Dieting. We have all been there. I’m not sure if I have ever come across a single soul that has never considered dieting, let alone been on an actual diet. You might find yourself pseudo-dieting even when you aren’t in an active dieting mindset. Any of these things sound familiar?
- I shouldn’t eat that
- I feel like I’m getting fat
- That’s too many carbs
- That’s too high in sugar
- I’d like to lose 5 pounds
- I need something to kickstart my weight loss
- I have no self control
- I wish I had more willpower
We say things like this constantly, almost in passing like they don’t really mean anything or we don’t know what we mean by them. But the more we say them, the more meaningful they become to us and those around us. It becomes part of our personality.
Not immune to this kind of thinking, there have been multiple occasions in my own life that I feel I’ve taken to the extreme to change my appearance, and felt terrible after.
The worst I’ve ever felt: juice cleanse edition
I got very into working out at the gym in my early 20s. The gym I belonged to had some older trainers that I really looked up to. I remember one of them telling me that he had recently done a juice cleanse and lost 10 pounds in a week.
Intriguing.
How does a juice cleanse work?
Juice cleanses have many mythical benefits. I think most people use them for weight loss. There are mentions of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals, detoxing, etc. There simply are no “cleansing” or “detoxifying” properties of juice. Period.
The marketing of juice cleanses is meant to flush out your system of toxins and kickstart weight loss.
They are meant to be done periodically whenever you feel like your body needs cleansing, or after a period of time where you may have been eating less nutritious than regular.
So, how did it go?
Terrible! I remember picking up my box of 18 juices for my three days and lugging it to my apartment. The morning of the first day, most of them got shoved in my work bag because I always ate breakfast, lunch and snacks at my office.
The morning juice was greens (I assume kale + spinach) with some lemon, ginger, and probably some other popular detox ingredients. Except this one wasn’t juiced, it was blended. It was SO chunky and tasted so terrible I couldn’t get down more than a small sip at a time. I nursed it for hours in the morning, so long that it eventually became warm.
The other juices weren’t bad, but they did nothing to put even a small dent in my hunger.
I specifically remember it snowed that day (why did I choose to do this in the winter?) and leaving the office early. I vividly recall sneaking a piece of roasted sweet potato I had in my refrigerator when I got home.
That night I was exhausted. Having essentially starved myself for two straight days, I was feeling it. I remember drinking my night juice, which was a blend of almonds and cinnamon and truly was pretty good, in bed in a hoodie because I was cold and tired.
I went to bed at 7:30 pm just so I could end the day.
What was the outcome of the juice cleanse?
The outcome was that I was hungry. As for weight, I am sure I lost a pound or two, but knowing what I know now about the body and nutrition, that was not bodyweight.
Did I feel more energized, lighter, detoxified, or healthier in any way? Nope.
Moral of the story: you do not need to do a juice cleanse.