Birthday Detox

If you know me well at all, you know how important my birthday is. Actually it's like a birthmonth. A whole 31 days dedicated to me. I usually take this opportunity to indulge at every possible occasion. Ah mimosas for breakfast?? Why not, it's my birthday. Four pieces of cake?? Might as well, it's my birthday. Fifteen pounds of sushi?? Screw it, it's my birthday. Seven shots of Patron XO (Do you know how many calories are in there?!)?? Of course, it's my birthday. Also things like: I don't feel like working out, it's my birthday. Or I don't want to go for a run, it's my birthday. Needless to say, birthday month has not been good to my skinny jeans. That's why twice a year, usually right after my birthday and right after the holidays, I do a juice cleanse/ detox. whatever you want to call it. Really, I don't do it so much to lose weight (although that part is awesome), but it gives me a little recharge and sets me back on track with my diet and makes me feel lighter and cleaner.

I did a lot of research on juice cleanses when I first started doing them about 2 and a half years ago. A lot of people don't think they're a good idea and think that you won't be eating enough calories in the day. I think if it's not for very long, it's not so bad, and there are a lot of other supporters too. The one that I started doing at first was a progressive cleanse which kind of eased you into it. You started off with one week of really healthy, whole foods. Nothing processed or fried or overly sweet or salty, just natural, healthy food. The next three days were just eating bland, soft foods like oatmeal, overly steamed vegetables, and broth based soups. Then for seven days, there is a series of six juices that you drink each day.  This was really hard for me because by the time I got through the first week and a half, I was already so bored that I really wanted food. I could only ever get through three or four days of the juice before I broke down and ate real food. I never actually was hungry, but I craved actually chewing food and eating. I also didn't like that it was the same six juices every day. It just got boring.

This time I started doing things differently. Rather than preparing for a week, I jumped right in and started with the juice right away. I already eat pretty healthy anyway, so that first week the only thing that's different from what I usually do is eliminating alcohol. This time, I went to the grocery store and I picked out fruits and veggies that looked yummy and fresh, rather than using the same ones everyday, I can switch up which ones I want. I'm also allowing myself to eat a couple pieces of fruit each day to not completely deprive myself and help me stick to it longer. I decided to add some natural peanut butter and unsweetened almond milk to my morning blend of banana and kale juice too since I've been working out a lot, and I don't want to pass out in hot yoga from not enough calories or protein or fat. The last thing that I've been doing a little differently is starting out each day with a big mug of warm water and lemon. It helps detoxify the body and alkalize your body. Sounds weird that lemon actually alkalizes, but it does. I do this pretty often anyway.

The fruit and veggies that I bought are: kale, cucumbers, watermelon, celery, carrots, lemon, lime, strawberries, apples, bananas, grapes and ginger. It's important to buy organic produce. Since you're detoxing, you don't want to fill your body with more chemicals. Especially because you can include the rinds and skins when you juice them, and most of these foods are on the dirty dozen list of foods that have high levels of chemical pesticides. You can combine them in your juices in any combination you like. I made kale, cucumber, celery and strawberry yesterday. Today I made watermelon and lime, definitely one of my favorite ones. I also really like carrot, apple and ginger.

I'm on day two of my cleanse, and so far, so good. I don't feel deprived at all. I've been eating so much, and so much rich food for the past two weeks, that I've really been craving clean, healthy food, so this is perfect for me. I'm going to try to stick to it for at least a week, so we'll see how that goes. I feel so much better already. I'll give you a full update in a week!! :)