Don’t Rush Into A Juice Fast – 5 Things You Should Know

The Dangers of Juice Fasting

Posted March 15th, 2010 by noelle | View Comments

Don’t Rush Into A Juice Fast – 5 Things You Should Know

Juice fasting can be a less than pleasant experience if you don’t approach it correctly. Avoid the discomfort I did during my first juice fast by following these tips.

A juice fast is beneficial if you follow a level that’s right for you
Don’t let your first experience be a total crisis!

On the cleansing spectrum tossing back only liquids for a few days is on the more progressive end of a diet detoxification. (Learn more about the many ways to detox here.)

A healthy diet filled with leafy greens, raw vegetables and fruits, and properly combined foods is another more moderate way to cleanse. I wish I had known about this when I first started to look into the benefits of juice fasting. I personally, found this more moderate cleansing much more enjoyable and I found I still reaped enormous health benefits. I just generally felt much more energetic and light.

If you are still digging the juice thing, and you want to do a fast, consider starting with a series of short fasts first to get the feel for it then build up to a longer fast. For instance, consume fresh pressed vegetable juices or green smoothies until lunch or maybe dinner if you’re feeling good. This menu may inspire you.
A juice fast unfortunately won’t solve a difficult relationship with food
Many of you, as I did, might feel that if you embrace a short two to three day juice fast it will help you to get back on track with healthy eating. While good in theory, it doesn’t always work. So I try and embrace these everyday cleansing techniques on a regular basis.
A juice fast can lead to harmful binges if the “re-feeding” period is not approached correctly
A juice fast can lead to harmful binges if the “re-feeding” period is not approached correctly. (I’m speaking from experience here.) Avoid this properly preparing your body. I recommend juicing until lunch or dinner a few days a week first.

If you are looking for someone to deliver fresh juices to your door try this one from The Blueprint Cleanse. Organic Avenue and Cooler Cleanse also offer great prepared juicing options. These are three fabulous juicing resources in New York City loved by veteran juicers and first time juicers alike. Best of all these companies ship nationally, if you just want someone to prepare your juices for you and tell you exactly what to drink. You can always put together your own juice cleanse too, of course. Putting together your own juice until dinner plan will certainly be more cost effective, but some people prefer the structure. Check out these juicer recipes for weight loss.

After juicing until lunch or dinner a few times, and you feel comfortable juicing until dinner 1 or 2 or even 3 days a week, you might want to do a short 2-3 day juice fast. While you will lose weight during a juice fast, you will regain it very quickly if you don’t adjust to the “re-feeding” period appropriately. Often times the “re-feeding” period is actually harder than the fast itself.

It takes willpower, because your taste buds feel like they are experiencing the taste of food for the first time. It’s important therefore to ease into juice fasting through mini fasts, which will help you boost your tolerance and appetite control once you come off the fast.
You need to “keep things moving”
When you are juice fasting for longer than 2-3 days, you must also be “keeping things moving” with a few trips to the restroom. This crucial detail is often not fully disclosed in most juicing resources – or its hidden in the details which is frustrating!! Many beauties might be able to avoid the headaches and uncomfortable side effects of juicing more easily!

Why is it so important to eliminate you ask? The reason is because juicing loosens up old waste and softens up crud in the body. However, juicing doesn’t ultimately enable you to push that waste out the door like fibrous veggies and fruits do. Cleansing gurus believe this is what often creates headaches and causes lots of emotional discomfort.

I have heard first time juicers say they had a wonderful experience on a 7 day juice fast without any uncomfortable side effects. And while this may be true, it’s not true for everyone. This blissful experience usually catches up with the juicers on the second go around. Many detox gurus and home juice companies will tell you that if you are doing a juice fast for longer than 2-3 days you need to schedule a gravity administered colonic. If the concept of this makes you feel totally uncomfortable that’s fine. In this case, just juice until dinner or keep your juice fasting under three days.
If you are juicing and if you’re not “keeping things moving” then you need to consider one of the following:
1. Stop your juice cleanse and eat a light, vegetarian dinner. If you are doing a “mini” fast until lunch or dinner, a clean meal centered around raw and steamed veggies would help with your “keeping things moving.” The benefits of your cleanse would not be sacrificed. Remember the point of a juice fast is to cleanse and REMOVE toxins, you are not doing that if you are not eliminating the waste the juices are extracting from the tissues and cells of the body.
2. If you want to continue juicing and not eat a solid meal during your fast, a gravity administered colonic will help with eliminating loosened up toxins. Keep an open mind with me here…they actually feel TERRIFIC.