Juice Cleanse Journal

Apr 06, 2022My Store Admin

Tags

All Posts Lifestyle

I’m 28 days into a 30-day juice cleanse. I know, 30 days - right?!

This is the second one I have done, the first one being in January of 2021. I’ve learned a lot about myself during this time. It’s not just about weight loss for me. Juice cleansing can be a great way to reset or reboot; and this time, it’s perfectly inlined with spring. This is my own way of doing a spring clean for my mind and body. Juicing is a great way to pack in a copious amount of nutrients into one glass. It’s also taught me about discipline and how to implement that discipline into being a more productive, alert, and grateful person. I’ve had clarity that I didn’t expect. We live in a world with a lot of distractions via social media, tech gadgets, taking on multiple jobs, and the dreaded…news. It can bring on unexpected anxiety and this cleanse just helped with my mental health by bringing me back into the “now.”

What is a Juice Cleanse?

My partner and I revisited the documentary, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross and felt inspired. We are already vegan and have been now for over 5 years. But neither one of us had ever done a full-on juice cleanse. We decided to do 30 days of just fruit and vegetable juices. People who have done juice cleanses have had some incredible life-changing results. Results such as getting off of medications permanently, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, battling obesity, reversing diabetes, reversing arthritis, getting rid of migraines, getting rid of depression, improving vision, improving sleep patterns, improving sex drives, and the list just goes on from there. To be clear, these are all benefits that can be gained from going on a whole foods/plant-based diet; however this is just a nice quick jumpstart into it. We try to stick with juices that are approximately 80% vegetables and 20% fruit. We are not hard on ourselves if this is not perfectly done each time. Some juices end up being more fruit-heavy and that’s o.k.

Pro-tips

If you are interested in doing a long-term juice cleanse and want to juice a lot from home, it makes sense financially to buy a juicer. Compared to buying all juices out, we bought a juicer which paid for itself in less than a week: we paid around $350 (with a promo) for our juicer and we would have spent that in approximately 5 days if we got them all out. We have a Nama and really love it.
It is however nice to get a juice out once and a while to feel like you are a) going out to “eat” and b) giving yourself a break from the task of chopping, juicing, and cleaning the machine. Check out P.S.& Co.’s amazing organic options below.
Save your pulp! Save your carrot, beet, cabbage, etc. pulp and freeze to use for recipes after your cleanse. These are great for smoothies, dressings, desserts (see below), and soups. I learned a lot about waste during these cleanses. When your produce is starting to look subpar, juice it! Nothing should be going to waste. When in the grocery store, buy bulk carrots and other produce and bring your own reusable bags to cut down on plastic use.
Do your cleanse in the warmer months! January was very cold in the Northeast. Juices are not exactly warming winter meals.
Explore different grocery stores for your produce. Check out sales and source local fruits and vegetables when possible. I use the Imperfect or Misfits delivery service in addition to getting in between groceries from local stores.

Make a few juices at once. I feel like it’s easier to stay on track when there are pre-made juices at my disposal. So, when you make a juice, pop in your headphones and listen to your favorite podcast, and the time will fly by. Make sure to rinse out the parts of your juicer in between each juice however and then do a full cleaning when finished. You may have additional directions depending on what juicer you have. Ours is a Nama and they recommend that you hold down the reverse switch when done with a juice before cleaning.
Drink water! I can’t tell you how bad I am at this some days. I feel like I am already drinking enough because, well, you are only drinking liquids - but you need to be drinking water as well. This will help immensely with your digestion.
You will be low on the fiber during this time which is a downfall, but it’s not permanent. You can take a fiber supplement or a clean, powdered version in water. I recommend taking a quality probiotic every day as well. On a regular non-juicing day, I would highly recommend getting your fiber intake from whole plant foods (beans, whole grains, nuts, broccoli, flax, apples, berries, etc.)
Grab a partner to do the cleanse with! Having a juicing buddy can make the process much easier. You have someone to lean on, to talk to about what you’re experiencing, and to motivate one another.
Don’t forget to…drink juice! I have made the mistake of not drinking enough juice. It’s because my mind is telling me I want food, not yet another beverage; but once I have a juice, my body is completely content with that.
Try to drink about 4 or so 12oz. juices a day.
Take the time you will be saving from cooking and put it into something new! I recently got out my acrylics and painted. Painting is something I have done a lot of in the past and really love, but just don’t give myself enough time for it anymore.
Exercise! I made the mistake of cutting down my regular workouts on our first cleanse. I don’t know why I thought I would be weaker and couldn’t keep up. The truth is that the energy I have right now, with zero caffeine in my system has turned me into this powerhouse. I feel stronger, have more motivation and a clearer mindset while trying to achieve my exercise goals.

After the Cleanse

After my first cleanse, I was down 18 pounds, and the way I looked at food completely changed.

This is really important because it’s what you take with you after you are done that really counts. Juicing is not a one-stop-shop. It helps to guide people into the right direction starting with that first day of eating solid foods. I was always quite healthy before my first cleanse, but just having fruits and vegetables for 30 days helped me be more in tune with my body and what it really needed. I removed most processed food from my diet. This means, the Beyond and Impossible “meats,” faux cheeses, certain crackers, tortillas, vegan ice cream, and greasy take-out and delivery options. It has come to a point where when I indulge in these things, I do not feel guilty because my diet is primarily whole foods/plant-based and always vegan. I also feel it in my body more when I indulge. Getting down on a deep-fried “chicken” sandwich and french fries is really fun but I don’t always feel my best afterward and I just try to remember that I don’t always want to feel that way. No matter your current diet, I do believe that a cleanse like this will bring new, healthy habits with you going forward. An unexpecting benefit is that juicing allows you to taste raw fruits and vegetables - they are so flavorful when your taste buds aren’t compromised with excess salts and sugars.

I ended up keeping 10 of those 18 pounds off and felt so much lighter and motivated for all the projects going on in my life right now. I am currently 17 pounds down on my 28th day into this cleanse. Lastly, take a look at your budget for the time you juiced. My partner and I saved $300 compared to a typical month of eating and we bought so much food our fridge has been bursting at its seams. Cutting down on mock meats, packaged foods, processed food, and take-out/delivery will save you tons in grocery bills.

Scrappy Energy Balls

Try Kimberly Snyder’s recipe here to make Carrot Maca Energy Balls. I substituted the carrots for carrot pulp from my juices. I also used the juicer to make almond milk and used the almond pulp in place of the 1 cup of whole almonds. They make for a great snack any time of the day.