Clean 9 Detox review- part 1

I've been completing a 'Clean 9' Detox by Forever Living for the last 3 days in a bit to get rid of the stubborn half stone that keeps me in double figures and just that little bit overweight. I decided to have a go at it despite the fact that I was convinced there was NO WAY i could survive not having meals and living off shakes, but after several unproductive yoyo months at Slimming World, I've had to take drastic action.

So, what's the premise? Well, the detox involves having nothing but aloe vera (yuck!) and shakes (i chose the vanilla flavour) for the first 2 days, then continuing for a further 7 days but also having a 600 calorie meal in the evening.

Bouyed up by the testimonials and the before and after photos online, I handed over my £100 and began a week of 'pre cleansing', which involved me slowly cutting out caffeine and alcohol, and taking up 20-30 minutes of exercise per day to get me in the spirit of things for when the real detox began. I also had to build up to taking 60ml of pure aloe gel. It's rank- theres no other word for it really, but if you hold your nose and swallow it in one gulp then its bearable!

DAY 1

I spent a long time worrying about whether I could actually not let a single morsel of food pass my lips for an entire 2 days. Previous attempts at 'not eating' had left me headachy and grumpy, and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to function. I began my detox on a work day which they tell you not to 
do, as you can feel 'lethargic' but I'm glad I did as I am super busy at work and it distracted me from the hunger.   

I also had to up my aloe intake to 120mls, FOUR times a day!!! This, along with the amount of water I've had to drink has been much harder than going without food, something which has surprised me. That first day, despite me having built up to having a larger amount, left me gagging and heaving at every mouthful of aloe, especially when the bits (ewwww) caught in my teeth. 

At lunchtime, i was allowed my shake. The flavour was a vast improvement on the aloe, although it has a very sweet and synthetic edge which i'm not sure I really like. But...sustenance at last! As i drank my last drop of it, I felt nervous that I would have to face another 24 hours without anything but another shake to look forward to. To my surprise however, i did feel satisfied! (Apparently this is to do with the Forever Garcinia Plus supplements that I am also taking and that came with the pack; a natural appetite suppressant). I also had to take Forever Bee Pollen tablets, but i'm not sure exactly what these are for, although they do contain lots of vitamins and minerals.


At dinnertime, I threw a pizza in the oven for DH and DD, and went out for the obligatory 20 minutes
 exercise. In my case, a jog! As planned, by the time I'd got back, DH and DD were finished with their evening meals, and I didn't have to face a big greasy pizza!

The evening time was the worst...my stomach was rumbling and it took me a long time to get to sleep. Saying that, day 1 wasn't half as bad as i expected.

DAY 2

So this was harder. My stomach was growling before I'd even left the house for work and i'd already heaved at the idea of aloe. I stuck to it though, had my shake at lunchtime, took the supplements 
 dutifully and completed my exercise, this time a Fat Burning workout i found on Youtube. 




I began to feel a bit 'sicky', for want of a better word, although my energy levels were surprisingly, quite high.


Again, the worst part of the day was the evening, and again, it took me a long time to get to sleep, although I was then up this morning before my alarm!