A little more than a month ago, I felt like I needed a “reset” on my health. I’m someone who enjoys staying active and fueling my body with (mostly) healthy options. However, Pennsylvania’s winter weather, the stress of work, and keeping up with the demands of caring for a family and running a household was taking a toll on me, I could tell. I felt under the weather and drained far more than I have in the past. It was time to do something different.
I’ve heard about the juicing fad, and the benefits it boasts. Thanks to a generous neighbor, I even got to preview a few of these “green juices.” I liked them, but I also knew they came with a pretty hefty price tag at about $5 to $8 per juice, and that’s if you bought them in bulk. After a particularly bad 24 hour flu bug, I had enough. I was sick of feeling sick and decided to look into a short-term juice cleanse to see if fueling my body with only raw fruits and vegetables for a few days would do anything to jumpstart my immune system.
There are plenty of raw, cold-pressed juice companies out there. I started with a google search and a quick browse of Groupon. I found one that featured a 3-day juice cleanse that seemed really reasonable. I could commit to three days, anything longer made me anxious about how it would impact my lifestyle – I mean you can only watch your kids suck down chicken nuggets for dinner while you sip on blended spinach for so long.
The juices arrived frozen with very strict instructions for keeping them frozen until you were ready to consume them in the next 24 hours. For three days, I had 18 bottles of various juice blends to fuel me. I could drink as many as I felt like I needed in a day and I could mix in other raw fruits and vegetables as well, if the juice wasn’t enough. Tea and black coffee were okay too, as well as lots and lots of water.
So for three days, I cleared any social commitments that might involve food – why torture myself? Here are the highlights from my first experience with juicing and how it impacted my work flow.
Without food structuring my day, my schedule and my mental capacity seemed to open up
For three days, eating wasn’t a pleasure or pastime, it was a means to fuel my body. I didn’t have to think about what I wanted to eat for my next meal, because it was pretty straightforward and only took a minute or two to consume. I didn’t snack because I was bored, mostly because I wasn’t all that interested in snacking on raw vegetables. I opted for a lot of tea and water to sip on while I was working. This showed me how I was misdiagnosing boredom for hunger, and how much I was really consuming over the course of a day. Without mealtimes (and those routine snack times) structuring my day, I felt like I had so much more interrupted time to get things done.
The change to my health was gentle, yet noticeable
Unlike those crazy fad cleanses that I have heard leave some people running to the bathroom all day, drinking raw, cold-pressed juices was about as gentle as it comes. I can’t speak for everyone, but in my experience, I felt less bloated and like I was functioning so much better after just one day. I felt mentally alert and, for the most part, in a really good mood. Even if this is a placebo effect to knowing you’re doing something good for your body, I’ll take it!
I did not have to give up my routine schedule or activities
I often think people worry that a cleanse means you have to take it super slow, giving up exercise and sleeping all day. That was not my experience. I completed a normal workout my first day and lighter workouts the next two days (solely because of my schedule). I still put in normal work days, took on client meetings and events and kept up with the kids. I made sure to give myself the opportunity for a good night’s sleep, but that’s a smart habit to practice – cleanse or no cleanse!
Instead of focusing on food, I focused on other ways to fuel my body
Over the course of those three days, I stopped looking to food for comfort and pleasure. Instead, I found other ways to get a similar mood boost. I would go for a walk, take a long bath, catch up on a favorite TV show or paint my nails. These activities were so good for my soul, not only my body. I felt like I was finally taking care of myself.
I felt empowered
At times, I definitely felt hungry, agitated and craving my normal foods (even a bowl of oatmeal seemed like a treat by day three!). But those moments were short lived. Knowing it was just three days made it a really reasonable commitment. How many days do I not eat healthy? My body deserved this three day break. I was determined to do this and do it right. At the end of each day, I felt empowered by my discipline and will power to stick with this. The experience caused me to get a little uncomfortable and dig a little deeper. This newly ignited “fire” is still burning and continues to help my accomplish other undesirable or challenging tasks life requires of me daily.
By the end of three days, I was ready to be back to solids!
The first morning off the cleanse, hell yeah I was excited about a hot breakfast! Normal, healthy foods seemed so indulgent. It was awesome! Fruit tasted like candy and I really had no cravings for sugary or greasy foods. Why undo in one day what took me three days to accomplish? The cleanse really helped me to reset my relationship with food and to see areas where I was getting a little lax. Have I indulged since them? Absolutely! Life is about balance. Since this three day cleanse, I have done a “mini reset” where I juiced for just one day if I felt bogged down by sugar, alcohol and caffeine.
Will I do it again?…Yes!
I will, and look forward to, keeping a juice cleanse part of my journey toward good health. I want to stress that for me, this was not about losing weight. That wasn’t my goal. I wanted to nip some bad eating habits in the bud before they caught up with me. I wanted to boost my immune system and retrain my cravings to be for good, nutrient-dense foods, not junk. I learned a lot about my will power of the course of those three days, as well as my tendencies to misinterpret cravings. I see no reason why, anyone who wanted to, couldn’t do a three-day juice “reset” to better their own health!
Have you ever taken on a cleanse, reset or otherwise “challenge” to better your health? Share your experience by commenting below!
Note: This post is not sponsored in any way, so I did not want to call too much attention to the brand of juice. However, I’m sure you’re curious so I used Raw Generation (www.rawgeneration.com). Be sure to use the 70% off coupon they offer. Shipping is steep, so if you think you want to stock it, it’s better to do it all in one order!
