Joanna Hall - The 24 Hour Diet - Lose up to 4lbs in a Day

Detox teasare often a blend of botanicals that help cleanse the body. These may include dandelion root, burdock root, milk thistle, liquorice root, peppermint, spearmint, artichoke and ginger root. These teas are prepared in convenient tea bags. Although you can buy the fresh herbs yourself and make your own teas, these can be very powerful and exceedingly bitter. The prepared detox teas can be drunk with a little honey to sweeten if necessary, although it’s better to avoid this if you can.

Laxative teasare usually a combination of senna leaves, liquorice, cinnamon, fennel and ginger. These can be very effective so only one cup should be taken before bedtime. If necessary, another one can be taken the following day. Don’t drink more than four cups in 24 hours.

Both these teas support the cleansing process of the body.

Please note:Laxative teas are not recommended if you have or develop diarrhoea or abdominal pain. Consult your doctor before taking them if you suffer from frequent diarrhoea, are pregnant, breast-feeding, taking medication or have a medical condition.

1 It sounds obvious but read the whole plan before you start – I’ve tried to address all the little problem areas you may have, so a little prior reading will help a great deal.

2 The Vitality Soup and Sanity Snacks can be made in advance. You can freeze the Vitality Soup in convenient individual serving sizes, and the Sanity Snacks last up to a week in a container in the fridge.

3 To save mess as well as time, freeze nut butters in ice cube trays. They easily come out of the trays and two cubes are the equivalent of a dessertspoon. You can put the frozen cubes straight into the Nutty Evening Energizer, but they will need to thaw a little before making a fresh batch of Sanity Snacks.

4 The Body Blender Breakfast can be partly prepared the night before. Soak the oats, wheat germ, lecithin and nutmeg in 200ml (7fl oz) cold water. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge. In the morning, just pour it into your blender with the remaining ingredients.

5 Your Good Morning Body Juice is best prepared fresh from scratch by peeling the vegetables and fruit when you need them. Cutting up the fruit and vegetables beforehand can reduce the vitamin content due to oxidation. However, if you are really short of time you can wash and cut them up, leaving them ready to use in the morning. Alternatively, you can make up a batch of juice and freeze it immediately in convenient individual serving sizes. This preserves the nutrient content and does little to reduce its powerful qualities.

6 The night before your 24 Hour Diet, put your blender and juicer out on the sideboard, all ready to go.

7 Taking your Vitality Soup to work in a flask can be convenient when doing your Three-day Cleanse.

8 Do your 24 Hour Diet with a friend and turn it into a spa day. Doing it together means you can share the preparation. It also makes it a Lot more fun, especially if you have a sleepover the night before and combine it with some pampering.

When:First thing in the morning with your Body Cleanse Elixir.

Why:Doing twists massages and helps to detoxify the internal organs, encouraging sound digestion and improving circulation.

What you do:Lie on your back with your arms stretched out to the sides in line with your shoulders. Bring your knees to your chest. Slowly let both knees fall to your left side; turn your neck and look to the right. Breathe for a few moments then return your knees to the centre and repeat on the opposite side.

When:First thing in the morning and during the afternoon.

Why:Puts pressure on the abdomen, assisting elimination.

What you do:Lie on your stomach with legs outstretched. Place your palms on the floor near your ribcage. Inhale as you press your hands into the floor and lift your chest, keeping your hips anchored on the floor and pressing down with your pubic bone. Hold for three to five smooth breaths, then lower to the floor. Repeat three times.

When:In the evening, before you go to bed.

Why:A lovely, relaxing body-awareness exercise. Releasing mental and emotional stress is of utmost importance when we cleanse.

What you do:Lie on your back, feet and arms extended and comfortably relaxed. Let your weight sink into the floor and relax everywhere. Keep bringing your attention back to the sensations of the body so you start to get glimpses of where you are holding tension. Try to release these areas of tension with deep breaths, allowing your body to fall into the mat.

You need to take your measurements three times: the night before you start; first thing on the morning of the diet; and first thing the morning after.

The measurements I suggest you take are:

• your weight

• your waist:the smallest part of your middle

• your belly button:the measurement around your middle level with your belly button. For some people this can be the same point as their waist measurement while others may have a Lower or higher belly button measurement.

• your hips:standing with your feet together, measure a level circumference at the top of your buttock cheeks

• your thighs:standing with your feet together, take a circumference measurement 20cm (8 inches) up from the top of your kneecap

Record these measurements in the following table.

All these items can be bought from an organic shop such as Fresh and Wild (www.freshandwild.com) or Planet Organic (www.planetorganic.com). Dry goods can be found in Holland and Barrett or any good high-street health-food shop.

Ideally, try to buy organic or local produce – see the ‘Eat Ethically’ rule on page 130 for more information.

• 2 lemons or bottled lemon juice

• 2 apples

• 1 pear

• 1 banana

• 200ml carton of orange juice

• 1 avocado

• 1 small red onion

• Garlic clove or garlic purée

• 1 small red pepper

• Small cucumber

• 1 fresh chilli or Tabasco sauce

• 1 small bulb of fennel

• Fresh ginger

• 1 packet each of fresh basil, parsley and mint

• Small packet of walnut halves or almonds

• Flaxseeds or linseeds (grind with a pestle and mortar or in a coffee grinder for speed)

• Small packet of dried figs

• Small packet of dried dates

• Small packet of semi-dried pitted prunes

• Small packet of pumpkin seeds

• Jar of almond butter (white almond butter is my favourite)

• Small container of pure fruit spread (I use Sunwheel pear and prune)

• Small packet of organic 70 per cent cocoa powder (I use Green and Blacks)

• Small tin of lecithin granules (I use Optima brand)

• 1 large tin of chopped organic tomatoes

• Olive oil

• Sugar

• Ground black pepper

• Porridge oats

• Small packet of wheat germ