5 day clean food trial

First things first people.  This 5-day food trial was NOT a diet!  I hate that word.  Now that's cleared up, let me explain what's been going on.

A local lady is hoping to set up her own "Clean" food delivery service in Cambridge, and she is currently running 5 day trials to see what works and what doesn't, what people like and what they don't, and figuring out how to iron out any creases in the process.  For August's trial she had planned a veggie menu and, although I'm not vegetarian myself, I wanted to subscribe because I felt this service could be of real value to my clients.  But of course I'd only recommend something to my clients if it had been tried and tested (and approved!) by me first.

So, for those of you not already in the know, eating clean is as simple as that.  You eat CLEAN i.e. no alcohol, no caffeine, no dairy (a few products are acceptable - feta / greek yoghurt), no wheat, no sugar and basically no processed foods.  I know that there'll be a bunch of people reading this thinking "Woah!  That sounds restrictive!"  But it's really not.  There's no calorie counting, no weighing things out, no zero carbs after 6pm, no red foods one day green foods next.  You can actually eat A LOT, and it's all good for your body and delicious at the same time.  Bonus!

To give an idea of how non-restrictive the clean eating plan is, I'll share the 5 day menu with you at the end of this Blog post, if you're interested.

The food trial came at a perfect time for me - my partner was away for the week so having all my meals delivered saved me cooking for one, and I'd also just had a VERY naughty, un-clean 9 days  (I was going to say "dirty" but that would give the wrong impression)!  I'd had my 30th birthday party the previous weekend and was left on my own for a week afterwards with all the leftover cake, puddings, cheese and cream.  Then last weekend I was away in Sweden for a wedding, which also involved lots of cheese and yet more cake.  Yup, bad bad personal trainer.  I knew it was time to start practising what I preach and I really needed to get rid of the horrible bloated feeling I'd been living with for a fortnight.  So on Monday 15th August my first delivery arrived.  The food was great, beautifully presented and really varied.  I took photos on Monday morning before starting - I also weighed myself (something I rarely do), took measurements around my middle, and measured my bodyfat.  Five days later I did the same and was amazed that I was actually 2.1kg (about 4.5lbs) lighter, had reduced bodyfat by 1%, and had lost 3/4" off my waist and 1/2" round my belly button.  As I said,  I was starting from a pretty bad place and quite major bloating going on, but it just goes to show how quick and achievable results are.  The food trial has given me loads of ideas for my meals, so I shall be keeping up with this goodness long term.  Why not share your results with me?  Below are the photos - and I promise I'm not holding my tummy in in the second side photo - just got rid of the bloating!

Menu after the photos if you're interested.

Day 1 (left) vs Day 5 (right). Abs from the front:

Day 1 vs Day 5. Abs from the side:

Day 3 dinner:

Day 5 dinner:

Day 1 delivery:

Day 1
Breakfast:  Strawberry smoothie with camu camu and almond milk
Mid-morning snack:  Brazil nuts
Lunch:  Veggie chilli and brown rice
Mid-afternoon snack:  Raw chocs
Dinner:  Avocado sweet potato and pine-nut salad

Day 2

Breakfast:  Fruit salad with greek yoghurt
Mid-morning snack:  Mixed dried fruit and nuts
Lunch:  Chickpea, spinach and sweet potato curry
Mid-afternoon snack:  Pear
Dinner:  Feta and walnut salad

Day 3

Breakfast:  Green juice and super food shot!
Mid-morning snack:  Apple & cashews
Lunch:  Vegetable stir fry
Mid-afternoon snack:  Strawberries dipped in raw chocolate
Dinner:  Sugar snaps and egg salad with mint dressing

Day 4
Breakfast:  Raw bircher muesli with blueberries
Mid-morning snack:  Cashew nuts
Lunch:  New potato, asparagus and feta salad
Mid-afternoon snack:  Banana
Dinner:  Ratatouille with sweet potato mash and leeks

Day 5
Breakfast:  Energy booster smoothie (banana, blueberries and peanut butter)
Mid-morning snack:  Home-made humous and celery
Lunch:  Beetroot, egg & yellow pepper salad
Mid-afternoon snack:  Raw chocolates
Dinner:  Quinoa salad of roasted peppers, goats cheese and asparagus with salsa

If you're interested in participating in the next food trial, let me know and I can pass your details on to the lady in charge.