How I became obsessed by a dirty Malteser and lost 7lbs

I can’t take my eyes off the Malteser lying on the floor of the train carriage. All my brain can think is how much I’d like to eat it.

I am on week two of The BeautifulBreak Detox. I haven’t had any chocolate for 10 days and I am becoming obsessed.

Fortunately I have a little bag of delicious healthy treats to prevent me from doing something daft – like eating that damn Malteser.

The BeautifulBreak Detox is designed to help cleanse the body, flush out toxins, reduce stress on the digestive system and re-alkalise the body. Most of us have sluggish digestive systems, our bodies are acidic (which can lead to a range of health issues), we’re dependent on caffeine or nicotine and crave sugary or salty foods.

None of these are great for feeling your best.

The trouble is, detoxing always sounds so difficult – and a bit painful. But as detoxes go this is really very easy. They provide all the food for you – the meals, the snacks, drinks and even daily treats known as “detox temptations”. These are a selection of fruity flapjacks or little fruit cake balls – delicious.

In addition you do a lot of sweating.

Five times a week I head to BodyWorksWest for my wrap. Naked, apart from a pair of those “oh so flattering” disposable pants, I lie down on a damp sheet and the practitioner, Ilona Wesle, surrounds me with temperature controlled hot water bottles and then wraps me up in layers of blankets and towels until I look like some sort of fat Egyptian mummy, with just my face poking out at the top. And there I stay for about an hour – sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat. I sweat so much I begin to wonder if one day she will unwrap me and I will have completely melted!

The wraps are designed to increase peripheral circulation and stimulate the metabolism to eliminate waste products and toxins. According to Ilona, this is not just good for your health, it can also help to reduce cellulite. A definite bonus.

During the first few days I found the food very bland and longed for some flavour, but within less than a week my taste buds had adjusted and each meal was tasty and bursting with flavour. It just goes to show how so much salt in the diet and in the body can affect how we taste and experience our food.

After three weeks, my skin is softer and smoother, my stomach is flatter, I’ve lost nearly 7lbs and my thighs are cellulite free.

It’s one of the easiest detox plans I’ve tried – the wraps may be time consuming but they are also an excellent excuse to relax and meditate, sleep or enjoy an audio book. The food is tasty and well thought through with plenty of variety (the Thai green curry was my favourite), and the detox temptations are delicious. They are so good I’d happily eat them even when I am not on health kick.

And, despite my obsession you’ll be pleased to know I didn’t succumb to any dirty Maltesers!


You can hear more from Ilona Wesle from Beautiful Break Detox on PASSION for the PLANET.

Veggie, Vegan, Lacto-Ovo, Fruitarian – what does it all mean?

Vegetarian, vegan, lacto-ovo, pescetarian, fruitarian, raw foodie…. what do they mean and how can you be sure you’re feeding your guests the right food this Christmas?

Throughout my childhood I grew up in a house where we actually cooked the turkey on Christmas Eve to avoid the stress of the trying to baste with one hand and play Monopoly with the other on Christmas Day.

We also always had extended family round on Boxing Day, which meant even more cooking, less space in the kitchen and even more organising. Now we’re all adults, the space in the house seems to have shrunk again, with not only more people but different dietary requirements to cater for as well.

Now let’s be honest, even adding vegetarians to the equation does seem to take up more space! It means separate dishes to fit in the fridge, oven or on the stove (although I maintain this is not the fault of the veggie’s – it’s mainly because all the surface space is already covered in cakes, champagne and bowls of nuts). So while you’re feeling pleased with yourself for organising a big enough feast that everyone present will end up feeling so full they’ll never want to eat again, the last thing you’ll want to do is serve someone something they can’t eat.

With people using the word ‘vegetarian’ to mean so many things (I once heard someone describe themselves as partly vegetarian – what does that mean?) it’s no wonder people still get confused about what foods come under this diet. I even have a friend that claims she’s vegetarian and then says ‘It’s alright, I’ll just stick some fish on for myself’, so it’s not just the carnivores in the house that are clearly confused!

So here is a quick guide to the various diets you might come across this festive season…

Vegetarian: A diet that is defined by not eating meat (flesh) – whether it be red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish or game. The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is the oldest vegetarian organisation in the world, establishing the term ‘vegetarian’ over 150 years ago, and in their definition they also include slaughter by-products. This may mean you want to ask your guests whether they’ll eat sweets with gelatin in (derived from the collagen found inside animals’ skin and bones) before you serve them a desert topped with candy.

There are also some sub categories:

Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: Eats both dairy products and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian diet.

Lacto-vegetarian: Eats dairy products but not eggs.

Here are some other useful definitions of the different diets you might come across this season:

Pescetarianism: Typically includes fish and shellfish but excludes all other meat. It is also sometimes known as ‘pesco-vegetarianism’. This can easily lead to confusion as it isn’t actually a form of vegetarianism, but rather (for some people) it can be a transition period from omnivore to vegetarian. This is a fairly new term; ‘pescetarianism’ was only recognised in 1993.

Vegan: A vegetarian diet that also does not include dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product or by-product (including honey). Many vegans are committed as a lifestyle choice too; they not only avoid animals for food but all animal products such as leather, fur, silk and wool. The Vegan Society established in 1944 describes itself as “promoting ways of living free from animal products for the benefit of people, animals and the environment”.

Raw Foodist: A diet that promotes eating un-cooked, un-processed and often organic foods. Typically they eat 75 % of their food not heated above 46C (116F) degrees. Most often they are vegan (and this is considered the pure form of a raw food diet), but there are subcategories of raw vegetarianism and raw animal food diets, which means they eat some food that is cooked, but the bulk of the diet is raw.

Fruitarian: A diet comprising of only raw fruit, including raw nuts and seeds without animal products, vegetables and grains. Some people consider themselves fruitarian if their diet is 75% or more fruit.

So in a nutshell, and as demonstrated by my confused pescetarian friend, it’s always worth asking your guests a few more questions about their food dos and don’ts this Christmas. You never know – they might be as confused about the definitions as you are!

And if you need a few recipe ideas – have a look at Munch Less Meat.