Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Why I lived on juice for 3 days (& will do it again)

Let me start this off by saying, I didn't do this to lose weight.  I'm really not a fan of fad dieting.  I'm actually quite opinionated about that actually....this carb free, gluten free, HCG crap is so ridiculous.  I'm sorry, people, you can't live the rest of your life without a piece of birthday cake, a sandwich, a cookie.  please.  So what happens is you lose some weight on a crazy diet, you eventually break, you gain everything back + more.  I've maintained my weight over the last decade by one method--- run, eat healthy, run some more.  There's times when I may knock off a few cals here and there, cut out the sweets  for a bit to get in shape for a vacay or event....and trust me, now that my wedding is in viewing distance, you better believe I'll be back on my veggie burgers and salad full time (a girl's gotta look good in her wedding dress).  I digress....

I started reading about juice cleanses a few months ago in my Runner's World magazine.  Apparently, it's supposed to keep a runner's stomach a little more steady.  Did you know that runners have naturally uneasy stomachs and problems keeping things moving?  I found this out years ago when I couldn't figure out why I had a constant stomachache.  Juicing is also supposed to help with energy, stamina, sore muscles, speed, and shin splints.  It's a great way to clear up constipation and kick start a diet.  Lately I'd had some problems with shin splints due to training on lots of different surfaces (sidewalk, road, treadmill, trail) and instead of rest and bananas like the normal person, I decided to do a juice cleanse.  Also, I've been stressed since I lost my g-ma a few weeks ago to cancer, and this didn't help my stomach problems.  I researched my butt off and finally found a cleanse that seemed to fit-- Juice Rx out of Chicago-- they deliver to your house, it's 3 days (the max I wanted to do) and I had a group-on.  One morning while icing my shins after an 8-miler, I picked up my macbook pro, my debit card, and went for it.  Here we go.

Day 1:  Woke up at 4 a.m.  Didn't look at the clock, just happily raced to the fridge to grab my first juice. I couldn't wait to try it (plus I had a late run the night before and was hungry at 4 a.m.)  First up-- spicy lemonade.  I can't lie...I was disappointed.  Something about the cayenne in the lemonade just didn't sit well with me.  I was a little nervous.  After all, I'm not gonna drink something I hate for 3 days, not worth it.   Luckily, the next 5 juices of the day were YUMMY.  Even the green juice at dinnertime and especially the strawberries & cream cashew milk.  That one tastes like a milkshake.  More importantly, I was FULL all day and felt good-- energetic and my mind felt sharp.  The only thing I missed was actually putting something in my mouth to actually chew.  Kinda just weird to break that habit the first day.  Skipped my run on day 1 since I read that you should cut back a little cardio when doing the cleanse.  Slept great night #1.

Day 2:  Woke up feeling energetic.  Muscles felt loose, even my shins, which usually tend to be a little sore.  Run went great.  A little hungry after the run but fulfilled after the juice and forced myself to drink a little more water to keep full.  I felt FOCUSED, which is awesome considering I'm a night nurse and half the time my brain is mush on my days working/off.

Day 3:  Almost done!  NO HUNGER at all first thing in the morning.  my stomach felt better than it had in months.  Skipped the spicy lemonade day 3 because I figured I'd rather be a little hungry than have to choke that one down again.  However, around lunchtime even though I'd had my citrus juice by then, I felt hungry.  I honestly think it was the missed breakfast juice- so I'd recommend drinking every single juice if you're gonna do the cleanse.  They work together and if you miss one, it's like missing a piece to the puzzle and it just doesn't work as well.

Weighed myself before and after the cleanse and lost 5 lbs (all water weight plus clean intestines and I was just curious as to how much it would fluid shift).  Energy level was great....mind/body focus awesome.  Felt lighter and brighter was how I'd describe it.  I will totally do another one, probably as soon as I can get my hands on another groupon (these cleanses aren't cheap).  Worth it!

Cheers!      http://www.juicerxcleanse.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment