know…even I’m kinda surprised I’ve never done one before. I’ve done Paleo, Whole30, and been a big proponent of the juice thing, but I’ve never done a juice cleanse. So when my neighbor texted me asking for advice before she did her first juice cleanse, I decided to hop on the bandwagon to do it with her!
What is a juice cleanse?
You guessed right…you consume nothing but juice for a certain period of time (days). We decided on two days…one seemed a bit short but to be honest I was quite certain I wouldn’t be able to do three days. I know for someone who tells people “yes YOU CAN” all day long myself doubt was at an all-time high. I really do like food so this is probably why I’ve never done before.
Much to my surprise I made it to the end and even learned a few things along the way. I learned…
1. I don’t drink enough water
I think I drink enough water every day, but this juice cleanse taught me that I definitely don’t. There were six juices a day and I was supposed to drink a glass of water between each juice. That’s only 6 of the suggested 8 glasses a day. I thought this would be no problem but it turned out to be hard! I learned that while I tend to carry water around 24/7 I do more carrying than drinking. When your tying liquid meals to finishing a glass of water, it really makes you pay attention to how much water you drink. And many times I was ready for my next juice but was still working on finishing my water.
2. I wasn’t hungry
I don’t know why, but I envisioned that with a juice cleanse you just have to be flat out S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G the entire time you do it. I honestly wasn’t hungry. It felt weird to not reach for food but more as something to do not so much because I was actually hungry. If I wasn’t also tracking how many calories I was consuming I honestly might not of had the last juice of the night. I more had it because I knew I had three classes to teach the next day and didn’t want to endanger myself by not consuming enough calories. Along these lines I did add in some almond butter and chia seeds to the cleanse….the almond butter in the middle of the day and the chia seeds in my last juice. I made these changes because I was still doing a high intensity cardio workout the first day and teaching three classes the next day. I definitely wouldn’t recommend high intensity exercise with a multiple day cleanse…for me it wouldn’t be enough energy to know I wasn’t putting myself in a position to get injured.
3. Planning is Key
As with everything – set yourself up for success! I jumped into this spur of the moment, and definitely didn’t take the time I should have to plan and prepare. This really struck me on day 2 as I tried to juggle a crazy Monday coupled with a heavy teaching load. I got busy after my first class of the day and neglected my water as well as next juice. By the time I realized it needed to be drinking, I was hungry and immediately felt over the juice cleanse. I was fine once I got back on track but by not setting myself up for success with better planning, I really might have thrown in the towel in that moment.
4. I could do it
Just like in barre class, there is just something to that Guess-What-I-Just-Did feeling when you do something you didn’t know you were capable of. And yes I’m admitting that I talk the talk behind that microphone but I don’t always walk the walk. Sometimes I need something like this to pop up and help keep me accountable to practice what I preach.
5. I finished feeling inspired to make other healthier choices in my diet
I really did feel inspired to keep on the right track after finishing my juice cleanse. Overall I felt good and ready to take on whatever came my way!
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