What I learned on a two day juice cleanse?
Ever just get stuck in a rut doing the same thing over and over again? It feels like you are on autopilot. That was me. I travel every week for work and workout Monday to Thursday, throwing in golf when I can and play in a volleyball league on Sundays. Traveling as much as I do and constantly being on the go sometimes means that my nutrition can be the one thing I compromise because I know it’s better to put something in my body than nothing at all. I had started getting breakfast every morning at a place called Clean Juice in Chapel Hill. I thought this is great because now I have a regimented breakfast routine that will allow me to get some protein, fruits and veggies every morning after my work out before work.
During the month of July they were running a promotion that gave you $10 each day of a juice cleanse. In the past I had thought juice cleanses were just for those that wanted to lose a little bit of extra weight, which is great but it did not align with my personal goals. Clean Juices main goal with their juice cleanses is “to flood our bodies with countless vitamins and minerals, allowing the busy to rid itself of toxin build-up from our usual food and environment.” After doing some research I found that there are so many benefits of doing a juice cleanse like:
Boost in energy
Deeper sleep
Mental clarity
Reduce in bloating
Weight loss
Intense hydration
Clearer skin and healthier hair
Who wouldn’t want all of these things? Plus I was also curious to see if I could go two days without food. I knew that I could do one day and wanted an extra challenge (the competitive side of me) so I decided the two day cleanse would be the best fit for me. I already drink over a gallon of water a day because of my activity level and I make sure I am staying hydrated.
I will say that I did experience better sleep and the mental reset that I was hoping to get out of this. I also was never actually hungry while doing this juice cleanse. Clean Juice provided me with 6-16 oz. bottles of juice each day and recommended at least an 8 oz. glass of water in between each juice (I drank 3-33 oz. Smart Waters a day). I was constantly drinking water and having a juice every 2 hours for two days. The one thing that I did miss was chewing food. I just really wanted to crunch on a piece of raw broccoli which I think is a good benefit of the program because I hoped that it would lead to healthy lifestyle changes. Personally, I agree with many that say it takes at least 30 days for changes to stick, but this was a great way to get back on the healthy eating train. My favorite juices were the orange, pineapple, carrot, turmeric and cashews, filtered water, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, Himalayan pink salt. The first one had a lot of pineapple taste to it which I liked and the second one was so delicious at the end of the day. It tasted like the milk from the bottom of a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The juice that surprised me the most was filtered water, lemon, cayenne and maple syrup. This tasted so much like a lemon shake from the fair with a kick of pepper at the end. I was thinking I would drink this regularly on hot, sunny days for sure.
So all in all I found out that yes I can go two days without food and there are so many more benefits for my body than just weight loss when it comes to a juice cleanse. I think that I will work in a one day juice cleanse or a juice until dinner here and there to make sure my body is getting the care and attention that it deserves. I mean if I am going to live to be at least 100 I need to make sure I am establishing healthy habits in these early years.
