So, I did a juice cleanse

It’s review time!

 So, I did a juice cleanse.

 I have heard so much about juice cleanses – how amazing they are and then some talk about how horrible they are.  If you know me, you know I had to find out for myself.  I can never just take someone’s word for it.  So I did some research to find a local Juicer – I wanted my first juice cleanse to be excuse free, so I wanted someone else to do the juicing.  I came across Total Cleanse out of Toronto and they had a 14% off New Year deal so I jumped at the opportunity. 

I am going to review the experience as well as a quick review of Total Cleanse.

Juicing Experience:

I ordered the following juices for 5 days – Green Energy, Very Berry, Red Energy, & Lemon Rush.

Green Energy - Includes: Fresh cucumber, celery, kale, lettuces, parsley, lemon, apple, romaine lettuce

Very Berry - Includes: Strawberry, pineapple, blueberry, apple, lemon

Red Energy - Includes: Beet, carrot, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger

Lemon Rush - Includes: Lemon, cayenne, maple syrup, filtered water

The juices were pretty tasty, but I have definitely created better juices at home.  The Green Energy was very green.  For me it was just too much – I would’ve really appreciated more apple and less cucumber.  The Very Berry was FANTASTIC!  It tasted like pink Starburst.  However, after day 2 – it became WAY too sweet!  Red Energy was pretty hard to get through – the beets tasted like dirt.  Ick!  Finally, the Lemon Rush was very refreshing but way too spicy.  I really enjoyed the maple syrup – it was a really nice aftertaste. 

Day One – I was very excited to get started.  Green Energy #1 – down the hatch!  Lemon Rush #1 – OMG SPICY!  Very Berry – Delicious!  Lemon Rush #2 – Still REALLY spicy!  Green Energy #2 – I miss hot food…

When I started the day I was very excited to do this!  Totally pumped and ready to go!  By the end of the day the withdrawal symptoms began to set in and it was horrible.  I don’t mean “wahhh I want chocolate…”  It was BAD!  I had a nasty headache, bad mood, intense cravings for anything and everything, and I wanted to give up.  I knew that it was going to be hard but I had no idea I would go through sugar withdrawals.  I had the sweats and I looked like I belonged in a detox room at rehab next to Lindsay Lohan.  I pushed through and made it to day two.

Day Two – Ugh.  I am the type of person who loves (temperature) hot food.  I hate cold food.  So waking up to a cold glass of grass juice was not my idea of fun, but I had a goal and I was determined not to give up.  I powered down my first juice and made it through to the third juice, Very Berry.  After that one, I just didn’t want to eat/drink at all.  It wasn’t fun and exciting and I didn’t feel like the benefits would outweigh the challenges.  I kept pushing through!

Day Three – Meh.  I didn’t really want to juice, so I just didn’t eat or drink anything.  I had a few sips here and there.  That was it.  It immediately brought back those familiar demons… “Don’t eat food, it will make you fat”, “As soon as you start eating again you are going to gain 50 lbs… better get used to feeling hungry”… Thankfully I was able to recognize that slippery slope and I cut the cleanse off after that.  Saturday morning I woke up and had breakfast – real, hot, delicious healthy food :)

Now – I know that all sounds really negative… but I did learn/experience a few things that made it worth it for me.

1)      Foods that my body doesn’t respond well to

a.       Gluten sucks.  That is all.

 

 

b.      Dairy – we aren’t full out enemies, but I really dislike you.

c.       Sugar – It’s over!  I’m sorry, it’s not me.  It’s you.

2)      Mental Strength

a.       Even though I wanted to throw in the towel, I kept pushing and I showed myself that I can take myself as far as I want to!

b.      On the flip side, I also recognized that I can stop myself from going down a slippery slope.  I don’t need to give in to those food issues – I am stronger than that.

3)      10 pounds GONE!

a.       I thought for sure this would come back as soon as I started eating solid food again, but I have managed to keep it off!  It’s a pretty sweet way to end a pretty tough challenge!

 

Days After the Cleanse – Pumped.  I’m glad that I did the cleanse but I don’t think I would recommend it.  It is almost more of a mental challenge than physical and I don’t think it is a healthy choice for women who are on their journey to a healthier body.  I DO, however, highly recommend including juicing into your everyday lifestyle.  Juicing (or making smoothies) is a fantastic way to get in a lot of nutrients that can be a bit of a challenge to do when eating them whole.  Plus I love having juice with my breakfast and I can do it guilt-free when I make it all myself.  I don’t have to worry about added sugars and/or concentrated juices from the grocery store.  I know exactly what is going into my juice :)

Total Cleanse:

I wasn’t blown away by Total Cleanse.  Without getting into all of the nit-picky details, I would suggest looking into all of your options (if you are interested in trying a cleanse) and asking a lot of questions.  Make your own informed decisions :)

Bottom Line:

I would not recommend a juice-only cleanse, but I would recommend including juicing/smoothies into your daily routine!

Shut Down Fat Talk

Hello everyone!

I don’t always practice everything I preach when it comes to this particular topic, but I think it’s important that I start, TODAY.  I hope that after watching the attached video and reading my post, you will try to do this with me.  A little bit each day makes a difference.

Here is the video:

 

 

So you know how you wake up and immediately decide it’s going to be a “fat day”… where nothing you put on looks good and you think everything makes you look fat?  Then you proceed to talk down to yourself during breakfast, getting ready, the whole drive to the office, and WATCH OUT when you finally get home from work and take those jeans off!

Do you understand how detrimental that is to your health?  Mental and physical.  I’m not saying it’s not okay to have an off day – but I am saying it’s not okay to bully yourself about it.  

OK fine, maybe those jeans are a little tight – rather than bashing yourself about the muffin top make a healthy decision to do something about it.  Are the jeans actually just too small or did you just eat a few extra slices of pumpkin pie over the holidays?  If the jeans are from high school and you just don’t want to let them go – PLEASE DONATE THEM!  You aren’t a teenager anymore.  Buy some jeans that fit and flatter your body, you deserve it!  If the pie is to blame for the tight jeans – take a deep breath and make a plan.  Tell yourself that you are going to make sure you do these three things every day to help get yourself back on track:

1.       Stay hydrated!

2.       Fuel your body with healthy foods and do NOT, I repeat DO NOT withhold food from yourself – that will not help you!

3.       Get as much sleep as you can (7-8 hours if possible!)

If you can add in some exercise too, even better, but don’t punish yourself.  Please.  Just commit to being healthy and getting yourself back on track.  You are allowed to enjoy life and the delicious treats that come along with it ;)

Fat talk is something I don’t quite understand – I mean I do it – but I don’t get it…

Why on earth would we sit here and rip ourselves to shreds?  It doesn’t even sound productive.  You certainly wouldn’t tell another person that they looked really fat and ugly today, would you?  So then why do we feel that it is okay to say it to ourselves? 

If your daughter (sister, cousin, friend etc.) came home and told you that someone told her that she had a disgusting muffin top and she should’ve just stayed home in bed today – would you accept that?  Absolutely not is what I’m thinking…

We need to shut down fat talk. 

We need to start loving ourselves just the way we are.  That isn’t to say that you can’t make improvements (in a healthy capacity of course), but we need to accept that the body we have right now is worth just as much love, adoration, and respect as the body we might be working toward.  Even if you HAVE the body you worked hard for, it is time you start to appreciate it and love it unconditionally.

You are still the same person deep inside (heart, personality, humour etc.) no matter what package it comes in.  Don’t wait until you are “there” to start loving yourself.  Love who you are now!

Take a moment and think of all the young girls in your life - you are a role model to them whether you know it or not.  Every time you talk down to yourself you are teaching them that it is ok.  Kate Winslet recently said in an article that she makes a point of talking about all of the things she loves about her body, in front of her daughter so that it becomes NORMAL to her.  This is what we should all strive for.  Right now the norm is trash talking your own body…  Ugh look at my muffin top, ugh my thighs touch, ugh blah blah blah.

Break the circle - love your body - start speaking words of love and respect to yourself about your body.  For example:  I love the way my bum looks in these jeans!

If you have a sister or daughter (or anyone - boy or girl) in your family, make sure they hear it.  It is important that we show people it is OKAY to be proud of your body!  We have become a world of thinner is better and talking about your muffin top makes you cool in some twisted way.  We need to change that!

Can you imagine how this world would change if we just starting loving ourselves unconditionally and decided we no longer accept the current, unhealthy, definition of beauty?  Oh how things would change!

Anyway, this is starting to get long… I don’t want you to feel like you are reading a novel ;) 

I posted a challenge on Facebook Dec 16^th asking everyone to choose LOVE today – Dec 17^th.  I am now challenging you to Shut Down Fat Talk.  If you start talking or thinking negatively about your body – recognize it and turn that bullying behaviour around and say something nice to yourself about your body.  If you hear someone else bullying themselves about their body, compliment them instead.  I truly believe if we start to practice positivity, we can change the way women all around the world think of their bodies.  So, will you accept my challenge?  I encourage all of you to try :)

Guys, I am not purposely avoiding you – I know men have a lot to deal with too when it comes to body image and what is considered “sexy”.  Please read this with him/he/etc. in place of any her/she etc. mentioned above – this is for you too!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!

If you enjoyed it and you accept my challenge, please like the post on Facebook so I know!  I will check in with those who “like” the post to see how you’re doing :)

Lots of love,
Kayla