Wednesday, 24 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Days 8 & 9
Sunday, 21 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Days 6 & 7
Mood: Happy and healthy after a great weekend
Motivation: 8/10 - Probably just really excited to finish the plan now!
Stomach: 9/10 – No complaints this evening despite a few rumbles post-yogurt.
Energy: 8/10 – I'm tired, but in a good way, the way you are after a run and the company of good friends and an evening eating stew and crumble in front of Downton Abbey.
Saturday, 20 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Days 4 and 5
Thursday was day 4 and I had my now standard breakfast of muesli with seeds and blueberries followed by another portion of sweet potato soup for lunch. Thursday was the first day of the detox where I'd had some evening plans so I'd prepared a dinner of rice and super-greens pesto to take to work and eat before I went to a pub to play board games with some workmates. I felt very organised!
Except when the time came to eat the rice it just seemed really unappealing. In the pub I showed great restraint as everyone nibbled on loaded nachos and juicy burgers, washed down with a cold beer. It felt OK not to be eating and drinking that stuff, I realised that my default reaction would normally be to eat just because everyone else was, but actually I wasn't hungry at all.
Unfortunately the rice was also my lunch option for Friday (day 5) but after waking to the news that Scotland (where I'm from) had voted to stay in the UK I spent the whole day feeling teary and upset. Eating was the last thing on my mind. I couldn't even have a whisky to drown my sorrows because alcohol is one of the prohibited items on this plan. Maximum sad face!
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Here's the cake my sister and I made to celebrate our future. I did not eat any of it or even lick the bowl. |
After work last night I went to the supermarket to stock up on ingredients for the last 4 days and bought some lovely fresh fish for dinner which I ate with a selection of roasted veg and steamed greens. I think it's exactly what my body needed because I've woken up today feeling more energetic physically, if not emotionally, though I'm sure that will come in time.
It's our first weekend in our new town so we're off exploring. I've also got my deposit back from my old flat so might treat myself to something to cheer myself up.
Mood: Miserable, but it's nothing to do with the food.
Motivation: 8/10 - I've bought all the necessary ingredients and feel well prepared for the final four days.
Stomach: 7/10 – In anxious knots, but again it's nothing to do with the food.
Energy: 8/10 – Well it is Saturday and I've had a nice lie in.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Day 3
- Pizza hut stuffed crust pizza
- Chorizo in red wine
- Scrambled eggs (fortunately I can have these, and probably will soon)
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Day 2
Well it's day two and as I near the end of it I'm feeling quite positive, but today has been a struggle if I'm honest.
Patrick's book talks about possibly feeling withdrawal symptoms as your body reacts to ridding itself of toxins and a life without wheat, milk, caffeine and alcohol but I didn't honestly expect to feel so shitty. I've had a weird, all encompassing headache all day, and a couple of strong waves of nausea. My mouth feels claggy (normal, apparently) and I just wanted to crawl back into bed the moment I got home from work.
Despite not being a huge caffeine drinker, I have really craved a coffee today, not helped by some people on my floor at work brewing a delicious smelling cup the moment I walked in the door! I've also been craving milk a lot. A milky drink specifically, despite the fact that I never drink it. A longing for the sweet hot chocolates of my childhood I think. This is a very silly craving because I don't think it's actually that unusual for me to go two days without milk, so perhaps it's all in my head. Or possibly I consume more of it than I think, as milk is in so many food products that it's hard to keep track of.
Randomly I've also got a really strong craving for Wotsits, which I don't think I've eaten for about 15 years!
I've stuck to the plan all day though starting with a breakfast of mixed fruit pieces sprinkled with the essential seed mix. I've ground a whole jar of this and am keeping it in the fridge so it's a very easy breakfast to prepare. Snacks today were hummus and crudités (a regular fave!) followed by leftover pilaff from last night for lunch and then pomegranate seeds for afternoon snack. Dinner was a sweet potato soup boosted with coconut milk, ginger, garlic and a big dollop of the super greens mix. This helped with my milk craving a lot as it was so smooth and delicious. I've made a big bulk batch so I can have it for lunch tomorrow too.
I did almost have a slip-up at work as word spread around the office that there were free cakes in the kitchen. I managed to restrain myself but may have actually asked a colleague if I could have a sniff of her red velvet cupcake. She kindly obliged but definitely laughed at me!
The food has been great so far and I'm really enjoying cooking a lot with fresh ingredients. I used to be such an organised and healthy cook but have fallen way out of good habits so more than anything I hope I'll be able to keep this up beyond the 9 days. I wish I felt better physically, as so much of my attitude is connected to that. I know that this is normal though and I just have to persevere.
Mood: Ugh
Motivation: Varied between 4/10 and 7/10 – Hard to feel enthusiastic with a headache and weird sicky feeling.
Stomach: 5/10 – Wibbly, feels like a hunger feeling but I've actually eaten plenty all day. Must be missing cakes!
Energy: 4/10 – Can only improve from here I hope!
Monday, 15 September 2014
9 Day Liver Detox - Day 1
Thursday, 4 September 2014
What I Read in August
Oh and here's me feeding our newest calf Elsie, when I went back to my parents' farm for a few days. Isn't she the cutest?
On the books front, it's been a fantastic month and I've read some really varied things with only one minor stinker. Here goes...

Hey Holly June favourite, Rainbow Rowell, has taken a step back from writing YA to release this beautiful book about a woman who discovers that the phone from her teens is actually connecting her calls to the past. Stick with it, this ain't no sci-fi whackness but instead it was a really moving read that stirred up lots of those brilliant 'early days' feelings that we get about relationships.
I picked this up when I went to Rainbow's reading last month, and while it's not quite as brilliant as Fangirl, main character Georgie is beautifully written, and full of realistic flaws; forgets to call people back, wears the same t-shirt days in a row etc.
I loved the way relationships were written in this book, particularly Georgie's relationship with her teenage sister and her step-dad who isn't much older than she is. Capturing blended family dynamics is something Rainbow Rowell excels at. And more than anything, this really made me just want to pick up the phone and have a proper old-school call.

This was one of my book club choices for August, but sadly I couldn't make it in the end because of the aforementioned and HIDEOUS chest infection which thankfully I am finally over. However, I am assured everyone felt much the same as I did about this book.
In Open City, a young Nigerian doctor spends his free time walking the streets of Manhattan in a bid to unwind and process his feelings about his past, his relationships and his future. He meets people from different walks of life and explores the intricacies of race, displacement, loss and forgiveness.
While there was nothing wrong with it, I just didn't feel particularly absorbed by Open City, nor enamoured with the main character Julius. The writing was a bit dry and I looked forward to finishing it so I could move on to another book, not a good sign.

This was my other book club's choice and SUCH a contrast from Open City. I absolutely adored this story, seamlessly translated from Swedish, about a grumpy old man called, you've guessed it, Ove.
Ove is a guy who likes things done a certain way. He gets up early every day to perform a neighbourhood inspection, hates the cat who is hanging around outside, and shouts at anyone who gets in the way.
But when a pregnant neighbour arrives, with her lanky husband and two small girls, Ove is forced into a number of situations that he is not best pleased with, that interrupt his plans, but that ultimately make him see the world a little differently.
This book is one of those lovely ones that has you laughing one minute and crying the next. It's so beautifully written that I am absolutely desperate to see it adapted into a film, and we had a good chat about who would play Ove. If you read it, come and chat to me about who you'd pick!

If you know me IRL you'll know that diets and detoxes are SO NOT ME, but over the past six months I've been feeling a bit sluggish, unfit and unhealthy. I don't sleep well, I lack energy, and as I approach my 30's I fear that after years of eating cakes and biscuits my body is crying out for a break.
My super friend Dionne read this book and did the 9 day detox and said she felt noticeably better afterwards, more alert, clearer skin, better sleep etc. After filling in a questionnaire it made me realise that a lot of my health issues probably are down to food; questions like "Are you rarely wide awake within 15 minutes of rising?" (A: Never), "Do you get irritable if you go six hours without food?" (A: SIX HOURS? Unthinkable.) and "Do you suffer from a stuffy nose or sinus problems?" (A: Yep.)
This book was really helpful without being too overwhelming. I learnt a lot about the science of the liver, how it functions and how it processes what we eat and drink. It's got a really simple and easy meal plan to follow for the nine days, and there are shopping lists so that you don't have to do too much planning. A huge help for someone like me who is often a bit too knackered to think of things to cook.
The detox itself cuts out dairy, wheat, caffeine, alcohol and bad fats. I haven't done it yet but am planning to do this mid-September so I'll be writing a blog post about that soon. Most importantly, I actually feel excited and prepared for it, which can only be down to the reassurance of this book.

I first heard about this book via the TV adaptation which has started on HBO in the US recently and has been adapted by Damon Lindelof of Lost fame (don't let that put you off).
The Leftovers is about the aftermath of a mysterious incident where a small percentage of the world's population disappear. Literally just disappear, from the spot where they stood, or sat, or slept. Rather than looking at the global impact, here we meet the Mayor of Mapleton, Kevin Garvey, whose son has joined a cult, whose daughter has started skipping school, and whose wife has moved into a house of silent worshippers who call themselves The Guilty Remnants, and are convinced the disappearing was The Rapture.
Three years on, the townspeople are still in disarray and this is a stunning look at how we cope with unexplained tragedies and find ways to move on. I really, really loved this book, and I've been thinking about it a lot since. I haven't seen the TV show yet but by all accounts it's one to watch!
What have you all been reading this month? Come and give me your recommendations on Twitter. And just a little reminder that if you buy any of these books using one of the links above, I'll get a small kickback from Amazon. Your local bookshop or library should also be able to help you out!