Fitness Friday - Raw Juice Guru - Intermittent Fasting Juice Cleanse

SO I am holding true to one of my New Years Resolutions!

This year I wanted to try a Juice Cleanse or some kind of cleanse to get me back on track and feel a bit more “healthy”. I felt like after the holidays I just wasn't feeling my best and I knew I needed an overhaul to improve my eating habits!

I turned to my beautiful and talented sister in law the, Creator of Raw Juice Guru, to try one of her many wonderful vitamin packed Juice Cleanses!

The reason I decided to give this juicing thing a go is because I wasn’t feeling like myself lately. I also felt bloated, heavy, tired, lethargic and "Yucky", for a lack of a better word, so I thought now would be the perfect time to try a Juice Cleanse.

The reason why a Juice cleanse can be so beneficial to you is because it gives your digestive system a chance to rest and allows your body to fully absorb all of the nutrients from the juice. And without all of the extra pulp to digest your body is able to conserve its energy and heal from the inside out!

Juicing also helps your body to maintain a proper pH balance and maintaining a proper pH balance is super important to help ward off disease and other health problems!

I have also been guilty of overindulging especially during the holidays and a juice cleanse can help put an end to that as well! The Raw Juice Guru explains the reason we overeat and struggle with energy, weight and disease is because our bodies are not fully absorbing nutrients from the food we eat. And when your body is not absorbing nutrients, it will tell you to keep eating and lead to overeating. When your overeating your body becomes clogged with toxins and waste that our bodies can't metabolize and utilize efficiently and the good nutrients from our food doesn't have a chance to be fully absorbed by our bodies. Then we start crave more "garbage food" and the cycle continues. But when you are consuming only juices your body gets all the nutrients it needs with minimal digestive effort and the cravings will slowly go away!

At Raw Juice Guru there are a few different juice plans to pick from and you can customize them according to your preferences! And once you place your order your juice will arrive on your doorstep the next day, in the wee hours of the morning, all packaged up with an ice pack and a cooler so you can be sure the juices are very fresh and ready for your consumption. Its super convenient!

Usually juices lose their potency very quickly after you extract the juice from the fruit or veggies but the way the juice is extracted at Raw Juice Guru (cold pressed) the juices can actually last for up to a week in your fridge if you don’t want to consume them right away.

Since it was my first time I was a bit nervous but I jumped in with both feet and I have documented my one day juice cleanse below!

At 9 am I started my juicing plan, I sipped Juice #1 – Green Goodness throughout the first two hours of my day. I actually quite enjoyed this first juice. Its made of Spinach, Parsley, Cucumber, Lemon, Ginger and Apple. I guess the apple adds a bit a sweetness and the ginger adds a little bit of a kick! It tasted a bit like celery which I love so it tasted quite nice to me.

By 11 am I was starting to get a bit hungry but it was time for my second juice

I started my second juice “Spectrum” a little after 11 am and this juice is a mix of Apple, Carrot, Beet, Lemon and Spirulina. This juice tasted a bit sweeter then I was expecting probably because of the apple and carrot juices. And again I actually enjoyed this juice as well!

By noon, I started to get a bit more hungry and the cravings started as well. I think I was missing the feeling of "food" in my mouth. However, I am told the first day of a juice fast is the hardest and the cravings I am experiencing are natural…. So I pushed those cravings aside and reached for sip of my juice!

Juice #3 is called the Skin Revitalizer and it is a mix of Aloe Vera, Lemon, Manuka Honey and Purified Water! This one was not my favorite, lol… it was very lemony and a bit bitter… I missed the sweetness of the two juices before this one. I thought the honey would sweeten it up a bit, maybe it does, but I still think it is pretty tart.

I started Juice #3 after my 40 min cardio and 20 weight session and I found I still had an abundance of energy to complete my workout. I didn’t feel faint, lightheaded or dizzy and I felt quite rejuvenated after my workout. I started this juice around 1:30 pm.

When you are juicing they do recommend that you limit your physical activity especially on day 1 but with a two and a half year old at home my workout moments have to be added whenever I can fit them in and today was one of those days! Just be mindful you might want to take it easy on the days you are Juice cleansing.

By 3:30 pm I was starting to feel a bit sluggish, I don’t know if it was because of my workout or because of the juice fast but I was excited to reach for my 4th juice of the day!

Juice #4 is Berry Love 2.0 and with ingredients like Strawberry, Blueberry, Pineapple and Celery you know its going to taste delicious and it did! It still wasn’t as sweet as I had anticipated which goes to show you how much sugar must be added in our conventional juices or those juice bars at the mall! But it did add that little boost that I needed!

Juice #5 was the juice I had been waiting all day to try and unfortunately I had to wait until after I got off the GO Train at about 6:15 pm. It’s a Cashew Mylk and its made with Cashews, Coconut, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Purified water! This one can be used daily in place of your regular dairy, soy or almond milk and it tasted divine! I think this one is reserved for the end of your day because I think it probably has a lot of protein in it, being it’s a nut mylk, and it does satisfy the hunger you might have towards the end of the day!

FINAL VERDICT:

During the duration of my Juice fast, I didn’t feel any energy crashes during the day, even without my morning cup of Java!

After the juice cleanse I felt great and except for a bit of hunger throughout the day I has sustained energy, I didn't have any brain fog and I definitely felt a bit lighter and rejuvenated.

I did have to go to the washroom quite frequently as to be expected but I thought I might be going #2 a lot and that wasn’t the case. Maybe this is TMI but inquiring minds might want to know, lol.

Also the morning after my juice cleanse I was actually 1 pound lighter.... I know weight can fluctuate very easily so I am sure I will be gaining it right back again!

If your thinking of participating in a juice cleanse there are a few things to remember:

• Drink plenty of water with your juices. Since they are so concentrated in vitamins, minerals and amino acids you need the extra water to help with the detoxification process. So its recommended you drink at least 2 liters a day.

• Don’t chug your juices, you might become bloated and feel uncomfortable so, it might sounds odd but Raw Juice Guru reminds us to “chew” our juice like we would with food, that way your saliva is activated and your digestive juices start to work.

• Take it easy your first day, and if you feel sluggish, tired or have headaches remember this could happen and it is quite normal during the detoxification process. If you do experience any adverse side effects or are feeling really "off", trust your judgement and maybe try juicing again at another time.

• When you come off of a juice fast/cleanse it is important you reintroduce solid foods slowly, try to stay away from refined/processed foods and stick to whole raw foods if you can. This also goes for before you start your cleanse, you should get your body ready by eating plenty of fruits and veggies the days leading up to the cleanse. And during the cleanse make sure to stay away from any caffeine, added sugars or alcohol.

I really enjoyed this juice cleanse so I think I might try a 2 or 3 day cleanse next!

If you want anymore information about The Raw Juice Guru you can click here!

Happy Juicing...XOXO

SIMPLY TRULY JENNY...