I am now approaching week two of my new lifestyle eating plan. Not only do I feel like a new person, I also act and think like one. There is no more exhaustion as the day draws to an end. New ideas and suggestions for my business’ clients appear at my fingertips. And I sleep like a baby. A big plus is of course that my clothes fit so much better. I don’t feel poured into my jeans anymore, and I no longer have to longingly stare at some of my clothes that used to fit. Soon all will be mine again!

Look – it hasn’t been easy. I still have to convince myself every mealtime that the stuff I am chugging down my throat is delicious and I would like nothing else better. Not even a juicy steak, rare, with a creamy garlic and cheese sauce, surrounded by golden-fried chips. No, not at all! I have to make sure that my hunger is satisfied before I go to the local grocer to get my box of daily supplies. Because believe it or not, even in grocers, who are supposedly spesialised in supplying green, leafy stuff, there are hidden temptations that are no longer allowed to pass my lips. And I may be strong, but I am only human.

At least the detox week is now over. Nobody can prepare you for the agony of those few days. The headaches are excruciating. And that is only the beginning. There is the almost non-stop nausea and the exhaustion. My tongue felt as if someone had coated it with a layer of cement, and my breath could kill the Loch Ness Monster with a single exhale. My sinuses made me sound like someone on a permanent cold, and I used so many tissues that my reddened nose reminded everyone of Christmas.

All the gripes aside – in all honesty I would gladly do the detoxing period all over again if it means I get to feel like I do now. I used to envy people who vault themselves out of bed ecstatically at the first inkling of a beep from their alarm clock. Now I have joined their ranks – there is no more difficulty waking up in the mornings, refreshed and invigorated. I don’t spend my day half-asleep, yearning for bed-time. I am so much more productive. I feel lighter and I positively ooze with well-being. And I am actually losing weight! Without much effort at all.

Why aren’t more people embracing juicing as a way of life? I don’t know. It took me years to even find out about juicing as a dietary option. And everybody makes it sound extraordinarily complicated, or even difficult. There are recipes and do’s and don’t lists a mile long. All this dissuades the person who wants to live healthier, but who doesn’t need more complications. I plunged in head-first, threw the lists away and just did a lot of initial research. There is no right or wrong when it comes to juicing. Everybody else had to feel their way as well before becoming experts. I consulted my doctor, as every responsible adult should do before making any drastic lifestyle change, and just started.

Yes, you will need a decent juicer. It doesn’t have to entail taking out a mortgage on your house. My juicer that I use twice a day cost less than a grand, whereas a friend of mine invested in a juicer that has all the apparent bells and whistles, and it sits on a shelf in its box, gathering dust. Yes, you will need to really want to change. You will have reached a point where who you are, how you feel and how you look is simply unacceptable. Yes, you will need a basic idea of what you are doing. If you are reading this, then you have internet access. There are fantastic online resources, mostly free, where you can find out everything you want to know to reboot your life.

I am happily breezing into week two, feeling better than I can even remember ever feeling. And much as I miss that steak, once I break my juice fast, I will have one. Fried in a little bit of olive oil, with no creamy sauce and a delicious side salad.