Read the full video transcript below
Today's topic
Hello, and welcome to my weekly video blog. And today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I'm going to be telling you about our seven-day juice boost plan.
Why I chose to do a detox
Now, I normally eat healthily, maybe a few little treats thrown in every now and again, but, on the whole, I really do try to eat well as much as I can. But over the Christmas and New Year holidays, well, oh, dearie me, I succumbed to mince pies, Christmas puddings, sweets, and chocolates, and alcohol all thrown in.
And you know what, by New Year's Day, I was starting to really feel the strain. I felt really sluggish. I was very tired. I wasn't sleeping well. My skin started to get really dry, and I was quite bloaty. And I hate feeling like this. And I really thought, "You know what, I'm going to have to do something drastic about it," but it's really difficult.
When we have a period of not eating particularly healthily, especially if, you know, on the whole, we really enjoy these treats, it's very difficult to get back into the swing of eating healthily. So I thought, "Well, our new seven-day juice boost plan has just been launched," and I thought, "I'm going to have a little try at it as well."
How the Juice Boost is different to fad diets
Now, I am not keen on faddy diets. Apart from the fact they don't work, they make you miserable, and then when you finish them, you overeat, and you're in exactly the same place you were before you started. But this particular plan, and it's not a diet, has been formulated by our lovely Emma, who's a nutritionist. So she's looked at everything very carefully to make sure that the meals are well-planned and nutritionally dense.
What does the plan involve
Now, what does the plan entail? You can sign up for it. It's seven days, and it's really just to focus on healthy eating. There's lots of lovely vegetables, and fruit, and healthy grains. You get the recipes. You get a little booklet. All the recipes are written down. You get a shopping list so that you know exactly what you've got to buy, and you don't have to be tempted by anything in the non-healthy aisles in the supermarket. And you get a video a day from Emma. She's going to give you lots of tips on staying healthy, and she'll be showing you how to cook the meals as well so it's nice and easy. And after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it is nice to get back to really simple eating and simple cooking.
Why are Biotta juices so special
The other thing that we have in the plan, and the title is a little bit of a giveaway, is our juices. Now, again, I don't recommend fruit juices, and vegetable juices, and smoothies on the whole, because they're very high in plant sugars, and these can hit your blood sugars. They can even trigger flushes or things like palpitations and headaches, which seems a bit strange considering they're healthy.
But our Biotta juices are very different. They are very special. And I'm sure a lot of you today have been reading or have heard in newspapers or on the TV about how fermented foods are the buzz at the moment. Well, these juices have been lacto-fermented. So they are very low in sugars, and they contain all the fabulous ingredients that support your digestive health and help to promote your friendly bacteria, so they're great for all sorts of minor health issues and also for the bloating as well.
Biotta is a company in Switzerland, and they are, funnily enough, only not too far down the road from our own headquarters right on the edge of Lake Constance. They grow everything organically, and I was there last year just having a checkup on them. So they're very keen on organic and everything wonderful and natural. And if you see bottles, the actual bottles, the colors are so amazing, and that's just a little tip as to all the goodness that's inside them.
Adjusting the plan to suit you
Now, I'm also not a fan of low-calorie diets, and it's something I do say to menopausal women. Don't go on low-calorie diets, because that can interfere with your blood sugar control. And if you're really struggling with your metabolism, a low-calorie diet taken over a long time could cause weight gain.
So, although this is quite low, you can adapt it, because, remember, it's not a diet. It's a food plan. So, if you get a little bit hungry, you can add some extra protein in. You can add more veg in. You can have some nice healthy snacks in between as well. So it's lovely, because you can tailor it to your own needs, but really what it's doing is just getting you back on track to healthy eating.
How to get on the plan
So how did I get on? Well, I've been doing it for five days, and I must admit I feel a lot better. Yes, it was a struggle the first couple of days, because you're doing without all the sweet things that you've been used to, and your body does start to crave these, but I'm sleeping better. My skin has finally stopped being so dry, and the bloating has disappeared, which thankfully means I can now get back into my tight jeans and my skirts, which I couldn't do that before.
I added extra food in, because, for me, it wasn't really about the weight loss. It was more to do with just getting back to my normal healthy eating. So I added the odd bit of protein in, a little bit of fish, and some eggs. And I had some of my healthy snacks, so things like an oatcake, and cheese, and meat meal at mid-afternoon, mid-morning, or some of the little energy balls are really helpful, too. And I always enjoy a small handful of nuts and seeds.
So I found it quite easy. And, as I just said, I'm not usually a fan of going on these so strict diets, and I think I probably will do it again. If and when the next time I fall off the diet wagon, so to speak, then I know I can just jump back on it.
Fitting the plan into your lifestyle
And it's great if you have a really busy life, because you don't have to do the whole week. I'm going away on holidays soon, so I certainly won't be following it then. So you can do it one day a week. You can do it for two or three days at a time. If you're following something like the 5:2 diet, then you can use these days as your simpler days.
So it's a lovely plan, because you can mix, and match it, and tailor it to the way your life is going at this particular minute. And, to be honest, how many of us wake up on New Year's Day, we have this long list of resolutions, New Year resolutions, "I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that," and by the end of the week, we've forgotten them, or we've broken them? So this plan is so much better than any New Year's resolution, because if you follow it, if you get into the habit of healthy eating, then this is going to support you for all the months and years to come and to help you to stay healthy. So it's a great thing to try.
And the lovely thing as well, if you're in a bit of a puzzle about any of the recipes, any part of the plan, you can email Emma directly, and she'll be more than happy to help you.
Let me know how you get on
So give it a go, and I hope after a week or so you'll be feeling as good as what I'm feeling today. And let me know how you get on. That would be great.
So I look forward to seeing you next week for another edition of A.Vogel Talks Menopause.
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