I have just dyed my hair brown. Having been blonde since I was 17, this is quite a change. The urge to dye my hair brown is an annual thing that normally happens in October after the summer’s glow has faded, which just goes to show how undeniably terrible our so-called summer has been. Along with the urge (and actual going through with that urge) to dye my hair brown there have been other tell-tale signs that our summer ceased to exist this year. For one my skin tone is a cross between a shade of grey and a hint of green. Spots have also relentlessly popped up on my shoulders and back – not attractive. And a reoccurring patch of eczema has now thoroughly made its home in my elbow crease!! What is  this! Not to mention the excess of white carbs that has relocated itself from my hands to my mouth and finally deciding to camp out on my hips. And finally, I just don’t feel good, not about myself or the way I look.

It was with all this in mind and on a particularly grey day that I met Danni. One part of SoupaJuice cleanses duo (the team is made up of two gorgeous girls Danni and Lisa) and the most gloriously bouncy girl I have met in a long time. Danni radiated health and swiftly ordered a green tea whilst I ordered a sugar laden virgin mohito – “I have just been on a cleanse” she said “so I think the sugar might make me go a bit crazy” and that is when I realised… a cleanse… that is exactly what I need.

Still a young but highly professional company, Soupa Juice offer three different cleanses varying in length and type of juice – I jumped at the opportunity to do the five-day cleanse – recommended by Danni. Each day I will be packed off with three smoothies (starting the day with a green juice) and a soup for my evening meal. A bit nervous that the mere sighting of a  jar of peanut butter (I dive in by the spoonful) would make me go weak at the knees and give in, Danni assured me that she is on hand to answer any questions during my five days and that there would be support along the way. Support, I think, I am going to need!

I kept a diary of my Soupajuice experience. Here is how I got on…

Day One:

I was genuinely so excited to get on the cleanse this morning. I really do feel like I need this. So I did a very light stretching session in the gym and came home and started the day with a hot water (I had no lemon). I then had my green juice, which tasted a lot sweeter than I expected. I have to say the next mid-morning smoothie was totally delicious and contained yummy things like dates and almond milk! I then waited out my lunchtime smoothie until three pm, which was lemon, and olive oil – sounds less-than-appetitising – tasted wonderful! Teatime was hard as I usually nibble on some sort of snack and I had started getting really bad headaches as part of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Then came the evening. The key to not falling off the cleanse wagon was keeping myself busy; I had a bath, did some work and watched an episode of New Girl (if you haven’t seen it yet – do – its amazing). I then had the soup for supper as my family tucked into lamb chops and a wild rice salad. Of course I envied what they were having, but I kept reminding myself how much my body needs this. There will be plenty of chances to have wild rice salads in the future. After supper I had a cup of warm oat milk as the hunger pains where a bit to much to bare and I was worried I wouldn’t sleep. The oat milk did the trick nicely and I ended up going to bed an hour earlier than normal.

Danni and Lisa’s Top Tip:
Make sure you drink at least 2-3 litres of water a day. You don’t want all that lovely fiber to go the wrong way! You can also drink as many non-caffeinated, herbal teas as you want.