It kicks off with a nine-day cleanse. If weight loss is the main goal, it’s recommended these days are broken into five shake days, and four strict cleanse days. Along with a variety of vitamins, supplements and snacks, a shake day includes two meal replacement drinks and a 400-600 calorie low-glycemic, balanced meal – you can mix things up based on how you feel by choosing to make the meal either lunch or dinner. For me, the cleanse days were tackled in two blocks of two days (i.e. I didn’t cleanse for four days straight). As you can probably guess, cleansing means zero food… Instead, nutrient-rich drinks sipped at regular intervals throughout the day provide the goodness you need.
To be honest, I found the nine-day block pretty challenging – especially my first two cleanse days where I found myself feeling slow, groggy and very tired (most likely because I love my coffee and got underway with this straight after the festive season where champagne, chocolate and cheese reigned supreme!). I seemed to hit my stride about four days in and found the second block of cleansing days much easier to get through. Once the first nine days were done, the remainder of the programme was all about maintaining momentum and consisted of just shake days.
In terms of taste, everything is really good. Although vanilla definitely trumps chocolate on the shake flavour front, there was nothing that didn’t agree with my taste buds. Given the programme is run by ApeFit, it should come as no surprise that fitness plays an important role in the package. I attended two group training sessions each week for four weeks at their Botanical Gardens location in Mid-Levels. You can find a full review about ApeFit here by Sassy writer Ale. Like her, I really enjoyed the style of the sessions; the trainers keep things fun and interesting and you can really feel the results!
Something I particularly liked during the transformation was having access to Linds (founder and head trainer at ApeFit) – this is over and above the intel you get from being a member of the ‘Team Summit’ Facebook group, also provided as part of this programme. Linds is a pillar of support, dishing out around-the-clock mentoring and encouragement via WhatsApp (something I particularly relied on during the cleanse days). With her help, achieving the results you want on the back of the transformation programme is a piece of cake (a piece of healthy, low GI cake, obviously).
Even if weight loss isn’t your goal, the programme is great for generally detoxing and re-setting your nutrition habits. Before doing it, I found myself robotically reaching for the office treat jar mid-afternoon almost every day. As a result of the programme, I’ve knocked doing that on the head which I’m really pleased about. Eating clean also prompted me to learn how to make new and healthier versions of some of my favourite meals, and now I’m officially obsessed with cauliflower rice!
If you’re keen to make health and wellness a priority this year, I reckon this programme is a good way to kick-start some good habits.
The transformation package is 30 days and includes:
- Two ApeFit sessions per week for four weeks
- 30 days of nutrition by Isagenix
- Membership of Facebook group “Team Summit”
- Free coaching from Linds Russell of ApeFit
- Access to global team of transformation mentors
For more information, contact Linds Russell at [email protected] or by calling 92318015, www.apefithk.com