Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image
Scroll to top

Top

10 Comments

Chew Your Juice … Cleanse

Chew Your Juice … Cleanse

| On 06, Feb 2014

Have you ever done a juice cleanse?

To-date I’ve done a total of five. The first one was for six days. I juiced all my own fruits and veggies from my parents house the week before I left for the road trip. It wasn’t super hard but it also wasn’t the easiest thing. I was hungry often and actually cheated a few days, sneaking a handful of cashews here and there. I think that actually made me feel even more hungry than if I hadn’t!

I chose to give it a go the first time after being inspired by the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Despite the occasional cashew, I managed to stick with it and used a handful of the recipes from the website that accompanies the documentary. It was actually pretty neat because my skin cleared up and I lost a few pounds. Though, I wasn’t going for weight loss at all, just a healthy change up.

Lil' Buddha Tea - Albany, NY

When I had my first meal after the first time cleansing I went with a hummus wrap from one of my favorite vegan establishments in Albany, NY – Lil’ Buddha. Their freshly pressed juice, by the way… OMGorsh.. seriously… how they get that foam on top I don’t know, but it’s so friggin’ good!!!!!!!

So yeah, up there.. that wrap on the left. That was the one I had for my first meal back from my first juice cleanse. I got through half of a half because my stomach needed to readjust to whole meals again. Oh man.. I seriously want that wrap right now. So good.

juicingfruits

The second time I cleansed was with my friend Eric. We hunkered down in Chattanooga, TN where he was living at the time – and where I happened to land during that leg of the road trip. We went in with a positive outlook but by day three we were both irritable, didn’t want to clean the juicer when it was our respective turns, and didn’t feel like buying a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies yet another day in a row… we were bad influences on each other in terms of positivity (or lack thereof), we didn’t even make it a full three days. I think we went out for tacos – or no wait, Chinese maybe – or something by lunch time on the second day. And felt terribly sick after of course because you shouldn’t eat like crud after eating so healthfully!! I don’t know. Haha.. that was a total flop though. Granted, it probably didn’t help that I was writing/blogging about food while not allowing myself to consume any. So. There was that.

The third go of it was a short cleanse when I arrived back at my parent’s house after the driving portion of the road trip had concluded (~18 months!). Once again, I snuck some raw cashews (they’re so good!!).

washingveggies

Round four took place in NYC last summer when I first purchased a three-day cleanse from Organic Avenue (OA) and then a friend put me in touch with a really cool local-to-NYC company called Luli Tonix (love the name!). I did those two cleanses back-to-back, so it was six days worth, in preparation for my first-ever national TV appearance on The Lisa Oz Show (set to air this April, 2014)!! I wanted to be the best representation of “vegan” possible. So, a cleanse was in order! I felt great too and I must say that the Luli’s juices were much tastier than the OA ones, IMO.

organicavenuelulitonix

My favorite from Luli Tonix was a toss up between the beet one and the protein one on the end. They both had chia seeds which made drinking and chewing on the seeds super fun times. Especially when I wasn’t permitting myself to have food. :)

Big thanks to Emily and Lianna for organizing the Luli Tonix cleanse for me last year. Super kind of you both!! :) xo

Did you know that you’re actually supposed to chew your juice when cleansing? Yeah, I guess it helps your body register that you’re eating something and then it better readies to absorb all the good stuff from the juices. Kinda neat.

thelisaozshow

 

See! I was totally telling the truth. No photoshop, I swear! :)

Aaaaaand finally, my most recent cleanse was about three weeks ago. Big ‘ol thank-you and props to Skinny Limits for sending me a three day cleanse that was one of the most delicious cleanses I’ve tried.

I’m not sure if it was my half hearted earlier attempts or my desire to just want to get “clean,” but this was by far one of the easiest and most delicious cleanses I’ve done. I never once felt hungry (didn’t even eat ONE cashew!), I made sure to keep up with full glasses of water between each juice, I poo’d a LOT more than I did with any of the previous cleanses (yes, that’s a good thing), and I felt pretty darn good by the end. I actually wish I had signed up for a longer one because I think by day three my body was just finally pushing out the worst of the toxins that had built up. So another day or two probably would have been perfect.

juicecleanse skinnylimits
Skinny Limits labeled each juice according to day, and order in which it should be taken. I opted for the Variety Juice Cleanse because I was drawn to the beet juice and the cashew nut milk one (so yummy). The nice thing about Skinny Limits is they deliver all over the country (I believe) so you can order and they send it to you in this big cold pack thing.

If you’re like me you’ll find it rather exciting to see all of the bottles of juice neatly lined up in the refrigerator. Hehe! And then you get a little surge of excitement every time you finish a day’s worth. Maybe. I mean.. you might. I wouldn’t know though. Ah’em.

So tell me – have you ever juice cleansed? For how long? How did it go? Best/worst parts?

Comments

  1. I did my first (and last) juice fast in November 2013. 4 days long. It was thee hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m the kimd of person who eats immediately when I wake up and like 5 more times throughout the day. I have a fast metabolism. So not eating was the weirdest thing ever and although I did it for 4 days I definitely cheated here and there with an apple or nuts at nighg. It’s impossible for me to sleep hungry. Cleanses are not for weak! Props to you. Chewing your juice makes so mucj sense. I want to give it another go soon. I’ll chew this time :) Thanks for the awesome blog Kristin!

    • Kristin

      Hi Melly!! I completely understand! I find it easier to juice when I go through a company that pre-bottles them for me – although, honestly it’s probably healthier (and definitely fresher) if you juice the fruits and veggies yourself. Another mistake I made the few times I juiced on my own was not researching the types of veggies and fruits I should be consuming throughout the day. What you have in the morning is likely different than what you should have in the afternoon and evening. The reason I liked both Luli Tonix and Skinny Limits cleanses is because not only do you get a decent amount of juice in each bottle, but you’ve got six for each day… therefore, you’re constantly drinking throughout the day. Other suggestions: chewing your juice will also make your feel more full, drink each juice all at once (don’t nurse it over an or longer or else you won’t get enough at one time, which will lead to hunger), drink at least one full glass of water between every juice (that you can nurse), and before you start each morning’s juice, have a glass of warm lemon water to get your body ready for the juices. I did all of these things this last time and saw a huge difference in how my body took to the cleanse. Oh and this one is more mind over matter but.. I found that calling it a “cleanse” instead of a “fast” made me feel less deprived. Just a thought. ;) Good luck and let me know how it goes!!! xo

  2. Alex

    what a coincidence! i’m on day one, right now!, of a three day juice cleanse. i’ve never done a juice cleanse before, i have eaten raw for 30 days, so i’m excited about this cleanse. i’m from charlotte nc, and i’m doing a local cleanse through Viva Raw Charlotte!
    cheers!

    • Kristin

      Nice! Since you’ve been eating raw for a month I have no doubt that the cleanse will be a breeze for you. Enjoy!! :)

  3. I’m a Juice Cleansing Coach and have done tons of them! I leave out the nut milk though; the fat slows down detox and overall progress. It’s great you’re getting more comfortable with them! :)

    • Kristin

      Cool! Thanks, Courtney! :)

  4. I’ve never been brave enough for a juice fast. The hubby and I used to juice for breakfast everyday, though, and that was nice. Once we have jobs again, we plan on doing that. It’s an expensive habit, thought!

  5. Mollie Curry

    I am in the middle of my 6th or 7th 10-Day “cleanse” with plenty of green juice, protein, and even fruit and coconut oil and avocados. I LOVE it! The first time was hard. This time, not as hard! You would love this because your body (and mind, and spirit) gets dense nutrition so your organs can do their cleansy thing, but it is super easy. Like having juice without having to clean the juicer! Very tasty too.

    • Kristin

      Awesome! Keep going, Mollie! :)

Submit a Comment