After I decided to take up my friend Arron's offer to try a one day juice cleanse, another friend asked, "What's the point of only doing it for one day?" And at the time, I didn't really have a good answer. I mean, there's tons of information out there on the internet about the pros and cons of juice cleanses, and many methodologies, but I wasn't really sure what I personally thought I would gain in just one day. Arron's company Absolutely Juicy makes delicious juices, so that seemed like a good reason to give it a try. Also, I'd never done a juice cleanse before, and I was curious. So why not? I figured at worst, I'd be slightly hungry for one day but at least I'd be putting good fresh raw juices into my body for an entire day, and omitting caffeine completely. But I hoped that I would gain something more out of it, since I tend to eat too many processed foods, rely heavily on caffeine to make it through the day, and am totally guilty of being an emotional eater. I had already started trying to change my habits after Ardara and I decided to do the First to 15 challenge, by eating more whole foods and juices (that Ardara cooked and made for me haha), and by working out more regularly, but I had a long way to go, and was hoping to "reset" my mind and body.
My normal workday is roughly like this:
6:15am barre3 (no food or water beforehand)
8:00 breakfast of oatmeal or smoothie + black or green tea with sugar/stevia or powdered creamer
10:00 snack or juice
12:00 lunch (usually not good for me)
2:30 snack + energy drink
5:30 cardio
7:30 dinner
I'm not the kind of person that goes all day without eating, nor am I the kind of person who "forgets to eat." I don't usually like plain water--I prefer flavored water or infused water.
Here's how I did on the one day juice cleanse:
Arron said I could drink the juices in pretty much any order, but to end with a green juice (preferably Evergreen). He also recommended "chewing" your juice, because chewing releases enzymes that help with digestion and your body feels more like it's eating something. He said at the end of the day, it's easier if you avoid people who are eating. Funny story: the night before the cleanse, I had a nightmare that I forgot I was on a juice cleanse and totally ate junk food!
5:30am warm water with lemon (most juice cleanses recommend this). I started to feel hungry after this. I'm not really sure why--just maybe that my body is digesting something earlier than it normally does?
6:15am barre3. Felt alright just a little tired but not more than normal.
My normal workday is roughly like this:
6:15am barre3 (no food or water beforehand)
8:00 breakfast of oatmeal or smoothie + black or green tea with sugar/stevia or powdered creamer
10:00 snack or juice
12:00 lunch (usually not good for me)
2:30 snack + energy drink
5:30 cardio
7:30 dinner
I'm not the kind of person that goes all day without eating, nor am I the kind of person who "forgets to eat." I don't usually like plain water--I prefer flavored water or infused water.
Here's how I did on the one day juice cleanse:
Arron said I could drink the juices in pretty much any order, but to end with a green juice (preferably Evergreen). He also recommended "chewing" your juice, because chewing releases enzymes that help with digestion and your body feels more like it's eating something. He said at the end of the day, it's easier if you avoid people who are eating. Funny story: the night before the cleanse, I had a nightmare that I forgot I was on a juice cleanse and totally ate junk food!
5:30am warm water with lemon (most juice cleanses recommend this). I started to feel hungry after this. I'm not really sure why--just maybe that my body is digesting something earlier than it normally does?
6:15am barre3. Felt alright just a little tired but not more than normal.
8:00am Juice #1: Evergreen juice (apple, celery, kale, cucumber, spinach, lemon, ginger). Tasty, but by 9:00am I was hungry. Got a little edgy overhearing coworkers talking about donuts. I sipped on herbal pukka "detox" tea (aniseed, fennel and cardamom), and kept looking at the clock.
10:00am Juice #2: Citrus Maximus (grapefruit, orange, mint). SUPER tasty... would be a great mixer. Chugged some water. A coworker ate something packaged and the sound of the wrapper totally sent me into--"WHERE'S THE SNACK?!" mode. After taking a minute to assess if I was actually hungry (I wasn't), the craving passed.
12:00 Juice #3: The Mint (mint, cucumber, pineapple, pear). The cucumber and pineapple make it pretty refreshing. Boss had me order cheesesteaks for the office for the meeting... glad I don't eat meat or I'd be having a hard(er) time. More herbal tea (pukka "cleanse" tea [organic nettle, fennel and peppermint]). More looking at the clock, and drinking water. While not AS hungry as I thought I would be, definitely still hungry. The tummy was grumbling loudly around 2pm.
2:30 Juice #4: The Mint. I felt much better after my juice. Like, actually satiated. Which is weird because usually once my tummy gets those hunger pangs, it pretty much wants a MEAL.
5:30 Juice #5 Citrus Maximus. I wasn't even particularly hungry but it was time for juice! I also drank lots of water since it was warm out.
7:00 Juice #6 Evergreen. Last juice of the day! I was worried I'd be starving by now so I had bought myself a salad, but I actually felt really pretty good. While I was cleaning up my little condo, a wrapper rustled in one of the race goodie bags, and I immediately felt compelled to see what kind of granola bar it was and eat it. It was weird when I realized how much of a habit just eating for the sake of eating had become. I assessed how I was actually feeling and realized I didn't actually feel hungry.
So what was the point of my one day juice cleanse? That I really benefited from it, even in just 24 hours. What you can see on the outside: my tummy looks less bloated and I lost 2.8lbs also. But more importantly, I feel refreshed. I feel good. I feel more positive. I feel hydrated because I was making an effort to really drink lots of water, and it tasted so good (the following days I drank extra water as well). I realized some of the processed foods that I felt like I just HAD to have weren't as necessary as I had thought, and that I didn't miss them that much when they were gone (like not putting sugar and creamer in my tea). I felt so great I decided to do mostly juices the next day as well. I would definitely consider doing a one day cleanse again, maybe even every month or two in order just to refocus.
Disclaimer: These are my own opinions and experiences. This is not medical advice, nor is it a guarantee of results Please consult your doctor before attempting a cleanse.
Disclaimer: These are my own opinions and experiences. This is not medical advice, nor is it a guarantee of results Please consult your doctor before attempting a cleanse.