My Juice Cleanse Experience
By Keare Smith
Several weeks ago I set out to complete my first serious juice cleanse. As I discussed in my previous article, it is recommended that your cleanse goal be attainable and realistic. Before the start of the cleanse, I set out to do just that. I truly believed that I could endure a thirty-day juice cleanse.
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At the time, this goal seemed reasonable for a guy like me. I worked in a juice bar, I had been drinking juices for the last three years, and I had completed shorter juice cleanses in the past. With my experience, I trusted that my mind and body could make it through to the end of the thirty days. But I was unable to make it to the thirty day mark. Instead, my cleanse lasted only six days, yet I still reaped the benefits of cleansing and learned a few first-hand lessons regarding juice cleanses.
Leading up to the cleanse, I felt very prepared, mentally and physically. I decided to keep a daily journal throughout the duration of the cleanse. In these entries I described how I felt throughout the day and kept record of any mental or physical changes. Changes like the clearer skin on my face or changes in my mood or demeanor. Here is the entry for the first day of the cleanse.
Day 1: Throughout the day I felt relatively normal. No apparent loss of energy or tiredness feeling. I drank mostly pineapple juice, along with a mixture of gala apples, chard, carrot, and kale juice. There are no noticeable differences in the skin on my face. My mental clarity feels the same.
As indicated in the above post, day one was rather uneventful. My body felt the same due to the fact that I had consumed solid food the previous day. I was very optimistic at this point; I envisioned myself making it through the thirty days and coming out a cleaner and healthier person. But there were factors in my work life that negatively affected the cleanse by increasing my stress level and sapping me of energy. On day three of the cleanse I began a new job, and with it came an even more demanding schedule. Here is the entry for day three.
Day 3: Today was relatively normal. I began my new career at Darrow’s and the day went well. I biked to and from work and did not feel any signs of fatigue despite the exercise. I drank more pineapple and green juice. The new job is awesome because there is pineapple juice on tap. I had about two jar-fulls of pineapple juice at work. No noticeable differences in skin on face. Mental clarity feels the same. But I am feeling kind of tired now (11pm), so my brain is functioning differently. Kinda cloudy. Loopy.
Things were going quite well on day three, but that soon changed. By day five my journal entry told a completely different story. Due to a lack of sleep and the physical demands of my new job, I woke up feeling extremely tired. By day six, my body and mind felt drained, and my energy reserves were depleted. I constantly thought about sleep and solid food. When I woke up on day 7, I made the hard decision to end the fast.
But I did not feel down about ending the fast early. I had learned a hard and valuable lesson. It is funny because the lesson repeats one of the reoccurring themes in all of the juice research I have conducted over the years, rest. Rest is absolutely necessary, and I now know it should be required to complete a juice cleanse lasting longer than three days.
I had prepared properly on the front end, but I lacked the flexibility and freedom I needed to relax and let my body naturally heal. I underestimated the importance of rest. When I began my new job, it demanded 9+ hours of work six days a week. But due to the fact that I was only drinking liquids extracted from fruits and vegetables, my body demanded that I lie down, which I didn’t have time to do. All things considered, I felt proud that I made it through to six days, and I am now optimistic about future juice cleanses.
In my opinion, athletes should not be afraid to approach health in a different and unconventional way. Athletes should take advantage of the benefits that come from periodic juice cleanses. After my six-day juice cleanse was over, I felt noticeably lighter and my body felt healthy overall. I know that future juice cleanses will have a positive effect on my hurdle times. I believe the science behind juice cleansing is accurate. Your mind, body, and skin become clearer when you give your digestive system a break and nourish it with fresh juices. As an athlete who has completed a six-day juice cleanse, I now have a deeper understanding of juice cleansing and how it can assist me in my athletic endeavors. And although my juice journey ended before my intended completion day, overall I would still call the cleanse successful. I learned valuable lessons and will be able to utilize my knowledge of juice cleanse to help me athletically.
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