I'm feeling rather run down right now and rather bloated.

I've never done a detox diet and wondered if they were worth embarking on. This is not to loose weight but literally to detox my insides.
I was looking at a fruit and water one which is for 3 days to see how I get on, is this a good idea?
I know myself I felt better when I cut out dairy and wheat products earlier in the year..

Has anyone done one? If so what type did you do and for how long?
I'm fussy with foods, so going for a veg one is not ideal as i'm not keen on most greens.

Personally I don't agree with any of these diets that last just a short time.
To really detox your body is simple.You cut out anything that has been processed. Eat only fresh fruit, veg and meat. Cut out wheat and dairy. Cut out alcohol and caffeine. No fizzy drinks. Have plenty (and i mean plenty) of water. Hot with a slice of lemon is great for the cleaning the system.
Use natural products such as pure butter rather than these messed about pretend spreads that contain nothing but chemicals.
I'm afraid you need to get used to fresh veg is you want long term success !.
Basically, if it's not a natural product it's got rubbish in that upset our bodies.

> I don't agree with any of these diets that last just a short time.

Can I ask why you don't agree with these on a short period basis? Its not something I know too much about so any information is good. :-)

A work colleague of mine has basically done a detox like you have mentioned for a number of months now, she has lost weight(not that she needed to), she looks withdrawn and ill(though says she feels better in herself). Maybe doing it on a longer term basis doesn't agree with everyone and we are all different.

The last time I felt like that was over 15 years ago....................
Turned out I was pregnant and didn't believe it.....
It was a long time a go and all turned out well in the end....even after the shock of it.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, just thought I would share it with you.

Karen :)

Snap Sue - I've just been talking to a friend of ours, she's put on weight and I feel bloated, (maybe it's the time of year, or in my case too many Magnums :-() definately developing a spare tyre.  I bought a book by Marilyn Glenville called Fat around the middle - must get round to reading it!!

But, in answer to your first post, in the days when I had more willpower I used to do a 3-4 day fruit & water detox once or twice a year and always felt good after. Now I'm investigating adult only swims locally and I'm tempted to buy a rather expensive mixer/blender to make fruit smoothies and veggie soups in a bid to get fitter.

I would ask your friend what she's eating if she's looking ill - maybe she's taking it to the extreme and cutting out things her body needs.
The only reason I don't like any of these quick fix diets is that I don't think it's good for the body to go 'cold turkey'. It was tough enough stopping caffeine - I've never know a headache like it and it lasted four days !.
Just going on a diet of fruit and water is depriving the body of such vital things and personally I don't like the idea.
To detox, you are looking at removing toxins and chemicals......so if you choose food that is natural and not tampered with then the body is receiving everything it needs.
I'm also wary of companies that sell special detox diets as to clean your system of chemicals shouldn't cost anything !.
I'm lucky that I love fresh veg, fish, meat etc so at the end of the day, a healthy diet is all we need - and to cut out the factory produced foods.

Thanks for all your replies.. I'm not pregnant, did get tested a while back just in case..(phew)

(maybe it's the time of year, or in my case too many Magnums :-( )
Or maybe its all that lovely food I had at your BBQ!! :-D

I'm off to buy a juicer, fruit, and some veg.. Really fancy a carrot and ginger juice now..

The guy who demo'd this machine made a fruit smoothie with green veg added and you couldn't taste the veg at all, then he made a fantastic thai soup with loads of veg & ginger, also fab. Then came the instant strawberry ice cream, yum yum and to finish he stuck in all the offcuts and stalks, even the paper cups, added water & blended it to go on the compost heap. Genius!

:) :)
Phew for you too..............took a lot of getting used to 9 years after the last one
Juicer sounds like the best idea...or how about a bamix food whizzer? Probably more versatile.

Karen :)

I picked up a smoothie maker and then saw a blender which had more wattage and about the same price.

So now in hand with a blender - has recipe's to hand - the Margarita's might be worth looking at.....Noooo.. Off the alcohol..

I have soo much fruit and veg now.

Right off to play, once i've peeled and done everything else to the fruit and veg.. Thats the worst part, preparing..

What one were you recommended? The one i've now got is useless in the carrot stakes. Won't juice them up, barely even cuts them up. Had to boil them first to make them soft :-(... Oh well we'll see how much I use this one first and if its used a lot then I can get something better I guess.

Oh no, that's a pain. With the demo apples were halved, pips & core went in (not stalk), he said only take the rind off citrus, left pith on & carrots were whole. Everything went in the jug & was tamped down with a stick thingy, no filters etc to wash after. He put raw veg in for soup, left it running for 6 minutes & it came out hot. You could add meat at any stage.
'Tis the Rolls Royce of gadgets (& so is the price, nudging £400)! Called a Vitamix if you want to look it up.

> nudging £400)

Ouch!! Thats a tad over the price range i'd want to spend :-)

I tried again with boiled carrots and still it wouldn't pulse up, added a little OJ and nothing.. So dogs are having that...

I did the Jason Vale detox at the beginning of July, mainly to detox not to lose weight.  I was going to do the 7 day one and only lasted 3 days, however, I have continued to replace one or sometimes two meals daily with the juices which are really healthy, and I do feel so much healthier now, I dropped a dress size (never weigh myself so not sure how much I weigh) within the first 4 weeks and have remained the same size since, the other good thing is that I have now reduced my asthma medication by half as feel so much better.

I now eat much more healthily than I did, I have not had butter or cheese in my diet since I started the plan and I have cut out red meat almost entirely.  The meals I do have now mainly consist of vegetables and salads and the only dressings I use are olive oil and lemon. I don't crave biscuits, sweets or chocolate anymore and I think it is because of the high natural sugar content in the juices - some of the juices are absolutley delicilous others not so, but you will get to find your favourites and make some up as you go along too :) 

I think it could do you a lot of good and it is just knowing your body how far to go and when to stop and don't take it to extremes.  It's definitley worth a try!

edited to add: this is the juicer I have which Jason Vale recommends: Philips Juicer HR1861 Wide Chute Alu - I think it is about £99 on his website but amazon have the same one I bought one for me at £79 and then it went on offer again at £59 so got one for my daughter.  No need to peel core or anything, just pop it in and it does the lot!

Thanks Perry,

As you were editing I was looking at this site
http://www.juicemaster.com/
Which I think is what you've been talking about. Wheatgrass etc, wow, looks like fun, but an expensive way of eating healthily.

The Philips juicer works well with carrots and apples?

This is the juicer you recommend right?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-HR1861-Aluminium-Juicer-Cleaning/dp/B0007XHGHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1283510871&sr=8-1

Cheapest I can find is on Amazon too.

Hi sujaw
Yes the juicer works really well, google for the cheapest buy though and you will get it much cheaper elsewhere - I found amazon the best but that may have changed.

I do actually cut my apples in half and take out the pips so that the dogs get to eat all the pulp (apparently apple pips not good for them) :)  the carrots just zoom right through, I do rinse the fruit and veg.  It is expensive to start but once you have the juicer and you have the wheatgrass and spirulina then the fruit and veg are about the same price as food for normal meals. 

Even my husband has a juice each morning, his favourite is the ginger zing, which is apple, carrot, ginger and lemon :)

yes that is the juicer!

Thanks, going to take this cheap one back to Sainburys and then buy this one...