JUICY Reflections: A one-day juice cleanse and me
This past Sunday, I decided to do a one-day juice cleanse. And not just any juice cleanse. The cleanse from Medical Medium (the book that has completely changed my life).
You may be thinking, juice cleanses are NOT healthy, but I have to disagree. I think there's a time and place for juice cleanses, especially when you feel as if your body is running slower than usual and things just seem a bit off. Granted, there are juice cleanses out there that aren't as well thought out as this one, in my opinion. The type of juice this cleanse uses (a mixture of cucumber, celery and apple) is the perfect mix of minerals and nutrients your body needs to operate at maximum efficiency. The way this cleanse is set up–drinking 16-20 oz of juice every two hours and 16 oz of water one hour after each juice–keeps your body optimally hydrated and fed, so you are never starving your body and causing havoc on your poor adrenals.
I decided to do this juice cleanse to give my digestion a bit of a rest and to help clear up my skin a little. Here's how it went:
9AM: When I woke up Sunday morning, I was so excited I could hardly finish my morning pages before I was downstairs in the kitchen. I washed and prepped the celery, cucumbers and apples and made 64 oz. of the juice in the biggest measuring cup I had! I figured this would be the easiest way to go about it so I wasn't having to clean and put together the juicer again and again throughout the day. The juice tasted pretty good actually and was super refreshing! I got my water ready as well, so around 8am I didn't have to run to get water.
11AM: Second round of juice and felt really good! I was full of energy and still really excited about the cleanse and how I was helping out my body :) After I finished the second glass, I decided to walk to the store to get a few things we needed...NOT the smartest decision. On the way there, I passed a pizza place that must have just made fresh pizza and MANOHMAN did it smell good!!! Now, I usually don't crave pizza because I know the harm it does to my body (migraines, back pain, neck pain...the works) but yowza, I wanted a slice of that pie that smelled so good! And when I got home, I put away the food I picked up at the store, and it was as if every piece of food in the fridge was staring at me in the face.
1PM: Third round of juice and I started to get a little tired. There was still a little bit of excitement for the cleanse, but I could tell it was slowly fading. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed with a big comfy blanket and watch Halloween movies, which is precisely what I did!
3PM: Fourth round of juice and the last of the juice I made from the morning. I had the rhythm down pretty darn good: juice then water an hour later then juice again. At this point in the day, I realized how much I missed chewing. And different flavors. And enjoying food with other people. For the whole day, I wanted to just be alone, so I stayed in my room; avoiding being downstairs meant I didn't have to see my parents eating their meals throughout the day, which definitely helped! I wasn't angry or sad or any of those crazy reactions you hear about on some cleanses, I simply wanted to be alone, all cozied up in bed watching cheesy movies.
5PM: I powered up the juicer to make the last two 16 oz. juices for the day! OH BOY, was I craving food that I could chew. Pizza, tacos, sushi...I missed flavor. I missed crunch. Watching more movies really helped distract me from thinking about random food cravings. I tried reading instead, but for some reason couldn't focus when I was reading. By this time, I was pretty exhausted. I had planned on doing some sort of workout, but I didn't have the energy, so I listened to my body and rested.
7PM: LAST JUICE!! I realized that I was having a really hard time getting warm and staying warm. Even though I was wrapped in my big fuzzy blanket in bed, I couldn't get warm for a long period of time. Probably because I was getting up every hour and every other hour to get water or juice, but still, it wasn't too comfortable. After I finished my last juice and my last glass of water, all I wanted to do was go to bed. I went to bed around 8:15/8:30pm and slept until 7am the next morning!
MONDAY (the day after): I'm going to be completely honest, yesterday was not the best day. I woke up with a twinge in my upper back and neck that only got worse as the day progressed. The pain was so bad that it gave me a migraine and I felt really nauseous in the late-afternoon. The nausea got so intense that nothing sounded good to me when it came time to eat dinner. I ended up making raw vegan cereal made up of sliced banana, strawberries, frozen blueberries and cherries with banana milk and called it a night. I made thyme tea to help boost my immune system and before bed, made some warm water with Natural Calm to help me sleep and relax my muscles in my back and neck.
TUESDAY: I'm feeling better today, but am not 100% yet. I slept really well, which is extremely helpful for the healing process, but I'm going to make sure to take it easy the next few days. Juice cleanses release toxins from the body, so I know this is just a kickback.
I am happy to report that my digestion has improved a lot and my skin's appearance has improved! I have much less redness and inflammation along my jawline and cheeks and my stomach is no longer in so much pain and super bloated :)
So overall, I'd say the juice cleanse was successful in that I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish with the cleanse. In the book, Anthony recommends to do the cleanse every two weeks, but I think I'll give it another go next month, just to give my body a detox break.
If you would like to do a juice cleanse or learn more about how food can heal you, I would love to support you! I have many programs that can suit your needs, ranging from 3-month to 6-month coaching programs, cooking lessons as well as yoga and meditation lessons. Shoot me an email at happilyhealthyashley@gmail.com or if you would like to chat, schedule a free consultation!
