I was given the opportunity to try out Easy Detox 7 day plan i accepted as I was curious as I had never done anything like that before. When i told my friends and colleagues I was doing a 7-day detox most of them remarked ‘are you crazy?’, ‘You don’t need to lose weight’, ‘why?’ ‘Don’t you eat healthily anyway?’ and more.

Although i do eat healthily and don’t have ‘I can’t live without’ foods it was the thought of giving up the few foods I like to eat on a weekly basis, that was a struggle in my mind.

The process for the detox was to take 1 sachet of powder 3 times a day, morning afternoon and evening with coconut water, smoothies or sugar free juice. Depending on what you are trying to achieve you can stick to just that or find light healthy balanced meals on the Easy Detox website. I had read in some previous reviews that people had lost weight in 3 days, sounds amazing but I was not looking to lose weight, just to cleanse my body of any toxins and see what difference it made.

Foods I had to avoid

Salt, sugar, sweeteners, meat, dairy, gluten, alcohol, caffeine, fried foods

The Detox

Day 1 - I mixed up the powder as suggested and ate a mainly bean or salad diet which I will give you at the end and drank lots and lots of water and exercise which is recommended.

Day 2 – I repeated the process with a similar diet with lots and lots of water and exercise and again no noticeable change.

Day 3 - I repeated the process and noticed my stomach was beginning to bloat and i was starting to feel very uncomfortable.

Day 4 - I repeated the process, my stomach was still bloated bloat even more and that uncomfortable feeling was getting worse.

At this stage i was wondering if I should stop as knowing my body well I know that it reacts in a negative way to any change slight change in diet or environment. So, i deliberated whether i should continue or not and how long would the bloating last and could i cope with this feeling any longer. However, i’m not a quitter so I decided to continue.

Day 5 – My body was beginning to get used to the change in diet and the detox but i was not feeling good at all and although the bloating was going down it was not as quickly as I had hoped but as i only had 2 days to go i struggled on.

Day 6 - by day 6  was feeling a little better and quite happy as i knew i only had one day to go.

Day 7 – To be honest this day could not have come quick enough for me. I was quite happy knowing I would not have to repeat the process again.

The Diet

It can be difficult to know what to eat but on th esite their are recipies to help create some healthy alternative meals. I decided to opt for a variety of Beans, pulses, vegetables, roasted veg, salad, potatoes, quorn, natural yogurt, smoothies (as most fruit in its natural state makes me feel sick), coconut water, water.

Pros: no obvious side effect from cutting out things in my diet and this was because of the natural ingredients included in the detox to counteract that. The detox was pleasant. My water intake increased and i am still drinking lots of it.

Two week on, my skin is not as dry and flaky as it is normally and feels quite smooth.

Cons: uncomfortable bloated stomach, unable to go to the toilet regularly and bouts of nausea which lasted another week, after i had finished the detox.

Would I do another detox like this? NO! I decided that although the detox was tasty and there were some noticeable it was not for me. I am a fairly healthy person, i exercise as and when i need to and have no excessive eating habits or addictions to caffeine, sugar or other so that may be the reason it did not work for me and i did not see much change.

For anyone wanting to try this and who is a newbie to detoxes and diets like me I would suggest maybe the three day detox first to see how your body reacts.

Thank you Easy Detox for the experience. 

By Deborah St. Louis - Fashions Finest (CEO)

When it comes to skincare routines, it can be a little hard to decide on the best routine to undertake as we’re daily fed with so many different ‘tips and tricks’ to getting the best skin.

The first day of the New Year we all make the resolution to stay fit. We do all the healthy eating and drinking for the first few months then we get bored off it. Come spring and we start to peel of the layers of winter and the looming of summer and that beach holiday, it becomes crunch time. With the bikini beach body becoming our goal so we try and fit in as much exercise and healthy eating as we can.

Some of my own favourite beach body workouts are from the Popsugar fitness channel on youtube www.youtube.com I love the high intensity 10 minute workouts that you can fit in any time of the day. Workout ranges from yoga, boot-camp workouts and HIIT workouts. You can easily fit these workouts in anytime of the day especially if you are on crunch time. I like to switch things up so I do not get bored so I focus on just arms for one week and then switch over to just legs and then a whole week of full body workouts and then adding in yoga for strength and stretching.

Get your bikini body on in Active wear from Forever 21, at least you will look good while building up a sweat

Another of my picks for post workout is Cleanse water

Benefits of Cleanse Water

• Lemon juice and cayenne pepper are both immune boosters and natural detoxifiers

• Lemons aid digestion, help fight hunger cravings, and help stimulate the liver to remove toxins

• Cayenne pepper helps the body sweat out toxins while improving blood and lymphatic circulation so your cells get more nutrients

I always start my workout with a cup (not a full cup as it can be a bit hot) of cayenne pepper on hot water then enjoy the lemon, ginger, cayenne pepper and honey mix throughout the day.

With summer just a few weeks away, here are some helpful tips for eating healthy at the office.

1. Go for water rather than coffee Swap H20 for Coffee, I suggest taking with you to work the cayenne pepper, honey and ginger water or make your own fruit infused water.

2. It is often just easier to eat at your desk when you are supper busy but never eat at your desk. You can never really enjoy your food and do not feel like you are eating so later on you reward yourself with something sweet and nice. Go sit in the office eating space or go out to the park that way you are adding some exercise by walking.

3. It's okay to have just that one sweet treat, because telling yourself that you cannot have it will just make you crave it more and its then that we overindulge. So have the one but only the one.

4. Pack your own lunch it will not just safe you money but as you are on crunch time you will make sure that it is healthy.

5. Snack on nuts like Pistachios as they will keep you full until home time.

Good luck ladies!! Crunch time is not what I would recommend for a fit and healthy summer body but every little helps. What is best, is just to stick to that New Year's resolution, keep fit and healthy throughout the year for a killer summer body.