The other day Nick got this wild hare (yes, I know) to do a juice cleanse.
I'm not kidding. I know you think I am, but I am not. He said, "Let's do a juice cleanse. You and me."
I wasn't sure I'd heard him right. And then I was all, does the man know there's no meat or cheese in juice cleanses?
He does. He means it. You guys, he is serious.
This is nothing I'd have ever dreamed of suggesting to him. Or myself, for that matter. Although I've been cleaning up my diet and feeling better for it, so it's probably a great idea.
So I talked to this very healthy friend of mine who suggested that a smoothie cleanse might be better, as that way you're getting fiber as well and less sugar than juice. This appeals to me, as I love smoothies, and also I have a high tolerance for drinking weird stuff.
I've accidentally said before that I have a high tolerance for putting weird stuff in my mouth, but that never gets taken the right way. Plus I'm not up for unusual meats or animal parts. No. I just can't. I think it's just the odd beverages.
Like, when I was trying to get pregnant with India, twice a day I drank these initially-revolting herbs that my acupuncturist gave me. Eventually they were fine. You can become inured to anything, I'm quite sure.
Anyway, enough about me and my proclivities.
Have you done a cleanse? I've been doing some research, and there's the 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse, which is appealing because it seems to be all easy, here's what you do, here's your 10 days of smoothies, live long and prosper.
He says if I figure out what we should do, he's all in. So I want to make a well-informed choice.
I don't know if this is the way to go for the two of us. And maybe 10 days is too long? Although it seems to be to be a good amount of time to really make a positive change in your body. But not if you suddenly feel you really need some emergency soft-serve ice cream topped with pork rinds halfway though, you know?
We'll be doing the same thing, together, each and every day of whatever it is, and it needs to work for our wildly different, well, differentnesses.
Any advice?
Why does he want to do a cleanse? What does he hope to get out of it? Once you know that, it's easier to figure out which way to go.
ReplyDeleteI do need to ask him. You'd think that'd be the first thing I'd say, but it never occurred to me. Thank you!
DeleteYou might look into the Ultimate Reset (you get your coach's discount on it). 21 days of super-clean eating (recipes provided, and they're really good), supplements that gently get your digestive tract cleaned out and growing the right bacteria - it's an amazing way to learn better eating habits. I've done it twice and both times felt incredible - slept better, felt more energized, lost some weight and bloating. I know people who have done it who have seen dramatic reductions in blood sugar levels and cholesterol in only 3 weeks.
DeleteThat is a thought. We need to sit down and talk about this. Thanks and hugs!
DeleteI did a three-day juice cleanse through Hawthorne Organic in Cleveland Park last year.
ReplyDeletePros:
* It resets you mentally to not wanting to eat junk food for a while.
* Short-term weight loss. Did it before my birthday last year, lost about four pounds, felt like a million bucks.
* Even when the weight comes back on and you're back to mouthbanging donuts topped with crushed Doritos and M&Ms and dipped in liquified PixiStix, you still can retain at least some of what you learned about good juice combos and healthy eating on the cleanse. As a result of mine, I got a juicer for Christmas and incorporate it into my diet now.
* It's fun to be able to be smug about it for those three days. "Oh, I'm so sorry for you that you're destroying your body today for lunch. I'm doing a juice cleanse."
Cons:
* HANGRY ALL THE TIME!
* It's expensive as hell to purchase the cleanse. I'd recommend anyone interested just buy a juicer, a case of bottles and have them for years.
* Horrible skin breakouts for about two weeks the week after the cleanse. Apparently this happens to some lucky folks, me being one.
* Tiny little rabbit poops. No fiber in = rabbit feces out.
You just made me laugh and laugh. Thank you for your candor.
DeleteI do a cleanse every day - it's called having a liver. All the rest is a fad. (Nicole, not Big D!)
ReplyDeleteI get so thrown by the Big D! I quite love it!
DeleteEvery single cleanse is based on a misunderstanding of biology. If you like juice, then enjoy but there is no need to detox. http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-detox-scam-how-to-spot-it-and-how-to-avoid-it/
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that, recently, several shops have opened in DC that advertise their (expensive) juices as treatments for all manner of conditions while ignoring the high sugar content of the juice, which is comparable to soda.
In general, the only thing juices can cleanse is your wallet.
Definitely not a juice cleanse. I'm thinking smoothies, made at home. I need to read more about it, but I like the idea of cleaning out wheat, meat, and dairy for a bit. I've almost eliminated wheat, and I feel much better. So I'm thinking, why not go all fruit and veg for a period?
DeleteWhat about Whole30? instead of a cleanse - Whole30 you eat real food, get your smoothie fix, and do a more ideal/realistic detox (no dairy, no booze, no grains, etc.) but you get to chew your food and eat meats, veggies, and fruits without the straw
ReplyDeleteI don't know Whole30 but I will look into it. Since we are totally new to this, I totally appreciate all experiences and suggestions!
DeleteAnd to be honest, I could easily live on smoothies. I wouldn't miss meat or chewing food, I don't think.
For reasons I do not fully understand, I was randomly overtaken by a similar desire last year and did this smoothie cleanse -- http://www.doctoroz.com/article/dr-ozs-3-day-detox-cleanse-one-sheet
ReplyDelete(Don't let the ridiculous of Dr. Oz dissuade you -- this cleanse is well researched and legit)
It was doable but not very enjoyable. But I'd imagine that's true of all cleanses! Ten days is a LONG TIME to shun solid food. I'm a pretty healthy eater and by day three I basically could not interact with humanity because I was so grumpy. I'd recommend a shorter cleanse, definitely.
I'm OK with the ridiculousness of Dr. Oz! I imagine you are right and probably none of them are enjoyable. Unless maybe you're at one of those spendy spas where they're giving you massages between meals and such.
DeleteI've heard the first three days are the worst, and then by Day 8 you are all, lalala I am magic! But I don't actually know. I kind of want to just jump in and find out.
I've been tempted by cleanses on and off over the years (remember the raw food experiment?!) and being a health blog junkie still read about them all the time. The conclusion I've come to is that short term extreme cleanses are pretty much a waste of time that'll leave you feeling hungry and cranky. I think the best option is something do-able for 30 days (isn't it supposed to take that long to make a real change in your habits?) such as: Smoothie for breakfast, big salad with lots of raw veggies for lunch (making sure there's adequate calories/protein/fat in each) and something whole foods and vegan for dinner. The Engine 2 Diet is a good resource for easy recipes and also really accessible for men to read!
ReplyDeletei may be waaaaay late and you've already started but… here goes: if you do decide to do a cleanse definitely go the smoothie way and not the juice because of the whole no fiber no poop issue. Also, depending on what you're juicing you could be ingesting too much sugar. But all in all I'm not a fan of those types of cleanses cause you generally don't get enough protein so you end up losing too much muscle mass and no fat. (not that you have any fat to lose!) I've done and will do again a cleanse by a company called Standard Process. It's 21 days, the first week only fruit, veg and either lentils or quinoa (for protein) alongside shakes and supplements (all natural, all organic), and then two weeks where you add in some animal protein every day. I really like it, it's very manageable and easy to maintain longer term. I'm not suggesting you do that specific one cause don't want to suggest a brand, but something similar if you want to do it for an extended amount of time. Or you could just do a 48hour smoothie cleanse every once in a while. My dad used to do it for 2 days every other week or for certain periods once a week for a day. You get the same positive effects and fewer adverse ones.
ReplyDelete