What can you expect with the new DX4 body balancing system?

DX4 Day 1: Decide 

So, who doesn’t need re-balancing? It was certainly the holistic approach of the DX4 four-day programme that caught my attention. Forever Living has spent an impressive three years developing this system of seven brand new products that work together, as part of an accompanying programme, to help the body purge unnecessary stressors and declutter the mind. "Each ingredient was rigorously researched and formulated to work in tandem" says Christopher Altamirano, Forever Nutraceutical's Quality Director. "Other programmes may only sell products that focus on one function, or do not work in harmony. We harnessed the importance of ensuring that all the nutritional supplements and products in DX4 work perfectly together." 

This certainly sounded like a USP to me. I have increasingly been interested in the link between nutrition and mood and DX4 absolutely ticks this box with the emphasis on becoming more conscious of our behaviour around food, and as we all know, all lasting change starts with awareness. The suggested improvements in the mind/body connection as a way of improving overall health certainly appealed.  Four days?  Yes, I could do that. 

The timing could not have been better; freshly returned from my daughter’s wedding in Italy, having seriously burned the candle at both ends, indulging on wine, pasta and other irresistible delights that would not form part of my normal diet, I could not have been more ready to embark on DX4. I was sleep deprived and nutritionally off kilter.  Let’s also put that into the wider context of what we have all been through. Even before my Italian trip I can honestly say something was awry, and while anxiety would be too strong a word to describe my daily mood I was feeling ‘wired’, and in spite of a good morning routine and exercise, I was increasingly pre-occupied with my to-do list days in advance.  Not a terribly relaxing way to live. I was curious to see how this programme might help in this regard and allow some form of re-set. 

DX4 has been designed to help you become more aware of your body, encouraging you to be more present while you eat, move and go about your day. In order to stay motivated I decided to view the four days not as a deprivation (I am a coffee/caffeine addict), but rather as the programme is described, an opportunity to hit pause, to reflect and decide what aspects of my nutritional lifestyle could use some tweaking.  I decided to view it as a home-based mini-retreat, and a time to focus, re-set, break some habits and develop a more mindful approach to my nutrition. 

Each of the four days is devoted to a theme: Decide, Define, Discover and Dedicate.  A bit new age?  Bear with me.

 So, a mixture of emotions on Day One where the theme is ‘Decide’.  I spent time studying all the supporting information about how best to prepare for success and also looking in detail at the various elements of the programme. I found the section on self-reflection looking at specific areas of my wellness useful, and decided my main focus for improvement was hydration and paying attention to my thoughts and feelings around food.  Hydration has always been an issue for me, I joke that I was a witch who was drowned in a previous life as I can’t seem to drink a glass of water without coughing.  Having a clear intention sets you up for success rather than a vague ‘let’s see how it goes approach’, it also encourages you to be more present, registering changes, and monitoring your progress in a tangible way. 

So, the morning. Three Forever Therm Plus, 240ml of water and two Forever DuoPure tablets half an hour later with 240ml of water; hmmmm, quite a departure from my usual soy latte, but I spent the intervening half an hour listening to a guided meditation happy in the knowledge that I had primed my body at the start of my day with a supplement incorporating green tea, green coffee, saffron powder and vitamins B12 and C, that I was supporting my nervous system with Niacin and supporting my mental performance with pantothenic acid.  So far so good. 

I must say that I think the inclusion of the Forever Sensatiable chewable tablets is genius. I succumbed to my first around 10am!  They contain glucomannan which is high in fibre and able to absorb up to 50 times its weight in water.  It passes through the intestine undigested and is essentially free of calories and carbs.  You can eat up to eight of these a day (I ate three over the course of day 1) and it was nice knowing that I had got these in my back pocket so to speak as a little security blanket. 

Early afternoon (for me 11.58am haha) it’s time for my Forever Plant Protein shake mixed with 240mls of plant-based milk, I used Soy (unsweetened).  It’s pleasant tasting, you can just catch a hint of the pea earthiness, and each serving contains 17g of protein which made me happy; so many of us do not eat enough protein and the lack of it reportedly can make you hungry and tired.  So, note to self, more protein in my daily diet. 

The programme suggests you can do light exercise and for me that looked like nine holes of twilight golf as it was such a beautiful day with temperatures in the 20s.  I drank my 330ml of the Forever Aloe Vera drinking gel beforehand, ate the prescribed Forever Sensatiable god-send, and took the Forever Multi Fizz with me already dissolved in 240 ml of water. It’s been developed to jumpstart your hydration (big tick from me) and is enhanced with vitamins B, C and E. 

I can honestly say I didn’t feel any more fatigued after the golf than I would have ordinarily which did surprise me.  A brief fantasy of a glass of red wine and a packet of peanuts floated across my mind as I left the course but I found I was easily able to notice it and let it go. 

In the evening it’s another round of the Forever Plant Protein made into a shake with 240ml of water and the Forever Lemonblast which as the name suggests really packs a punch of lemon, with warming ginger, rich in flavour I really liked this to round off the day’s supplementation and was pleased to see it included magnesium which is renowned for its calming effect. Perfect pre-bedtime. 

Day one done, I was feeling good. Overall much less difficult than I anticipated, less tired than I thought I would be, and perhaps it was positive expectation but my stomach felt less bloated but that could just be I’m no longer running on pasta.  I have high hopes for day two.