Dive into my wellness-reboot juice cleanse diary: 3 Days. 18 juices. Go. Hopefully my path will motivate you or at least pique your interest and inspire your own wellness reflection. (Plus Los Angeles area readers can enter my The Real Juice 2-day cleanse giveaway!)...
Craving: Wellness. This fall is turning into "wellness" season for me. And that is a very good thing. So I am eager to share. And I really really hope you read my wellness posts this month and get inspired to join in.
I really just want to plant a seed in your brain so that without making any changes, you are at least thinking about "wellness" in the back of your busy mind. Then as you weave in and out of your schedule, observe how much water you are drinking, how much sleep you are getting, are your breathing enough and deeply, are you moving, eating smart foods and on and on.
Simply by reading THIS, you have already ignited a wellness spark in your mind. Then once you are READY to make some changes, you will already be aware of what they may be. And everyone has something they can change or improve upon. Everyone.
Wellness is all about listening to your body. It is pretty simple and easy, really. Listen. Watch. Learn from every ache, pain, energy boost and physical change you observe. Most of the answers are right in front of you.
Wellness can be pretty simple sometimes: keep doing what makes you feel good, and slowly, slowly, slowly make changes to stop the habits that make you feel crappy.
And starting from square one is even better. Reboot. Restart..
Crashed. Life can wear and tear us down. Emotionally, physically, mentally. Stress. Work. Family. Whatever. We can all find ourselves in CRASH mode. Burned out. Turning to bad habits. Or maybe just not taking proper care of ourselves and our amazing bodies.
Maybe. We. Are. Like. Computers ....
Reboot. Think of when your computer or cell phone crashes and you are left with a blue screen or a frozen picture. Sometimes there really is no other option except to hold down that power button and reboot the entire thing. Surrender. Troubleshooting fails and the last resort is to START OVER. After rebooting, your cell or computer powers back up with a fresh screen. Fresh start. And everything in working order.
So how can we get in on this magical reboot action? Sometimes a good night's sleep is enough for a mini-reboot. But my new favorite way to reboot on a deeper level is a juice cleanse.
Start Over with a Juice Cleanse. One way to reboot your (human) system is through a juice cleanse. (All liquid, plenty of fresh raw fruit and veggie juices and nut milks. Nothing to chew.) Juice fasting allows your body to take a break on heavy duty digestion and allow itself to focus its energy on other areas of your body like healing, detoxification and more. Plus you are still ingesting buckets of healthy foods and nutrients from fruits, veggies and nuts.
But yes, 3 days. 18 juice bottles. One girl with an appetite. It is a CHALLENGE! Believe me, I know..
Confession: Despite having tried on several occasions, I had never successfully completed a juicing cleanse.
Seriously. Even a ONE day fast. Here is the thing...
I was usually good until around 5pm. Then it starts. The caving. The sun begins to set, the night air rushes in and all I want to do is melt into a cozy dinnertime feast. So that is what I usually did. I'd juice all day. One for breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and then around dinner time .. I'd blow it. Crash and burn. Of course I usually "crashed" into a healthy vegan meal to chomp and chew, but still.
One of the major points of a juice cleanse is to give your digestive system a break. A vacation, if you will. Some R&R. A day, or THREE days off. So even though my salad feast at the end of the day was healthy, it was missing the point.
BUT THIS TIME. this time.
This time I did it! Finally! I finally made it through a juice cleanse. Well, OK to the middle of day three. But STILL. I felt the benefits and it really did give me a reboot.
(Before I continue, remember Juice Cleansing is not for everyone. For all sorts of reasons. But I love it!)
My diary below...
For this cleanse I was trying out the new juice company located here in LA called The Real Juice.
The Real Juice - My 3-Day Cleanse Diary:
My 3-Day cleanse arrived in one large, cold-packed, 18-juice box. I emptied the box and stuck the bottles in my fridge. It also came with a handy insulated juice bag for my on-the-go juices.
I love that all the bottles are BPA-free and the ingredients are clearly labeled, bottles numbered - so you know exactly what is in them and what order you drink them in.
If you know how to count, you know how to find your menu for the day. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Easy.
DAY ONE: Juices 1-4 really just flew by. I started my day with a mug of warm water and lemon (my new wellness habit) and then around 10:30am I had my first juice. Fantasize, was the blend, orange in color and vibrantly flavored with pineapple, orange, apple and carrot. I chugged it. The next juice (Energize) is green and lightly sweetened with apple. Very refreshing and easy to drink for a veggie-focused green juice. The next juice was bright beet red and delicious! Then two more green juices and the final juice was a cashew milk. The cashew milk was super creamy. Dreamy.
I spaced my juices two hours apart and tried to sip water in between.
I felt pretty good until around 4pm when a headache came at me. This is of course a normal part of "detox" as they say. I decided to drink more water to help the detoxification process. I also took a hot bath and did some skin brushing to further stimulate blood flow and the detox process.
Around 8pm when I was just heading into the cashew milk, I had a freak-out phase. Shoot. I think I am hungry! I almost caved, but instead, I ate one walnut, chugged my cashew milk and got into bed. It felt good to take a night off from doing the dishes, prepping for dinner and cleaning up everything in between. I took advantage of this free night of nothingness, aka CALM, and popped an Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza in the oven for my husband. Slicing that warm and toasty pizza (and smelling it!) was a super test of my willpower. Torture really!
But I got in bed and watched some iTunes rentals on my iPad. I also had some sleepytime-chamomile tea to help me fall asleep. I crashed into dreamland and slept very well.
DAY TWO: I woke up feeling incredibly proud of myself. And even on a sort of high. This is easy! I could do this for days! So I dove into the same routine. And it was easy. I felt pretty energized actually. And my skin looked hydrated and glow-y. My stomach did feel quite empty and flat. But I was not famished or hungry.
Juice fasting makes you feel and look lighter in just a day or so, but remember that most of that weight is water weight. Of course I was, personally, not looking to lose weight anyways. And if I felt hungry or uncomfortable, I was ready to dive face first into a spoonful of almond butter, or something to give me a boost. But luckily, I felt great.
DAY THREE: So I did cave on the third day. I had a real dinner. But goodness, two days was something I did not think I could do! *pats self on back*
And the two days really did give me a re-boot feeling. I felt fresh, clean and energized from two days of juice and breaking on digestion.
Some of my feedback for this new company..
PRO: Supportive Literature. I LOVED the bonus juice cleanse booklet that was emailed to me. I actually read through the entire thing and was incredibly inspired by the writing in it. Not only did it offer practical advice like what foods are best to eat once I complete my cleanse and what I should eat the day before. But it also gave some great "troubleshooting" style tips. And I liked the bonus wellness tips like giving yourself a hot/cold water therapy shower, giving yourself an aromatherapy steam facial and taking a brisk walk at the end of the day with a friend. These were simple tips, explained in a very nurturing and friendly way.
PRO: Flavor.
I tried and loved ALL the flavors of the juice. There are currently four varieties plus the cashew milk, and they may add more flavors in the future. All were very fresh, dense flavors. Nothing watered down or too grassy at all. I could taste the nutrients of each individual ingredient in each sweet, vibrant sip.
Other Comments: I hope they add to the flavors to include some almond milk and maybe a spicy-green-juice blend with ginger or cayenne. I also wish they had an option to receive your juices "daily delivered" since sometimes all those bottles can be a tricky fit into a well-stocked fridge.
More info: The Real Juice. Facebook.
Read Before Diving In... If you are interested in juicing, talk to your doctor first, as always for wellness practices. NOTE: Juice fasting cleanses ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE. This is important. Like all wellness habits, everyone is different. Our bodies are unique. So chat with your doctor and listen to your body. And over time your body may even change! And if you can not make it through your juice cleanse - totally fine. Maybe next time your will be ready (like I was.)
LA-Area "The Real Juice" Giveaway! And The Real Juice company would love to giveaway one two-day juice cleanse. Sorry, but this very limited giveaway is only for Los Angeles, California readers. Enter below..
The Real Juice supplied me with a complimentary 3-day juice cleanse, but all opinions and comments are my own. I am glad one of my LA readers will also get to try!
Check out my other JUICING posts:
* Review of Pressed Juicery juice cleanse
* At-Home Juicing 101
* My Juicing At-Home Project
