Juice Til Dinner Reflections

Provided I don't go crazy and totally blow it today, I'll have made it through a week of Juice til Dinner.

I consider it a success because I drank my 4 juices a day, and stuck to my rules of
-Greatly reduce caffeine
-No sugar
-No gluten
-No dairy (except Greek yogurt)
-No meat

I did end up eating a little more food than I wanted, but I think that was because I kept up my high activity level. It was important to me to be able to continue my regular high intensity workouts through the week, so I was willing to eat more solid food than the program typically calls for. When I ate, it was generally because I was feeling dizzy and woozy, so I felt like I really needed the food. I found this schedule worked well for me: 

1/4 cup quinoa with 1/4 cup almond milk for breakfast before working out

juice 1 post workout

juice 2 11 am

miso broth with a very small amount of tofu and juice 3 at 1pm

juice 4 (and a brown rice cake with hummus if needed) at 3 pm

Dinner at 5:30 pm

Small bowl of greek yogurt with 1/4 cup toasted oats and 2 tablespoons nuts at 7 pm

My energy levels were all over the place. Wednesday I felt amazing all day and hardly even wanted dinner. Thursday afternoon I felt terrible and just wanted to sleep. But, I was overall amazed at the fact that I rarely felt hungry. 

Mostly, I feel like this was a great mental exercise. It made me very conscious of how often I want to eat for reasons other than hunger. I hope to keep using the strategies I used this week, like going for a short walk or having a cup of tea, when I want a snack. It also reminded me that I really don't need the big portions I think I do. Most importantly, it helped break my sugar habit. Yesterday I went into the grocery store and I walked right by the bakery and the ice cream section without stopping to drool. 

I know this weekend is Easter, but I am going to try very hard not to drop back into my old habits. I may also try to continue avoiding sugar, gluten, and most dairy during the week (but with solid food) because it forces me to consumer a lot more fruit, veggies, and high quality whole grains. 

Juice Til Dinner Day 1

I made it through day of my juice cleanse and I am feeling great! It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

gotta have a little coffee

Monday night I met with my fellow juice cleansers and our coach, Emily, at the Public Market House. She gave us a whole workbook to use as a resource during the cleanse. This included the dinner recipes, the juice schedule, information about cleansing, and tips for successfully making it through the program. The thing I really like about her method is that it is all about setting you up for success.

Yes, it would be ideal to eliminate caffeine, but if giving up your coffee is going to make you so miserable that you quit all together, then go ahead and have some coffee. I really love my coffee, so I am allowing myself one cup (instead of my usual 2 or 3). I find that when I know I only get one, I really savor it!.

The program also recognizes, that juice alone might not get us through the day, especially if we are active. So, there are suggested snacks that still allow us to avoid sugar, gluten, meat, and dairy. I did go for a run yesterday morning before I picked up my juice and came back totally starving, so I had a brown rice cake and some almonds.

I then picked up my juice at the Maine Squeeze, where it is prepared fresh each morning.

I had my first juice at 9 am. Juice number one was a green juice with spinach, kale, apple, cucumber, carrot, and ginger. 

I had juice 2 at 11 am. This was a light juice, with lemon, apple, and ginger. 

I snuck out for a noon time yoga class (so that I could say good-bye to my favorite yoga teacher who is moving). After yoga, I was feeling light-headed, so I had a brown rice cake with 2 tablespoons of hummus and 5 baby carrots when I home. 

I had juice 3 around 1:30. This was another green juice with kale, spinach, parsley, cucumber, celery, apple, and ginger. 

I had my final juice around 3:30, which had carrots, lemon, apple, and ginger. This one was supposed to have beets, but I can't stand beets, so they made mine beet free. Today they forgot though and added the beets, so we will see how that goes!

For dinner I had fish skewers with mushrooms and peppers along with sides of asparagus and black rice. Before bed, I also had a small bowl of greek yogurt with some frozen berries. 

Overall, I really didn't feel that hungry. Knowing that I had a real meal to look forward to in the evening made it easier to stick to the juice during the day. I felt like I physically needed the 2 snacks I had during the day because of my activity level. The point of this is to feel better- not to try and push through when I feel dizzy and sick. 

It made me hugely aware of how often I eat when I am not hungry. When the fiance came home with Dunkin Donuts hash browns, I would usually grab one without thinking. Mid-afternoon I would usually head to the kitchen for a snack when all I really wanted was a short break from work. At night when my friend came over, I would usually make popcorn or something for us to munch on. It is a good exercise to stop myself when I go to reach for food and ask myself if I am really hungry. 

Do you think I'll make it through all 4 days? What would be the hardest thing for you to give up?