Juice Cleanse, days 2 & 3

Juice Cleanse -- Complete!

Admittedly by yesterday evening I was straight up so bored of sipping juice all day that I met up with Dre for a salad dinner, instead of gulping the last juices. But, I regret nothing and still feel great today!

Here's a little breakdown of my post-cleanse thoughts....


Pros:

• I think I've peed more this week than I ever have in my entire life (sorry, TMI)---my kidneys are SO happy.
• Lindsay instructed a cleanse specific yoga class for myself and 2 other Weebly gals participating and it was awesome--energizing, healing, soothing. She focused on moves that targeted our livers, kidneys and inner thighs. If I ever do a cleanse again, I would definitely want to include a class like this to optimize results.
  
• I really appreciated Juice Shop working with my whiney self over certain juices that were just not for my taste buds, including swapping out in my next days "menu". They even went so far as to refund me for one of them simply because I requested to skip that specific piece of the delivery. Speaking of delivery--the young man who dropped off our "meals" each day was on time, very sweet and full of gratitude for our orders. Definitely a +1 for the company.
• I slept well, with crazy vivid dreams--more clear, crisp, and deeply real. On the first day of the cleanse I up and fell asleep at 7pm! I guess my body was really craving that. 
• I feel lighter. I haven't stepped on a scale lately, which I think is actually for the best. I am working on being perfectly pleased with my overall sense of lightness at the moment, regardless of the number of lbs I'm currently packin.
  

Cons:

• As mentioned above, it gets a little boring. I super missed the social aspect of sharing meals with my coworkers or preparing dinner at my house. To avoid being tempted by all the yummy yums San Francisco has to offer on every corner I pretty much went to work, came home and went to sleep for 3 days. It was so great grabbing a quick salad with Dre if for no other reason than it felt good to be socializing outside of work again!
• I had a headache most of the first day. Nothing unbearable, but just enough to nag me. This is probably the main reason why it was lights out at 7pm that night, and is one of the side effects than can possibly crop up for you as you detox your system.
  
• It's not cheap. But, that is to be expected for large quantities of organic produce and delivery included, I think. Also, let's be real, I've spent money on way dumber things (I will spare you the list). If you can snag one of these cleanse companies during a "special", I say go for it.
• You have to be careful post-cleanse not to dive straight back into heavy foods, which is a huge urge to have to resist....and nearly impossible for me as I plan on eating tacos and guacamole galore tonight. We'll see how that goes...

In the end, it's really a mental challenge. If you follow the cleanse, drink LOTS of water, rest well and be positive you will see great results.  Here are some right-on-the-money thoughts from other Weebly juice cleansers:

"The greatest value in the juice diet, for me, is the perspective gained on the relationship we have with food. On a juice diet, one must confront the cravings and desires that arise in the absence of food and exercise the will power to forgo them and keep on juicin'. At times, the physical side effects like fatigue and headaches can be a bit overwhelming, but in the end, I feel a sense of accomplishment and renewal. I will most likely experiment with a juice diet again in the future, and I'll continue to incorporate juice into my normal diet." -Ben, super rad iOS Engineer (and fellow tree hugger)

"It made me realize that a lot of the time I say I'm hungry, is really me being bored or wanting an unhealthy snack.  When most of the time, drinking a glass of water or tea made the nagging go away and allowed me to get back to the task at hand.  I also realized that it's getting over a fear.  A fear that your basic sustenance requirement will not be met.  Of trusting in the process and that you will survive and achieve something you never thought you could..." - Jenn, VP of Finance and hot mama of 2 (also my dear friend!)

"I went into the cleanse not really knowing what to expect and thought it to be a great learning experience. What I found the most interesting was how tied my body is to the time of day and what it means relative to what and how much I eat.  Food has always been an addiction on many levels for me so I’m very proud of myself for accomplishing the three days. In the end I came out with a stronger willpower and commitment to my health. So, would I do it again? Definitely :)" - Jessica, cutie patootie new-ish member of the Weebly family (and Jenn's right hand WOman!)

"I've always been curious about juice cleansing and also skeptical because eating is one of my favorite pleasures and because there are a lot of conflicting views on whether or not it's actually "good for you". I always say I'll try anything once! These were my thoughts & observations...

• Doing it in a group is really great because it's helpful to be able to discuss and get support when you are struggling
• 3 days was a good amount of time -- definitely challenging but also doable and it felt like I had a good range of experiences
•  I wasn't hungry at all - that surprised me. I was super tired and lacked concentration which was tough
• The body is an incredibly adaptive machine...the first day was the toughest for me and it got easier from there...felt my best on day 3
• I don't feel a lot of health benefits per se...I think it's more of an exercise in willpower, presence and meditation. There's also an interesting deprivation component. When I broke my cleanse with an apple on the 4th morning it tasted amazing and it felt way more substantial than it felt pre-cleanse.
• Doing a juice cleanse is an experience that everyone should have at least once. I can't say I'd do it again but glad I to cross it off my list." - Kristin, main marketing guru (and my hokey sista of anotha mista)
  

Happy Juicing!!

In Gratitude,

Trish

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