why I juice cleanse (& it has nothing to do with losing weight)

So I'm one of those weird people who love juice cleanses. Not because I'm trying to lose weight or detox or because I think it'll make me "healthier," but because I see it as a reset for my body.

It forces me to slow down and think about what I'm putting in my body and how much I'm doing.

For example, I can't exercise as heavily as I usually do when I'm juicing, because I will probably pass out. I haven't tried, but I'd rather not.

And I think it really helps me appreciate food. To think about whether I'm hungry or bored.

It's stress-relieving, because you get a package of juices/smoothies, and it says when you're supposed to take each one. No need to think about cooking or meal-prepping. Just grab a juice and you're good to go.

cocobeet juice cleanse times

Obviously, it's not a sustainable lifestyle, which is why when I do juice cleanse, they're 1-3 day cleanses. Today's cleanse was a HUGE whim. I woke up and tried to do a 10 mile run. At mile 3, I was bored. Not tired, but just over it.

It forced me to think about why I was running. I used to love doing those long runs; used to look forward to them every week. Now, I forced myself to do it because I wanted to do well in my half marathon.

I asked myself, "Why am I doing this if I don't love it?"

I didn't have an answer, so I stopped. and started walking — something I haven't done since middle school.

It gave me time to think and reassess the past week, couple of weeks. I felt like I needed to hit the "reset" button — so much had changed in the past month, and weirdly I just wanted to end of July starting new.

I've tried a couple of different juice cleanses, and while JUGOS is the cheapest, I decided to go with Cocobeet because they do same-day pickup, which is something most other places don't do. I ordered the Reroot 1-day cleanse for $70 ($74.90 after tax), which comes with 2 power smoothies and 3 juices, as well as a "mylk" and a mini "shot."

Note: what's listed on the website is different from what I got — they switch it up depending on what ingredients they have on hand.
cocobeet reroot juice cleanse

I picked up my cleanse at 11:15am (after heading home and making myself a smoothie of frozen spinach, coconut Bai5, and hemp protein — yes, I "cheated," but it was 9am and I was missing the 1st 3 juices of the day). They were nice enough to give me ice packs to pack into my Whole Foods lunch bag, since I was heading over to the nearby Starbucks to catch up on blog posts.

so pumped to be carrying a Whole Foods bag full of juice — it fits perfectly!

so pumped to be carrying a Whole Foods bag full of juice — it fits perfectly!

I drank a sip of the Kale Karma, but my next full "juice" was actually the Vanilla Power Mylk (drank from 1-2pm). Before that, I fortified myself with a dark roast coffee.

vanilla power mylk cocobeet juice cleanse

The Power Mylk was insanely nourishing and filling, perfect for this rainy Boston Sunday. I felt clear-headed and more energized than I had in awhile.

At 3pm, I headed over to the Boston Public Library to pick up some books for the week, and started on the Forbidden Juice (to be drunk from 3-4pm). It's such a perfect afternoon pick-me-up — it has cayenne and grapefruit in it, which gives it a spicy kick.

forbidden juice cocobeet juice cleanse

As I left with a tote bag full of books, I was feeling a little lightheaded, since it was almost 5pm, so I drank a couple more sips of the Kale Karma before going to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

By the time I got home, it was 6pm — time for the last smoothie of the day. This was the Chocolate Power Mylk. I've tried it the last time I did the Cocobeet cleanse, and I did the same thing this time as I did back then. It's a little trick of mine to get through the cleanse.

chocolate power mylk cocobeet juice cleanse
ProTip: Since the Chocolate Mylk is very sweet, I added 1 scoop of hemp protein powder, a scoop of ground flaxseed meal to bulk it up, some sea salt to cut the sweetness, cinnamon, and turmeric. Last time I added cayenne for an extra kick, but I decided to omit it this time.

I called my family while sipping this, and I was definitely feeling slightly light-headed and irritable by then. My head started hurting, and I was a weird mix of full and hungry, since I was full from all the liquid but wanted real food.

I contemplated giving up and eating, but honestly nothing other than steak and potatoes (which I didn't have) sounded appetizing.

So I showered, chugged more water, and found myself more relaxed than I'd been in a long time.

It's now 9:20pm and I'm sleepy. I've done almost zero meal prep for the week (whoops), but since I started the cleanse at 12 today, I still have the juices from before 12pm to drink tomorrow, along with 1/2 of the Kale Karma, which I was supposed to have drunk from 5-6pm. I added chia seeds to it in hopes that it'll be more substantial tomorrow.

Overall, this was a very self-care filled weekend, and it was very necessary. I took some much needed time slowing down and taking care of myself:

Took a long lunch hour and caught up with my fellow co-ops; met up with a friend from Spoon University at Life Alive after work; spent the night in with my roommate and the adorable dog she's dog-sitting watching Orange is the New Black; treated myself to a slice of gluten free toast topped with homemade "Nutella", dark chocolate, and cashew butter (it came in a cute packet that I found at my local co-op); took it easy on the workouts; spent time in the library and in coffeeshops doing what I love; and treated myself to a facial because my skin's been reflecting my busy life.

Honestly, I wish the weekend was a lilllll bit longer but I'm 100% pumped to go back to work! So blessed to have a co-op that I love.

Hope you all had a fab weekend; I'm going to leave you with my tips for juice cleansing if you decide that you wanna give it a try:

  • Drink a lot of water. Like, a lot. Juices are high in sugar, so you should drink water to slow blood sugar spikes. Also, it helps fill you up. I like alternating sips of juice with sips of water.
  • Stay busy. If you're going to stay at home all day, do NOT juice. You'll be bored and want to eat (and be more likely to eat). I find that I love juicing the most when I know I have to be on the go all day, or will be working on something.
  • Use the times as guidelines, not rules. If you're starving at 3pm but your juice says to drink it at 4pm, just drink it. Make sure to drink slowly (this goes for all juices though).
  • Choose your cleanse carefully. Cocobeet has different levels of cleansing, from beginner (which includes real food) to advanced (mostly juices and only 1 smoothie). If you've never cleansed before, don't hop straight into an advanced cleanse. Also, most cleanses let you swap out juices for other ones — you can choose ones with less sugar or ones with ingredients that sound better to you, but keep in mind that each cleanse is carefully packaged for a reason.
  • Know the different between dangerously hungry and fake hungry. I personally never feel like I'm starving on cleanses. But each person is different. If you genuinely feel like you're going to pass out, eat. Try raw foods and vegetables — if you've been cleansing for awhile, don't shock your body with heavy foods. Example: A banana and raw almond butter.
  • Take the liberty to modify your cleanse. If I hate a juice, I won't drink it. And like the Chocolate Mylk example above, I also tend to add more nourishment to my cleanse. whether it's adding more cayenne, more lemon juice, combining juices, adding spices, whatever — do what your body tells you. That's the point, isn't it?

To read my article about my last juice cleanse (JUGOS) post spring-break, click here.

For more articles on juice cleanses, check these Spoon University articles out:

recipes & food, health & fitnessNancy Chenvegan, mental healthComment