To Juice or not to Juice, that is the question...
Now let's be clear, I am not a nutritionist, and neither will I pretend to be, but I do value a healthy lifestyle and try to live accordingly.
A few weeks ago I convinced the hubs to do a juice cleanse with me, and let's just say this was a feat in itself. Neither of us had ever done a juice cleanse, we'd done smoothies at one time, but those are significantlly more substantial.
Going into it I knew two things, we'd likely get "Hangry", and we wouldn't have as much energy, so we made a pact to be nice and scheduled our workouts accordingly.
As for the juices, Snap Kitchen is a local favorite! Based in Austin, TX they are all about eating clean and eating local. While Snap offers a seasonal menu of pre-made meals, they have 3 Juice Cleanse systems from which we selected Snap Clean Start.
Each juicing kit consists of 6 freshly pressed juices, you can pick up the day before you start, and here's the truth, the whole experience is a love/hate relationship.
Whether you're savory or sweet each day is a 50/50 split. I'd been told that each bottle contained approximately 2lbs of veggies, but each of these little bottles packs a mean punch of flavor too! If you like Bloody Marys you'll love drink #3, and if you don't, well it tastes like a Bloody Mary minus the booze. Luckily, there's something for everyone, and the schedule alternates back and forth between savory and sweet (#6 is my personal fave!).
Did I mention that I'd never done a Juice Cleanse?... It wasn't easy, and honestly, due to the calorie count it's even harder on guys. Both the hubs and I felt our weakest on different days, he the first day, and I the second, on both occasions we felt very cold. Scary? Kind of. I was intimidated leading up to our start, and even after picking up our first day's kit, I wondered why we'd signed up for this.
However, when all was said and done, both of us agreed that our 2 day cleanse was 100% worthwhile, and it boils down to these three lessons...
1. Saturating our bodies with concentrated doses of nutrients cleaned out our systems, leaving us feeling ready to tackle our spring health goals!
2. A juice cleanse is an incredible mental exercise! More than anything, I learned that I'm a major snacker, and honestly, I should probably just drink more water. While sustaining ones body off liquids alone seems depriving, so much of what tells our minds that we're hungry is the habit of keeping our mouths busy. It sounds gross, but it's true.
3. Finally, you can do anything for 2 days. While I recommend a juice cleanse primarily to detox, and evaluate health priorities, this is not a sustainable diet, and you should plan accordingly. A juice cleanse is not the end of the world, but you likely won't be able to do an intense workout while juicing. That said after two days I definitely felt like I could have gone for a 3rd day, it's really an empowering experience!
