The other thing I need to do today is pop into the supermarket and stock up on fruit and herb teas. I especially love Twinings Lemon and Ginger tea – its has a bit of a zing to it which I love. Plus spices like ginger are supposed to increase your metabolism which is all good.

I am  not particularly keen on green  tea but I read this morning that it is high in flavenoids and has antioxidants in it which are good for the health of your heart and help in the prevention of some cancers – all good stuff when I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle. Apparently they are good for brain function as well, so with my advancing years and forgetfulness that’s a bonus!!

Another way to improve your brain function is to drink plenty of water each day. Don’t over do it though – a couple of litres a day should be plenty for the average person.  Just as an aside you can read here about the dangers of drinking too much water – pretty scary stuff!!

Not only does it make your brain (and other organs) work much more efficiently but it cleansing your body by flushing away all the toxins. You can also lose weight more efficiently if you drink plenty of water because a) many people mistake thirst for hunger so simply drinking a glass of water if you (think you) feel hungry can stave off the pangs for a little longer and b) if your kidneys are working properly (which they will be if you are having plenty of water) then the liver doesn’t need to compensate and do their job but can instead concentrate on fat burning. (That is a very condensed version of events but I am not going to bore you with the details – you can find out more about it here ) Finally the other reason drinking water helps with fat loss is that, strangely, it prevents water retention – because if your body thinks it isn’t going to get any water it hangs on to what it has already got – and the water helps flush away the fat that is released from your diet or exercise.

I am a 48 year old female and at 5’2″ I weigh 9 stone 10lbs which is actually overweight for my height and means I have a BMI of 24.9 which is only a little bit off too high. Ideally I want to be 8 and a half stone which will bring my BMI down to 21.8.

I have always been really lucky in that I didn’t start to put much weight on until I had my children at 29 but since then I seem to have been on a constant ‘diet’ and my weight has gone up and down just like so many before me. A couple of years ago I won a spa break and it turned out to be a detox break. Spending three days learning about what food was doing to my body and the benefits of exercise and treatment really did the trick and I went on a detox for a full month and lost 10lb. I was chuffed to bits but when the month was up I just went back to my previous eating (and drinking) habits and put it all back on.

This time I intend to kick start my weight loss with a two week intense detox and then carry on with the detox in a lesser fashion til the month is up. I will then follow the 80/20 rule which I will talk more about in future posts because as I am sure you have heard before this is a lifestyle choice and not a diet that just lasts a few days.

Please feel free to comment and share your successes with me. I am not an expert – I am simply a ‘normal’ person following a detox plan and sharing my experiences in the hope that I can help others to lose weight with me.

Til tomorrow…..