I know many of you have been asking me to do this post! It’s one of my favorite topics to cover and I know you have lots of questions about it. But before you make any assumptions, a word of caution, because I’m probably not going to say exactly what you might be expecting to hear, but let’s jump right to it!…
We’ve all heard of the new detox diet, the ultimate way to shed pounds quickly without compromising our health, avoiding unhealthy eating habits, and even dangerous, pills and diet drinks (like fen-phen, slim fast, low carb, high protein and the like), while at the same time obtaining squeaky clean insides, beautiful skin and a lean physique all by drinking 3 to 6 massive glasses for cold-pressed juices a day and nothing else.
Well, I know many of you have or want to try it, and why shouldn’t you? Juice cleanses promise fast results, shedding up to a pound a day. And do they work? Yes, you can most definitely lose up to 7 pounds in a week on the cleanse. I have done it, and almost everyone else who has will attest to it as well.
But, what if I told you that cold-pressed juicing might not be the best way to do a cleanse and reset the body…. Okay, yes, that’s is what I’m telling you. So, if your only goal is to lose weight, by all means go ahead, but for those of us who want to both lose weight and keep it off, eventually moving into healthier eating patterns, I’ll let you in on a little secret… there is a better way, a much better way to do it…
But, let’s backtrack for just a minute. Juice cleansing is not “unhealthy” per say. It won’t lead to health problems down the road, like these other weight loss methods, drinks and drugs. Juicing is actually a great way to infuse nutrients into our bodies, and a juice cleanse will leave you feeling lighter, more clear headed (after the first 3 day hurdle) and more energetic (due to both freed up energy from digestion and because your body is running on ketones).
But it’s some of the side effects of doing a juice cleanse that people don’t talk about much. You know that mild acne problem you have been having for the past decade, well it might show it’s ugly face about 4 days into your cleanse. And headaches, those may come along as well. How about bouts of energy followed by periods of extreme sleepiness, yup, get ready my friends because around 2pm for the first several days you might want to climb under your desk and take a nap like a pregnant woman who is 10 weeks along. And finally when you get past all of the above, the thing you will realize you miss the most is not hunger, or sweet treats,…. it’s just the simple act of chewing… just chewing.
So why the acne, headaches, and wavelike graphical representation of tiredness? I have a few simple words for it: incomplete elimination and withdrawal.
So, what happens, or doesn’t happen on a juice fast that causes these symptoms. Well, first let’s talk a little about fiber. When you’re body is detoxing and cleansing it’s pulling all those toxins out of your cells and organs. Actually, It’s doing a bit of cleansing, but mainly it’s taking the energy your body normally uses for digestion and eliminating its need, thereby freeing up energy to be used elsewhere in the body for repair and regeneration. The problem is that when you are on a juice cleanse old food and juice particles accumulate in your colon and don’t clear out with regular elimination. Don’t be surprised if you stop pooping a few days into the cleanse….
But, if you don’t put bulk in, bulk doesn’t come out. And when your colon doesn’t cleanse it results in all types of symptoms from acne, to headaches.
Headaches can, of course, also be caused by withdrawal. Eliminating caffeine, gluten, and refined carbohydrates are the main causes of withdrawal symptoms like headaches, and tiredness. And, the wave like bursts of energy we talked about before, well imagine what simple sugar infusions into your blood stream every few hours would make you feel like… I think we figured out that one as well.
So, after all this talk about juicing and why it’s not the best way, let’s talk about a more simple and natural way to cleanse. If you’re ready to jump into real and permanent weight loss, sustainable energy, clear glowing skin, and freedom from any weight loss fads… if you want a way of eating that will initially make you shed pounds fast, will keep you slim for your lifetime, and is so healthy you can really stick to eating this way for the long term, stay tuned because it is coming up next!
