Let’s be clear – I am no stranger to cleansing, food elimination diets, or any other myriad of dietary practices. But, I have never embarked an “official” juice fast.
That is…until now.
Truth be told sometimes your body just needs a reset – a small break to recover from sugar cravings, over-eating and out-of-control eating habits. Juice fasting, I found out, is gentle on your system and provides and an explosive amount of nutrients per caloric consumption. It is a systematic, almost meditative approach, to getting your diet under control. When I committed to trying this whole “juice fast” thing, I knew I would need some additional information – some “how-to” if you will.
While taking a break from deep research on the topic, I happened to be reading a peer-reviewed, lay, public, periodical called PEOPLE magazine. Maybe you have heard of it? Low and behold, I happened to come across a comparison of several juice fasts! Pros, cons, and starlets that swore by one orb the other.
I thought to myself, if the starlets can do it, I can do it.
After researching the four options that the magazine profiled I decided to take a chance on “Pressed Juicery.” I chose this company for he following reasons:
- They delivered to Seattle
- They seemed to source their ingredients well. (According to Pressed Juicery, ingredients are organic as much as seasonal sourcing will allow.)
- They offered structured plans from which to chose.
- Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, and the Olsen twins were regular Pressed Juicery fasters. Jennifer simply glows. I wanted to glow.
The Pressed Juicery website offers several fasting options to choose from. (i.e. one, three, or five day cleanses) I decided the three-day fast was a good place to start. I placed my order to coincide with the three days preceding my vacation to Mexico.
Two words – “Bik-kini”. My timing was no accident.
Fast forward to the arrival of my juice box. It was so cool! The juices were sheathed in a silvery cooler bag with about twenty-seven little ice packs to ensure appropriate temperature control. I quickly transferred my juices into the fridge and prepared to begin the next morning.
Instructions included were Spartan: drink juice and don’t eat anything.
The first juice, the following morning, was almond milk with dates and vanilla bean. It was smooth and delicious. I could only drink half of it because it was quite filling. About an hour later I finished it – So far so good! I had not gnawed on anybody’s head or lashed out emotionally from hunger. Good sign. In fact, I found that I was not hungry at all. Typically, I eat every two hours. I start to get a little edgy if I don’t. So, I was a little surprised at how stable I felt with just juice every two hours.
A word on poop -If you are squeamish regarding fecal matters, you may want to skip this paragraph. In their literature, Pressed Juicery suggests using a little “something” natural to keep things moving through your system. When your digestive tract is not technically “chewing” on something, it becomes sluggish. Because juices are “broken down food” they require very little work by your system to get the ingredients ready for absorption, thus, a potential slowing of your poop-producer can occur.
I, in anticipation of slow bowels, decided to take extra magnesium. (Magnesium, in higher doses, can act to get bowels moving.) I used Calm. Calm is a product I highly recommend for magnesium support, muscle aches, sleep and, you guessed it, lovely bowel movements. Within several hours of starting this cleanse there was NO need for any additional support. By mid-day, I am confident that my large intestine had involuted, and I was pretty sure I evacuated my spleen. My point, which I will get to promptly, is that you should not add any additional bowel support to any juice fast until you experience constipation-like symptoms. Enough said.
After the morning almond pressed juice I had a leafy greens juice mid-morning. Shortly before lunch a carrot concoction and then my favorite, a citrus blend with lemon and mint. This fruity medley was so scrumptious! LINK. Late afternoon I had another greens juice and then almond milk with some cocoa for “dinner”.
At the end of day one, I had three take-aways:
- I had not been hungry all day.
- The juices were beyond expectation in flavor.
- I was already feeling less bloated.
I slept well that night. And, the second and third days were much like the first. My energy was consistently stable, and I did not feel sluggish or hungrier than normal. (Confession: I did supplement with a few grapes before bed on two of the nights because I have difficulty sleeping if I don’t have a little something in my belly!)
The next week a friend of mine noticed an actual Pressed Juicery store on the way to a Stanford football game. After the game, she visited the store and was impressed enough to try a one-day cleanse. She praised the staff for their help and knowledge. She enjoyed the first juices so much she went back to get two more days worth to bump up to the three day cleanse.
What are the benefits of a juice fast you might ask? Why would someone go without food you might query? Here are some facts to answer these questions.
At the end of the three days, I was lighter on the scale (likely due to a cleaned out bowel and a perceived loss of my spleen!), I felt energized, less bloated, my sweet cravings were gone, and I felt as though I given my body the break it had been seeking.
Juice fasting can be a great way to reset your body and mind. Pressed Juicery is one option, but there are lots of ways to go about a juice fast including making the juices yourself! It would be much more economical to do a juice fast at home, but I do not have the patience or time, so purchasing the goods makes sense for me. I would do a juice fast again and maybe even try a five day! Let me know about any juice fasting you have done and the benefits you received as a result of the experience.
Share below in the comments section!
If you liked this post, check out these!
The Six Non-Nutrition Reasons To Do A Juice Cleanse.
The THREE DAY RESET LAUNCH: Finally A Food Plan That Is Doable
