What to know before doing a juice cleanse.
The weather is changing! We must do the work in order to stay healthy and have our bodies process changes in the healthiest way possible. A great way to detox and regulate our metabolism is by doing a juice cleanse. But just like any sudden change, the wisest thing to do is to prepare for this temporary and quite intense liquid fast!
What exactly is a juice cleanse?
A juice cleanse is a way to fast by doing a really short and temporary diet that consists of drinking freshly made juices. Each of these juices should replace a meal. The advantages of a juice cleanse are that you will be doing a large intake of liquids, and benefiting from the nutrients raw fruits and vegetables contain; since you will be consuming those almost exclusively during a two to three-day plan, your body will easily absorb the nutrients easily.
You can make these juices yourself on a juicer, blender, or go to your local juice shop. Many mom-and-pop shops will actually sell juice cleansing packages ranging from $60 to $100 dollars, depending on the duration you choose.
Preparing yourself for a juice cleanse.
Remember you cannot go from zero to a hundred overnight! It is not a good idea to do a juice cleanse if your eating habits have not been stable recently. Say, if you have been skipping a lot of meals or eating a lot of junk food, it might be a little bit of a big shock to your metabolism to suddenly only drink juice or smoothies for days. If you usually eat a lot, reducing your meal sizes for a few days in advance will help prepare your stomach to receive a smaller meal. If you are allergic to anything, make sure you make a list of those ingredients and mention it to the store clerk if you will be buying them!
Juice cleanse tips.
If at first doing a juice for a meal feels too light, try making a smoothie! A smoothie is thicker in consistency and because it is very cold, it takes longer to digest, that way you won’t be hungry sooner. Also, you are allowed to eat raw snacks in between! Think about almonds or other high-protein nuts or carrots and hummus. Also, do not plan for a juice cleanse that lasts over three days if you have never done one before! I once met a pro at a health workshop who does a juice cleanse every other month for a period of ten days! And with that being said: ensure you do your juice cleanse over your weekend or days when you know you won’t be needing/using a lot of energy. Plan to stay home because you will be using the restroom a lot, and probably feel tired at first.
Always consult your physician before trying a new diet or a change that would be extreme for your lifestyle. The best way to care for your body is to know your own limits and practice everything out of love and self-care. At the end of the day, you know your health limits best!