When it comes to cleansing, let’s be honest, most of us just want to lose a few pounds. Don’t be embarrassed, I’m with you. Sometimes after traveling, a few fun nights out or after a long holiday weekend etc, it feels as if your jeans just fit a little tighter than they used to. And so the question, do you lose weight on a cleanse? Learn more from Jenny Nelson, Wellness Specialist & Coach for Dr. Alejandro Junger’s Clean Program below. She provides a few things to think about as you gear up for a cleanse with the goal of losing weight. Her specific commentary relates to Dr. Junger’s Clean Program, which I will be giving a shot starting on August 1st. Learn more about The Clean Program and enter to win a Clean Kit here.

Cleansing, The Clean Program + Weight Loss

First and foremost, the main goal of The Clean Program cleanse (any really any cleanse) is is not to lose weight. The primary goal of these 21 days are to rebuild and repair the digestive tract for overall optimal health and vitality.

Weight loss happens to be of the side benefits that often occurs, but it happens differently for each person, keeping in mind that weight loss is always greater amongst those who actually need to lose weight, since the body is constantly looking to find its own unique and ideal state of balance. So this means that if someone (often men who start the program) is concerned about losing too much weight on the cleanse, they can always add more calories during the program as well as strategically put the weight on again if some initially comes off in the beginning. Think of a house being stripped down to it’s foundation when being restored.

Everyone should make sure they’re eating plenty of good fats, clean proteins, and whole grains to find their ideal balance.

The body always wants to find it’s own unique balance which is why different things work for different people and not everyone will have the same results following the exact same plan.

Here are some of the suggestions and thoughts surrounding finding that ideal balance for our individual bodies:

1. Give your body a time to do its housework – usually overnight In The Clean Program, a 12 hour window begins for this housework from the evening “meal” (shake, juice or soup) until the morning shake. Keeping this period free of solid food is essential for detoxification, weight loss and boosting energy – as it gives your body a wonderful cleanse and the space to do all that intense gut work throughout the night rather than spend energy digesting food!




2. Snacking is fine throughout the day on “clean” foods (especially whole fruits and vegetables for optimal weight loss if that’s a goal of yours) but make sure you’re truly hungry and not just bored or eating to cover emotions or out of habit- drink a large glass of water instead if you feel hungry and wait 20 minutes and see if you’re still hungry- oftentimes we’re really just dehydrated!




3. Drink lots of fresh green juices and herbal tea as well to keep overeating in check – and eat anything (lunch or snacks) mindfully and slowly so it can register in the brain when you’re truly satisfied. If you’re using The Clean Kit, the Balance supplement will help control sugar and overall food cravings, stabilizing blood sugar levels. (Spirulina will have a similar effect if you are doing an at home version of The Clean Program and the powder can be used in smoothies, soups, grain dishes and salads as often as you like.) Either way, The Clean Kit or at home version of The Clean Shakes with Spirulina perhaps, the shakes are so protein rich and filling that snacking shouldn’t be needed too much throughout the day-but definitely make sure you’re not starving and uncomfortable.

   For more information on snacking and The Clean Program – which may be completed by following a step-by-step guide at home, or with the help of a Clean Kit – log onto the Clean Community site’s FAQ page and search for “Is Snacking Ok While On The Program.”

4. Make sure and eat enough. Remember that sometimes restricting calories too much can make our bodies hold onto excess weight as it thinks it has to prepare for a famine (primal and instinctive behaviors that are still working in our bodies!), so make sure you’re not letting your metabolism slow down too much- if you’re absolutely and truly starving (not just bored, eating out of habit, or dehydrated which can masquerade as hunger) then feel free to snack on fresh vegetable juices, whole fruits and vegetables (maybe with some guacamole or hummus), or an avocado eaten out of the skin (good healthy fat that will actually store in the body as energy and not fat which helps us lose weight in the long run), lots of water and herbal teas, etc.

   As mentioned above, good quality fats like avocados and coconut oil are great to incorporate, helping to metabolize fats and storing as energy in the body rather than fat- and keeping nuts to a minimum is often helpful for weight loss as well.




5. Keep moving – at least 20 minutes a day of stretching, dancing, walking, anything to move your body around-it doesn’t have to be super intense- just get that lymph flowing and muscles active so you can burn more fat and amp up sluggish blood! Especially if you work at a desk or computer and spend a large part of your day sitting with a compressed spine!




6. Finally, it’s highly recommended that you put the scales away – and let your body do all of the important digestive tract and detox work, and let the weight loss happen when your individual body is ready to let go, keeping the movement, hydration and healthy food choices going, and focusing on how you FEEL rather than what the scale says.
   
   
   Remember this: you might be heavier on the scale as your body loses the extra fat (not the protective layer under the skin) and fills out with lean muscle mass. . . . so learn to gauge it by how your body feels rather than the numbers on the scale, since the extra “weight” will be mostly bone and lean muscle mass.

Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m delighted today to once again announce the gals at the BluePrint Cleanse are giving away a sampling of their most popular juices to encourage you to come on over and experience the feel good benefits of fresh pressed juice yourself. (Early summer is awesome isn’t it?)

Blueprint Cleanse “Tasting Flight” Giveaway

One lucky Green Lemonade reader will win Blueprint’s Tasting Flight juice package which consists of 2 fresh-pressed PineApple Mint juices, 2 Spicy Lemonades and 2 Cashew Milk drinks.

This package is a great way to gradually integrate a fresh pressed juice or two into your day. You’re still eating delicious foods, and simply complimenting your day with a fresh pressed juice instead. No more worrying about drinking “only” juice.

For instance, you might wake up in the morning and start your day with one of Blueprint’s Spicy Lemonade juices for a morning pick me up. Then feeling so good, you might sip on a PineApple Mint juice to carry you through till lunch. Later afternoon you might snack on a Cashew Milk instead of a bag of chips from the vending machine. Feeling so good on day one, you might consider repeating the routine again another day!

Blueprint’s Tasting Flight juice package is a $75 value – free, to one lucky Green Lemonade reader!

How to win in this 2nd BluePrint Cleanse Giveaway

To enter to win Blueprint’s Tasting Flight package of juices simply:

add a comment on the bottom of this post explaining what you love (or are anxious to try) about this 6-pack sampler from the BluePrint team!

If you’d like an additional chance to win, sign up to receive a weekly email (soon to come) from Green Lemonade.

Good luck! The winner will be announced on Tuesday June 15th!

Email newsletter to begin shortly. Sign up for giveaways and more!

Over the next few weeks, there will be a lot more healthy, natural, feel-good giveaways to come – including more juices and smoothie giveaways as well as fun, unique “clean eating” snacks and healthy-lifestyle essentials. Stay tuned for fun occasional indulgences and a little something here and there just to make you smile too.

Sign up on email at Green Lemonade to stay in touch with all the fun and an array of upcoming giveaways.

And please let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see more of either in terms of content here at Green Lemonade or as a giveaway! I will do my best. Send me an email.

Looking for a detox retreat? Check out the We Care Spa in Desert Hot Springs, California. This juice fasting and detox retreat is a well renowned cleansing center. Its profile has been raised in recent months following the growing popularity of celebrity detox veteran and author of Clean, Alejandro Junger, MD. Dr. Junger participated in a two-week juice fast and detox program at We Care Spa based on vegetable juices and colon cleansing earlier in his career. It was an experience that compelled him to author his book “Clean”.

Have you heard of this retreat? Would you be interested in participating in such a detox escape?

“You find that every part of your body works better, imbalances are rectified, and irritating symptoms get a chance to melt away on their own – all by “switching on” a system that you were born with and that has been patiently waiting to serve you.” – Alejandro Junger, MD

With your party filled, hectic lifestyle, the last thing you have time for is a short one to three day juice fast. No social obligations or client dinners for a few days? PUH-lease.

But these days, its hard to ignore the growing curiosity about cleansing. Don’t let the tales and descriptions of extreme, uncomfortable liquid fasts (usually water-only fasts) overwhelm you. It’s about finding an intelligent, NUTRITIOUS, juice fast that is compatible for you.

Curious about what a short 1, 2 or 3 day juice fast can do for you? Curious what happens in a juice fast? Read on…

1. Toxins begin to mobilize, and leave the body

   In a fast, the intake of food is ceased allowing nature to begin the process of mobilizing accumulated toxins circulating in the blood and others from their storage areas deep in the tissues of the body. Diseased tissues are also released into the circulation for elimination.

   Enzymes stop entering the stomach for digestion and move instead into the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they circulate and eat up waste matter, including dead and damaged cells, as well as fat and other metabolic waste (we actually generate some waste just from our normal digestion!), and pollutants.
   

2. Body gets a chance to “catch up” on housework

   The body and its organs of elimination get an opportunity to catch up with their house work. A nutritious fast also begins to eliminate waste from the blood and body tissue. A fast also loosens up the mucus that coats the waste or “irritations”. You notice this mucus in the body when you have a cold.

   Complete elimination of the waste dredged up in a juice fast, however, requires the assistance of gravity method colonics (preferably). If colonics are not an option, a gentle herbal laxative (Nature’s Calm is a good one favored by this community) should be taken. Proper food combining upon the exit of a short juice fast is essential to further support the release of waste and toxins pulled out of the tissues from the fast.
   

3. Fasting increases the nutrients available to the body

   A fast helps to purify and oxygenate the bloodstream as diseased and fatty waste narrowing the blood vessels begins to mobilize. Clean, pure, oxygenated blood delivers nutrients and oxygen to every cell in the body, and it also has the job of carrying away metabolic wastes from the cells for excretion in the kidneys and lungs. Blood that is weighed down with excesses can’t perform these functions as effectively.
   

4. “Daily Moments” Rise

   A fast helps improve digestion and relieve constipation – which is a key contributor to good health! Good eliminations signal the body’s healthy ability to release toxins that accumulate from unhealthy eating, overeating and environmental stresses.
   

5. Physiological terrain in the body Is re-established

   A fast re-establishes the physiological terrain of the body. Fasting effects not only our physical being, but our mental, emotional, and spiritual being as well.
   

6. Mind is cleared

   A fast clears and strengthens the mind. Over 95% of the brain’s “feel good” serotonin production is actually manufactured in the intestines – with the balance manufactured in the brain*. People are realizing just how important the health of the colon is. Removing blockages and restoring the internal colon terrain is key to your health.

   * Check out “The Second Brain,” By Dr. Michael D. Gershon for more information.

7. Youthful energy is restored

   A fast restores a youthful energy and rejuvenates the body. I always feel light and full of energy when I complete a short juice fast (2-3 days) and even when I do a series of “juicing until dinner” days.
   

Learn more about juice fasting

You might also appreciate these articles on juice fasting.

• Juice fasting 101.
• 8 juice diet myths busted.
• How to prepare your body for a juice fast
• Sample menu: How to prepare your body for a juice fast
• Juicer recipes for weight loss
• The many ways to detox

“We are killing ourselves with the same chemicals we invented to make life easier.” Alejandro Junger, MD

These days we in New York like nothing more than smooth, glowing skin and to fit into our snuggest pair of skinny jeans. (So what if it means not eating for 3 days?) NO, NO we’re not that superficial. These days cleansing and detoxing, as it relates to health and losing weight, is becoming popular once again as:

• Our culture becomes aware of the impact that our food choices have on our health and on our environment. After decades of enjoying quick, ‘grab and go’ foods, we are realizing that we’d like to lose a few points and, furthermore, we could all do with a bit more energy. We want to feel better and are more open than ever to embrace new thinking on health. We also want to show our planet a little love as well.




• More farmers markets start to appear. Increased publicity and growing demand for locally grown, organic foods is helping to raise awareness for healthy living and eating.




• Talk of toxins starts to resonate with people. Every day we are bombarded with toxins. Our environment, poor eating and over eating all contribute to our toxic load. Drinking veggies juices and eating lots of fresh leafy greens, raw fruits and veggies, act like ‘draino’ in our system loosening up blockages and waste to prepare it for elimination.




• Uncomfortable digestive problems start to plague more people. Sure, its not pleasant to talk about, but constant constipation is a contributor to us not feeling good. Not eating enough of the right foods (leafy greens, veggies, fruits), and more than enough of the wrong foods (usually of the boxed variety) results in this situation. Surprisingly, you’re constipated if you’re not cranking out some #2 time in the bathroom at least 1-2x a day.




• Vanity rises. Let’s face it, fasting (if done correctly) will lead to weight loss and boost energy levels if conducted intelligently.

And so it goes, a combination of fresh pressed vegetable juices, green smoothies and raw fruits and veggies are cleansing tools for the body. They attach themselves to toxins and waste loosening their grip and preparing them for removal. The key is balancing a cleansing diet, with cooked foods to keep the detoxification comfortable and sustainable.

Juice. Cleanse. Eliminate. Feel better. Repeat.

Learn more

Interested in learning more about the beauty of indulging in more whole, natural foods and fresh juices to cleanse your body, gain energy, and make your skin truly glow? Check out these resources.

1. Juice Fasting 101
2. Dr. Oz Garcia: Intermittent cleansing can help your metabolism
3. Eat More Real Foods, Feel Better
4. The Benefits of Starting Your Day With A Green Smoothie Or Juice
5. Should You Do A Cleanse?
6. Green Based Juices Are Best For Juice Fasts
7. Prepare for a 3 Day Juice Fast – Juice Until Dinner
8. Looking To Do A Whole Body Cleanse?
9. More About The Real Foods Movement and Green Lemonade

For those of you interested in learning more about the benefits of a veggie-centric diet and juicing, check out these books. These are all the books I wish I had in the beginning of my journey to learn more about healthy, vibrant eating.

Recommended Reading List

• The China Study – T. Colin Campbell, PhD




• Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual – Michael Pollan




• The Raw Food Detox Diet – Natalia Rose




• Mucusless Diet Healing System – Arnold Ehret




• Eat to Live – Joel Fuhrman, MD




• Clean – Alejandro Junger, MD




• How to Keep Slim Healthy & Young with Juice Fasting – Paavo O. Airola




• Fasting and Eating for Health – Joel Fuhrman and Neal D. Barnard




• Pure and Simple Natural Weight Control – Norman W. Walker, MD




• Rational Fasting – Arnold Ehret




• Definite Cure of Chronic Constipation – Arnold Ehret

Learn more

You might also appreciate these articles on juicing:

1. Juice Fasting 101
2. Best Juice for Fasting
3. Don’t Rush Into A Juice Fast – 5 Things You Should Know
4. Prepare for A Juice Fast: Juice Until Dinner