The Detox

Getting fat is an occupational hazard of being in love.
There you are, all happy and content with the cosy meals in, chocolates on the sofa, romantic dinners out. And bang, you've lost your cheekbones.
This has never happened to me before but then, I've never been engaged to a 6ft 2ins machine with the metabolism of a Humming Bird.*
When you're almost a foot shorter, genetically petite and start matching his eating habits, neither scales nor mirror lie.
You might remember part of the 'everything to do in six months' list included losing a stone.
Not to be 'bride-thin' - skeletal in lace does nothing for me - but to get back to where I was before Jamie asked me to be his girlfriend last August.
Now, call it a lack of patience, or perhaps willpower, but I'm not hanging around London with the temptation of, well, everything.

The Spa, Koh Samui

So I'm off to get fit and detox in Thailand with my mum for a little over a week. Weight aside, it's about getting healthy.
I've been to the spa in Koh Samui before and a seven-day fast is pretty extreme. No food and two self-administered colemas (less intrusive but like colonics - 20litres of diluted fresh coffee up your jacksy) each day.
A presenter friend called Carole Machin suggested the place to me a few years ago.When I joined her, she helped a petrified me set up my first coffee enema. I'll always be eternally grateful; she'll probably be eternally mentally scarred.
I'm looking forward to the challenge, peppered with yoga, meditation, massage and quality time with mum.
The trick - and what I've failed to do in the past - is not falling into old party girl habits upon return. This time, I have a few ideas as to how to maintain the shift in thinking, not least keeping this public record. For surely it's more interesting for you if it works. I'm also considering booking in regularly with a good personal trainer upon return to keep up motivation.

DIY colema 

Here's a link to the spa: www.thesparesorts.net
Why go through such deprivation? That's just it - my past experience taught me that I had been depriving myself by not doing it. Afterwards, your skin is bright, hair shiny, eyes white, facial features rediscovered.
It's a way of stopping the clock of ingrained routine, giving your mind and body an MOT.
If you find it too hard, you can stop the cleanse whenever you want but fingers crossed, I'll see it through.
It's not too expensive - accommodation which is basic but clean costs around £20 a night and to fast,  £40 or so a day. The Spa doesn't get the best reviews on the likes of TripAdvisor but it's only a good place to stay if you're detoxing as there are plenty of nicer hotels on the island.
There are plenty of other places to fast on Koh Samui and elsewhere in the world. I've heard great things about this one in Turkey, a bit more pricey - www.thelifeco.com - set up by friends after visiting the original retreat in Samui.
You might also want to check out www.melaniedaviescleanse.com - a woman in the UK who can send you the same kind of herbal nutrients for a self-administered cleanse at home..and you still get to eat, just cutting out protein, caffeine, alcohol and the other fun stuff.
I may update my blog during the process. Perhaps I'll post a 'before' and 'after' pic so long as there's notable difference and the former is not too grotesque.
So please keep tuned.
And in the meantime, please do share your tips and plans for feeling your best.

*With the exception of insects, Humming Birds have the highest metabolism of all animals while in flight, consuming their own body weight in nectar each day.