New Year – Time to Juice Cleanse???
Happy 2017. Here we go – it’s January again which means we are barraged with advertisements for weight loss products, gym memberships, exercise equipment and anything else catering to our wellness & weight loss resolutions. If I see another advertisement for NutriSystem, Slim Fast or anything else I will scream. But, there’s a reason we’re flooded with these commercials…most of us make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and / or get healthier. In the past few weeks, I’ve received several requests from neighbors to borrow my blenders and juicer for a juice cleanse. But is a cleanse really the way to do it? Doesn’t that seem fairly extreme?
Here’s my background in this (as I’ve stated I’m not a doctor, this is just my personal experience) – since the late 1990s, I fairly religiously (annually) went to a fasting spa in Palm Desert. I usually went for one week at a time, but once I actually went for three weeks. So, obviously, I personally have experienced the benefits of a pretty aggressive cleanse. While at this spa, the daily routine consisted of a specific menu of drinks (no solid food) consisting of water, pureed vegetable soup and other concoctions and supplements meant for purifying the body and mind. Then, interspersed with this, you would have colonics (if you don’t know what this is…google it…I’m not sure I’m going to provide specifics in this post!), practice yoga, go on long walks in the desert and just relax. The first few days were sometimes difficult (note: if you choose to cleanse, do yourself a favor and gradually eliminate caffeine and sugar over a few weeks before starting otherwise you’ll be in for a rude surprise), but then I felt amazing. My skin glowed, my eyes were bright white and yes, I did lose weight. Why did it work? I think because (1) I was in the middle of nowhere, and I really had no distractions or temptations; and (2) I was almost guilted into making it work because it cost a sh%&load of money (pun intended). The real challenge then began when I went home and immersed myself back in my normal life.
Back in the real world, it was hard to maintain any consistency with my juicing because life just got in the way: business travel, client lunches and normal life which various beet + cucumber + kale + apple juices just didn’t provide the energy for. The transition back to eating whole foods was critical having not eaten for a while (another helpful hint – if you do a juice fast, don’t immediately go back to your previous way of eating immediately. Do so gradually – your digestive tract with thank me).
Since having a child, I haven’t made my annual pilgrimage to the desert. But I do juice every now and then – not for a fast, but rather to get a boost of vitamins and minerals when I’m feeling sub par. I have a fantastic juicer, and many times create a random combination of whatever fresh fruits and veggies I have on hand. The juicer I have is the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer. Why did I get this one? It’s definitely more expensive than the ones you can get at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc., and here’s why: (1) unlike almost all traditional juicers, it presses / squeezes the produce – you can watch it actually be crushed – this is very important because this process extracts more nutrients and fiber out of the fruits and veggies (as compared to almost all other juicers that mince up the produce and spin it around to try to get the juice out). The Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer will produce a lot more juice (and a lot less pulp) out of the same amount of produce vs. a cheaper / traditional version; (2) it’s powerful – you can put an entire, small apple through the feeder chute – you don’t need to cut things up into super small pieces; (3) you can juice anything – I put kale, lettuce, parsley and other “hard to juice” things right down the chute; (4) it’s super quiet – traditional juicers are insanely loud and annoying; (5) it’s relatively easy to clean and put together; and (6) there’s a 10 year warranty. Done. Again, it’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
So, I say go ahead with a juice fast if that’s what you want to do. But, don’t think that you need to go all in for it to be effective – just living off juices for days on end can be a complete shock to your system, especially if you’re balancing every day, normal life at the same time. My vote? Juice, at times, to feel better. And, here’s something that may be way too obvious that a lot of us don’t really want to do…eat whole foods, organic foods, non-GMO foods and purify your body that way. Call me crazy, but it feels pretty good to make eating good food a centerpiece for your health.
Love and Peace,
The Almost Green Mom
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