Some people were a little surprised when I mentioned that I was on a juice cleanse. Many questioned why I did it, so figured i would share my reasons and intention:
– Although I do believe that its going to effect everyone differently and definitely wouldn’t recommend some people to do it (or least before they tried other options), i figured i would try it so i had experience and could formulate a well thought out opinion.
– I dont believe that theres a right/wrong way of doing a cleanse, but I do believe there are smart ways in approaching it.
– i chose only fresh and organic cold pressed juices- many vegetables, some fruit and took a few natural supplements too.
– i didnt just go from eating normal meals to juicing… I weened myself off to prepare my mind and body.
– i paced myself
– I set an intention and reminded myself of the intention as soon as I woke up in the morning, as soon as a mild headache started coming on, during my yoga class, while buying my juices, while walking home with my heavy bag of juice, when I started to becoming hungry and crave food and every night before I went to sleep.
– My intention was not to lose weight. I had been in a funk for a couple of days prior and I wanted to try something that would help clear the way of negative thoughts and get me excited for my future jewelry projects, and wellness blog articles that I’ve been procrastinating on, etc.
– I didn’t do it alone. I did it with two close friends. In fact, friends who are also certifed health coaches. We coached each other through it and we all provided support to one another. I saw them during the day- we went to a yoga class together, took a walk to Madison Square Park and drank our juice and texted each other through the night too.
– Day One I felt great. I kept myself busy, tried new juices and kept on reminding myself of my intention.
– Day Two i woke up feeling even better. I had the most vivid dream the night before. Throughout the day, though, I became a little weak, very hungry and spacey. I missed food. The funny/interesting thing, though, was that I missed the food- but even more than that, I missed the act of eating- the chewing, the picking up the food and putting in my mouth. I couldnt wait to get home and go to sleep and have another vivid dream! When I got home, i was ready to go to sleep at 8:30pm. I had a lot to do that night. I reminded myself of my intention. I was doing the cleanse to feel great. Perhaps my body was ridding itself of toxins, but I wasn’t feeling good, i had some things to do and quite frankly, I thought it was ridiculous to go to sleep so early. I was feeling very light headed so I decided to gain some strength and have some oatmeal. Many cleanses recommend integrating raw food back into your diet after a cleanse, but i chose oatmeal because its my body and I wanted to do what i thought would be best. I soaked the oatmeal prior so I would have an easier time digesting. I went to sleep shortly after and felt much better.
– DAY 3, I woke surprisingly craving a juice! I made myself a smoothie with all raw fruit and added some almond milk. I felt energized and satisfied. As the day went on, I became more hungry. I had an event to go to that night and didnt think it was necessary to continue feeling spacey, so met my sister at Bonobos Raw/Organic Restaurant ate some raw nut sushi and drank fresh coconut water. I chewed it so well until it liquified in my mouth. My stomach didnt hurt at all.
My friends stuck through it- One ate some raw foods along the way and the other stuck through it for five days.
What did I learn?
– I learned that to make one juice, you need A LOT of vegetables and fruit! Watching the Liquiteria juice guys put in kale stalk after kale stalk, carrot after carrot really amazed me. Best of all, all of those stalks went into my body!
– I learned that I love food.
– I learned that I could, if I wanted to/need to, go without a meal, or two, or three and my body would still function.
– I learned that I love fresh-pressed juice .
– I learned that, depending on my mood, a green juice made with kale and collards and ginger and lemon may tempt me more believe it or not than a sweeter juice made of pineapple, pear, wheatgrass, and mint.
– I learned that I dont like restricting myself and committment is tough!
– I learned that everyone is different.
Will I do it again? Maybe. Maybe not. I did it and even though I didnt stick with it fully, I at least tried it.
I stuck with my intention and the most important of all, I’m feeling refreshed and energized. Going to go write an article for The Beauty Bean and Ellen Collis’ Firednfabulous blog. Stay tuned!
