Every holiday, we over indulge on all the good things and I’m not mad at it. Food makes me happy and that’s that. However, in order for my body to function the way I’d like it to, I need to cleanse some of those happy indulgences out of my body twice a year… sometimes three if I’ve been naughty. I like to think of a semi-annual cleanse as a hard reset like what you do to your phone or computer so that it can operate better. We do not use a cleanse for weight loss but we do use it for a reset as we transition back into a healthy lifestyle. Take a deep dive with me into how we do it.
Reasons why we cleanse
Give our digestive system a break
We need to give our digestive systems a break after over working it with solid foods, especially the harder to digest fatty foods. The juices take less effort, so basically our digestive system goes on vacation for a few days.
Nourishes our body
After a crazy sick season and loads of fatty meals and late night desserts, it was time to FEED our bodies. We like to load up on juices that are high in rich antioxidants. Afterwards our body will be in a better place for absorbing nutrients more efficiently from the healthy foods we eat going forward.
Resets our taste buds
Now that we broke that cycle of grabbing a sweet or salty snack, we can slow our junk food cravings and stick to our healthy eating going forward.
Inspire our wellness journey
With a hard reset, we feel motivated to put only nutritious options in our bodies.
How we prep
- Purge the pantry and fridge of all the unhealthy things you do not want to consume moving forward… you know, the Oreos, ice cream, Casa Migos.
- Stock up the pantry with healthy snacks especially easy grab and go snacks so there will be no excuse for when you’re out running errands and you drive by Chik-fil-a.
- Wash and cut all your fruits a head of time to avoid time in prepping a healthy snack.
- We start to slow down or cut out caffeine a few days ahead so we don’t get a giant headache once we start juicing.
- Set up an event free next three days because you’re only making it harder on yourself by attending a party where no one else is juicing with you.
The Cleanse
We have been using Pressed juices for the last three years and it truly takes out the hard work for us. Of course we could make our own juices, we have before… and we will never again. At least not for a three day cleanse for two people. Do you know how much work that is?! The Pressed company makes it pretty easy for you by grouping the juices you’ll need for each day based on your level of cleanse. As two working parents of three we will pay the price for time efficiency. You could find a local juicery, make your own, or find a more affordable option, whatever is best for YOU!
How it went
Day One
We used Cleanse 2 for day one. Believe it or not, this is the easiest day. We are motivated and excited for each juice. We just ate food the day before so we’re not thinking about it. Both Matthew and I did a workout in the morning before we started the juice cleanse and this gave us a lot of energy for the day. Be careful when it comes to working out while juicing. Typically in the past, we don’t workout, instead light walks or jogs, however, we know our bodies and felt the energy to do so. Especially since we are consuming 750-1050 calories a day on the cleanse, we don’t want to burn too much during a workout to deprive our bodies of food to function. Anyways, we threw together shrimp fried rice using the leftover rice and peas and basically made an Asian Jamaican fusion dinner but had no idea what it tasted it like. But the kids ate it so that’s all that matters. The juices for the day were not bad, we love the citrus juices and the beets ginger… but that’s definitely an acquired tasting juice. I didn’t time out my day right to be able to consume all of them and went to bed leaving the delicious vanilla almond juice behind. Remember to drink one every two hours!
Day Two
We used Cleanse 3 for day one. Started earlier today to make sure I drank all of them today. Matthew set up reminders in his phone… he’s so smart. We both did a moderate workout in the morning again, however, we had lower energy today. The baby loves the juices and keeps trying to drink mine which is why I think I was able to finish all of mine for day two. Both Matthew and I woke up with no bloat which feels soooo good and let me know that my digestive system is getting it’s break. Today, I kept thinking about how we did this for five days after I just had a baby and if I can do that, I can do one more day. I did lose a lot of focus on work today because I didn’t have my morning and afternoon jolt of caffeine so I ended up browsing Pinterest for the perfect bunkbed. The juices for the day included more green juices and less fruity so of course that’s harder, but still easy to breeze through. With low energy and lots of distraction, we both finished the day strong with all of our juices, drank!
Day Three
We used Cleanse 4 for day three. Last day but also the worst day. We saved the hardest cleanse for the last day so it was comprised of majority green juices. The first juice to start was just celery and lemon, although, this would be a great juice to start your everyday, it’s so hard to get down. The remainder of juices weren’t that great either but I was looking forward to the last juice of the day which was a Chocolate banana protein. Again, another morning workout, but also another morning with a flat tummy and no digestive issues. Definitely addicted to that feeling. Matthew was getting a headache but he was also forgetting to drink his water. It’s very important to drink a lot of water while juicing, but it is incredibly hard since you’re drinking all day long! The hardest part of this cleanse is making dinner for the kids. When we make macaroni and cheese for them, we always take a bit from the spoon that serves it. It’s like a habit, but it took a LOT of will power to not do that this time. I was two juices away from finishing my cleanse and all I could think about was taking a bite of that damn mac and cheese! For the first time. I finished before Matthew and we went to bed happy and healthy. I dreamt of mac and cheese that night.
Aftermath
The next day we took it slow, with liquids in the morning, some bone broth, then a Ka’chava protein drink later. We did jump into some chicken wings later that night which was us totally succumbing to Matthew’s craving. The day following food, I could feel my digestive tract doing some work. I still felt less bloated and my goal is to keep I this way. I felt refreshed and reset, like a brand new car where you don’t want to let anyone eat it in it!
As we mentioned above, we do this a reset to our bodies to restart our lifestyle changes. We don’t go back to eating what we were eating before if it was unhealthy or didn’t make us feel great. We don’t starve ourselves only to binge much later. It’s small choices that make a big difference for us. I will still always take that little bite of that mac n cheese but I won’t over do it.
