How to Do Your Juice Cleanse - My Plan

After reading my previous post on why we should detox with a juice cleanse and the many benefits it can bring i hope you have been inspired to give it a go! If not, maybe some key tips and ideas can help guide you on a path of juicy health :) 

As i mentioned previously before starting a juice cleanse it is important to ease into it and prepare your body so it does not get too great a shock!

Easing into a juice fast

A week before your juice fast, eat clean, unprocessed light meals. It would be ideal to eat vegetarian, vegan or raw for a few days before so that detoxing side effects are less.

Drink smoothies each day and try to have at least one juice to help prepare your body for juice fasting. This is not necessary, but recommended as it’s better for your body. If you can eat light for at least the day before it will make a difference on how your body will react in the first few days of the fast.

How to juice fast

During a juice fast, you’ll want to drink a variety of only fresh juiced juice (not the commercial!). Don’t drink bottled juices as it does not have the nutritional value that fresh juice has. A typical juice fast does not consist of smoothies or food. However, many people will make their own modified juice fast by eating raw vegetables or smoothies to slow down detox side effects or calm hunger pains, so while its best to last as long as you can don't worry if you need to have a little help along the way. 

General guidelines for how to juice fast: 

• Drink mostly vegetable juices - Limit your fruit juice consumption to only one fruit only juice a day, you can incorporate a fruit into a vegetable juice if you like. 
• Many people drink at least 4 glasses of juice a day. If you want to drink more that’s no problem. Drink a juice for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between meals. 
• Drink several glasses of fresh spring water to help your body cleanse and remove toxins. 
• If your bowel movements are slow, drink sienna tea or add psyllium husk powder to at least one of your daily juices. If your body is not removing waste, the toxins could get reabsorbed into your colon. 
• Be sure to allow your body to rest. It needs energy to cleanse. 
• You can exercise during a juice fast, but it should be low impact exercises such as Pilates, yoga, stretching, light walks or gardening. 
• Herbal tea is beneficial to support cleansing. Have some tea during the day for variety. 
• It’s not a good idea to drink coffee or have caffeine during your juice fast as it’s counterproductive. 
• It's a good idea to make sure you have a lot of produce on hand so that you aren't tempted by other foods. 

Remember that during a juice fast, you might experience some detox side effects like nausea, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, flue like symptoms, runny nose and achy joints. These are good signs and usually mean that your body is cleansing so just take it easy and rest. If you power through it, you’ll start to feel much better particularly if you do a longer cleanse around day 4 and 5.

Easing out of the juice fast

Easing out is an important step of how to juice fast. When you decide to stop juice cleasning, you definitely don’t want to eat a heavy meal as it will only hurt your stomach. A first meal should consist of a raw soup, a smoothie or a light vegetable salad. Eat light for at least 2-3 days after the fast. Don’t eat fried food, heavy meats, cheeses or oils. Stick to a light vegetarian diet so that your body can adjust to solid food again.

It’s also a good idea to have at least one juice a day while easing out. A glass of vegetable juice with a meal will aid digestion. Swirl the juice in your mouth between bites as you eat so that it can mix with your saliva. Follow these simple guidelines on how to juice fast and you should have a successful cleanse.

Try out these detoxifying juice recipes to use :)

There are some specific items that are very good for cleansing…

• Cucumbers and celery - these are natural diuretics 
• Beets - great for liver cleansing 
• Lemons, ginger and apples - aid in cleansing the entire body 
• Cranberries - good for cleansing the bladder 
• Greens - nourish our cells and clean them at the same time 
• Dandelion greens - are especially good for cleaning the liver 

Ultimately the detox would work best if you were not taking any medications including pain killers at the same time. If you are on prescribed medication you DO need to consult your doctor before starting a detox to discuss whether or not you can stop certain medications. Girls on the pill may use complete the detox on the sugar pill days (but do not take the sugar pills simply take nothing at all). And remember to avoid alcohol

Remember to drink lots of water to keep hydrated and even drink hot or cold water with lemon. If you feel really hungry, definitely drink more juice and more water. If you prefer to switch up your juice with a smoothie, you can do this.

I am going to incorporate yoga into my three days for light exercise but to also help detox my mind and souls whilst juicing takes care of the rest of my body so i can gain more clarity and mental stability for the year ahead :)

So what does my 3 day menu look like? I want to give myself a few options to see what i feel like on the day as long as i have the ingredients at hand...

Juices	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Breakfast	2 cups Strawberry, 1 apple, 2 carrots Or ½ medium pineapple, 2 apples, 1 inch fresh ginger	½ pineapple, 2 oranges Or 8 leaves of kale, 4 stalks celery, 1 apple, ½ cucumber, 1 carrot, ½ handful parsley	2 apples, 2 grapefruits Or 2 pears, 2 carrots, ½ pineapple, ½ inch ginger
Lunch	2 Oranges, 1 tomato and 2 stalks celery Or ½ beet, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery, ½ cucumber	3 tomatoes,3 carrots, handful spinach Or  3-4 carrots, 2 celery stalks, ½ beet, 2 broccoli florets, ½ lemon	Handful kale, 3 oranges, 1 lemon Or ½ beet, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery, ½ cucumber
Dinner	4-5 kale leaves, ½ pineapple Or 2 carrots, 3-4 oranges peeled, 2-3 pears, 1 medium sweet potato	½ Beet, 1 apple, 4 carrot Or  1 cucumber, 3 carrots, 1 beet, 2 stalks of celery, 1 handful of parsley, ½ lemon	4 carrots, 2 apples, small knob ginger Or 1 beet, 2 apples, 1 pear, thin slice of ginger, juice 1/2 lemon
Snacks	Any juice of choice e.g. ½ beet, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery, ½ cucumber	Any juice of choice or herbal tea	Any juice of choice or herbal tea

Possible Salads

If i needed something more substantial (if i can't hold on!) i will make one of these salads... 

Mango Avocado Salad
4 cups mixed greens
1 avocado
1 mango
1/4 cup red onion
Toss ingredients in a salad bowl and mix in Simple Vinaigrette dressing.

Simple Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
cracked black pepper
celtic salt
juice of ½ lemon

Mexican Salad
2 corn on the cob
1 tomato, cubed
1 avocado, cubed
1 red pepper, cubed
1/2 cucumber, cubed
1. De-cob corn using a knife, chop up additional ingredients bite size and add to a medium bowl.
2. Top with dressing

Simple Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
cracked black pepper
celtic salt
juice of ½ lemon

So, Saturday night after a fill in day at work i will start!! I aim for 3 days but if it goes well i could extend it. My mum is not too keen on the full juice only detox but will be joining me for a 2 day simplified version having juices and more substantial smoothies along with some raw salads, her main concern is how tired she will feel particularly as she does night fill work so this will be a good start to see if she can go the full detox next time. With a trip to the farmers market tomorrow it is only 26 hours until i start... i am getting excited!!! Stay tuned as i post how it goes each day :)

Rockin Raw

Xox