7lbs in 7 days super juice diet - here we go again I thought. Even though I know that the best way to lose weight and stay healthy is a balanced diet and exercise I'm still a sucker for a quick fix. My husband constantly teases me about the many diet books I have lying about the house. I should really be a size eight with all the diets I've been on but I can assure you I'm not!

I got this book free when I bought a Phillips juicer (I was actually buying the juicer to do another detox diet!). Jason Vale has quite a distinctive style of writing. It's certainly very easy to read but some people might find it a bit patronising at times.

Firstly in the book we find out about Jason himself, or the Juicemaster, as he is known! Jason used to be overweight and have various health problems such as asthma and exzema. Juicing changed his life and he now lets others in on his secrets.

We then hear from some people who have had great results following this very diet. At this stage I was very cynical about this diet as I thought there was no way I could survive on just juice for 7 days! Jason then lays out the 'rules' and it's clear this is an all or nothing diet but he also says 'Keep an open mind' so I did!

The book goes on to explain many of the benefits juicing can give you including better skin, more energy and better sleep. Of course though the main reason people do it is to lose weight! And that's what I wanted to do.

Jason asks that you read the whole book through in order and what follows in the next few chapters is him answering people like me who are cynical about whether this is healthy or sustainable. He also talks about the nutrients we receive from fruit and veg and how they can often help with medical conditions. I actually have another of his books, Juicemaster - keeping it simple, and he goes into more detail on what juices help with what here.

I found that it was important to read all the chapters of this book as they are very motivating and it gives you the background ready to start the actual diet.

We finally get to the actual diet...

Firstly he tells you what you will need and if you haven't already got most of this stuff it's going to be an expensive start to the diet! You need a decent juicer, a blender, a good flask and your ingredients - there are also some other things he recommends. I don;t think they're all needed though.

The list of fruit, veg and supplements you have to buy is extensive and this is a definite downside to this diet - it is expensive to follow. I actually bought slightly less after the first two days as I wasn't using quite as much as he states in each recipe as I didn't need it.

Each day then has a breakdown for what you should drink. You start every day with a hot water with lemon, lime or mint. You then go on to have a juice for breakfast, one mid-morning, one early afternoon, one late afternoon, one in the evening and a natural tea before bed. He also recommends two exercise sessions a day. Every day also has juicy comments for you to read to motivate you through the day.

There's then a Juicy Journal for you to record your progress and your thoughts and feelings throughout the seven days. I did read these but I didn't fill in the details. The next chapter is all your recipes for the diet.

The final stage of the book 'Turbo charge plan' is about how to maintain this healthy, juicy lifestyle in the future. It contains some key principles as well as some more recipes for the future.

I completed the seven days and was very pleasantly surprised by how I felt during it. I wasn't constantly hungry as the juices really are quite filling, the thing I found hardest was not chewing on anything but more out of habit than because I was hungry. I'm not saying it doesn't take any willpower - it does especially when all around you are eating but if I can stick to it anyone can!

Actually that wasn't the hardest thing, the hardest thing was cleaning the juicer. As I work I had to make three juices in the morning and then clean the juicer before I left the house. You really have to clean the juicer right away or it's absolutely disgusting. You do have to be pretty organised to do this diet especially if you spend most of the day out of the house as most of us probably do!

As I mentioned before it's also quite expensive, once you've bought all the equipment, ingredients and recommended supplements you really have to see the diet through as you've spent so much!

Oh and spirulina - one of the recommended buys from a health food shop - really is the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted and the taste does not disappear in the juice.

Sooooooo was it worth it? Well, I was delighted to lose ten pounds :-) and I bought some of his other books and I do drink fresh juices quite regularly now. I can't keep it up to the same extent he recommends though and I take my hat off to anyone who can. I will do this every three months though before a big occassion.