5-day healthy gut challenge
I’ve never been one for diets or cleanses, but then I’ve never eaten and drunk like I did in 2020. I soon discovered that my coping mechanism for pandemic anxiety and the lockdown blues was to eat and drink like there was no tomorrow - or tomorrow was Christmas Day, every day. After a stodgy comfort food dinner, I’d drink wine and snack on chocolate, crisps, cake and cheese. I was popping chocolate Lindt balls like Joe Wicks pops vitamins.
So when I was invited by holistic nutritionist Nutition with Nikki to join a 5-day healthy gut challenge, it actually felt like a sensible thing to try. For me, it wasn’t just about losing the bloat (and I don’t mean weight, I mean bloat), it was about knowing that I could break some bad habits and my sugar addiction. When I’d tried informally on my own, I couldn’t. Although we were allowed caffeine on the challenge, ideally limited to one cup a day in the morning, I decided to go the whole hog and cut out caffeine too.
For the first three days we did a food cleanse, which was not exactly fasting, but just eating the nourishing basics. These foods support digestion and intestinal health. We had a fruit and fibre smoothie for breakfast (one of the ingredients being, gasp, sauerkraut), a salad for lunch and bone broth with vegetables for dinner. There were optional snacks of unlimited veg, a piece of fruit or an afternoon smoothie. To keep is simple and to make prep easier, we stuck to the same menu every day.
I found the portion sizes quite big - particularly the lunchtime salad - so I didn’t feel hungry at any point. Well, I was nicely hungry by my next meal which just meant my food tasted so much better. Because of my snacking habit, I’d sort of forgotten what that felt like. The cup of hot cacao with cinnamon and honey and a banana I had as an evening snack were just incredible.
For the next two days, we reintroduced key foods with the emphasis on healthy meals. For example, one day the menu was:
Breakfast: Porridge with cinnamon, honey, blueberries and kiwi
Lunch: Kale, beet, carrot and chickpea salad
Dinner: Baked mustard salmon and sweet potato (veggie options available)
We had a Facebook group for the challenge, and it was great to compare notes with others and to get support and advice from Nikki. I definitely wouldn’t have found it such a breeze on my own. I don’t own scales or weigh myself (my jeans tell me all I need to know) but a number of the participants reported dropping a few pounds.
As far as side effects go, on day two I had a crippling headache (which I’d fully expected) and had a serious lack of energy. But by day three I woke up feeling like a new woman - headache gone, less bloated and plenty of energy. I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter too. I also slept really, really well this week, which is no mean feat for a part-time insomniac. Instead of waking up groggy and having to be crowbarred out of my bed, I actually felt refreshed and ready to get up.
The shopping, prep and cooking - although simplified as far as possible - was pretty time consuming. But that was all part of it. Taking the time to shop and prepare your ingredients with care is all part of more mindful eating, and although that’s a major challenge with two little ones and work, I enjoy it.
I learnt quite a few things I’ll take forward with me, from healthy dinner recipes to unexpected smoothie ingredients. I think the biggest thing for me, the sugar and snack monster, is that a cup of hot cacao and a banana in the evening can hit the same spot as a whole heap of unhealthy alternatives. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still have the unhealthy alternatives sometimes, just not every night.
Nikki’s next healthy gut challenge starts on 1st February, but make sure you sign up as soon as possible so you can get the shopping list and start your preparations. More information and Kombucha kits available on her website. Nikki has been kind enough to share a couple of discount codes with us:
15% off standard Kombucha Kits until the end of January with discount code 5daysmall
15% off BioCare supplements with the discount code P11187
