I have wanted to do a post on juice cleanses for some time now but didn't know if the topic was relevant enough. Well, it seems as though this time of year juicing becomes a word synonymous with spring and some sort of detox program. Juice fasts or cleanses, I cringe at both these words, are all the rage especially when it comes to getting ready for "bikini season". <-- This is the hook, line and sinker for most people. The promise of slimming you down and giving you that smokin' hot bod. Bravo for brilliant marketing!
I hate even saying this, yes, you are more than likely going to lose weight on a juice cleanse but this should not be the motivating factor. Reasons being: 1. It is most likely just going be water weight which will return once you eat food again, 2. Relying on any type of extremely low calorie program to lose weight is BAD news, eating or in this case drinking low calorie is not something one can sustain for long periods of time which translates to once you go back to a normal eating routine weight in most cases will come back on, and 3. The weight loss you do experience may be muscle and not fat. FAT is the last thing to go on a low calorie weight loss plan. Your body will hang on to that FAT like white on rice (mmm rice!) especially if you are doing a longer
cleanse say 30 days (eeek).
A cleanse is meant to be a tool. It is designed to give your body a chance to regenerate and focus on healing and detoxifying, not be a miracle weight loss strategy. That being said, if you do decide to proceed with a cleanse for the RIGHT reasons here are some tips I find people are not aware of when diving into the world of juice cleansing
1. The environment in which you do a juice cleanse is extremely important. You want to treat your body kindly. Do not plan to do a cleanse if you have a stressful week coming up, some sort deadline or big life event. If it is at all possible the best thing to do would be to stay at home and treat yourself to walks, baths, meditation, artwork, writing, etc. Make it a mind, body, spirit experience. Or even better go to a retreat that specializes in juice fasts. This will provide professional supervision and top notch pampering!
2. Do not do any vigorous or strenuous exercise. This will A. make you freaking hungry and B. cause stress in the body that it then has to put energy towards repairing.
3. Make sure you have a plan of action to break the cleanse. Meaning you can’t just drink juice for a week(s) and then drive thru the golden arches for your first meal (I recommended you never eat drive-thru anything, but I digress). That would defeat the whole purpose of your cleanse not to mention be one hell of a shock to the system. You need to ease back into eating. Start with soups, lightly steamed veggies…you get the idea.
**Attention** DO NOT do a juice cleanse if you are pregnant or have pre-existing medical conditions.
CHEERS!
