At Stutelage, we support healthy lifestyles through physical fitness and health education.  One of our Stutelage followers recently tried a juicing cleanse for the first time and she shared her story with us.  We hope that this will help anyone interested in trying out juicing!

 

To Juice or Not to Juice…Hi everyone, my name is Natalie C.  I am blessed enough to be married to my best friend, am a mother to my fur baby (Doberman) Ali, and an elementary school teacher.  I am currently in the midst of the biggest transition of my life: moving to a new district, switching grade levels (transitioning from 3rd to 4th grade) oh and teaching summer school.  So much for summer vacation huh?

About three years ago I made a commitment to myself to focus on my health and wellness by incorporating fitness regularly into my life as well as focusing on eating clean and not treating my body as a waste basket.  This commitment has taken a lot of time and sacrifice and even though I am still a work in progress I can honestly say I feel like a totally new person!  I have more energy, focus, and I’m strong!  Please don’t call me “skinny.”  I’m focused on being the best “fit” me I can be.  Depending on the week you can find me working out between 4-6 days a week.  I love running with Ali, Pilates, Zumba, strength training, and my newest obsession, Crossfit!

Enough about me though, let’s talk about JUICE!  For the last 6 months I have been really curious about juicing.  Are you like really? Tropicana or Welchs? No, that’s not the Juice I’m taking about at all.  I’m taking about homemade juice from fresh organic fruits and veggies.  It’s simple and you get to consume nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals in raw form.  My mother-in-law purchased an Omega Juicer for me and my husband in April for our birthdays and we have been juicing ever since.  We would play around and make our own juices (maybe an apple and carrot juice for breakfast) or I’d find a juice to try on Pinterest.  We’d have juice once in a while and began to really love it!

1) They’re fresh and delicious.

2) They are simple to make.

3) They’re a great pick me up!

While searching for juicing recipes I would come across juice cleanses and thought they sounded like a good idea.  Anything health and wellness related, I’m all about and ready to try!  I didn’t truly consider a juice cleanse until I was watching Dr. Oz and he had Joe Cross on his show.  Joe Cross is an Australian Native who decided to take back control of his health and did a 60 Day Juice cleanse. His results were truly impressive.  Well, fast forward to my first week of summer vacation and I am ready for my first juice cleanse!  I decided to follow Joe Cross’ 3 Day Weekend Juice Cleanse (http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/joe-cross-3-day-weekend-juice-cleanse).  Check it out it’s a good one!  Since it was my first juice cleanse, I decided to modify it just a touch . I followed Joe’s plan with a few exceptions.

1)    I did not eat an actual meal at dinner time.  Instead I used the “pre-dinner drink” as my “dinner” drink.

2)    I ONLY drank water, no tea, just water!

3)    Instead of following the juice cleanse for 3 days I only followed it for 2.

I decided to use my version because I really wanted the full juice cleanse experience.

Prepping

The Sunday before I began to do the juice cleanse, I did all the prep work.  I shopped for 2 days worth of fruits and veggies (holy cow I had a lot of produce!) I did make sure that all my produce was organic (anything grown in less pesticides is always a good thing).  I then took my produce home and washed is all with my Honest Company Veggie Wash.  Once I dried it I decided to really get organized.  I got gallon sized zip-lock bags, wrote each juice name for 2 days (i.e. Morning Juice, Mid Morning Juice, etc.), and combined all ingredients for each juice into a bag.  My thought was that it would save me time in the long run because I would have to pull all the produce out every time I juiced to figure out what I’d need.  This night I ate light (grilled chicken and steamed broccoli) because I didn’t want to feel “heavy” going into my juice cleanse.

DAY 1

On Monday morning, I woke up early and ready to start! The Morning Juice was delicious and gave me a lot of energy.  I cleaned and organized around the house until it was time for the Mid Morning Juice.  This juice was okay, a little too much celery for my liking but I reminded myself that celery is one of Kimberly Synder’s beauty foods so I sucked it down.  I had another boost of energy after this just and decided to continue to clean and organize.  The Lunch Juice was a little much for me.  I am not a fan or Bloody Marys and this is exactly what it tasted like to me just without the vodka kick.  Again, I decided hey it’s made of beauty foods and sucked it down.  Once again I had energy so I took Ali out for a walk.  This is when Day 1 got tough.  After the walk I felt a bit tired and decided to make the Afternoon Snack Juice and take a quick nap.  The Afternoon Snack Juice was okay.  I definitely contemplated adding an apple to it but didn’t.  After a nap I woke up and realized what I had done to my body.  I had only consumed juice and even though it’s actually a ton of food, I was hungry and very irritable.  My husband came home from work and I was a total grouch, sorry hun!  I ended up making the Pre Dinner Juice which was my “dinner juice” because of the modification I made.  This juice was delicious (I love beets) and although I didn’t feel hungry anymore I was definitely moody.  I thankfully didn’t get a headache like I had read in blogs that some people get (likely from caffeine withdrawal and I very rarely consume caffeine and I drank a TON of water) because that might have sent me over the edge. I also didn’t have any intense cravings for sugar or junk food.  I decided to go to bed early this night because I felt a little fatigued and figured you can’t feel like eating if you’re sleeping!

DAY 2

On Tuesday morning, I again woke up early only this time there was no enthusiasm.  I was still pretty moody and didn’t really know how I’d get through another day.  I started again with the Morning Juice and it was just so good that I had a touch of hope in getting through the day.  All hope failed by the Mid Morning Juice! By the time I made this juice I was sick of running and cleaning the juicer and all I wanted to do was EAT!  My mood was totally grouchy and all I could think about was driving to a McDonald’s drive thru (keep in mind I have not eaten at McDonald’s or any fast food restaurant in more than 2 years). I tried to walk off my bad mood by taking out Ali.  It didn’t work.  I tried to distract myself from hunger.  It didn’t work. I had to choke down the rest of the juices for the day and try to remind myself that this was for health and wellness and was working to make me the healthiest me.  By the time I finished my “Dinner Drink” I was ready to kiss my juicer goodbye.  Again I didn’t have a headache but man I was in a terrible mood and craving the worst food I had ever craved.  By Tuesday night, I was just ready to go to bed because I knew I could eat again!

Post Juice

On Wednesday morning, I woke up ready to eat.  I promised myself before starting the juice cleanse that I would eat clean afterward.  So for breakfast I had an egg white, a piece of marathon bread (organic sunflower bread with tomatoes) and a tall glass of water.  I then took off for a much needed Crossfit workout and came home to have carrots and hummus for a snack.  This day I felt great! I had energy, my face was glowing (I didn’t even put make-up on!) and I spent the day splashing in the lake with my friends.  I had a touch of a stomachache, just a touch but it was because I was consuming solid foods again. For dinner I had a piece of white fish and steamed veggies.  So I’m sure what your all wondering is what I truly think of juicing?

Pros:

• Glowing Skin
• Consuming a large amount of fruits and veggies
• Energy bursts
• Weight loss (wasn’t my main goal, but did lose 3 pounds)
• Felt light (lost water weight and bloating)
• I did the cleanse with a friend! (aka my hubby!)

Cons:

• Mood Swings
• Need a nearby bathroom (this is why I chose to do the cleanse when I knew I’d be home)Need a nearby bathroom (this is why I chose to do the cleanse when I knew I’d be home)
• Intense hunger pains
• Headaches (due to NO caffeine consumption, didn’t happen to be thankfully)
• Could not workout like I usually do (had to keep workouts light – only a walk)
• I did the cleanse with a friend! (hubby and I were crabby and hungry together)

• When I started this juice cleanse, I had no idea what to expect! After it I realized why leave cleansing to just a juice cleanse?  I honestly believe that if you chose to eat clean “cleansing” is a natural part of this.  Since the cleanse, I now choose to have a green smoothie every morning for breakfast.  It kicks off my day with an energy burst, I love it!  For lunch, reach for a salad, and for dinner some kind of fish or animal protein. And of course I snack throughout the day on veggies, dried fruits, or nuts.  This is part of my ongoing cleansing.  I’ve cut back on my animal product consumption and dairy consumption because they can be tough on your system.  And by having that juice in the morning I feel that I have been able to get my system back on track.  So would I do a juice cleanse again? Yes, I’m always up for a challenge but I’ve realized the importance of incorporating juicing regularly into my diet to reap the benefits all the time J
• Intense hunger pains
• Headaches (due to NO caffeine consumption, didn’t happen to be thankfully)
• Could not workout like I usually do (had to keep workouts light – only a walk)
• I did the cleanse with a friend! (hubby and I were crabby and hungry together)

When I started this juice cleanse, I had no idea what to expect! After it I realized why leave cleansing to just a juice cleanse?  I honestly believe that if you chose to eat clean “cleansing” is a natural part of this.  Since the cleanse, I now choose to have a green smoothie every morning for breakfast.  It kicks off my day with an energy burst, I love it!  For lunch, reach for a salad, and for dinner some kind of fish or animal protein. And of course I snack throughout the day on veggies, dried fruits, or nuts.  This is part of my ongoing cleansing.  I’ve cut back on my animal product consumption and dairy consumption because they can be tough on your system.  And by having that juice in the morning I feel that I have been able to get my system back on track.  So would I do a juice cleanse again? Yes, I’m always up for a challenge but I’ve realized the importance of incorporating juicing regularly into my diet to reap the benefits all the time!