Day 6 - Closing

Not to be cliche, but this week has been a journey. I had a goal to make it this week, as the longest I've done a juice cleanse was 4 days. Blogging about it really helped motivate me and I feel great. Not only do I feel good from a simple, clean diet but I accomplished my goal and maintained regular blog posts all week (all are big deals from the typical binge eating, procrastinating, TV marathoner that I can be). It feels great my friends!

Lifestyle Tips for Juice Cleansing: Before, During, & After

A Week to a Few Days Before:

Plan Ahead It's easiest if you plan your cleanse ahead of time and can appropriately prepare. Get your dormant Type A personality out and color code your calendar for your chosen juicing week to get yourself excited, try creative recipes to use up what food you have, research juicing (ahem, thanks for reading this blog), clean your home and fridge, etc. Whatever you need to feel comfortable and ready to commit.

Know What Works for Your Lifestyle Like so many things in life, DO WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU! I like having a clean home, no food in the house (the less to taunt me), and to plan on juice cleansing on weekdays. My weekends are for hanging out with my man and going on adventures-not ideal for juicing. If you live with others-let your loved ones know you intend to cleanse. They may scoff at it or be negative, but stay positive! You can model good health and positivity as a rebuttal. If you want to, explain the reasons why you're doing this and what it means to you.

Diet Some people find it's helpful to cut out meats and heavy fats at least a few days before starting a cleanse. My sister eats vegan-and mostly fruits and veggies-a few days before she cleanses. It is a softer transition that way. I also STRONGLY suggest no alcohol the week before.

Stock Up on Hydrating Options I love herbal teas, especially by Yogi Teas. I like to get exciting flavors or fancy teas-to make it feel like a luxury or special treat while cleansing. I also find DeTox teas from Yogi to be helpful. Some people like fruit infused waters. You can buy them or make your own. See blogger Joyful Scribblings' Recipes Here.

Talk to Your Doctor Not everyone should do a juice cleanse. Talk to your healthcare professional and determine if it is a good fit for you. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have hypoglycemia-low blood sugar-and have higher caloric and protein needs than most might on juice cleanse. I get a customized juice cleanse to meet my personal needs and don't jeopardize my body's health.

During:

Journal It helps! Commit to at least one journal experience each day you're juicing. Jot down feelings, observations, and reminders as to why you're doing this. It not only helps you stay focused and learn things during the cleanse but it's good to go back and read over afterwards.

Light Activity This is not the time to pick up your dusty gym back and tackle the 10k you've been meaning to sign up for. If you want to stay active I suggest going for a walk or doing yoga. Yoga is especially good because it can help alleviate tension in your body that can lead to emotional releases as well. Flush toxins out of your body in more way than one.

Limit Going Out A lot of socializing centers around food and drinks. Limiting your social engagements can help prevent temptation and frustration.

Exfoliate More Your body is going through detox and is trying to push out those toxins multiple ways-not only through your gut but your skin. You may notice your skin looking a little dull or have some acne problems. Exfoliating your whole body not only gets rid of dead skin but helps with circulation and benefits your lymph nodes.

Bathroom Awareness Your body is cleaning house when it starts detoxing. This can create different reactions. Some people's bodies react strongly when removing waste matter and toxins from the colon. You could feel sick and spend more time in the bathroom than usual (not just from having to pee all the time). Listen to your body and its needs.

After:

Soft Transition Okay. You're off the cleanse and dying to eat. LET'S GO EAT A BURGER A GOAT THAT HORSE THAT COUCH NOM NOM NOM!!! JK. This is not the time to go crazy. Remember why you did this in the first place and treat your body with kindness. Start slow. Think fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I like to wean myself off the cleanse by doing some meals as juices still and some as solids. Great options are soup, salad, fruit, rice, chia seeds, oatmeal, etc. Once you're back to a full day of solid meals think of easier to digest meat or protein. Tofu, seafood, or healthy Japanese food is my go to. Eat light and slow. Really chew your food and concentrate on how this food is providing nutrients for you.

No Alcohol, Heavy Fats, or Lots of Sugars When you first start back to eating you don't want to put these in you system for a while. They could tear through you and give you at least a headache or even a really bad IBS experience.

Pro-biotics It's important to replenish your colon with good bacteria. Your detox flushed everything out and you want the healthy bacteria to flourish.

Have a Game Plan Be intentional with your eating and health and have a plan. It can be easy to fall back into our old bad habits. Use this experience and fresh start to feel good about what you accomplished and motivate yourself to live better.

Let me know what your thoughts and experiences are on juice cleansing. What motivates you to become healthier and push yourself to be the best person you can be?