Although I maintain an active lifestyle, my diet can use a little work. I have a serious sweet tooth, and while that’s not a terrible thing, I can recognize when enough is enough. Simply saying that I want to eat healthier doesn’t work for me; I have to create a plan for change and make space in my life to implement.
Having previous experience with it, I felt a 3-day juice cleanse was the exact reset I needed. So I headed to my local Pressed Juicery and got all the juices I would need to complete the 3-day cleanse. Each day consists of 6 juices, a mix of fruit and vegetable juice, depending on the cleanse you choose. While I have a juicer at home, I know myself well enough to know that I most likely wouldn’t complete all 3-days if I had to make the juice myself. Some may call it lazy, I call it honest. Here’s how it went & what I learned along the way:
DAY 1
With my belly still satisfied with dinner from the night before, I was sooo excited to start! All I could think of was how great I would feel at the end of the three days. I finished the first 4 juices easily throughout the day, then evening struck. I started to think about the fact that I hadn’t eaten all day and that I wouldn’t have my routine morning oatmeal and coffee the next morning. I quickly drank the last 2 juices, reminded myself of how many fruits & veggies were contained in those juices and went to bed.
DAY 2
I almost blew it the morning of day 2. Instinctually I turned on the coffee pot, poured my serving of oatmeal into a bowl and while waiting for my hot water to boil, I remembered DUH! You’re on a juice cleanse!! That mistake made me super hungry, so I downed 2 juices while standing in my kitchen. The evening/night of day 2 was the hardest. While I did feel a little slower physically, I was mentally shot. All I could think of was food and I was counting the hours since I had eaten anything. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to survive a juice cleanse and one helpful tip I heard was to chew your juice. Just the act of chewing helped soothe/trick my mind enough for me to think about something other than food. I dreamt about eating at Chef Mickey’s that night.
DAY 3
I woke up feeling invincible! I even told my husband that I would consider doing another day, but then I made a mistake. I started to think/plan for ‘life after the cleanse’ and looked up some healthy recipes. As soon as I started scrolling through photos of amazing looking dishes on Pinterest, my stomach ached, and the same intense thoughts of food reentered my mind. I pretty much questioned all of my life decisions for the new few hours lol! I chewed another juice and went for a short, easy run. The run really helped clear my head and I got through the rest of the day and night.
POST CLEANSE
I woke up on day 4 totally confused but also feeling liberated! I have healthy breakfast habits, so I enjoyed returning to my normal morning routine. With some actual food in my stomach, some brain fog that had developed was clearing and I truly felt the healthiest that I have in a long time. I then returned to my Pinterest healthy recipe search, headed to the grocery store, and left with a cart full of nutritious ingredients.
MY THOUGHTS
For me, juice cleanses are a tough but effective way to restart my system. While sweets may always be part of my diet, juice cleanses help me rebalance my nutritional pyramid. I always hear the statement “check with your doctor before starting …” and I truly believe this statement is applicable for juice cleanses. The brain fog, sometimes light-headedness, and other symptoms that might appear are nothing to overlook. If you’re interested in a juice cleanse, consider talking to your doctor and even consider a 1-day cleanse before trying 3 or more days. While juice cleanses may not be for everyone, I’m so glad to have found something that works for me and my lifestyle!