Health

Spring into summer with a slimming detox!

By Judy Davie

Imagine this: Summer has arrived, it’s time to shed your layers of clothes and bare your flesh to the outside world… and you can’t wait to do it.

This may sound far-fetched, but with three months to prepare, unveiling a summer body that’s more vibrant than ever before can be your reality — with a bit of work, that is!

Start with a four-week spring detox. Eliminate wheat, cow’s dairy (except natural yoghurt) red meat, refined carbohydrates and sugars, caffeine and alcohol. It may seem like a stretch, but I promise you, if you can stick to it you will hardly recognise yourself by the end of four weeks. You’ll feel better physically and mentally.

A good detox will crank up the metabolism, flush the system and kick start us into the new season. Not only will it boost your energy and vitality, you’ll shed a couple of kilos at least and feel so amazing that there’s nothing else to do than keep on keeping on.

Plan in advance and buy all the ingredients in readiness. The health aisle is a good place to pick up calcium-fortified rice milk, rice cakes, tahini and decaffeinated tea.

Read the labels before you buy rye bread to ensure you buy one made from 100 per cent rye flour and no wheat. You may have to take a trip to the bakers for that or a quality health food store that sells bread. And stock up with fresh fruit and veggies. You can enjoy unlimited amounts of fresh veggies.

And never forget to exercise — there’s enough food in this plan to support you with energy to exercise. Both cardio and weight bearing are the most effective to burn fat, encourage elimination, maintain bone density and boost the metabolism. Good luck!

And once you’ve gone through the detox meal plan, don’t miss Judy’s detoxifying food swaps!

Day one | Day two | Day three | Day four | Day five | Day six | Day seven

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