I wanted to gnaw at my arm on the evening of the first day of my juice cleanse. Those that are avid believers rave how a juice cleanse is a great way to rid your body of toxins, lose a few pesky pounds of belly fat, and acquire more energy. I challenged myself to a 3-day cleanse. I wanted to know what all of the hype was about, so I went online and bought 18 bottles of juice (6/day). Early the next morning, I got a knock on my door by a delivery man that held a cardboard box. Unbeknownst to him, he was carrying my meals for the next 3 days.
On day 1, I felt I signed up for a program of torture. In the morning, I was excited for the cleanse, but by midday, I had a headache and had trouble focusing on anything. I was lightheaded. At lunch time, I noticed my nose was sensitive to the smell of food. My energy was zapped and I went to bed early that evening. There was no energy for exercise.
On day 2, I noticed I had a white-coated tongue, and a weird film on my teeth. Fortunately, my headache went away. Although it wasn’t as bad as the first day, I still craved real food and wanted to chew on something…anything. I treated myself to couple of pieces of gum. I didn’t bother with going to the gym.
On day 3, I woke up with a burst of energy. I felt oddly zen. Did I still want food? Of course I did. I remember it took almost everything in me not to leap across the conference room table as my coworker greedily went to town on a couple of chicken fajitas. After work, I went to a bikram yoga session. Overall, it was a great day.
Right after the cleanse, I felt great! Now that I could eat, I thought I was going to eat like a monster. Instead, my shrunken stomach would only allow me to eat half of what was on my plate. I gradually went back to my normal diet, beginning with a lot of salads after those 3-days, and not a lot of meat. I lost 5-pounds and gained it right back by the end of the week.
If you are interested in juicing, here are a few tips:
• Control your appetite. Make sure that pre and post cleanse you stay in control of your diet. Consume a good amount of fruits and vegetables. Stock up on food that is raw, vegan, as well as veggies, salads, and fish.
• Don’t do it alone. If you can get your friend, roommate, coworker to do it with you, you’ll have a much easier time. The experience will be a lot more bearable. You’ll be able to encourage each other.
• Drink a lot of water. Water helped simmer the hunger down, and it will help with the detoxification process. Drink up.
Will I do it again? Yes, but I’ll customize it with celery here or a granola bar there. I’ll do it on my terms. It was a good readjustment to get myself on track, and it helped stop the cycle of mindless eating.
No comments