My 4 Day Juice Cleanse
I know Juice Cleanses can be controversial. There are two camps of thought. The negative side calls out juicing for the lack of fiber & the possible spikes in your blood sugar you can get from the fruit juice. Juice cleanse can create a false perception that you lose weight from them, but it’s just water weight. You’ll gain the weight back. They can create a dependency to “cleanse” after eating like garbage, creating cycle of binging, and purging and being used as the “quick fix”.
Others will say juicing is a miracle cure. I read one blog that said drinking celery juice every morning will pretty much turn you into a unicorn with perfect skin, hair, digestion, and nails (Nothing is this perfect). Others talk about long juice cleanse or fasts that went on for 21- 30 days curing all kinds of ailments and fixing autoimmune diseases. While I wasn’t walking in these people shoes, I doubt juicing is a miracle cure. My guess in the juicing opened a mindset for other healthy choices, allowing the body to heal and grow during the cleanse. Juicing can allow a break from the normal, and there is research that fasting for 2 -3 days is great for you body, digestion, and mind.
I know for me it was a huge mindset shift. I have incorporated juicing into my diet before, and have even done 3 days cleanses, but I don’t think I had my mind in the right space going into it, or I didn’t have the maturity. After doing a lot of research on the risks and the possible benefit I finally decided to do a cleanse. I first set out to do a 7-8 day cleanse. I really wanted to get as many benefits out of it as possible, and I read in a few blogs the first 3 days you are just flushing out old toxins. It’s not until the after day 4 you start to see gut healing.
And if you have read my food story blog post, you know that gut healing was what I was chasing. My morning bloat was at an all time high. It had become difficult to get dressed and get to work in the morning. While I generally eat healthy, focusing on eating plant based, I knew I had a bad habit of downing some kettle chips every afternoon. I really wanted to spend a few days focusing on getting as many vegetables in my gut as possible, while giving my GI track a break.
In Greenville, SC, we have a couple of great juice spots that also serve some great plant base food at well.
Southern Press Juicery is downtown off main street. I believe they are the OG in the juicing business in GVL. They have multiple cleanses you can do, and if you decide to do a cleanse on a whim, they usually have a enough stock to get you through day 1 if not more.
Kuka Juice is another spot in the Village of West Greenville area. I believe you must order the cleanse a day before. They have a lot of green juices options (best for not spiking your blood sugar), and they are my go to if I just want a juice randomly. They also have a lot of delicious gluten free/vegan sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts. A go to lunch spot.
Because I used to juice a lot when I lived in Upstate New York, I decided with would be best to DIY my cleanse. It was the most economical, and I was able to make the time for juicing. But if you are new to juicing, or don’t have the time to juice through a lot of veg, I suggest either of the spots above. For my cleanse, I took recipes from Living Fresh Daily’s DIY cleanse. I did end up adding in another beet and greens juice to the mix, because the Blue Mermaid Lemonade didn’t really feel like a juice packed with veggies to me. I do make the Blue Mermaid Lemonade from time to time to drink. I currently drinking it while I write this blog.
I know I said I wanted to do an 8-day cleanse, but the title of this is a 4 day cleanse. Why is that? After I started, I realized my sister’s wedding was about 2 weeks away. I knew I would be going out that weekend, eating catered food, and celebrating with friends and family. When you do a cleanse a big part of it is what you eat what you eat coming out of the cleanse to not upset your GI track. I didn’t what to go from juicing for 8 days to having a glass of wine with salmon. So, I decided 4 days would do, and I would introduce food back in first with soup, then smoothies, and veggies building back up food with fats, oils, sugars, etc. I’m already gluten free, dairy free, and I’m pretty much a pescatarian, so I wasn’t trying to build back up to steak and potatoes, or pizza with sausage on it. For those of you that do eat meat, and dairy I urge you to resist going out for a burger, and slowly starting with plants first, then some fish. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce healthy habits of eating plant based and not process foods primarily after a cleanse.
Day 1 – The first day I really didn’t feel hungry at all. It was difficult for me to finish my last juice. I think my body was just so bloated that I didn’t feel hungry or the detox at all. I think my body welcomed the break from eating.
Day 2 – On the second day I had a headache, assuming from lack of sugar and caffeine. While my husband and I try to limit our caffeine to just one green matcha a day, I know my body can have strong with drawl symptoms to it. I went to bed around 8:30 that night, letting my body rest and reset. But I was beginning to not feel bloated which was nice.
Day 3 – This was the first day I felt hungry. I’m already a big water drinker, but day 3 I felt that I couldn’t get enough water in my system. My bloating was completely gone, and my headache was disappearing. I also wasn’t having any seasonal allergy systems. I went from feeling heavy and just gross all the time to light.
Day 4 – I met a friend for coffee, but I didn’t get any of course. I think that was good for me. We have society just revolving around food and drink. I think I eat or get something to drink because I suppose to. Not because I want to. The cleanse gave me a lot of body autonomy which was good. I was feeling desire for food. I missed chewing. Which must bloggers say is normal.
I came out of the cleanse slowly. Having juice the morning of day 5, following with a soup and smoothie. I went back to a juice that night. The next day I have a smoothie for breakfast followed by a cooked veggie meal. Dinner that night I have cooked veggies again with an aioli to add some fat. I continue to add more back into my diet throughout the following days. I think that biggest take aways for me have been listening to my body and my hunger cues. I also think I became more aware when I was eating. I wasn’t rushing through a meal or eating mindlessly. I feel like the cleanse gave my body a chance to reset. And secondly no more bloating. I went from being bloated almost every morning, with some days being so bad I was in a lot of pain, to none. It’s been about a month now and I’m still not waking up with a morning bloat. Now I don’t think juicing was a miracle cure for my bloat, but I do think it gave my digestion a much needed break. I also think it helped my listen to my body more and was a good reset to continue to make other healthy choices for my body.
I still want to try an 8-day cleanse just to see if it’s worth all the hype. I have read after day 5, you feel boundless energy. When I try it, I’ll be sure to document it. Until then I just add juice in supplemental ways.