All About that Juice Cleanse + Weight Loss Thoughts
I mentioned on Instagram a couple of weeks ago (while posting a pic of chocolate chip cookies, ha!) that I was starting a juice cleanse and was a bit worried about it. A few of you have asked since how it went, so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. Good AND bad!
Here we go...
1. Reservations about getting started on a Juice Cleanse.
I was VERY unsure about how I'd do on a cleanse where all I did was DRINK for 3 full days. I mean... chewing and food are two of my favorite things ;)
That being said I was really looking forward to emptying out my bod of all the not-so-healthy stuff that I'd been pumping into it. I just felt bloated and gross, so that definitely helped me to commit. Another big help was the fact that a friend at work was doing the cleanse with me too. It's WAY easier to stay on track with something when someone else is around to hold you accountable.
2. I got all of my juice from a local juicer named Dani.
If you're in the SLC valley you can find her on Instagram under @dvinejuice. Here's a link to a blog post she did on all of the flavors she offers.
WARNING: chugging a spicy drink WILL make you burp like a dude.
Here we go...
1. Reservations about getting started on a Juice Cleanse.
I was VERY unsure about how I'd do on a cleanse where all I did was DRINK for 3 full days. I mean... chewing and food are two of my favorite things ;)
That being said I was really looking forward to emptying out my bod of all the not-so-healthy stuff that I'd been pumping into it. I just felt bloated and gross, so that definitely helped me to commit. Another big help was the fact that a friend at work was doing the cleanse with me too. It's WAY easier to stay on track with something when someone else is around to hold you accountable.
2. I got all of my juice from a local juicer named Dani.
If you're in the SLC valley you can find her on Instagram under @dvinejuice. Here's a link to a blog post she did on all of the flavors she offers.
These aren't all of my bottles, I had already done one day of cleansing at this point.
Every day I was told to drink 6 different juices; 2 protein based drinks (made with almond milk) and then 4 others that contain fruits and veggies only. I told Dani that I wanted a mix of flavors, and to surprise me.
Here's what I ended up getting: (although I took kale out wherever it was listed, because I'm allergic)
Power Green - spinach, kale, arugula, watercress, celery, cucumber, pineapple, mint and lime
Classic Green - Power green + kiwi, pear, orange, nectarine (seasonal), strawberry and blackberry(seasonal)
Power Orange - kale, cucumber, orange and carrot.
Power Red - power orange + beet and seasonal berries.
Green Lemonade
Hot Lemonade - lemon, cucumber, mint, dash of cayenne and agave.
Summer Raspberry - raspberry, pineapple, orange, mint, strawberry.
Almond milk - chocolate, peanut butter, cinnamon and coconut.
Obviously I had doubles of a few juices.
3. The three days was tough.
I had a juice every 2 hours or so, and drank a TON of water in between. This helped curb my hunger pains and made me pee like CRAZY. haha!
Yes, I had hunger pains quite a few times. Are they pleasant? No. But I was committed, so I just powered through. And oddly enough, it felt good to feel "empty" for once, and not bloated.
ALL of the juices were really yummy, except for one, in my opinion. I actually had a bit of a hard time with the Power Orange because I'm not the biggest fan of carrots, but that was NOTHING compared to THE HOT LEMONADE.
Guys... Hot Lemonade was just NOT a good time. It was a weird combo for me, and lets just say, it was hard to swallow.
Because I love you, I'm letting you witness this totally unattractive video that my friend Alisha took of me in the car, after daring me to just "chug" the hot lemonade, so I didn't have to sip it for so long.
yeah... not pretty (or safe probably, mostly because I dropped the cap to my drink and started to go for it while I was laughing and driving all at once, ha!) but hey, this is an honest post about juice cleansing yo! So stop judging okay? :-P
4. Juicing gave me results and more importantly made me feel AWESOME!
After the 3rd day I had lost 8lbs. Do I think it was actual fat dropping from my thighs and stomach... nah, probably more just a plummeting of yucky from my bod that had built up. That being said, I DID lose about 2 inches from my gut. Again, probably from the bloating, but man, it felt SO great!
5. Tips and final thoughts:
- Do the cleanse during the week. I can't imagine doing this over the weekend when I'm tempted by lots of chances to cheat and just wandering around my house with food at every turn.
- Find a juicing friend, so you can complain a LOT to each other about how much you miss food... even the healthy kinds. This will be especially nice when you're having to "drink" meals you WISH you could eat, and your willpower is low.
- Gum is your friend - especially on day 3. When you get to your last day you'll start thinking... "Eh, it's almost over anyway, I'll just go ahead and eat." DON'T DO IT! Finish strong and chew any kind of gum you can find. haha!
I know someones going to tell me that this is probably counterproductive because there's sugar in some of these gum selections, but I say a couple of jumping jacks to burn 10 or 20 calories is worth it!
- Don't blow all of your hard work after you're done.
The morning of my 4th day I ate 3 smallish protein pancakes (recipe coming soon) and drank a huge glass of water. I thought I was gonna pop. I felt SO full, but in a GOOD way! Ever since then I've chosen to not eat white bread, only drink water and cut way back on sugars. It's been about a week and I'm down another almost 4lbs!
I feel really good, even though I know I have a LONG way to go to get back on the crazy workout routine I was doing and into my "skinny jeans" again.
A year or two ago losing weight was my MAIN focus... and for good reason, it NEEDED and needs to still be a priority, but letting it completely rule my life on a daily basis, just isn't an option for me right now. I have work, kids, church, blog... and obsessing about EVERY little piece of food that goes in my mouth, wether or not I'm down another pound this week, or all-together abstaining from ANYTHING remotely bad for me... just ISN'T how I can sustain a healthy weight loss routine.
So please excuse me if my updates about this curvaceous bod are less and more spread out... it's not that I don't want to talk about it, or still struggle with this problem daily... but more that sometimes telling the world that I'm yo-yoing back and forth between the last 20lbs I've lost, is hard, borderline embarrassing and well... just not so fun to blog about. haha!
A ton of other passions in life thrust my positive energy forward. Creating things, working on projects, brainstorming new ideas to help our business move forward at work, spending time with my hot hubby and cute kids, blogging, hanging out with friends, throwing parties...
Sometimes letting my world SOLEY revolve only around ONE thing, can make me feel dull and bored. Frustrated and somewhat depressed.
I need to find balance in continuing on my weight loss journey AND pursuing daily awesomeness in other areas of my life... and I can't let something just completely fall to the wayside as I pursue something else!
Juicing helped me kick my insides back into shape. It forced me to be accountable for what I eat (drink) again, and made me practice self control.
Juicing isn't for everyone, I totally get that, but it was a great jumping off point for me and I'm glad I tried it! It helped me get back on track, get into a routine again, and I DO recommend it for those of you who are looking to get serious about feeling awesome and wanting to make some little OR big changes in how you eat.
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