It's time to do something about that party season weight gain that still lingers from a summer full of Mojito's and over indulgence on BBQ food. With Christmas around the corner, now is not the best time to diet, but once that day has passed it should be all steam ahead to fit into that New Year outfit.
Nosh Detox stands for 'Natural, Organic,Safe and Healthy' and offers a diet delivery system that caters to a wide range of people, from vegetarians, to serial detoxers. You can opt from seven day juice fasts to handmade nutritionally balanced meals. I decided to try the ABC Programme - Alkalise, Balance & Cleanse, for 6 days. This involved daily deliveries of food, and a stringent list of pills to swallow and supplements to take. The first three days you're only allowed liquid food till 4pm, and the following days you eat raw food till 4pm.
The night before
Two large carrier bags arrive and I nervously peer inside. It's not as bad as I thought as they've tailored the diet to my very stringent tastes- no mushroom, tofu, egg etc. One bag contains all the food for the next day and it's pretty plentiful- cereal, smoothies, soup and a curry. Box 2 however contains all sorts of unguents and potions from odd looking bee pollen to sea salts for the bath and scrubs. There's a list of instructions on when to take them, and it looks like hunger will be forgotten as I struggle to schedule all the required pills into my day.
Day 1
8am and my first instinct is to go for coffee. I restrain myself and follow the chart- hot water and lemon with honey is my due. OK, it's not so bad. This is followed by soya milk and corn flakes- a bit bland but definitely drinkable. Would be much better with canderel though, but must remember this is a detox. Now I have to drink water with a spoonful of ayurvedic cleanse, a thickish beige powder that doesn't dissolve well, but chug it down resolutely. Getting complicated to remember to take all these- maybe that's how you distract yourself from hunger pangs? Feel OK though, but it is only 9am now and off to first meeting of the day.
Day 2
It has been quite a struggle today. I started the day with soya milk and coco pops which was pretty nice- I was surprised to be getting chocolate in my diet but mid morning the headache kicked in and I felt faint and angry.
Dinner was delicious, though I keep thinking that I'm forgetting some of the detox stages. Had the ayurvedic cleanse this morning and disliked the chalky taste and found bee pollen at lunch hard to swallow- and colleagues gave me some odd looks.
I cheated slightly as well- the post work pall was heavy and my feet feel really limp and exhausted so I had two apples and then felt really terrible. I made sure I had three green teas just to compensate!!
Day 3
Today is the final day of eating liquid food till 4pm, but I'm already missing it, as my lunch soup was a delicious red pepper concoction that made me want more! Supper is stir fry which is very tasty and I'm so busy mixing potions and drinking tea that I don't have time to feel hungry. Quite tired though,so the gym is a no go area.
Day 4
Just had the best nights sleep I've had a ll year, happily melting into my pillows and sinking off to the land of nod. I awake with a bounce in my step that even a morning smoothie can't ruin. Today is part 2 of the detox and I'm eating raw food, which means lunch is a cold but tasty walnut salad. I do miss having hot food in the day though and cheat slightly with a 40 calorie hot chocolate. I finished the day with a long soak with the provided revitalizing bath salts and slept very well again.
Day 5
I'm hungry, I'm cold and I'm tired. The novelty of having lunch prepacked for me is starting to wear off and I'm viewing Friday night as a wine free night of misery. My only comfort is the delicious meal that night- pasta and steamed veg in a lovely tomato sauce. My friends try to cajole me out but I sulk and stay in watching X-factor feeling sorry for myself.
Day 6
The final day dawns and I'm hit with a new found wave of enthusiasm. I leap out of bed, and go for a brief jog, and admire how flat my stomach looks, free of bloating. The day flies by, and though once again I'm struggling when my friends have a pub lunch and I pull out a salad, the day passes mercifully fast.
The verdict
This isn't an easy diet to do, as though you may be getting constantly tasty food, the fact that you're restricted can be a major downer. The food is very delicious though, and I was happy how they'd tailored it to fit my preferences. After six days I'd dropped three pounds, my skin was clearer and I felt more energetic, and have hopefully retrained my body into eating smaller portions.
Bring on New Year!
Six days on the ABC system costs £251.27 at the time of publication. This includes all food for six days and delivery. Check out the site here.
