You’ve decided to do a juice cleanse. But there’s more to it than simply ordering the cleanse and sipping the juices provided. Preparing for a juice cleanse properly will help make the cleanse itself easier on your body. Before you place that juice order, read on to help you breeze through the cleanse with ease.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Clean up your diet before the cleanse. That’s right; before the juice cleanse, you have to cleanse your diet. Cancel those dinner plans you made to enjoy a decadent feast before your juice cleanse. You might not want to hear that but it is best to modify you diet a couple of days beforehand by weaning out foods like red meat, alcohol, caffeine, dairy and processed foods.
FIT YOUR FITNESS
Adjust your fitness regimen. Because you’re modifying your diet during your pre-cleanse, you should ease up on your activity levels as well since you may find you feel tired and sluggish. So put off your usual Spin class or 10k run and try something less intensive, such as a restorative yoga class.
PREP YOUR PANTRY
Stock your fridge with clean foods. During your pre-cleanse, given that you’re weaning out red meat and other foods, make it easier on yourself by stocking up on lots of vegetables and fruit (it’ll be easier to resist temptation if you readily have ingredients for a fantastic salad on hand). In fact, some people find lack of real solid food quite difficult during a juice cleanse, and in this case, you can opt to eat a wholesome salad during your cleanse in order to enjoy the sensation of chewing and having food in your belly.
HYDRATE WITH TEAS
Get a stash of herbal teas and lemons. During your cleanse (and even in the pre-cleanse stage) you can drink as much herbal tea and water with lemon as you wish. Both help to detox your body and you may find the extra hydration will help you feel fuller.
KEEP IT GOING
Plan to eat clean after your cleanse. Similarly to how you should ease into the cleanse with a pre-cleanse period, you should also plan for the few days following your juice cleanse to ease back into healthy eating. You don’t want to ruin the efforts of your cleanse by gorging on a plate of chicken wings; it will likely make you feel ill. Plan for light meals to break your cleanse.
