restaurants, so that you can try to ease back into a normal daily routine which is far healthier than before. We don't eat out nearly as much as we used to, but of course, I get the picture, try to stick to the healthy dishes with vegetables and stay away from as many of the 'Foods to Avoid or Reduce' as possible.

Joshi recommends both physical exercise and Ayurvedic practice during the Maintenance program.

He states that "exercise is absolutely crucial to a healthy body and mind, that during this time you should try to increase your level of exercise to encourage the body to use its fat stores rather than looking to muscle for its energy. Exercising decreases the chance that your body will adjust to its new calorie intake and over-compensate, creating a yo-yo dieting effect. If you reduce the amount of calories you ingest but do not increase your exercise rate, your metabolic rate is likely to start to slow down. This can lead to weight gain."

This is a point that I will need to keep in mind, as I would rather lose more weight that gain back what I have already lost without even the excuse of eating badly!!

Joshi also goes on to say that the Detox has encouraged your body to break down fat cells and your liver to eliminate toxins, stimulants and chemicals, so the result is a leaner, healthier, more energised body and mind. But you must keep up your fluid intake, as getting fit is thirsty work!

I am fairly happy with the fact that I am doing any exercise at all, so I would say that my exercise rate is on the increase.

More on Ayurvedic Practice tomorrow....

Day 23-
Today's diet:
On waking: Hot water with a slice of lemon.
Breakfast: 1 boiled egg sliced onto gluten and yeast free toast with avocado. Green tea.
Morning snack: Nope- still felt a bit queasy.
Lunch: 2 falafel with tahini dressing on a carrot salad (grated carrot, chopped mint, coriander, spring onion, pepitas, sunflower seeds and lemon juice with cos lettuce).
Afternoon snack: Peppermint tea.
Dinner: Chorizo soup (2 chorizo, sliced and fried, with garlic, add 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, 2 cups of water, 1 bunch of continental parsley, chopped and salt and cracked black pepper) with incredibly soft semolina bread.
After dinner snack: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
At least 2 litres of filtered water throughout the day.
Exercise: 35 minute walk. But also spent all day shopping.
Sleep: About 9 hours, yay!!!!.

Felling much better today, though still not 100%, so didn't eat as much or as frequently as I probably should have, but still, I should be right back on track again tomorrow. I was barely able to type last night, so I'll go through my end of week 3 progress report:

- My cough has lessened to the point of being barely there anymore. I'm going to get an allergy test done for gluten and dairy asap.
- I now weigh 99kg, so I've lost 10kgs in total so far.
- My tongue still looks very slightly purple and has the dints down the sides, so I guess I'm still "worrying" too much, though I have never really thought of myself that way.
- I am not really craving anything right now, but I can definitely say that the sugar and coffee cravings have passed. Not only that, if I look at certain things, like greasy food, fatty meat or creamy cakes, I feel quite ill at the thought of eating them.
- On the progress chart where you can mark your improvement in areas such as bloating, headaches, exercise, insomnia, mental clarity, skin problems and a number of other things: I still feel like I'm sleeping better. No longer getting headaches, exercise levels have improved, I am less bloated and have lost weight.

Brilliant! I'm so pleased to be finished the Detox. I am amazed that all of Joshi's claims are true, I don't crave the things I used to, I have lost weight, I am sleeping better and I feel really great about the quality of the food I am eating and preparing for my family. My husband has also become really interested in going further with this way of eating, he has changed several things in his diet too, using Joshi's Detox rules as a guide. He has lost weight and is feeling better rested and more positive already.

Now it is time to head into the 'Maintenance Program" phase, another three weeks where foods are slowly added back into the diet to see what sort of an effect they have if any. I can now eat fruit if I want to, though Joshi still advises against too much citrus as it is so acidic. I can have tomatoes, bread occasionally and if I feel like alcohol, Joshi recommends gin, vodka or tequila. Hmmm... not sure about that, though, gin, cloudy apple juice and fresh mint are a great combo.

I was quite lucky today when it came to food. We went to a local market to buy some local honey, fruit, bread and vegetables. I was going to have a gourmet hot dog, but there was a vegan stand opposite the hot dog stand which had a lovely range of meals, snacks and sweet treats. So I was able to have a lovely falafel salad for lunch instead. Yum! The guy running the stall also has classes in vegan/raw food preparation so I might try those down the track, great to get some new ideas. 

Tonight I had 3 things not on the Detox list- tomatoes (canned), chorizo and bread. I really enjoyed this meal, I love tomato based meals and chorizo, well who doesn't love chorizo? The bread was baked this morning by a local artisan baker, using a lot of semolina. It was divine, but after eating only 1 full slice, my stomach blew up like  balloon, so I'm guessing any wheat/gluten is going to cause bloating from now on.

Joshi still has rules for the Maintainance Program, I'll read over those again and then relay some of them tomorrow.

Day 22-
Today's diet:
On waking:
Breakfast:
Morning snack:
Lunch: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
Afternoon snack: 1 boiled egg on gluten-free toast with avocado. Peppermint tea.
Dinner:
After dinner snack: Lemon and Ginger tea with honey.
Exercise: Nope
Sleep: Maybe 3 hours, if I'm lucky.

Short blog today, I have managed to come down with Gastro and so have been up all night feeling (and being) horrendously ill.

So as you can see I didn't eat much as I couldn't trust that it would stay down and my sleep was not really what you'd call adequate.

Also out was the idea of today being my 'Day of Decadence' it will have to wait until I feel better.

The only good news is that my weight is now 99kgs, so I have lost 10kg in 3 weeks.