As I’ve become more conscious of what I’m eating and shifting towards a healthier lifestyle, I’ve realised how much I’ve neglected my body nutritionally in the past.
To everyone’s disdain I used to feast on cakes and chocolate, fast food and pizza without putting so much as an ounce of weight on. Even now, I’m exercising and trying to eat clean but it’s not so much for weight loss as it is for overall health and wellbeing.
Every 35 days, your skin replaces itself, your liver takes about a month and these new cells are made from the food you eat – you literally are the food you eat. I don’t know about you but I want to be fit and healthy from the inside out, built with good foundations not stodge.
Eating clean has actually been really enjoyable and much easier than I thought. Little things like having breakfast and switching from crisps and chocolates to fruit and nuts has made a huge different to how I feel and my energy.
After a few weeks of eating healthily, I was thinking about how badly I’ve eaten in the past and the lingering effects all of that rubbish has had on my body and my system. I felt like I needed to hit a ‘reset’ button, so one day in a rather gung-ho fashion I ordered a 3-day juice detox. The old me would have recoiled at the thought of just drinking juice for 3 whole days but I was actually really looking forward to it. My colleagues, however, were expecting mood swings, headaches and the odd temper tantrum. Thanks, guys!
I did a juice detox…and survived!
So how did it go down? As I’m not a huge drinker and the only form of caffeine I have is green tea, I got off quite lightly. No alcohol and caffeine withdrawal headaches or mood swings for me. Although I thought about food a lot (mostly carbs), I didn’t actually feel very hungry which was the biggest shock for me. My juices were quite thick, almost smoothie-like and between 5 of those per day plus 3 litres of water and some green tea, I was actually satisfied. I didn’t have quite as much energy as I usually do and needed early nights but aside from that, I was perfectly fine.
In terms of how I felt, I was sleeping like a baby and walking with a spring in my step. I had quite a few comments on how well I was looking, my skin was glowing and my eyes were brighter, maybe due to all of the water I was drinking and the early nights. The detox also made me think about my relationship with food; I didn’t need as much as I thought to get through the day and I realised I eat due to boredom and habit rather than being hungry.
So if you’re looking to give your digestive system a little break, cleanse your system or just give yourself a little kick-start into healthy eating try giving a juice detox a go!
Love Reena x
When I was younger, I was very athletic.
I say this to friends who react like it’s some sort of punch line, they can’t imagine me in heels under 4” much less in trainers sweating it out on a track. At school, I was always picked for the 100m, long jump and relay at sports day without fail; my PE teacher even pushed me to train at our regional athletics centre.
Somewhere along the way though, I lost my running mojo, preferring to live by the ‘shopping is my cardio’ mantra.
I’ve tried being a gym bunny but running on a treadmill is so uninspiring, I need to run out in the open which throws up a couple of barriers; being able to run in peace and in a safe environment isn’t always as easy as lacing up your trainers and stepping out of your front door.
Two of the flats I’ve lived in in London just weren’t safe for running, both day and night you’d get shouted at or beeped at which can be distracting at best.
I did briefly rekindle my love of running when I lived in Camden; I was a stone’s throw from Primrose Hill which is a heavenly oasis for runners. I chose to run in the evening and The Hill was lovely and peaceful. I really got into my groove and even ran when it was pouring with rain – that’s commitment! After moving recently, I’ve been meaning to get back into my running shoes after scoping out my new area.
Get inspired by the world outside
When I was running regularly, I toned up so quickly and I felt so much stronger and happier. To quote Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, “Exercises gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy”, who are we to argue with that?!
If you’re looking to recapture your running mojo, here are my top tips:
Running apps are great because they accurately measure your distance, speed and pace among other things. I can be a little competitive, so seeing the stats from my runs always made me want to run further or quicker than my last run. My favourite is Run Keeper as I can plan in my running routes and put music to my workouts. It also gives you little awards too; I do love getting a gold star!
Using the app is great, even better if you have friends on it too whether you’re motivating each other or competing.
Well, shopping is cardio too! I kid but if you are going to be running seriously, you need proper running trainers which will support your feet and help protect you from running related injuries. A good workout wardrobe always makes the prospect of exercising more appealing. I treated myself to some customised Nike iDs after I proved that I was serious enough to invest in proper kit and the Anita Leggings in The Blonde Collection are seriously covetable.
My sneaks have even made it across the world with me, true love!
I have to run to music and it has to be kickass. I personally favour old school hip-hop like Public Enemy, Mobb Deep and the Beastie Boys or super current sing-a-long radio tunes like Problem by Ariana Grande. Whatever you like running to, put a bit of TLC into your playlist and your workout will be over before you even know it’s started.
The most important thing is to enjoy running. Yes I love tracking my runs and pushing myself but likewise, if my knee is playing up or I’m just not feeling the run I won’t push myself to go further than I’m comfortable with.
Love Reena x
Another day another awesome girl joins our blogging team!
Meet Reena Rai, a fitness convert with a fashion habit ...
"Hi my name’s Reena and I am NOT a fitness expert. Sorry, I just had to get that bit out there.
Up until this year, I dabbled with yoga, running and hula hooping, eating pretty bad food and generally neglecting my health.
I’ve seen the error of my ways though and I’m now enjoying a really healthy lifestyle, embracing regular exercise and cleaning up my eating habits.
For me, fitness is more about health, wellbeing and happiness rather than being a slave to the gym and being obsessed with the scales.
I’m not a gym bunny but I practice yoga almost every day as well as going to ballet classes and participating in 30-day challenges like squat and abs!
I need my fitness regime to be flexible and work around my schedule so I’ll be sharing my top tips for quick workouts and ‘easy’ exercise as well as clever food substitutions and ideas to keep you from reaching for the biscuit tin."
