Can one woman survive five days of a juice? Only in the name of detoxification and weight loss...
body+soul's, Nicola Conville, takes on a 5-day juice fast and lives to recount the details. Can one woman survive on juice alone?
7.30am When I get up I spy my first delivery of juices sitting on the doorstep in an esky. I swig my breakfast juice, a blend of spinach, apple, cucumber, kiwifruit, wheatgrass and parsley.
10am Down juice number two, a detoxifying blend of pineapple, grapes, carrot, celery, ginger and apple. It's yummy and I love the ginger kick.
1.30pm Heat up lentil and tomato soup. Feeling very calm, probably due to lack of caffeine.
7pm Go to a film screening where everyone loads up on free booze and food while I sip cranberry juice. "You're really glowing, your skin looks great," says my sister. I wasn't expecting compliments this early, but I'll take them!
8am My boyfriend plonks my esky of juices on the bed and says "Here you go, baby, breakfast in bed!" I drink my green juice and feel pretty perky. No headache so far.
1pm I'm feeling slightly envious of my colleagues' lunches. My brother sends me an email telling me he ate some party pies and sausage rolls at a function. I hate everyone.
5pm Home time! I feel very absent-minded today. Hope I can find my way to the bus stop.
8am Feeling amazing today! My headache has disappeared, I feel full of energy and my stomach is flat.
1pm A conversation about Turkish food makes me daydream about chicken kebabs. I crave foods on and off all day, like a goldfish with ADD.
9pm My man comes home with a wood-fired pizza. I feel surprisingly unmoved as he tucks in and actually find the garlicky scents wafting from the box a bit nauseating.
8am Today's breakfast smoothie is so gluggy I almost have to chew it. I've also noticed a white layer on my tongue. Nice! Oh well, it's just my body expelling nasty toxins.
5pm Torture myself by reading restaurant menus online.
8pm Drink my last juice for the day and hop into a warm bath - it's bliss. I scrub my skin with the detox bath salts from my welcome pack and luxuriate in the warmth.
8am The last day! I've lost almost three kilos and feel pretty good. But I also realise how much I've missed cooking and eating.
3pm I crack. I just can't face another juice; I feel tired and nauseous and I can't concentrate. I break my fast with some toast and tea and feel instantly better. I think I went a juice too far ...