What is juicing?
It is extracting the juice from fruits and vegetables. Juicing is a great way to get the nutrients from these products and cleanse or detox.
Do you need a juicer?
Sure, you can make it easier if you have a juicer, but it’s’ not necessary. I don’t have a juicer, but I’d’ love to buy this one day.
However, I do have a Vitamix that is awesome. We use it daily to make smoothies or juices. Using the Vitamix means that I still have to strain the pulp to drink the juice. Using a cheesecloth bag, I pour the mixture through the cloth to strain any pulp. Squeeze out any liquid into a cup, and that’ll do it.
Want more convenience? You can buy these juices from juice companies or juice bars that offer these juices in ready-to-drink containers. You decide what works for you.
My 5 Day Juice Cleanse Experience
Day 1
It started with a smoothie around 11:15, intermittent fasting. That kept me full until 3:00 when we had watermelon juice with lemon & mint. It was pretty tasty. Side note it will make a sweet adult beverage in the summer.
I had cravings all day for salty foods and junk. I didn’t’ prepare myself to start the fast as I usually would have done. We had a big dinner the night before, and I think I was still full from that meal. I believe this is why my cravings are hitting me right off the bat.
I did have an avocado for dinner to try and curb hunger and cravings. It worked. I didn’t’ juice it but ate it whole.
Then I finished the night with a hot tea and went to bed shortly after with little rumbling in my tummy, but nothing that can’t’ be handled with a glass of water.
I plugged in for bed or grounded, and off to sleep I went.
And I noticed my hands were less swollen. This was starting to help.
Overall it was a pretty easy day, even with the salty cravings sneaking up on me. I kept busy so as not to notice.
Day 2
I woke up today feeling good and had a burst of energy. I cleaned the whole house and organized and anything else I could get my hands on, I did. Day 2 continued with juice, and I drank tons of water today.
My cravings are all over the place, and I’m trying not to think about it and stay focused. I’m not going to give in, but I know the most challenging day is yet to come, day 3. If I can make it through tomorrow and all the hard cravings that I know will happen, I can make it through.
I had some extra energy today and was able to stay up late to get some stuff done on this blog. I fell asleep quickly and slept well.
Day 3
Today was the hardest day by far. I wanted all the bad things to eat; pizza was the biggest. And we almost gave in to the cravings, but I knew we had to push through. These cravings were coming to the surface, so to speak, because of the detox.
This was by far the hardest, and I did want to give in and almost – so close – did. I’m getting tired of the juicing and need to switch it up. I knew if I could get some tomato juice and add something else to make it feel like I wasn’t juicing the same thing over and over, I could do it. So I hit my limit and know the only way to not give in to my cravings is to switch it up.
I feel much better, but I’m still having some bloating that I can feel and doesn’t seem to be going away. That’s how I know that I need to keep going because this fluid hasn’t been flushed yet. It’s’ taken a little longer this time compared to the last few cleanses I’ve’ done.
Day 4
Finally, I woke up, and the excess bloating I was feeling was not gone. And I can feel the noticeable difference in my entire body.
Today I woke up feeling good again but ready for a change in my juicing routine. I know if I can switch it up with a tomato juice, I can hang in there. So today, we restocked our fruit/veggie supply and stocked up on tomatoes and even low sodium V-8 for a fast fix. I couldn’t’ wait to make the tomato juice, so I had the V-8. I’m’ just trying not to fall off the cleanse. Don’t judge me.
Sometimes, I chewed (thoroughly) and ate grapes or an apple to help get me over the hump instead of the juice. I know it wasn’t’ juice, but I needed to do this so as not to fall off the cleanse. I didn’t’ eat anything else, and I just had an apple.
My cravings today have been curbed with tomato juice. I’m not having such cravings and can see doing the cleanse another day. I’m taking it one day at a time.
I had a deep sleep with extremely vivid dreams and for what seemed to be the same dream all night. It was like a movie.
Day 5
Today I’m feeling good and can keep going with the juicing. The tomato juice made all the difference in the world for me. I love tomatoes anyway, so this did the trick. I also made a pizza type of juice, which I preferred to heat and eat like a soup. Trying to drink this juice didn’t seem right, so I put it in a bowl and had soup.
This was an excellent way to feel like I was having a meal. It was interesting to see what a little mind trick can do to keep you on the path of juicing, which can have some challenging moments.
To add a little change-up in my water, I added cucumber. It’s these little added things that are keeping me on track. My craving for pizza is gone. Why pizza? I don’t know other than I wanted the cheesy goodness on the pizza. We don’t eat pizza that often. My daughter loves pizza, so she gets her little personal size pizza.
My cravings for bad foods are now gone. Now I’m’ craving healthy foods.
Most mornings, I had hot green tea before having any juice. I did not drink any coffee or regular tea. I’ve limited my intake of coffee to almost nothing, usually, and therefore didn’t’ experience any caffeine withdrawals that some may experience.
I drank water every day, all day. Of course, I added the cucumber water on day 4 to change things up a bit.
In total, I lost 5.5 pounds and felt so much better. My husband lost 12 pounds.
My Biggest Mistake Brought an Eye-Opening Light Bulb Moment
Ok, so I have to admit that I broke the cardinal rule of a juicing cleanse. Not to eat solid foods to break the fasting process. Or less, you’ll get an upset stomach, cramps, and not feel so well.
Usually, you need to start back slowly with solid foods for a few days. I like to start with some soups and salads to get things started. This time we gave in to the delicious smell of pizza, which I made for my daughters to eat that night.
OMG, it smelled so good, and we both caved and had a slice. Granted, the slice of pizza was a small little piece as it was a frozen pizza. Those store-bought pizzas and slices are not big. I digress.
So we broke the cardinal rule of juicing. I knew I would regret it in .2 seconds of taking the first bit.
But I didn’t. Well, I did as I knew better, having done this cleanse and many others like this liver cleanse umpteenth times in my life. However, had I not broken this rule, I would not have had the epiphany of what was causing my allergies.
Everything Happens for A Reason
I have been suffering from severe allergies this year compared to years past. My eyes are watering non-stop, congestion all night, thus preventing me from sleeping. Sneezing during the day and unable to enjoy these spring days.
Now I’m no stranger to seasonal allergies since I’ve’ battled them all my life. Until I did this, juicing cleanse about four years ago. This juicing cleanse done for 30 whole days. I’m still amazed that I did it!
That’s’ right, 30 days of nothing but juice! I felt amazing, lost weight, and, most importantly, my allergies were gone until this season. And they came back with a vengeance. Last year they started to creep back in, but I was able to fight it with Zyrtec, but that wasn’t working at all this year.
I had given up on my allergies, which prompted this juicing cleanse. It was time to cleanse again and get rid of these allergies.
Cut back to this last week and the first bite of the pizza I took. It was gloriously delicious. LOL
About 2 minutes later, my eyes started watering like crazy, and I felt immediate congestion again and proceeded to sneeze a few times.
My AHA! Light Bulb Moment!
I thought the allergies were from an external circumstance like pollen, pet dander, and dust was coming from my food!!?
OMG! My husband had the same reaction. Could it be?
I immediately looked up symptoms of gluten and wheat allergies. It was like reading my biography. Every symptom was what I felt most of my life and then again 2 minutes after eating the pizza.
I had to dig deeper. The funny thing is I already had the book Wheat Belly that I read and tried a few years back. But, I didn’t do much else besides read the book. So I reread it in a few days.
Now it all clicked.
Wow, I was on the right track a few years back but stopped too soon. Everything in this book makes so much more sense. Especially now that I feel I’ve’ identified the source of all my allergies and health issues.
As for my husband, felt tightness in his chest; he had asthma and congestion right away too. We both stopped and looked at each other as I said, maybe we have a wheat allergy, at least an intolerance. Either way, it wasn’t’ our friend.
We broke the cardinal rule, but this time, doing so brought more benefit than harm. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m happy that I had that little ol’ slice of pizza when I wasn’t supposed to.
If you’re wondering, we had a little stomach upset but nothing crazy other than an immediate allergy response.
Now, What Happens?
Now that I know about the wheat allergy, or very least, intolerance, I will be embarking on adapting my diet to be grain-free. I’ll’ keep you posted on this journey.
I’m’ very curious, to say the least, about how making this change will impact my overall health. So far, in what I’m reading, grains/wheat can wreak havoc on your entire health.
So what started as a juicing cleanse has ended with gaining more knowledge about possible culprits in my health and wellness. I’m’ excited and curious to begin this next phase in my health and wellness journey.
Are You Wondering If You Have the Same Thing?
A juicing cleanse is an excellent way to find out, but if that’s not for you, then try eating clean, i.e., Whole 30. Do this for a week or so, and later, try eating a gluten-laden food product and see if you react. It’s worth a try, and if not at the very least, you’ve cleaned up your diet, and that is always a good thing.
Stay tuned for more updates as I begin adapting to this new grain-free lifestyle.
I wish you peace and guidance on your journey. Take care and be well.
UPDATE 12/8/21
I, too, am still on my wellness journey, trying to figure out what works best for my body. And again, I have circled back around to this…wheat wrecks havoc on your body. At least for me. Again I’ve tested this theory on myself. Eat clean for a week, did paleo for a week and no meat for a week, then went back to gluten/wheat products.
What I found out was this.
I could eat maybe one thing like bread, and it would cause a minimal amount of irritation. Eyes are watering. But if I continued to add on to this meal with the next meal also containing wheat, then again the next meal. My body will go into full-on allergy mode days after the food is consumed. At least 2-3 days!
That is constant sneezing, congestion, watery eyes, and brain fog. Then I start to eat clean again, and it all goes away.
So here I go again with a permanent lifestyle change of being wheat-free because the consequences of not being wheat-free are so miserable that I can’t do it anymore.
Now, this is what happened to me. Remember, no two people are the same; therefore, no two people will have the same outcome or reaction. Try an elimination diet and see what you find out for your body. You may find out some of your health symptoms improve.
It’s worth a try!
