Are Detox a sham or not?

So its that time of the year again, where health and fitness comes to the front of everyone's mind. Detoxing is obviously one of the most popular ways to kick start this phase many of us go through. From juice diets, to yoga, to beauty treatments, there are many different ways to detox. However I recently read an article in the Daily Mail saying that detoxing, in fact, had no benefit to health and is a sham. To be honest I always take any article published by the Daily Mail with a pinch of salt, as I believe they can over react a lot!

So I did some researching into the topic. Experts believe that the body is perfectly capable of ridding of all the toxins in your system without the need of detoxing. They even claim that some detoxes out there can even be dangerous. Detoxing is not what improves your body's functionality, it is the increase in the healthiness of peoples diets that make them feel better, and it is in fact bad diets and lack of exercise that make people feel sluggish and heavy, not toxins. Basically experts say detoxing is no more than a marketers dream and a million pound industry.

I personally agree that the body does detox itself, but to a degree you can help your body through many methods. You cannot cram your body full of rubbish continually, do no exercise and expect it to still function effectively and properly for the rest of your life, you need to nudge it in the right direction. I don't agree with spending large amounts of money on special products, but instead, upping your intake of vegetables and fruit, restricting carbs, taking up yoga and Pilates (exercises that concentrate on breathing and stretching), just using your commonsense. Do not buy into fads and pills, if you up your vitamins and fibre you will see more movement in your bowls (lovely I know, sorry) which will help rid the waste you have in your body.

For example my mother had a series of colonic irrigation, and the benefits she gained form this were great. When she saw the therapist she obviously listed all the possible benefits, but my mum personally lost around 7 pounds, which was most obvious on her upper abdominal area, as this is supposedly where waste in our body become crammed, and makes us look bloated no matter how much exercise and toning you try to do. She also felt less lethargic, and recommends the treatment to everyone and anyone who will listen.

A personal example of detoxing is when myself and my friend did the Maple Syrup Diet, which is famous because Beyonce used it to lose weight for her role in Dream Girls. Basically you are to drink nothing but a mixture of lemons in hot/cold water, organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper (it was pretty gross). You drink this for 6 times a day for 10 days, me and my friend managed 4 1/2 days. Surprisingly my hunger disappeared after 2 1/2 days, however my humongous headache made me want to die. This is an extreme "Detox" and I would not recommend it, as personally apart form losing 5 pounds, I saw no other benefit, I think I actually looked worse.

What are your opinions on detoxing. Have you ever tried a detox, or bought any products?

Girls with muscles| Weight Training for Girls

Oh good grief  I get sick of the media having a go at Jodie Marsh for her "new look". I don't particularly like the girl, but then again I've never met her, she might be lovely. But I do admire what she has done. She has radically changed her lifestyle, diet and exercise to make herself the fittest she can be. Yes the world of bodybuilding can not be the healthiest thing you can do to your body, due to extreme dieting shortly before the show and dehydration to draw out your muscles. But it sure is a hell of a lot more healthier than sitting on the couch eating chocolate and crisps.

Now because Katie Price has been photographed with a muscly man, the media are now scared she is going to end up looking like Jodie Marsh as well. I my honest opinion I agree when she is in competition and tensing then no its not a sexy look in my eyes, but when she is dressed up nicely in a dress, not tensing, she looks great, lovely and toned.

I hate that most girls are scared to do strength training because they are scared of getting muscles, but getting muscles will not mean you grow big, it means you become tight, not jiggling, not covered in cellulite. Girls should train more often, its a great rush to know you are just as strong as the next guy (literally). That you can lift a good weight, that you can do "man" pushups. Try it, you may surprise yourself.

What girls look like who weight train

Remember strong is sexy! Try adding some toning moves to your next workout! Don't be scared of those dumbbells!

That Time of the Month| Exercises That Relieve Period Pains

So this is a little personal, but it effects all of us girls. It's just a quick post about a way I have found to help us through this time of the month.

Obviously the usual, hot-water bottle, sofa, chocolate, magazines of films, helps. But sometimes you can not do that, and you need to actually get on with your life. I always have one day, when I am in serious pain, once so much so I nearly passed out, and at times I have been sick. So I always try and find ways to relieve this pain, so I can continue the day as normal as possible.

As much as you want to, curling up in a ball, does not help! Your muscles need to be relaxed not tensed. So I have found a short easy gentle yoga routine can help, as this helps you focus on your breathing, not the pain. It also helps you relax all you muscles especially the stomach ones.

You can easily search such routines on YouTube, as there is loads of free tutorials available. I have recently used;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moF1sy0SvGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4SDE2kpQHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mChI17yrOXM&feature=related

I hope this helps even one person! How do your relieve your cramps? 

Food Intake Recently| The Benefits to Soup and Smoothies

Recently I have had this obsession on not becoming ill. I have a million assignments to do for uni my dissertation, I work 30+ hours a week in hospitality, plus it's party season... so basically I don't have time to be ill, and with loads of my colleagues being ill I had to take action.

I decided to up my vitamin intake and make loads of vegetable soup, and eat a bowl a day, hoping the vitamins would keep my immune system up. It seemed to work, plus my skin and hair looked amazing thanks to these vitamins. I have done well at sticking to eating soup, so decided to increase my vitamins more and added smoothies to my diet. So before I knew it I was having home made smoothies for breakfast, and home made soup for lunch. I feel great because of it, and because they are full of fibre and protein, I feel fuller for longer, so I don't feel the urge to snack. As a consequence in the past 2 weeks I have lost 6 pounds in weight, which is a great side effect.

For recipes I find them on tumblr, on recipe sights such as the BBC good food, or SparkRecipes. And as long as you have a blender it is easy to do. You can even make a few days worth in one go and leave them in glasses in the fridge, so you can just grab your smoothie in the morning.

I have really just accidently found myself on a replica of one of these silly meal replacement plans that people pay fortunes for, yet mine is completely natural, cheaper, and has the same effect.

So, so far, so good, as I have not fallen ill, I have tonnes of energy, my hair and skin will look amazing for party season, and my waistline is slimmer.

Have you ever tried a meal replacement diet? Or do you favour more green and natural diets? 

St Ives Apricot Scrub Review| Favourite Face Scrub

I believe it is absolutely essential to use a scrub 2 times a week, especially those who are prone to blackheads or milia (More on milia later), like me, as a scrub will definitely help reduce these blemishes, and even get rid of them is you use it regularly in your skin care regime. A scrub will exfoliate your face, and get rid of dead skin cells built up on your skin, which could cause blemishes.

My favourite face scrub is St Ives Apricot Scrub for Blemished Skin. Other variations of the same brand work just as well, I just use Blemished skin as it is most appropriate for my own. The price is very reasonable, at around £5, and it is available at most high street cosmetic stores, or supermarkets.

The scrub is quite thick, and very grainy, meaning only a little amount is required. Due to it's coarseness you do not need to scrub to hard on your skin for it to wok effectively. Straight after applying my face is instantly significantly smoother, and after apply a light moisturiser I am literally glowing!

A few pointers and warnings about facial scrubs and exfoliating.

1. Do not apply scrubs around your eyes. This area of skin is significantly thinner, and more delicate than the rest of your skin, so does not need to be scrubbed. If it is it increases signs of aging for sure, and no one wants that. 
2. Do not scrub too hard on your skin, you would think this would be better, but it is not, as you could end up taking off healthy skin cells, and consequently damage your skin. Your skin should not be red rare after this treatment.
3. Do not scrub your face every day, again it could take healthy skin cells off your face. 

The golden rule with exfoliation is, you can have too much of a good thing!! Less is more!