Easy Way to Lose Weight and Get Healthy: Super Detox Green Juice

Dear Readers,

Today I would like you to be a part of my healthy lifestyle journey by sharing with you my first ever healthy recipe.Using this super detoc green juice I lost 1 pound in just 3 days, and 2 in a week! In the past I've shared recipes of my baking adventures as I have a bit of sweet tooth, I loved to bake and gorge on desserts much like a Cookie Monster- I kid you not. 

But this year after seeing myself in photos from our holiday in Dubai, I had the painful realisation that all my jeans/tops didn't conspiratorially shrink in the wash.  

Nope- I'd gained weight. 

I was appalled at the saddlebags, pouch, and bat wings that seemed to make a trolling appearance in every pic. (Incidentally, my analogue weighing machine was kind enough to lie to me..its quite old..and weighing myself on a shiny new electronic one gave me a nasty shock.  

That led to the discovery of the Jillian Michael's  30 day shred which did absolute wonders for both weight loss and overall fitness level. In order to maintain my new weight (and maybe lose an extra few lbs), I started doing a lot of research on nutrition, food deficiencies and much more.

I have struggled with staying healthy, feeling bad about not doing enough or being as motivated to stick to a program to see results. 

Sometimes I blamed hormones for my sugar cravings, or social occasions such as Eid, where healthy food is scarce. I know some friends who say that its their genetics, their mom was the same after she had kids. 

Other times I find it too difficult or expensive to follow fancy diets with hard to source ingredients or ones that leave a substantial dent in your wallet. 

The truth is you can lose weight (with exercise more on that in other posts) and healthy diet which is easy delicious and healthy without breaking the bank. There is no need to waste time feeling guilty.I  I will tell you the things I wish I had known earlier. 

I will tell you exactly what to and how to do it.  

All the recipes  that I post have been tried and  tested and tweaked by myself and contain ingredients that are easily available. 

Similarly, there is no need to go out and buy fancy equipment, if you have juicer already great,  if not, a blender will do just fine. You don't need to be a Masterchef, or spend hours slaving in the kitchen to make my recipes.

Today I am going to share one of my recipes that helped me lose 1 pound in only 3 days. It also reduced the size of my belly bulge by a whole inch by getting rid of the stubborn belly bloating.

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Green Juice Recipe- No juicer necessary

Preparation Time 10 mins

Serving Size 1

Ingredients 

1 cup of water 
half cup of ice cubes

1.5 cups spinach (washed) You cut it into 2 inch strips to make it easier to blend

2 green apples cored

1 cucumber peeled

a handful of parsley washed

a handful of mint washed

1 inch piece of ginger peeled

Juice of 1 lemon

*Optional 1 TBSP ground flaxseed powder, 1 Tablespoon almond powder

Method: 

1. Place all items in blender in the order above, ( the important thing being water is poured in first in order get things moving). 
2. Blend until it forms a green smoothie like mixture.
3.  If you like your juice with pulp pour into glasses and  stir and drink slowly swishing it around your mouth to activate digestive enzymes and really absorb the nutrient value from  the green goodness.
4.  --However if you like it smooth strain through a fine sieve, press the pulp with spoon to get the maximum juice out of it.

*Optional  Add a tablespoon of ground flax seed and ground almonds to add some protein power and nutty flavour to the green juice.

Consume immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. 
Drink on an empty stomach for best results.

I personally like it with pulp as I don't want to lose the benefit of all that fibre in the pulp which can help you stay regular and also give you a feeling fullness which helps you fight those midnight hunger pangs. 

Fibre also absorbs fat in your diet flushing it clean away from your system.

If you are using this as an aid to weight loss then I suggest drinking the green juice with pulp and as a meal replacement. 

• Breakfast was PB sandwich (brown bread)   and my cant live without glass of buttermilk/laban/Activia.

• Lunch was salad with a side of  plant based protein (lentils, beans) and rice. (I'm avoiding animal based protein as I know I will be overdosing on it during Eid.)

• I replaced my dinner with green juice for three days, with some yoghurt with ground flaxseed and ground almonds to add some protein power. Ensure that you drink 8-10 glasses of water during the day

• I lost  a pound in 3 days, I felt 'lighter' and it had a cooling, refreshing effect on me.

• After 3 days were over I continued using the green juice it as supplement to my diet rather than as a meal replacement. 

Benefits of Green Juice  

• It helps you get 4 of your 5 a day of fruits and veggies nutritional requirement
• At around 200 calories it is a pretty good meal replacement for those on a calorie restricted diet for weight loss, you can add more protein to the meal to suit your daily calorie requirement and it is proven to aid weight loss
• Excellent source of Vit K, Potassium, iron and Vit C,  the nutrients will leave your body more energised, more PH balanced and more healthy.
• Excellent source of phytochemical leaving you more boosts your immune system 
• Brighter  clearer and healthier looking skin- now who doesn't want that?

Be sure to give it a try and let me know how it goes ...

Misha 'Go Green' iCan 

Jillian Michaels' 30 Days Shred Workout Review

Dear Readers,

Now that Ramadan with its feasting during suhoor and/or iftar is behind you and the Eid and its associated sweet indulgences and socialising have taken its toll on your waistline, I'm sure you are thinking it is time to get back in shape ready for school,work normal life.

I was away last year doing my Masters and during the months that I wrote my dissertation I also pretty snacked as much as I typed so in the end I put on a few kilos/  a lot of pounds! When I came back I was looking for workout to help lose the 'dissertation bulge'.

I tried this workout programme in March/ April to great effect-I lost 4 inches and 3 kg/6 pounds, it really works! So dear readers I thought this a good time to share it with you as a sorta 'Back to School' gift ;-).

You could use it to use the 'post-pregnancy baby bulge', the post Ramadan feasting bulge, the post Eid I ate too much candy and cakes bulge, or the I've been lazy all summer and sitting on my ever expanding booty eating junk bulge...hey I'm not judging just sayin.. :-p. Or to get in shape for school/work/special occasion like a wedding/engagement/reunion/holiday or just taking a new FB profile pic to make your frenemies jealous..

I discovered Jillian Michales 30DS (30 Day Shred) workout program online, and the reviews convinced me to give it a go. I like to see results fast so programmes that promise results in 3 months usually see me losing interest after the first few weeks of enthusiasm and novelty wears off.

I've been a fan of Jillian Michaels since seeing her on TV on The Biggest Loser and in the past I have enjoyed her kickboxing work-out. You can buy the program on Amazon for around $8/ GBP 4/SR30.

So what is the program all about?

The 30DS contains 3 workouts, Level 1, 2, and 3. You do each level for 10 days consecutively and then take a rest day before moving on to the next level. I have a confession to make though, I couldnt't do that due to rather busy weekends, I usually did 5 days(week days) and took 2 days off (weekend), so the program took longer for me to complete. But I have to tell you it works!!!!!

Each Level consists of 3 circuits and each circuit has around 2-3 minutes of cardio, weights, and ab exercises. the cardio does involve high impact exercise such as jumping jacks and high kicks which you may want to substitute with something else like jogging in place if you have bad knees and injury.
There are plenty pf planks, push ups and lunges to make you cry....but the result is worth it
It is based on the concept of muscle confusion and there are no rests resulting in an immensely hectic and effective 20 minute work out

With each level there are modifications to exercises to make it easier for beginners or more difficult for advanced users. I often started each level doing the wasy modification and by day 4 or 5 I could do the normal one.

Level 1 is quite easy if you regularly exercise, if you don't well the first day you might think of stopping after 10mins but keep with it if you are panting and dying stick with it..it gets better..trust me it does. Day 2 you will want to cry after 12 min and Day 3 will be much much better.

Pros: 

1. It takes only 20 mins so with a bit of willpower and time management you can fit it in your schedule-no excuses!
2. No equipment, you only need a set of weights, bar that you cn use water bottles or cans instead!
3. You don't need to spend on a gym membership and the time it takes to go there and come back.
4. You don't need to follow a meal plan, but if you buy the DVD from Amazon there is a suggested meal plan, but as long as you watch what you eat( calorie count and eat clean) it is still effective.

Cons: 

1. If you don't like Jillian the commentary and/or the music might irritate you esp if you have to listen to her say the same thing for 10 days in a row, I suggest muting her and playing your own work out music (personally I don't mind-I like her she motivates me).
2. If  you have a knee injury it might take the fun out of cardio portion of the circuits.

MUST DO: 

What you must do is measure yourself at the start of each level !

You will start to see a difference as early as day 5 for some people (I did). I feel this really helps to motivate you and keep you going. 

Personally I found Level 2 to be the hardest, and I've read reviews online and I think a lot of people wonder why Level 2 is so hard, but once you get through it Level 3 seems so much better.

Results

Overall for me I lost 4 inches and 3 kg/6 pounds  mA which is pretty good for me and more than I was expecting ( I am 5'4.5 and now weigh 51.5kg/113 pounds.)
 
The earliest difference I saw was my waist where I lost an inch pretty quickly, and where it was pretty noticeable everyone could see I looked different. and got plenty of compliments yay!

Links

If you would instead like to watch it on Youtube: 

You can watch Level 1 here, 

Level 2 here, 

and Level 3 here.

To get an idea of your ideal weight/range according to your height click here.

*THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST* It really worked for me that's why I decided to spread the love!

Please do leave feedback if you try out the workout and don't hesitate to ask any question in the comments or email me mishaican'at'gmail.com.

If you haven't signed up for my email list yet, sign up now for FREE so that you won't miss my healthy tips and recipes in the future – they will come straight in your inbox. Oh and do stay in touch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.