VV TV’s Karin Ridgers was put to the test embarking on a 7 day Lemon Detox fast to give her system a break and to see what differences she felt….
Well the Lemon Detox has been sitting in my kitchen for a month now. Timing is really important as who wants it to clash with holidays, press events or restaurant reviews? This week is looking good. Hubby is away, not many meetings so I am going for it.
Day 1. 
I am making 2 x 1 pints of the Lemon Detox drink/ tea at a time to save time later in the day. I am using one freshly squeezed lemon with a pint of warm water, a ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 2 tablespoons of the natural tree syrup. This is the main nutrient rich part of the drink.
All set however I just have 2 rough looking lemons looking past their shelf life so this morning I am using limes. I tried the tea at 8 am and I absolutely love it. It tastes fantastic…. this is going to be a doddle.
11.30 am: Just back from my physiotherapy appointment and despite always drinking several litres of water and herbal teas daily I have not been to the loo this much in years (number 1’s I hasten to add!) However I have drunk the 2 pints already and this means breakfast and lunch have been consumed and its only 11.30am!
Made 2 more pints to last the rest of the day with some lemons that I have just bought.
I don’t feel hungry however I do feel light headed. Silly things too like I went to get my phone out of my bag and picked up my purse instead…. and now I have just dropped some paperwork…. I am not sure if I can do this!!!
It’s 3pm and I have just finished off what I was going to drink it the whole day…. Feeling a little light headed and now drinking water as well.
I caved in around 6pm when making my sons dinner. I had to eat!! Luckily being vegan is was nothing untoward detox wise… some salad and some organic lentils.
However later on my son wanted toast and I couldn’t resist a slice of organic wholemeal bread and vegan butter. I feel bloated and uncomfortable and wish I hadn’t eaten it!
Day 2
I feel good as a wake up and drink a pint of the lemon tea throughout the morning and as I am heading to ITV London I pour a pint of the tea into a glass bottle and sip this throughout the late morning.
I didn’t need to worry about being at the ITV studio for several hours, I picked up Nakd nibbles and a few hours later I had a banana followed by a green smoothie a few hours after that too. And just as well as I was stuck in traffic on the way back to the train station for over an hour and would have been really hungry by then.
So…. Lesson learnt: Be prepared and maybe when you need to go out take more tea to drink or even take the freshly squeezed lemon and syrup in a small bottle ready to pour into a bigger bottle of water when you need to drink it.
Later that night I did have a small salad again. Maybe it is a habit however I am eating what others would probably eat on a detox anyway!
Day 3
A pint drunk for breakfast, a pint drunk mid-morning and I feel fine. 2 pints of water drunk early lunchtime and a tiny salad eaten at 12. I mean minuscule – it was on a saucer!
I am sipping another pint of the tea and have made myself a warm water with fresh mint in it as well. I am feeling fine.
1pm. I saw some tofu with olives in the fridge and ate some. Then a sun dried tomato. Ohhhhh I thought I could do this. Noooooooooo – 1.30pm and eaten a slice of bread with vegan salad cream on it.
Stop it Karin! Be strong!! The Lemon Detox drink it delicious and contains manganese, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc. So I am still giving my body great fuel during the detox.
Day 4, 5, 6 and 7.
I am sticking with around 4 pints of the lemon tea each day and 2 to 3 pints of water too. I feel more in the swing of it now. I do love the taste however by the end of the week I have had enough! You can have too much of things that you really love can’t you!
I wanted to do this 100% however I have had some small salad foods each day as well. Nothing too shocking I feel and all vegan (of course!) however I struggled to just drink the tea and eat nothing else. So I did a more relaxed version.
My skin looks good, my jeans feel a little looser and the tea curbed my appetite well. I feel a little less tired in the morning and really enjoyed drinking the drink too.
Will I do this again? I would be up for 1 or 2 days a week I feel or even drink this during the day with a fresh organic vegan dinner in the evening too perhaps.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try detox safely and cleanse their system too. The book is great to read as well.
My tips:
Drinking the tea warm makes it feel more substantial – so I am adding half boiled water to half cold water with the lemon and syrup.
Don’t just gulp back the last drop of the drink from your glass. The cayenne pepper sinks to the bottom of the glass making the last drop more spicy. Mix with a spoon before drinking… I learnt the hard way!
Make several pints at a time to save time and to have the drink ready when you need it.
The benefits of fasting: Medical benefits reported by the likes of BBC’s Dr Michael Moseley who founded the 5:2 diet, include reduced risk from heart disease and lower insulin levels. Shorter-term lifestyle benefits are also well reported, such as weight-loss, improved skin, increased energy levels and the reprogramming of negative dietary habits.
Yet, fasting in the true sense of the word means giving your system a complete break from solid food, with evidence showing it enables the digestive system and other organs to work more effectively. In fact, celebrities such as Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid have been reaping the rewards for years. Read more details here on VV TV about The Lemon Detox Fast.
During the month of January 2017, Fasting 4 Charity™ is inviting you to ‘Feel Good & Do Good’ by being sponsored to fast for four days (either consecutively or alternatively) to help rid yourself of the festive excess and start the year feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
How do I sign up? It’s simple! Go to www.lemondetox.com/fasting4charity, where you can register your own Just Giving page OR join an existing group if you prefer. And, to get you started, for every person who signs up, the Lemon Detox will donate up to £10 to every fundraising pot!
We Put the Lemon Detox Fast to The Test
