Juice Cleanses

There's no need to cleanse if your liver and kidneys are working properly. Drink juice if you enjoy it, but there are no magical properties that come from it.

OP, most people who want to do a cleanse are looking for a "reset" or a "jumpstart" to switch to a healthier diet.

The best advice if that's what you're looking for is... just start eating healthier!

By all means, run to the grocery and buy lots of fruits and veggies and start eating them. Google "healthy brown bag lunches" and get some ideas for stuff you can pre-make and have ready to grab-and-go for work lunches. If you want to use a juice or make smoothies to get more veggies than you would otherwise eat, then work it into your diet every day, rather than do a "cleanse". Start consistently logging your food and see where you are wasting calories. Sometimes seeing it in black-and-white makes it more real, and easier to plan ahead for. :drinker:

kommodevaran wrote: »

We don't do cleanses or special "diets" because we haven't heard about them or aren't tough enough. We don't do cleanses and diets because they don't work! Yes, you will lose some water weight and waste, but it will fill up after you start eating again. Trouble is, you won't go on to a healthier diet than before, or even your old diet, you'll most likely stuff yourself senseless to try to recover from the deprivation.

Replacing an extreme diet with another extreme diet, is never the solution. The change from extreme diet to normal diet can be extreme enough - but do it in increments and you'll hardly notice any difference.

Is it that you think you have to punish yourself for overindulging? Is it that a normal diet sounds so boring? Is it that you think ordinary food isn't healthy? I know I used to think I had to go to extreme measures, and the food that my parents and uncles and aunts ate, was so dull... I thought. I know better now. You can do amazing things with simple ingredients. Your taste buds will adapt to what you expose them to. I don't worry about regaining any more. I really want others to stop struggling and start enjoying eating, too.

Post of the year right here.

vingogly wrote: »

I hear a radio ad for a cleansing product here that talks about getting rid of the "pounds of rotting food and toxic waste" we're supposed to have in our intestines. Apparently they've never heard of autopsies.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/fecalcolon.asp

OMG, I hear that commercial on the radio all the time and I have to change the channel! That line about the rotting food and toxic sludge always makes me laugh, but then I realize that people are actually believing them!

Some ppl gain weight from cleanses.

I did a Dandelion Root Tea Detox before that I thought worked well. It's one tea bag, 1 Tbsp cranberry juice (sugar free), 1 lemon (just the juice). You need 8 cups of water and are to drink it every day for 7 days. So that's 8 cups/day. I feel like I'm not explaining it well, so if you want me to go more in depth I can

Also, remember detoxing isn't something that should be done all the time. Once every few months is ok, but don't do one every month or week or anything.

kimmie2128 wrote: »

I did a Dandelion Root Tea Detox before that I thought worked well. It's one tea bag, 1 Tbsp cranberry juice (sugar free), 1 lemon (just the juice). You need 8 cups of water and are to drink it every day for 7 days. So that's 8 cups/day. I feel like I'm not explaining it well, so if you want me to go more in depth I can

Also, remember detoxing isn't something that should be done all the time. Once every few months is ok, but don't do one every month or week or anything.

The controversy comes in part because of the use of the term "detox," when that has nothing to do with anything.

The point of this one is that it's a diuretic, no?

See, e.g., http://www.heandsheeatclean.com/blog/2014/01/jillian-michaels-detox-water

The health issues can be discussed more easily when the real purpose/perceived benefit is fronted.

armstrongchloe wrote: »

Thinking of starting one for 1-3 days.
Any success stories? What did you gain/lose from this? Where did you get your juice from?How often do you do this cleanse?
Feel free to add any advice, suggestions! I'd love to hear from you guys.

I don't think I've ever seen anything that indicates a measurable physical benefit from juice cleanses in terms of digestion or "cleaning out," especially as usmcmp mentioned above, juicing removes the fiber that is helpful for that. I do know people who have done something like this for the mental aspect, kind of along the same lines as people fasting for spiritual reasons, but again, no real physical benefits. More of a mental "spring cleaning" or "back to school" prep before buckling down on their diet.

armstrongchloe wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

Juicing removes the fiber and leaves the sugar. It's not going to cleanse you because your body does that already. You likely feel "cleaned out" due to having zero solids in your body, but you're more likely to cause an imbalance to your gut bacteria that way. You'll likely drop a few pounds that will come back when you go back to putting solid food inside your body.

Makes sense lol

If you want, concentrate on whole foods, lots of fiber and plenty of water. Learning to eat foods high in nutrients can give you a boost of energy and a feeling of accomplishment. But it's great to hear you are willing to listen.

I tried a strawberry juice cleanse once. The house smelled great, but everything was sticky. Plus it didn't really clean anything.

Aren't juice "cleanses" simply a bad case of the squits?

ouryve wrote: »

kimmie2128 wrote: »

I did a Dandelion Root Tea Detox before that I thought worked well. It's one tea bag, 1 Tbsp cranberry juice (sugar free), 1 lemon (just the juice). You need 8 cups of water and are to drink it every day for 7 days. So that's 8 cups/day. I feel like I'm not explaining it well, so if you want me to go more in depth I can

Also, remember detoxing isn't something that should be done all the time. Once every few months is ok, but don't do one every month or week or anything.

So you lived on slightly sugary water for a week?

You still eat food whilst drinking this. The drink is incorporated into your existing diet.

My boyfriend and I just completed our first 3 day juice cleanse last week. We used the Jus By Julie brand. You drink 6 juices daily for 3 days. The juices are blended, not cold-pressed, so they are thick and include the fiber. I decided to do the cleanse out of curiosity, mostly, and because I heard it helped with food cravings. I am a bit skeptical and wasn't convinced that I could last 3 days or if it would have a significant effect on my health. Here is an overview of what happened during the cleanse:

Day 1 - I was tired and crabby (most likely due to caffeine withdrawal). I felt hungry mid-day and really wanted to chew something. I was unable to drink the all of the juices because I got a bad headache and felt nauseous in the afternoon. I took a nap hoping I would feel better, but it didn't work. I finally took some Excedrin. After taking the Excedrin, I felt great but had no appetite at all and no desire to drink my remaining juices. In fact, I went for a 3 mile walk that evening. My boyfriend was hungry on the first day, but he didn't have any of the other issues I had.

Day 2 - I felt much better and was able to drink 4 of the 6 juices. I tried to stay busy so I wouldn't think about eating. Again, I took a 3 mile walk in the afternoon. I felt less hungry on day 2 and no headache :-)

Day 3 - I woke up with great energy and in a good mood. I had no cravings at all. My boyfriend noticed the same thing. We felt unexpectedly good! We both felt that we could have continued the juice cleanse another few days.

Over the 3 days, I lost 2.5 pounds and my BF lost 3. We assumed that it was mostly water and we would regain the weight as soon as normal eating resumed. But, that didn't happen. Our eating habits have changed since the juice cleanse and that, I'm sure, has a lot do with it, but I have kept off the weight and lost another 1/2 pound. It's been 8 days since the cleanse.

The most noticeable change is my cravings for junk food (simple carbs, sweets, etc) is reduced. I am currently maintaining my calorie goal and have not had wheat products or diet soda (my weaknesses) in over a week. Overall, I'm happy with my decision to do the juice cleanse and really like the Jus by Julie juices (Groupon offers some good deals on the juices).

I didn't go into the juice cleanse with high expectations that I would drop 10 pounds, detox my liver, or rid my body of years worth of sludge from my colon. Lol. So, I was satisfied with the results. I highly recommend it. Especially for someone who is making changes to the diet (like going gluten-free, etc) and wants a kick-start. It really eliminated my cravings and feel that I have much better control now.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions about my experience. Good luck!