Juice Cleanse: To Drink Or Not To Drink
It seems there is a hot new trend for health conscious individuals trying to lose those last few pounds or holiday weight. It is no longer the Paleo diet. South Beach Diet? Nope. The Atkins Diet? Who can even remember back that far? The trendy new diet fad? Juice cleanses. Juicing, as it has been dubbed, consists of drinking a series of juices in place of your every day meals for a series of three, five or seven days. To me, a pretty loyal fan of solid food, I couldn’t imagine drinking only juice for a whole day, let alone multiples in a row. So this skeptic decided to do a little research to help with some juice cleanse FAQs. We asked a couple women who have gone through the juice cleanse experience.
Some of my initial questions were as follows:
How much will this cost me?
Megan: $150 for 3 days. This seems steep but it comes out to $50 per day which is about how much I would spend on normal food anyway, if not more.
Caitlin: Same, I have done the three day cleanse a few times, even stretching it to 4 days once.
Won’t you be starving by the end of each day?
M: No, definitely not. Surprisingly, I was more full than I thought I’d be. Because of all the nutrients and proteins in the juices, I wasn’t left hungry.
C: No, you drink the almond milk drink (Mylkshake) at the end of the day and that helps you fall asleep without going to bed hungry. The protein in it fills you up.
Will only consuming juice negatively affect your energy levels?
M: The first day I felt kind of tired, but I was fine the next two days. I had even more energy by the third day and did fine all day at work without slowing down.
C: I’m a nurse so I’m on my feet all day and I did fine, but then I hit a wall about 5:00 PM, due to the lack of calories but that last protein juice at the end of the day helps you get better by 6:00 PM.
Just how much weight am I going to lose doing this?
M: It depends how much weight you could stand to lose. If you’re an average weight for your height and fairly active like I am, you could expect to lose 3-5 lbs. Even the week after I finished, I was able to maintain it. My appetite was suppressed and I didn’t feel bloated, even a few weeks later.
C: I’ve done the 3-day cleanse and lost 5 lbs each time. I’m going to be trying a 5-day cleanse as well and I’m expecting to lose 10 lbs.
Am I going to be able to keep up my normal exercise routine?
M: By the 2nd and 3rd day I could have gone to the gym as per usual, but I wouldn’t do anything too strenuous.
C: The first time I did the cleanse I definitely had less energy which I could tell from when I ran. (2 times for 3 miles) I definitely ran much slower, I’d recommend something a little less cardio-based if you must work out.
How do I prepare my body for this?
M: I drank a ton of water, cut processed and fried foods out and cut back on proteins a couple days before.
C: I ate clean 3 days before and after, and added lean protein without any issue. It was advised against to eat chicken, but I needed it!
How will my body react after the juice cleanse is complete?
M: The first few meals might be a struggle, even if you are eating something healthy like even a salad upset my stomach. Just go light.
C: I felt fine following the instructions. Though you might be surprised by the way the beets in the juice change the color of your poop. (HA!) If you don’t know this can occur, it might alarm you, but it’s totally normal.
What if I don’t like the juice?
M: You plug your nose and chug. There was one green juice that I hated that I couldn’t get through so I just skipped it. I could have customized though.
C: You should try the free samples at the store so you can custom make plan. The solid green ones taste awful but you get used to it.
Where can I get these juices?
M: SOHO Juice on Howard, because it was recommended to me by a friend.
C: I go to SOHO Juice since it was close by but I have a lot of friends who did Squeeze. They like the juices better because they are thinner – but you only get one protein juice for the whole cleanse.
Is it really worth it?
M: Yes it was worth it, I’m definitely going to do it again. I’ll for sure customize the juices next time, I would have liked to taste test them. I could probably do a 5-day cleanse too but definitely not 7.
C: Yes, it is totally worth it. It’s just a mind over matter thing if you’re nervous. It’s also a fun test of self-control to prove you can do it. I also love the juices on random days, a lot of times I’ll just grab one for breakfast.
What’s the hardest part?
M: The way it messes with your daily routine like lunch breaks. It also reminds you when it’s time to prep your food that you’re not eating.
C: Trying to be social during the cleanse is the hardest part. You can’t even eat dinner with your family because it’s annoying to watch other people eat! You should have a buddy in the family and it will help!