I have always been all about balance when it comes to food. I generally like to stick to an 80/20 rule although sometimes it can be a 60/40 because hey I’m human, I have a sweet tooth and some days are worse than others! However, I truly believe as a society we consume way too much of everything including gluten, wheat, dairy, red meat and sugar and hence we have so many allergies and intolerances (and due to the way our food is produced as well).
Every now and then our body needs a break from all of the above to cleanse and restore itself. I have tried to do a cleanse before and failed miserably because it was too drastic too quickly. So here I am to tell you about a cleanse that I did NOT fail and that you won’t either!
Eat Fit Food is a meal delivery service with a focus on nutritious and whole food meal plans that will help you on your way to a cleaner, healthier version of yourself. Their meal plans are all portion and calorie controlled and contain NO additives or refined sugar but DO include a range of healthy fats, superfoods and essential vitamins and minerals.
Last week I tried out their 5 day cleanse, which eliminates dairy, gluten, wheat and red meat from your diet and sticks to approximately 1400 calories per day. Let’s start by saying, I was VERY impressed. If you followed my Instagram, you would have seen me posting the meals I was having each day and from the questions I was getting asked it seemed like you guys were very intrigued as well. Here I will lay out everything I ate during the five days and how it made me feel once I had finished.
I’ll admit, I was a little bit apprehensive before starting the cleanse because my biggest concern was firstly if I would be able to stick to it, and secondly how hungry I would be. On Monday, I got my delivery for the first two days of the cleanse. Eat Fit Food have deliveries every second day to allow for optimum freshness in their food. Each day’s food is in a different chiller bag and comes with a menu so you can know exactly what you’re eating for the day ahead. I must say, I found it very exciting opening the front door in the morning and seeing my two chiller bags sitting there, filled with goodies for the day ahead. I would then leave my bags outside on the Tuesday night for my next delivery on Wednesday.
Every morning starts with a cleansing juice and there are three great varieties that are all equally as delicious. I loved that they all contained a good amount of veggies in them so I could start my day off feeling healthy and awesome.
After about an hour of having the juice I would have my breakfast around 8am. I loved every breakfast I had each morning but the bircher muesli with the passionfruit and coconut yoghurt was a favourite because it felt like a dessert! So yum.
I would then go an do a workout in the morning and afterwards I would have my snack (because I was starving). I try to eat every three hours on a regular basis anyway because I feel I need to refuel my body all the time so I don’t get hungry so the snack option fit well in to my usual eating habits. All the snacks were great and helped to fill me up during the day but a favourite was the nut, seed & coconut slice because again it felt like a treat!
At about 12pm-1pm I would sit down for lunch and let me say, my usual lunch is pretty damn boring so it was so exciting to have such a variety of different meals to have for lunch and especially hot meals as they seemed to fill me up for longer. A favourite was definitely the agedashi tofu with buckwheat, coleslaw & wasabi mayo because it was something I didn’t usually eat but I loved it and I could lick the mayo from the container it was so damn delish!
Around 2ish I would aim for my next snack as I always feel like I get hungrier in the afternoons so I can’t last too long and around 5.30/6pm I would sit down for dinner.
Now I am going to be totally honest and say the first two days were HARD! Because I was significantly dropping my calories, I did find I had spurts of hunger and also because I was still exercising daily I was struggling a bit. However, after those first few days your body starts to adjust and it does get easier.
Because I am still breastfeeding, and I didn’t realise that is not recommended for nursing mothers (duh), I still added in a few extra calories when I needed them but I made sure they stayed within the guidelines of the cleanse to ensure I was seeing true results. For example, I still had a decaf latte with almond milk (so no caffeine or dairy) and sometimes I would have a little extra fruit if needed so if you are struggling, add in a little extra of what you are already having. If I wasn’t breastfeeding and exercising as much as I was, I believe I would have been fine with the menu as every dish was a really decent portion size and very filling.
To see what I ate (because that is always what I look for first when researching) here is my menu for the full five days of my cleanse.
Monday
Juice-REJUVENATE with apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, watercress, beetroot & ginger
Breakfast-Gain & seed coconut crunch with salted caramel almond milk
Snack-Trail mix (nuts and dried fruit)
Lunch-Linguini pomodoro with vegan “tuna”
Snack-apple
Dinner-Jerk chicken salad with char-grilled corn & chimichurri
Tuesday
Juice-REVIVE with apple, mint, lemon, kiwifruit, spinach & kale
Breakfast-Gluten free chia & goji bircher muesli with coconut yoghurt & passionfruit
Snack-Rice crackers with gua-kale-mole
Lunch-Agedashi tofu with buckwheat, coleslaw & wasabi mayo
Snack-Nut, seed & coconut slice
Dinner-Grilled tuna with asparagus, agro-dolce vegetables & white anchovy
Wednesday
Juice-Revitalize with orange, carrot, pineapple, turmeric, parsley, celery & lemon
Breakfast-Grain & seed coconut crunch with salted caramel almond milk
Snack-Banana
Lunch-Vegan Shepherd’s pie
Snack-trail mix
Dinner- Thai prawn laksa with capsicum, snow peas, bean shoots & coriander
Thursday
Juice-Rejuvenate with apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, watercress, beetroot & ginger
Breakfast- Free range omelette with baby spinach, tomato, herbs & gluten free toast
Snack-Lemon, ginger & tahini protein balls
Lunch-Pumpkin & vegan cheese gratin with sage, roast garlic & silverbeet
Snack- Banana
Dinner-Butter chicken with sweet potato, broccoli, brown rice & cucumber raita
Friday
Revive with apple, mint, lemon, kiwifruit, spinach & kale
Breakfast-Poached free range eggs with gluten free toast, dukkah & tomato crush
Snack-Eat Fit Food cleanse bar
Lunch-Spiced rice & chickpea pattie with pineapple & lime sauce
Snack-Trail mix
Dinner-Portuguese crusted salmon with ancient grains, cumin coyo & dutch carrots
In terms of how I felt, I dropped 1kg after the first two days. I couldn’t believe how quick it was but I soon realised that giving my body a well-earned break from even just dairy and gluten has a drastic impact. The total amount of weight lost after five days was just over 1.5kg. I felt pretty awesome and despite having a young baby and the broken sleep I did feel more energised and I definitely felt less bloated. My bowels also became more regular (too much information but much needed!) due to the huge amount of nutrients and vitamins I was taking in that I wouldn’t normally have.
I loved the variety of foods in every meal plan because it meant I never got bored and every day I was excited for what I was going to eat. All the meals were fresh, well-balanced and I loved trying totally new flavours which were welcomed by my taste-buds. For those who need to alter their meals, there is also a vegetarian option for each meal and you can also choose to leave out certain things if you can not eat them like fish. I was also really intrigued (as were some of you!) on how they made their butter chicken, cheeses and some creamy sauces using no dairy and I have been informed they use a vegan cheese, and coconut cream or coconut yoghurt in other dishes. Honestly, I couldn’t tell a difference.
So, would I do it all again? of course! In fact, I would eat like this all the time if I could and from this experience I have learnt even better food values even when I thought I was pretty healthy. I have since started cutting down on dairy (am loving coconut yoghurt!) and barely have red meat anyway. I have also cut down on my gluten intake, although I still love bread but I just have it less.
The most important thing for me was I stuck to it. I didn’t give in and eat a chocolate bar, I persevered through the slight hunger pangs and I loved knowing that I was clearing my body of unwanted toxins and chemicals. The meals were delicious, exciting and great portion sizes that even Chance had major food envy.
I thought I would be wanting chocolate as soon as I finished but I didn’t even have it for a few days and now I enjoy a few pieces when I want it but not as much as before. The cleanse has definitely helped me change my food habits even more so than I had done myself.
I would totally recommend this cleanse to those who are wanting to detoxify their body with the added bonus of weight loss as well. If you’re on a postpartum journey to lose baby weight like me, then I think you will love the meal plan options Eat Fit Food offer. If you are breastfeeding then make sure you get in touch with them and they can help tailor something to suit you.
The cleanse meal plans start from $375 (they have a 5, 10 & 20 day option) which might seem expensive to some of you. However, when you calculate the money you spend on food weekly, and then factor in the time saved by having meals prepared for you as well as not having to go grocery shopping then I think you will find it is definitely worth the spend and stress relief!
To find out more information, or to place your order, head to http://www.eatfitfood.com.au/. Get started on your way to a fitter, cleaner, healthier YOU!
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