My Juicing Adventure
I have decided to take a break from renovating my home to renovating my soul....wow, that is deep.
In addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, good stress balance and physical fitness, I have been doing a lot of yoga! Yoga is really all it is cracked up to be.......if you haven't tried, you really should. I think all roads eventually lead to yoga, whether you are a triathlete or a peri-menopausal woman, you will eventually find yourself in the healing embrace of a yoga studio somewhere, sometime!!
My soul renovation started with the yoga and then one evening I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. (Australian man documents his journey of a 60 day juice fast) That was an eye-opener of a movie!! Even though I would consider myself a very healthy eater, the idea of juicing for a few days was very appealing...sort of like opening the windows and letting the good air in and the stale air out.
And so began my juicing adventure..............
I read a lot, then read some more and made a lot of notes. Most sources gave pretty much the same advice for a first time juicer.
I decided on a 3 day cleanse which translates into 7 days actually. The first 2 days you should eat mostly raw foods. I did not have dairy, meat or eggs either. 3 days of juice only followed by another 2 to 3 days easing back into eating with raw foods once again.
Plan for your juice cleanse. Read all kinds of recipes and try a huge variety of juices. I wrote down the juices and their recipes I would try for the 3 days.... counted up all the produce (a lot!), then went to my local organic grocery store and loaded up for the 3 days of juicing.
I opted to forgo my daily hot yoga routine for a few days, unsure of how I would feel in the heat and under physical exertion. Oh...and NO coffee.
I thought I was mentally prepared and I had my whole family supporting me...but I didn't expect the overall obsession I would have with food for the 3 days of the cleanse.
DAY ONE of 'juice only' started well. Awoke to a full glass of water (should drink this every morning) The first juice I made was not exactly tasty but I gulped down the 32 ozs of it and tried to get on with a normal day. I also drank a lot of water after I had a juice, as is recommended.
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| These are the ingredients of my first juice...the Mean Green |
My husband and I made a quick trip to Costco that morning and then it hit me...not wise to be in a warehouse full of food when you are not "eating". We browsed around and then the smell of the hotdogs and fries from the snackbar was enough to send us quickly paying and hightailing it out of there!
By lunch time, the feeling of being 'hungry' set it....I just wanted to bite into something but I stuck with it...my husband ate his tempting lunch in another room while I juiced my lunch and drank. The dull headache from caffeine withdrawal set it.
The hunger pains have a purpose and I knew that I was not going to starve so I did not give in to them. I knew that I was ingesting far more nutrients in my glass of juice than I would have "eaten" for lunch that day so I took solace in that and forged on.
I decided to cook for my family, set a lovely table, and then walked away when they were eating. I know this is not conducive to family harmony, but it was only for 3 days and, quite frankly, I couldn't stand to watch them "eat"!!
Bedtime was very early on day one...after 4 large juices and lots of water, I was tired of peeing constantly and of thinking of food, reading about food, or seeing food on TV. I was quickly coming to realize that we are inundated by food at every turn..something I was more or less oblivious to before the juice cleanse. Lights out...probably dreamt of something crunchy...and salty..and coffee.
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| Another bowl of goodness....... |
Day 2 was a struggle..I tried to stay out of the house and away from the kitchen..but the big world has food at every corner..restaurants, drive thrus, grocery stores, billboards food, food everywhere!! I kept up with my 4 juices and lots of water. Still had dull headache..very tolerable, but present. At supper that night, my husband BBQed the steaks we bought at Costco the day before. I made the most amazing "smashed" potatoes and at one point, I licked the salt and butter from my fingers like a child. I disappeared during dinner that night to say the least! Bed really early.
Day 3 and I awoke talking myself out of this whole crazy thing. Figured I had done 2 days, that was good enough. Wanted to "eat"...still felt hunger pains, wanted to eat my arm , my young, anything would have been tasty!! Told my husband he looked like a cooked chicken!!!!!!!
A funny thing happened however....I wanted a juice to start the day..didn't want coffee and felt that I needed the juice. The day turned into lunch and I was almost there. I did pop into our local Booster Juice and discovered a drink without any yogurt, milk or ice cream. They have 3 on the menu that are veg and fruit blends with ice. I tried the Spinach Is In It and I was in love. Yes, not really a juice technically, since all ingredients are juiced except for the mango and spinach that get run thru the VitaMix. It was heaven in a glass. It got me through and I was in the home stretch. Still bed early tho !
The next few days were going to be combinations of juice and raw foods but I found myself wanting the juice. Feeling great, energized and satisfied!!!! I was shocked. Day 4 brought on a new perspective I guess. Since I now could "eat', I didn't want to and it was so much easier to get through the day. I did have half a pear for breakfast and a salad at lunch, but juice the rest of the day. Didn't want or need the coffee either!!!
After the cleanse is a great time to reintroduce some foods that you suspect may cause other issues, like bloating, fatigue etc. I found that bread (gluten) was a trigger for me when I put it back in. Limiting my gluten intake has reduced that bloated feeling I would get after eating. I have also drastically limited my red meat intake (that is a struggle in a house full of BBQ lovers..I am trying). I also lost a few pounds but they came back quickly when I started eating full meals again. This is not really a diet...its a cleanse.
Fast forward to a month later, I still have a juice once or twice a day and no coffee. I have read Brendan Brazier's book Whole Foods To Thrive and I am trying to only put nutrient dense food in my mouth. Its a struggle, but I feel so great and want to maintain this lifestyle.
What advice can I give if you are thinking of trying a juice cleanse???
- Plan well. Read a lot, plenty of info in books and on line. Map out your cleanse and shop once prior to starting. You won't want to venture into the grocery store while juicing...just painful.
- Drink a lot of water. Have a least 4 large juices a day but have more if you like...go crazy.
- Don't beat yourself up if you crack and sneak a carrot or 2. Lots of people recommend first timers add in a salad or raw foods.
- You will read that lots of people have colonics prior to juicing. I did not go down this road, but apparently it helps to curb any food cravings..your choice
- Drink your juice as soon as it is made. Just drink it. Dont save it, you will lose a lot of the good stuff as time passes
- I avoided exercise but looking back I could have done regular yoga and light exercise. I did not ever feel weak. In theory, you should feel great and I did, just not right away.
- Juicing Machines vary in price and productivity. There is a lot written about the value of high end machines that process juice and maximize nutrient yield. I have an old Jack Lalanne juicer and it was perfect for me.
- There is a lot of prep to juicing, cleaning the produce, trimming to size, coring etc. As well, the juicer clean up is a huge pain but be sure to drink your juice before tackling the clean up.
- Be prepared for how amazing you are going to feel. Really! You will. How can you not...you will have lived for about a week putting amazing food and all the healing properties into your body, while not ingesting all the "crap" that we do on a regular basis. Its like a clean slate and you wont want to undo what you have just done!!
My Juicing Plan
Day One
The Mean Green
4 celery stalks, 2 apples, 6 kale, half a lemon peeled , one inch piece of ginger
Celery and Green Apple
2 celery stalks, 5 med granny smith apples, 1 med bunch of spinach (large handfull)
Carrot Apple and Lemon
6 carrots, 3 Fuji apples (these are the best for juicing), 3 celery stalks, I med red bell pepper, 3 leaves Romaine, one lemon peeled
Cucumber, Beet Juice
12 med carrots, 1 cucumber, 1 large red beet, 3 medium beet greens (the beets will stain your juicer so drink juice while cleaning up after this one)
Day Two
Morning Glory
4 kale, I large handful spinach, 3 romaine leaves, 1 cucumber, 3 celery stalks , 1 green apple, 1 lemon peeled
Sunrise Citrus
2 grapefruits, 1 med red pepper, 2 pears, 6 carrots
Romaine Celery
3 pears, 2 celery stalks, 6 kale , 1 med lemon peeled , 6 romaine leaves
Day 3
Morning Sunrise
2 orange bell peppers, 1 navel orange peeled, 4 carrots, large handful fresh pineapple,
1 lemon peeled
Celery Cucumber
2 med celery stalks, i med cucumber, i med lemon peeled, 3 granny smith apples, 3 kale leaves, 1 sm piece of ginger
Mini Juice
1 apple, 3 romaine leaves, 2 carrots
Will I juice cleanse again? Definitely!!!! Maybe by the end of the summer after all the summer fun and food, I will want to cleanse again. Knowing that you will not die from lack of food and that perhaps you will thrive instead...that is appealing!!
The Mean Green
4 celery stalks, 2 apples, 6 kale, half a lemon peeled , one inch piece of ginger
Celery and Green Apple
2 celery stalks, 5 med granny smith apples, 1 med bunch of spinach (large handfull)
Carrot Apple and Lemon
6 carrots, 3 Fuji apples (these are the best for juicing), 3 celery stalks, I med red bell pepper, 3 leaves Romaine, one lemon peeled
Cucumber, Beet Juice
12 med carrots, 1 cucumber, 1 large red beet, 3 medium beet greens (the beets will stain your juicer so drink juice while cleaning up after this one)
Day Two
Morning Glory
4 kale, I large handful spinach, 3 romaine leaves, 1 cucumber, 3 celery stalks , 1 green apple, 1 lemon peeled
Sunrise Citrus
2 grapefruits, 1 med red pepper, 2 pears, 6 carrots
Romaine Celery
3 pears, 2 celery stalks, 6 kale , 1 med lemon peeled , 6 romaine leaves
Day 3
Morning Sunrise
2 orange bell peppers, 1 navel orange peeled, 4 carrots, large handful fresh pineapple,
1 lemon peeled
Celery Cucumber
2 med celery stalks, i med cucumber, i med lemon peeled, 3 granny smith apples, 3 kale leaves, 1 sm piece of ginger
Mini Juice
1 apple, 3 romaine leaves, 2 carrots
Will I juice cleanse again? Definitely!!!! Maybe by the end of the summer after all the summer fun and food, I will want to cleanse again. Knowing that you will not die from lack of food and that perhaps you will thrive instead...that is appealing!!
