For my Instagram followers, you would have realised that I was on a #eatclean diet for 5 consecutive days for the past few days~! Being the glutton I have always been, eating fruits and vegetables with the meal replacement shake almost sounds like mission impossible to me! :( However, I've realised how my New Year's Resolution on eating healthily & clean as well as weight loss resolution being left with no action taken for the past few months..

So... with motivation from my colleagues who've tried out the same 5 days diet, I embarked on the healthiest 5 days (6 times 5 = 30 meals) of my life so far! Zero carbs and meat for five days~ I'm happy to announce that i've succeeded! YAY!!

Firstly, let me do a disclaimer: The results may vary for different individuals who are trying out this diet, as everyone has different body conditions. This post is not an advertorial, simply a post review to record the most healthy 5 days of my life till date. :p Hence, I will not mention any brands in particular :)

Alrighty! So you may ask:

"Why did you suddenly embark on this diet?"

I guess it was more of a challenge to myself to test the amount of determination I have to do what it takes to look healthier and lose weight! :) 

"What are the effects of this diet?"

1.5kg weight loss (not sure how long this weight loss will last), better skin condition (zero fried food and tons of water), a smaller appetite and pretty pictures of my meals!

The bad part about this is, the entire diet was not cheap! haha.. Fruits were quite expensive especially if you crave for the more pricey fruits like Kiwi, Mango and more.. The meal replacement drink was not v cheap either :p

Had to sacrifice a few meet ups because of this diet too :(

All in all, I'm glad I took up this 5 days #eatclean diet! :D

Now, moving on to the lighter note of this post~

{9 ways to #eatclean and detox}

While I was on the 5 days detox diet, I had 6 meals a day. 3 main meals with the meal replacement drink & a serving of fruits/vegetables. The remaining 3 meals which were tea break etc would simply be a serving of fruits/vegetables. This diet was actually pretty filling and you are not starving to lose weight :) The increased number of meals helps to increase your level of metabolism which is good!

"A faster metabolism will enable you to lose more weight than a person with the same activity level, diet, and weight."

1. Decorate your meal with strawberries! :D 

Strawberries just makes everything look prettier! Especially the cute Korea strawberries featured here~ YUMS! 3 boxes lasted me throughout the five full days of detox~ I can't wait for my upcoming holiday to Korea to indulge in more Korea strawberries!! :D

2. Simply Mix & Match a variety of fruits & vegetables! 

:D Mix & match to obtain 1 serving for every meal (total 6 meals)~
A good mix of fruits and vegetables is good for your health! Too much of a certain fruit or vegetable might have negative effects instead! So always strike a balance :D

According to the brochure Charlene passed to me, here's the recommended amount for 1 serving of recommended fruits & vegetables:

Recommended Vegetables

• 1 cup raw/cooked carrots
• 1 cup raw/cooked broccoli/cauliflower
• 1-2 cups cooked leafy vegetables
• 1-2 cups of green beans
• 1 whole tomato
• 3-4 stalks of celery
• 1 cup eggplant
• 1 cup corn
• 1-2 cups of bean sprouts

3. Invest in some cute bento picks 

I bought mine from Daiso and some other $2 Japanese value dollar stores around :D Pretty affordable and definitely brightens up your healthy platter of fruits! Don't you think they look way more appetising? :p

4. Cut up your fruits/vegetables into smaller pieces

By doing so, you get to chew more and eat slower, hence better digestion and you will not overeat! :) You would feel that you have more to eat when in actual fact it's the same amount of fruits & vegetables as per 1 serving :D

Longer preparation time also makes you less hungry by the time you sit down and eat 

(my personal weird theory hehe :p)

5. Inject some humour into your daily meals

Idea inspired by a picture my Bestie posted. :p Thinking of how to decorate my every meal and what I should buy/eat really gets me pretty excited! I guess that's how I managed to pull through this detox diet :D

6. Bring in some Disney goodness into your meals!

Make use of anything you can find in your kitchen! Even baking tools like this Winnie the Pooh cookie cutter can also come in really handy to produce a cute fruits bento for my dinner :p Simply unleash your creativity!

7. Opt for Low GI Meals & Snacks if possible

So what does low GI means? GI stands for Glycemic Index which measures the rate at which carbohydrates are broken down and appear in the blood as simple sugars.

Low GI: 55 or less, Medium GI: 56 to 69 and High GI: 70 or more

High Glycemic foods such as rice, bread and potato are absorbed into our blood streams quickly and causes our blood sugar to spike right after a meal.  Excessive sugar will be stored as fats. This will lead to the sudden increase of insulin which causes blood sugar to fall rapidly leading to you crave for more food after a heavy meal. The continuous cycles of "highs" and "lows" can lead to weight gain and health risks.

Low Glycemic food would help to moderate your blood glucose levels, leaving you feeling full and satisfied longer :D Here's a link of a list of low GI food : http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

Below are two meal replacement drinks with Low GI that I had :D Strawberry and chocolate flavoured drinks~ YUMS.

Opting for low GI food doesn't necessarily mean I will give up on my usual favourite food! As a food blogger, I'm sure you have read my posts on my cafe hopping trips haha.. i'm totally guilty of consuming High GI food as well. I guess it is all about balance and after learning more about the Glycemic index, what we can do is to be more conscious when we are planning our meals and balance out our meals with high GI & low GI food :D

 For instance, probably I had a sinful meal on Thurs, what I could do is to replace my Fri meal with a low GI meal :) That way, you get to stay healthy and still indulge in what you like once in a while~

8. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water everyday :D

I don't think I need to emphasise more on the benefits of drinking water :) 

Here are some of the reasons I found from: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4287/10-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Drink-More-Water.html

Top 10 Benefits of Drinking Water: Don't Medicate, Hydrate!