People talk a lot about doing
juice fasts or
cleanses to help feel rejuvenated and give their insides a nice clean start. Well, I personally have never done a juice fast or a cleanse because I always thought I would never be able to last a few hours without eating some solid foods. But over the weekend I talked with my friend Kaleigh about a cleanse she did recently and she has convinced me that I will be able to survive and I will love myself for it. So, I've done some research and have decided that cleansing every so often is probably a great thing for my body. I found a cool intestinal cleanse I want to do, but it's 7 days long and I'm about to go away for the weekend so I'm thinking I will have to postpone the cleanse. However, I'm going to try a 3 day juice fast starting tomorrow! If everything goes well, I will be uploading videos about how I feel, and hopefully make some recipe videos so you can all try them too! Stay tuned if you're interested!
Why a Fast or Cleanse is Good for Your Body
Let's admit it, we all eat and drink things that we know our bodies could live without. I'm aware of it- every now and then (... or maybe even more often than that), I drink a little too much alcohol, I eat more fried foods than I should, and I purchase items with more preservatives than I would like to imagine I'm putting in my body. No matter how hard we try, we all do it! Even walking down the streets we are exposed to herbicides and pesticides and pollution that probably shouldn't go into our bodies. Well, all these things can build up in our bodies and eventually weaken and congest us. So, just like an engine or a home, our bodies could use a nice, thorough cleaning every now and then to help keep all the bells and whistles running smoothly. That's precisely what a juice fast or a cleanse is! It's spring cleaning for our organs!
People who
cleanse regularly (depending on the cleanse, a good rule of thumb is twice a year), swear by their benefits. They say that cleansing helps them feel more energized and look younger. Wrinkles and dark circles just fade away, skin begins to glow, hair and nails strengthen and
weight loss usually occurs. Although they require effort, the benefits make cleanses seem worth while!
As I said earlier, I'm going to begin a 3 day juice fast tomorrow. Check back for blog posts and hopefully videos (if I can figure that all out) to hear about my thoughts and opinions!
If you'd like to try a juice fast, you'll need to get yourself a juicer. If relying on a diet of juice, you should try to make it mostly vegetable juice with a little fruit. Therefore, it's a good idea to get a wheatgrass juicer to ensure you'll be able to juice anything. I recommend a
Samson Juicer or a
Green Star Juicer from PurelyJuicers.com.
Comments
Christine, if you're interested in doing a juice fast, I say go for it! It's great for your digestive system and many other parts of your body. Don't worry about not having the energy. There's tons of energy in the juices you can make! Just make sure you continue to drink lots of water, and that you make yourself some juice if you start to feel tired.
Most juice fasts involve 6 juices a day. But if you're feeling burnt out, go ahead and make yourself another juice! If your aim is to cleanse, having another juice is not going to do very much to hinder that cleanse. The idea behind cleansing with juice is that you give your body enough calories and energy to continue functioning normally, but since it only has to digest juice, it can do so quickly and then move on to doing beneficial things like healing and cleansing.
May I offer a tip? If you regularly drink coffee, go ahead and drink your one coffee that day. Otherwise, you will experience withdrawal symptoms and your head will be foggy and you'll feel like crap. You have a life to live. You're not gunna stop drinking coffee anytime soon. So, drinking coffee during your 1-3 day juice fast is really not going to do very much harm.
Here's one final thing to think of: if it seems to be too difficult on your body or lifestyle, you can always just eat something! There won't be anyone breathing down your back if you feel like crap and decide that this type of thing is just not for you. It's not for everyone!
Good luck!
This is super interesting. I too am afraid of fasting. I used to be very hypoglycemic, and that fear of not having food readily available has stuck with me even though I'm don't have that health issue any longer. My digestive system seems sluggish and my metabolism too. I'm also hypothyroid. I bet a cleanse would be great for me. I just need to get past the idea of not eating. Plus, like you, I own a business. I also have 2 little boys that I need to run after all day long. I can't lay on the couch all day feeling weak. I guess I could start with one day, and see how it goes. Thanks for posting your experience.
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