Detox

HOW TO GET HEALTHY, LOSE THOSE EXTRA POUNDS, CLEANCE YOUR SYSTEM AND BECOME A DIFFERENT PERSON.

There is a few places on Samui to do detox/fasting, but I will keep it down to two the most known, tried and checked. One is cheap, one is expensive, the result is more or less the same, it's up to you if you want to fast in comfort and style or in a cheap and cheerful way.

The first stop - The Spa Samui Resort

http://www.thesparesorts.net/

The Spa Resort in Lamai is the probably the oldest fasting place on this island.

Guy & Toi Hopkins met in 1987 and embarked on a journey of health and wellness together. Guy is from California in the USA. Toi is from the Esan region of North-eastern Thailand. The Spa Resorts opened on May 15th, 1992 on Koh Samui. Today, The Spa Resorts are in four locations: Samui Beach, Samui Village, Koh Chang and its’ flagship location is in the rolling hills of rural Chiang Mai.

In Samui The Spa has 2 branches - one on Lamai beach, another one up on the hills of Lamai, both branches are kind of identical, with the hills branch probably being the quieter and more relaxing one.

There are more activities happening every day in a beach branch, plus it's a bit easier to get to the beach than to the hills, so that's why quite a few people including me end up here in The Spa on the beach, in my case - usually having lunch with my family or friends..

Oh , I forgot to mention their restaurant - it's amazing, the food is at least. Service could be improved, but do you remember where you are?

Yes, that's correct, you are in Thailand, in a land of smiles and slow moves so everything is cha-cha, which means take it easy and relax and don't expect anything to be done quickly...

It used to really frustrate me when I'd moved here, but after a few years being here on Samui and living in "Samui" time I think I have become one of them, that's why I am no longer rushing anywhere ..

So, coming back to the food ...

The Radiance Restaurant at The Spa Resort

http://www.thesparesorts.net/nutrition/radiance-restaurant

specializes in vegetarian, vegan and raw foods. It uses fresh fruits and vegetables from both the local village as well as the Resort’s organic farm in Chiang Mai. The menu features a wide array of delicious, colorful dishes, juices and smoothies.

Radiance Restaurant was hailed as one of the Top 50 Restaurants in the World by international magazine.

Sounds impressive to you? And the food is delicious. And it is cheap as peanuts. And it's organic, which is so important to some of us these days.. And the restaurant is absolutely beautiful, it's located right on the beach, surrounded by beautiful orchids and tropical plants, birds and butterflies......You sit there, relax, eat delicious food and enjoy a seaview...So, I hope I 've given you enough reasons to get you there quickly instead of going to Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, or one of those very expensive tourists restaurant with a questionable quality of food and the same cha-cha slow service...

Now, I think I got a bit carried away with the food ( I do love to eat..), so I am coming back to detox.

Detox in The Spa is DIY.

They give you the room, they give you equipment, they explain to you WHAT, WHERE and HOW, and then they leave you to it. Great for those who can't bear the idea of someone going anywhere near your backside...Then you drink special cocktails, which fill you up and have lots of good stuff in them, you don't eat anything for a few days, your body is getting more and more pure by the minute, and then you leave this place in a few days with a new body and new mind...And you will definitely be back there for more, I tell you.

In the resort they have daily yoga classes, Chi Gong, amazing massages ( all staff is properly trained and certified , you may wonder about it looking at the cheap prices), they also have a little beauty salon and health shop where you can buy some really good stuff like flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, organic granola, organic honey, spirulina, wheatgrass, etc.

Also the resort has some daily activities for detoxing people, like Reiki classes, Tea ceremony, Palm reading, Astrology sessions, and more to keep you busy there. Plus you meet lots of interesting people there and make friends for life!

Our second stop - Absolute Sanctuary

http://www.absolutesanctuary.com/

 

 

 

Absolute Sanctuary a gorgeous Moroccan style resort a bit up on the hills, but still close enough to Choengmon beach. It's new, it's expensive, they have the best detox rooms on the island, and you don't DIY there, they do it for you. If you don't want to do colonic, you can just do a juice detox of raw food detox, they have a nutritionist on site who can help you to choose the programme you will be comfortable with.

The Love Kitchen restaurant at Absolute Sanctuary

http://www.absolutesanctuarysamui.com/food%20menu.html

specialises in the very healthy food, beautifully presented as well ( not exactly cheap but absolutely delicious).

And there is a great SPA with aromatherapy massages, facials, scrubs, body wraps and all the usual stuff... Also their infinity pool deserves some attenton, the view from there is priceless.

Yoga studio in Absolute Sanctuary is one of the best on the island ( and they are building second one, mind you) with 5 daily meditation/yoga/pilates classes, there are also regular workshops with the great well-known instructors and also they host a few yoga/pilates Teacher Trainings during the year, so if you think you had enough of a rat race, if you start wondering about changing your 9-5 job to something more exciting, than maybe it's exactly what you need...Find it out during your detox week, and stay on for the month of training...You will come back home a different person!

Detox

Fighting my kilos....

I haven't been happy with my weight lately. Ok, I know, I am nearly 40, and my metabolism has probably died ages ago, plus I've just had a baby, so now I can't get the weight off even if I eat only 1800-2000 calories a day. I've been eating very litle and I've been doing yoga and walking a lot but nothing seemed to help.

Then a couple of months ago I went back to London and decided to do some shopping...I think my turning point happened when I found myself in a fitting room of Top Shop trying a skirt two sizes bigger than I normally would wear. And that skirt didn't even fit.

I went home and was practically in tears, I though I have to do something. Then I remembered about one book which was given me for free with the Philips juicer I bought recently. The book is called "How to lose 7 lbs in 7 days" by Jason Vale. I didn't pay attention to this book first, but now it seemed to be exactly what I needed. I know it can be frustrating to find decent recipies, so I was very happy to have it.

I've read it in one evening, thank God they have put together a full shopping list to make it easier for you, so... next morning, woken up all excited, I jumped into my Uggs and run to the nearest Tesco.
Half hour later, I was walking back home with 2 huge shopping bags of fruits and veggies, which I was going to consume in a juice form in the next 3 days.

Then I had even more difficult task - to buy all the supplements which had to be taken with the juices. It took me another 2 hours to track them down, especially some things I have never heard of before (like something called Alfalfa sprouts) but Holland & Barrett shop and Planet Organic didn't let me down, and I eventually bought everything (probably even more than I needed) for my week.


My juicy week started, and to be honest - the most difficult thing during that week was ....to clean the juicer! Juices went down easily, they were delicious, and sufficient to keep me going through the day. Or maybe I was just too excited to notice any hunger...

After 1 week on juices I had to fly back home to Samui, and I had no idea how I am gonna do it. I knew that after this fasting I could not really eat plane food, it would just kill me...I started from buying a fresh juice in Heathrow's Boots to take with me on the plane, then I refused the plane food alltogether, during my stopover in Bahrain I ran out to Costa coffee and got some fresh orange juice...anyway, cut story short - I made it to Samui without having a single piece of food in my mouth.

What was supposed to be 7 days, turned out to be 3 weeks. when I arrived to Samui - first thing I did next morning - I went and bought a nice juicer. I could no longer live without my juices. Shame I left my book back in London...but I remembered most of the recipies. To be honest I became addicted to it. I saw myself slowly losing those extra kilos and gradually I could fit again into my pre-pregnancy clothes which was a great relief...
I wasn't even hungry anymore, my stomach must have shrunk, I was feeling great, I had more energy and my skin was more radiant than ever.

Anyway, after 3 weeks I decided I have reached my target weight, I have lost 5 kg and could fit in all my clothes again, so I started eating salads, slowly increasing amount of food day after day until I could have a normal diet again.

I am still making my juices every day now, it's not my only meal these days, but it's so healthy and tasty and good for me that I really enjoy doing it and don't even mind cleaning my juicer a few times a day... It is a small price to pay for my new body...

Today I was searching online for some material for my blog, and suddenly I came across my juices, with full recipies. I was so happy to have them again, as I started to forget a few things, so immediately I printed them out and now have them sticking to my fridge with a magnet :-)

I thought that would be pretty mean to keep it all to myself, so I decided to go ahead and post the recipies here, in case another unhappy overweight soul is searching for help...Maybe it's not everyone's cup of tea, but It did help me and made me look better, so, you can always try and see for yourself.

Here you go...

Recipe for success: your seven day juicing guide

"How to lose 7 lbs in 7 days"
By JASON VALE

http://www.juicemaster.com/product.php?id=12

DAY ONE
ON WAKING: Hot water with either fresh lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Super Juice (see right for all recipes)
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Juice
LUNCH: JM's Super Chute Juice
TEA: JM's Turbo Express
SUPPER: JM's Lemon/ Ginger Zinger
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy


DAY TWO
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Super Juice
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Juice
LUNCH: JM's Super Chute Juice
TEA: JM's Turbo Express
SUPPER: Turbo Express and 1oz Wheatgrass Chaser (add a small spoonful of wheatgrass powder to juice)
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy


DAY THREE
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Lemon/ Ginger Zinger or JM's Super Juice
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Juice
LUNCH: Passion 4 Juice Master
TEA: JM's Turbo Express
SUPPER: Turbo Express and 1oz Wheatgrass Chaser
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy

DAY FOUR
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Super Juice
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Juice
LUNCH: JM's Super Detox Juice
LUNCH: JM's Turbo Express
SUPPER: Turbo Express and 1oz Wheatgrass Chaser
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy

DAY FIVE
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Super Chute Juice
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Chute Juice
LUNCH: JM's Super Detox Juice TEA: JM's Super Juice
SUPPER: JM's Super Juice
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot 'n' Spicy


DAY SIX
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: Passion 4 Juice Master
MID-MORNING: Passion 4 Juice Master
LUNCH: JM's Pure Green Super Juice
TEA: JM's Boost Juice
SUPPER:JM's Boost Juice
BEFORE BED: Fennel or Mint Tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy


DAY SEVEN
ON WAKING: Hot water with lemon, lime or mint
BREAKFAST: JM's Super Juice
MID-MORNING: JM's Super Juice
LUNCH: Passion 4 Juice Master
TEA: JM's Homemade Lemonade Sherbet
SUPPER: JM's Boost Juice
BEFORE BED: Fennel or mint tea or JM's Hot ' n' Spicy

THE JUICE DIET: RECIPES

JM's Super Juice
½ lime, peeled
2 apples, any type except Granny Smiths as they don't juice well
½ pineapple
½ medium cucumber
½ ripe avocado
1oz fresh wheatgrass or wheatgrass powder
1 level tsp spirulina
1 capsule of acidophilus bacteria powder
Ice cubes
Juice the apples, pineapple, cucumber and lime. Put the avocado flesh into a blender with the ice, wheatgrass, spirulina and the bacteria powder.
Blend everything until smooth, pour and enjoy.

JM's Turbo Express
½ small pineapple
½ stick celery
1in chunk of cucumber
1 small handful of spinach leaves
1 small piece of peeled lime
2 apples
½ ripe avocado
Ice cubes
Juice the pineapple, celery, cucumber, spinach, lime and apples. Place the ripe avocado flesh in a blender along with the ice and juice mixture. Blend until smooth.
Pour into glass and enjoy.

JM's Boost Juice
½ large pineapple
2 apples
½ mug Alfalfa sprouts
½ mug watercress
½ mug parsley
½ mug kale
½ mug broccoli
1oz shot of fresh wheatgrass juice (or 1 tsp wheatgrass powder)
2 ice cubes

Juice all the ingredients, then add the wheatgrass shot or teaspoon of wheatgrass powder. Pour into a glass over the ice.

JM's Super Detox Juice
2 apples
½ cucumber
1 stick celery
1 small handful of spinach
Ice cubes
1 heaped tsp Dr Udo's Beyond Greens supplement (if you don't have this, replace by juicing a handful of mixed green leaves such as watercress, parsley or lettuce).
Juice the apples, cucumber, celery and spinach. Pour into blender, then add ice and Beyond Greens. Blend for about 1 minute or until smooth. If you use mixed green leaves instead of Beyond Greens, simply juice these along with the other ingredients and then add the ice.

Passion 4 Juice Master
½ small pineapple
1 apple
½ banana
200g natural organic yoghurt (if you're a vegan, use soya yoghurt)
½ tsp spirulina

Juice the pineapple and apple and pour into blender or smoothie-maker with the banana, yoghurt and spirulina. Blend until smooth. If you don't like yoghurt (dairy or otherwise), use half a small pineapple instead.

JM's Homemade Sherbet Lemonade
2 Golden Delicious apples
1/3 lemon, wax-free and with the rind on
2 ice cubes
Simply juice the apples and lemon and pour over ice - it really does taste like sherbet lemonade.

JM's Hot ' n' Spicy
3 apples
1 good pinch of cinnamon

Juice the apples and pour juice into a saucepan. Slowly heat but do not boil. When nice and hot, pour into a mug, add cinnamon and serve.

JM's Lemon / Ginger Zinger
2 carrots
2 apples
1in slice of lemon, wax-free, with rind left on
½ in of fresh ginger
2 ice cubes

This wonderful juice is a favourite of the super-fit Martina Navratilova, winner of 58 grand slam tennis tournaments. Simply juice all ingredients and pour into a glass over ice.

JM's Pure Green Super Juice
2 sticks of celery
½ medium cucumber
1 small handful of spinach
1oz shot of fresh wheatgrass juice or 1 tsp of wheatgrass powder
1 slice of orange
2 ice cubes
Juice the celery, cucumber, spinach and wheatgrass. Add ice to a glass and pour in the pure green super juice. After each mouthful, take a bite of the orange.

JM's Super Chute Juice
2 apples
A small chunk of carrot
½ stick celery
1 large handful of mixed green leaves - watercress, kale, parsley, spinach or whatever other green leafy vegetables are available
1 in chunk of cucumber
½ in broccoli stem 1 small handful Alfalfa sprouts
½ in slice unpeeled raw beetroot
½ in slice courgette
1 small piece of lemon, preferably wax-free, with rind on
½ in slice ginger
2 ice cubes
Juice all the ingredients. If you have a Philips whole-fruit juicer, all you need to do is place one whole apple in the chute followed by all the other ingredients, finishing off with the other apple.
If you have a different type of juicer, feed in all the ingredients chopped into whatever size the machine will take. Pour over ice and enjoy.

Natural teas
Pour hot water over chunks of fresh fennel, lemon, lime or mint leaves for a cup of whichever tea you fancy. Fresh teas play a vital role in your 7lbs in 7 Days programme because they help to get the digestion going in the morning and to calm it at night.
Don't fully boil the water as it can deplete the vitamin content of your drink.
The water should be hot, but not boiling.

Yoga in Samui

YOGA

I can talk a lot about yoga, I simply love it and my ultimate wish is to become a yoga instructor one day...when I get more time...But for now I am still trying different styles and exploring new horizons..

So, Yoga in Samui... I start with the studios - they are amazing here. They are spacious, have lots of fresh air, and attract people with its great ambiance.

Sometimes it is called a sala - which is an open air space for massages, yoga, and general relaxation.

It can be up in jungle or in a beautiful garden ...

Sometimes it has a stunning view...

Sometimes it is a bit more sophisticated and has glass walls and your eyes can still enjoy the view - the studio in Absolute Sanctuary, where I personally go, is like that...

And sometimes you can just do it on the beach as you please...

There is plenty of space for everyone, you don't feel intimidated by someone sweating right next to you or someone in front constantly blocking your view of a teacher...No, it's good, really good.

Styles of yoga availavle in Samui

Funny enough - one of the most popular style in Samui is a Hot Yoga which is practiced twice a day in Absolute Sanctuary.
http://www.absoluteyogasamui.com/

Hot Yoga is a series of yoga poses done in a heated room. The room is usually maintained at a temperature of 36-38 degrees. As you can imagine, a vigorous yoga session at this temperature promotes profuse sweating and makes the body very warm, and therefore more flexible.



I know what you are going to say - "Are you mad? It's so hot there already" - I absolutely agree, but still...Hot Yoga is so addictive, it helps you to lose weight quickly, it's very detoxifying, it makes you flexible much quicker than normal Hatha or Ashtanga..

It's a cardiovascular workout too, so we can skip gym...
Every time I get into the class, I think that I am going to pass out today, but then I am coming back again and again for more...

Honeymoon hotels (part 6)

And before we close this subject - just a few more hotels ( located outside of the main well known areas of Samui), which I can also recommend for the nice relaxing honeymoon.

1. Luxury


Baan Taling Ngam Resort & Spa (Baan Taling Ngam)

A spectacular hotel in a remote location, perfect for couples and people wanting some privacy.
The resort itself is beautiful, exceptionally maintained and landscaped. The restaurants have wonderful food and fantastic service. There is a choice of many swimming pools and the beach. The beach is very picturesque, the sunsets are idyllic, generally very romantic and serene place.









Kirikayan Luxury Pool Villas & Spa (Maenam hills)

Located in Maenam area of Samui Island this beautiful luxury hillside resort has 31 private pool villas and suites which are consisted of one, two and three bedrooms. Decorated in tropical style, the resort has a very high quality service and stylish accommodation.
It is perfect for honeymoon couples who looking for privacy, good service, and beautiful accommodations. Beach is just 5 minutes drive from the resort - hotel provides a free shuttle about 4 times a day, restaurant and the spa as really good and I would highly recommend this resort to anyone who wants to get away from the hustle & bustle of busy places.

2. Beautiful mid-range

The Passage Samui Resort (Laem Yai Beach)

The Passage Samui is a paradise in a great unspoilt location. If you are looking for a quiet, romantic honeymoon - this is for you. The staff are absolutely amazing and the facilities are great. The food at the hotel’s restaurant is really good and the coctails they make there are delicious.
You can watch beautiful sunset from the restaurant, beach or any of the beachfront villas. The only drawback is the beach which has a coral reef and not very good for swimming. But hotel's pools are great and fuly compensating for the lack of swimming in the sea.
The hotel is located on the north west coast, not far from Nathon, where you can find many simple Thai restaurants, interesting shops, great food market at the pier, and supermarket Tesco Lotus.






Villa Tanamera (Bangrak beach)

Villa Tanamera is a small private resort on the beautiful spot of Bangrak beach. The one and two bedroom villas are situated right on the beach, few steps away from the ocean. There are only 8 unit in this property so its very quiet and exclusive, great for people who wants to get away from the crowd and just enjoy all the peace and quiet this resort can offer...The service is great and the seaview is beautiful, so go and enjoy!

Prana Resort and Spa (Bangrak beach)

Prana is a beautiful small resort located right on Bangrak beach (not too far from previous hotel Villa Tanamera). The resort is vegetarian and non-smoking, so if you favour healthy lifestyle - it is for you. The rooms are really nice, the view of the sunsets from the resort is absolutely beautiful and you can stroll on the beach to Big Budda, it's a lovely walk. The staff are extremely friendly, the food in a restaurant is fab, the location coudn't be better - close to the Fisherman's Village well known for its great restaurants and atmosphere, and also not far from Chaweng in case you need some nightlife.

Honeymoon hotels (Part 5)

LAMAI BEACH + SILVER BEACH

1.Luxury


Montra Samui

Montra is a very small hotel in Lamai. As you enter the hotel you have to go through a pair of solid old wooden gates, and as you close the gates behind you, you find yourself in a magical peaceful garden, then you immediately feel that you are somewhere very special.
The resort's 9 luxury villas are located in a beautiful tropical garden. The large elegant swimming pool winds it way around the resort and is never more than a few steps from the entrance to each villa. elegant swimming pool. Food in the restaurant is really good, everything cooked to order, and the herbs being picked from their own vegetable garden. The hotel is not on the beach but they will drop you to the beach free of charge during the day.

Rocky`s Boutique Resort

Rockys Boutique Resort is a private and secluded Koh Samui resort with consist of luxurious Thai bungalows and villas. The resort is located on a private beach, with stunning seaviews , and only a short distance to downtown Lamai - hotel provides a free shuttle bus. The restaurant is one of the best on the island, popular with both local ex-pats and tourists.

"...Me and my husband stayed at Rockys for 11 nights we picked this hotel as it was our honeymoon. We had a fab time there all the staff were fabulous..." - from tripadvisor hotel review.










Langham Place

Located in a quiet part of Lamui Beach it provides all the peace and quiet you need on your honeymoon. Accomodation consists of secluded pool villas right at the beachfront of Lamai and also some suites situated around the pools. The staff are great and go the extra mile to help you and make you feel at home. This resort is ideal for a totally relaxing holiday.







2.Beautiful mid-range - nothing which I personally find suitable for honeymoon in this area.

3. Simple but romantic.

Promtsuk Buri (Silver Beach)

Silver beach is probably the best beach on the whole island. Simply stunning, the water is blue and very clear, the sand is white and soft, and the view around you is to die for. The resort, gardens, beach and the restaurant all look just as they do on their website - beautiful! The resort is simple but very clean and relaxing, in a beautiful well-maintained garden and the area around the resort is very picturesque, exactly like you see on the postcards.