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First of all, happy new year to everyone!

Today is day 1 of my new year detox. It is something I do every now and then to ensure my body is running smoothly. So far it is going quite well, I even fit in time this afternoon for a meditation to cleanse the mind as well.

Tomorrow is when my detox will start getting harder. The reason is because it is day 2 that the moulds and fungi inside your body start to die, but before they do they cry out for sugar to keep them alive. Yes, shock and horror, you are the host to little creatures that live off your body. Over time they thrive among the bad things we eat and get way out of control. If a mouldy product in the fridge makes your stomach turn, imagine the little buggers actually living in your belly! Yuck! Fighting the cravings during the detox is much easier if you picture it as a war against the little animals that tried to take over your body!

Of course new year brings new year resolutions, and if getting back into shape is one of yours then maybe you should try a detox. It is fast and effective for resetting the body and can save months of dieting.

The drawback is the week of pain you have to go through. But even if you can last a few days you will still see benefits. Following are the details of the Betalife detox for the adventurous among you.

How to Detox:

The best way to detox is with fresh vegetable juices. For this you will need a juicer at home that is capable of juicing carrot, cabbage etc. If you don't have a juicer, please follow the instructions under "alternative detox".

Follow this for 7 days. When you resume eating regular food, you will find your natural sense of what is good and bad for your body is heightened. The detox can be extended for an additional 7 days if necessary. In the second week it is permissible to eat protein (fish, meat, eggs, legumes, nuts) in addition to the fresh juice.

You may experience mild discomfort during the detox, the toxins coming out of your body. Most should not need medical attention, but if symptoms persist or are causing excessive discomfort, please consult your doctor.

During the detox the only things that go in your mouth are water and fresh vegetable juices. You are not allowed to have fruit juices. Remember, if it has seeds it's a fruit. The juices must be fresh squeezed and consumed within 24 hours or making. Store bought juices are not a substitute. You can drink as much vegetable juice and water as you want, whenever you are hungry and all day if necessary. You will crave other things, but if you eat something else you must start the detox again from day one.

The following vegetables are necessary in the detox juice:

• cabbage
• carrots
• beetroot (fresh!)
• celery (including leaves)
• spinach or lettuce (darker green the better)

You should juice each of these and mix together equal parts of each to drink. Keep in the fridge for up to 24 hrs. You can include other vegetables, but make sure you get enough of each of the above.

NOTE: Cabbage juice smells bad and tastes bad if kept over one hour. Make it fresh and drink separately immediately after juicing. Drink 1-2 glasses of cabbage juice per day.

Drink 1 glass of water for every 1 glass of vegetable juice.
 

So to summarise:

• Drink only vegetable juice and water.
• Drink 1 glass of water before or after every 1 glass of juice.
• Drink as much juice and water as you want.
• If anything else passes your lips, start the whole detox again!
• Detox for one week.
• You have finished detoxing when you stop feeling bad and feel fantastic.
• Continue into a second week if necessary, including proteins in 2nd week.

For anyone that is doing a detox make sure you blog about it, so we can follow your progress. It also helps to keep you on track as well! Good luck!

Alternative Detox

If you don't have a juicer, then follow these instructions.

Eat only vegetables and drink only water. Eat a lot of the vegetables listed above. Feel free to eat any other vegetables, but no fruit. Eat vegetables as often as you want, and drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

Follow for 7 days. You know when you have finished detoxing because you stop feeling bad and feel fantastic. Continue into a second week if necessary, including proteins in 2nd week.

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The festive fun has eased off for a couple of days, giving many of us a much deserved rest. However it is important to remember that “easy eating” doesn’t have to equate to bad eating.

I was just speaking to a friend of mine whose husband has kindly taken her three children to the movies, allowing her to get some peace and quiet. Of course, she didn’t feel like cooking herself dinner, so she coyly admitted she was going to have 2 minute noodles in front of the TV!

Naturally, this isn’t the most nutritious or delicious of dinners, but it was easy and what she felt like. My only suggestion was that while she was waiting the two minutes for her noodles to cook, she quickly chop in a couple of vegetables to make it a reasonably OK dinner. She seemed to think she could manage to muster up the effort to do that!

As the conversation progressed, she started thinking about her dinner again, and said maybe instead of the noodles, she would have a toasted sandwich. This time, she asked me for any suggestions on how to make that a bit healthier! My suggestion this time was to simply serve it with a big bunch of rocket and chopped tomatoes on the side. Again, simple enough to do while the toast was cooking.

And if she really wanted to do the best thing by her body and feel refreshed, I suggested she grab a carrot and a stick of celery, and munch on it as she spoke to me. The crunch was a little noisy, but done in the name of good health, I was more than happy to put up with it.

She just text me to say thanks, and that she feels a lot “cleaner” than she would have had she not spoken to me. So remember, easy eating doesn’t have to leave you feeling bad. Add a bit of fresh on the side, and not only will you end up keeping your portions lower, but you will also feel a lot better in the long run.

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We are all beginning to understand that for the sake of our bodies and our waistlines, it is best that we eat our food slowly. And a recent study on British children has shown some interesting results which back up this theory.

It seemed the faster the children ate, the fatter they were.

The study, conducted by the UK Cancer Research health behaviour research centre, looked at more than 120 sets of twins between 10 and 12 years of age. They videoed the children as they ate sandwiches and fruit salad.

They looked at the data of how much each child weighed, and how many bites a minute they took.

The fastest biters – at 4.3 bites per minute – were also found to be the overweight children. The next group came in at 4.1 bites a minute, and they were slightly heavier than average.

The thinnest children were actually the slowest eaters, taking only 3.8 bites per minute.

Researchers are considering this to be a great stepping stone to address the rising obesity levels, which unfortunately also correlate with increased risk of many cancers.

So for all of those parents who are struggling with meal times because your child takes such a long time to eat, it may just end up being an advantage to their health!

Oprah Winfrey is famous for a lot of things, yet one of the most documented parts of her complex life has been her battle with her weight. Despite slimming down numerous times over the years, the weight always seems to creep back again.

Now Oprah is speaking up in January’s issue of “O” magazine, with a cover shot showing pictures of Oprah at her present weight next to the much slimmer version of herself.

"I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?"' the talk-show queen says in the article provided early to The Associated Press by Harpo Productions. 

"I'm embarrassed," she says. "I'm mad at myself."

Oprah admits she has put on 40 pounds (18 kilos) since 2006, and her weight is now at 200 pounds, or just over 90 kilos.

Sensibly, Oprah says she's abandoned trying to get thin. She just wants to be strong, healthy and fit.

"When it comes to maintaining my health I didn't just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me," the chairwoman of Harpo Inc. writes. "I didn't follow my own fundamental rule of taking care of self first."

Oprah has no reason to feel embarrassed, as after all, this is something millions across the world are struggling with. But I do agree with the fact that she needs to take care of herself, and get rid of the idea of being thin.

I remember her talking about being in France and trying to resist a croissant, and that should have been the first warning sign. You cannot sustain a "dieting" mentality that stops you from living a happy life. I say eat the croissant and be happy. But get rid of the guilt, deprivation and stop focusing on "diet" foods.

Let's hope that this time, Oprah finds and maintains a healthy weight she is happy with. Only time will tell.

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Well, I think we can say the festive season has officially begun. The decorations are up, shopping is well underway and Christmas parties have already started. 

It is a great time of the year, but there is no reason you have to choose between your diet and fun. There is a way to balance them both. So here are some tips for staying slim over the festive season while still enjoying yourself!

1. STILL EAT WELL
For starters, you must still eat your regular meals. Many people are looking to reduce their calories in the holiday season, so they take out their proper meals in order to eat and drink guilt free at their parties. Do this and you are looking for trouble! Instead, you need to be eating loads of good food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also, be careful about developing bad habits like eating the left over chocolates and lollies for breakfast, as this is just setting you up for a day of bad eating. If you have to do it (after all, we know you will!), try to start off with a banana, some eggs, avocado and baby spinach and then you can attack the chocolates.

2. MODIFY YOUR FITNESS PROGRAM
It is crucial that you tailor your fitness program to suit the festive period. It might mean you have to get more creative, but the changes will be fun. Instead of just going out for lunch, why not catch up with friends over a game of tennis? You can also try to meet friends in a local café or park so you can walk there instead of taking the car. You can also exercise at home if you don't have time for your regular walk or gym session. Fitness DVDs or a mini trampoline make very convenient workouts, and even 10 minutes done regularly will make a huge difference.

3. GET RID OF THE GUILT!
If you combine good eating with the occasional indulgences of the party food, there is no reason to feel guilty. So don't! Because feeling guilty will only lead you to eating more of the wrong foods. It is a lovely time of the year where you do get to spend quality time with the special people in your life, so it is important to place more emphasis on having fun. And by doing this, you will also remain happy, balanced and in control of your eating.

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Weight loss may be as simple as drinking three cups of tea a day, according to a new study. Sounds unbelievable right? Well, let’s get a couple of facts straight.

First of all, the research is a little more promising than a lot of so called “slimming teas” which have quite a bad reputation. This new weight loss weapon is actually a variation on Green Tea, which has already shown to have positive effects on weight loss. It’s called Spearole Tea, and is made from a blend of green tea, spearmint, grape seed and olive leaf.

The downside is that the study was funded by the manufacturer of Spearole. Here are the results:

Researcher Dr Brown, a pharmacologist at the Queensland University, studied the effect of the tea on a selection of rats.

They started off healthy, but were then fed a high fat and sugar diet for the next 8 weeks. Naturally, this caused the amount of fat around their bellies to increase (it actually doubled) and the rat’s blood pressure also increased.

However when the Spearole Tea was added to their diet, their waist levels and blood pressure went back to normal, despite the fact they were still on their unhealthy diet.

It is thought the tea works by preventing the fat cells from releasing inflammatory chemicals that attract more fat. The olive and grape components of the tea are likely to have a similar effect, while the spearmint is just adding to the flavour.

Dr Brown said the results were: “Simply amazing.”

It does sound too good to be true. But with those ingredients, the tea should have some positive benefits to your health. The weight loss in humans though, remains to be seen.