Juice fasting is an excellent way to detox your body, lose weight, and take a big step in the right direction towards radical health. While many people are interested in juice fasting, not too many people fall through with it or even understand where to get started. In this article I want to look at some tips for making your juice fast not only successful from start to finish, but a safe and rewarding experience. Let’s jump right to it!
Some people juice fast by simply buying pre-made bottles of juice from the store. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it’s a very different kind of juice fast and it’s similarity to what I’m discussing in this article is really in name only. Store bought juice, such as apple juice, orange juice, and the majority of products sold in the same aisle often contain anywhere from zero to 10% juice. The rest is water and a heavy dose of sugar and sweeteners. The approach I’m looking at is drinking juice that’s freshly made from real sources – fruits and vegetables. There are many stainless steel juicers under $200 you can buy for your fast to make fresh juice as every meal. This ensures a constant abundance of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in your juice, something you won’t get from juice at the store. As a bonus, you will then have an awesome juicer on hand to use not just for fasting but to incorporate fresh juice into your diet as you like!
On a similar note, although there is not difference in nutritional value when comparing organic against conventional fruits and vegetables, by choosing organic fruits and vegetables as our juice sources we can reduce the chance of free radicals forming in your body, as well as preventing other industrial and environmental toxins from entering your body.
This is also important considering that everything on this diet will be from fresh produce, which when not organic is literally covered in chemicals. This includes not just during the season while it’s planted and grown, but even to the point of spraying it with chemicals to appear shiny and bright in the grocery store. If you can afford organic, it will remove all this gunk from our diet.
If eating all organic, keep in mind the cheapest organic food that is also fantastic as a base in your juice drinks is carrots. Some stores sell over sized bags of organic juicing carrots. You will find the price per pound to be very affordable compared to most other organic options.
The best approach to juice fasting is to look at it as a means of cleaning out your body and improving your health. Weight loss to some extent is typically a natural result of this. But what we don’t want to do is simply become overwhelmed with a focus on weight loss. This is unhealthy and also tends to deter people from sticking to their diet long enough to see results anyway. If you make the decision to fast on fresh juice, do it with a commitment to your health over everything else!
They say that if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. This is true when it comes to setting up a diet plan as well! Planning ahead what you will be making into juice will accomplish a number of things. You are more likely to consume enough calories to fight off hunger pains and stick to the diet, thus keeping a successful fast. It will help fight cravings and also make you more committed to seeing through the fast.
I’d suggest figuring out 5-6 drinks you really like and making sure you have the supplies on hand to make them at any time. I’d also suggest stocking up heavily on whatever items you tend to use as a base or otherwise juice the most. For me this would include carrots, spinach, and cabbage. Whatever it is for you, identify it in advance and stock up.
If fasting is a new experience for you, I’d suggest doing a shorter fast to start with. A 3 day juice fast is a great place to start. Going for something longer the first time might set you up for failure. Gain the confidence you need and learn the ropes of body cleansing with something shorter. Then, if you’d like, go for something a bit longer and you will be more likely to see success at both.
Writing down what you eat will help keep you focused and also offer the ability to analyze your diet afterwards to see what worked best or identify any problem areas. You may find it helpful to also use this journal to jot down notes on your energy levels and any emotional responses you experience during your fast. Small details such as this can become very important later on when assessing your fast and especially when planning for your next juice cleanse.
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