Juice Cleanses - Kelly

Last January I decided to kick off a year of healthy decisions by embarking on my first three day juice cleanse.  I had just purchased a juicer and loaded up with fruits and veggies and jumped in.  It was hard- nothing but fresh juice for three days straight- but made me feel great.  I repeated the process three more time before I had to take a break because race training got to be too intense to spend three days a month not eating solid food.

In July I did another cleanse (this time purchasing my juice from Peeled in Chicago instead of making it) and then again in November with about seven of my co-workers.  It's never easy but I really got the hang of the three day cleanse.  

I decided that this January I wanted to take it a step further and try a five day cleanse.  That's right- 5 days without any solid food.  You drink a green juice (mostly kale, spinach, parsley, apples) in the morning, a lemonade mid-morning, beet juice mid-day, then another green and beet juice in the afternoon and early evening, then end the day with fresh made cashew milk.  

I'm happy to report that I'm on day 4 of my five day cleanse and am feeling pretty good!  Here's the run down of how the days have gone so far:

• Day 1: Felt great- not eating or preparing food actually saves a TON of time but I waited way too long to have my cashew milk at the end of the day and thought I was going to be sick.  Also- I went to an event at a bar and sat there drinking beet juice while everyone else was enjoying beer... not fun!
• Day 2: I might have freaked out a little bit about the fact that I wouldn't be eating anything for four more days.  I also might have gone to a super intense yoga class that was way too much for someone just drinking juice!
• Day 3: Got my groove back!  I had a massage in the morning (it's another way to break up toxins stored up in your body) and went to a super chill yoga class in the evening
• Day 4: Totally uneventful.  Drank my juice, had a lot of tea... no big deal.  Feeling incredibly normal- no real energy spikes but plenty of energy to focus on work and do what I need to do!
• Day 5:  I'm anticipating I'll be in a great mood.  I'll be proud of myself for getting through it and super excited to eat when I wake up on Saturday morning!

Pretty much everyone in my day to day life is aware I do these cleanses so I've fielded all kinds of questions.  Here are some of the most popular:

Do you lose weight?  And are you doing this to lose weight?

The answer to the first question varies- the first time I did it I lost seven pounds and gained two of them back when I started eating regular food again.  (This was also right after the holidays during which I had probably gained 5 or 6 pounds.)  This time around I've literally not lost a pound (and I've added days!).  I definitely don't do this as a dieting technique- you might lose some weight but it'll come right back on when you start eating.  I do do it as a way to re-set my eating habits and that can eventually lead to losing weight, though.

How many calories are you getting?  Is that safe?

The whole cleanse is about 1150 calories per day.  No- that's not a lot but it's totally fine and safe for a few days.  It honestly amazes me how little I need to eat once I'm back to eating real food- I think we all think we need way more than we actually do.

Are these smoothies?  And you seriously don't eat any food? 

Nope- just juice!  You need a juicer, not a blender, to do it at home.  And no- I really don't eat any food.  You can have all the water and herbal tea you want between juices but that's it!

Can you workout while you're doing the cleanse?

This varies from person to person but I say yes.  I don't go running but yoga a few times during the cleanse actually makes me feel pretty great.  During the 5-day this time I went to yoga twice and will do a pretty intense workout on Saturday after I've had some food again.

Why do you do it?  Is it healthy? 

For me it's totally healthy.  My skin looks great while I'm on the cleanse (hello glowing skin in January!) and I just feel lighter.  As I mentioned above it also helps me reset my eating habits.  Lately I had been craving cheese and bread- two things I don't need that much of- and I guarantee those cravings will be under control once I go back to eating food.  This is the main reason I do it- it's a chance for me to hit the reset button and re-evaluate my food choices.  If you're someone who has a challenging relationship with food it's probably not the best decision.  Juicing can be a great addition to any healthy eating plan- you definitely don't have to give up food for a few days to reap the benefits!

So there you have it- my juicing experience in a nutshell.