Written by Dana Connelly
Cleansing is not about weight loss, it’s about cleaning out your system and resetting it; the weight loss, if it happens, is a bonus.
Ever see the inside of a kitchen drain & pipe? In a new kitchen, those pipes are perfectly clear and clean and everything just flows right through with no issues. Over time, with greasy food particles and slimy discard from cooking and cleaning, the drains are no longer smooth along the sides. The particles begin to stick there. This begins to alter the free flowing pattern of the pipe and slows down the drainage. Eventually, it can even stop it entirely. The same happens with your intestines.
When you eat foods that are created in labs with a bunch of ingredients you can’t pronounce, your body doesn’t want to absorb it. So it tries to help it pass through, but now those pieces are stuck to your intestinal walls. This is the beauty of cleansing.
I’ve done them all.
My new fave is Organic Pharmer. When you take these flash frozen creations, your body is getting nothing but vitamins and minerals and all natural goodness. That in combination with a ton of water, creates a flush for your system. This allows your intestinal track to heal a bit and loosen up the toxins that can build up over time. The longer you cleanse, the greater the benefit, as now, your body is resetting itself and able to take full advantage of the nutrient dense food you’re providing it.
Once your one/three/five day cleanse is done, you begin to reintroduce more foods. The idea is to keep on the healthy bandwagon and choose things that are still nutrient dense and good for you; basically avoiding any food that has a commercial (except for avocados, they do have a commercial now, but they are still good for you). And before you continue to tell yourself that you could never do a cleanse, stop it. You can. Your body is still getting calories and carbs to sustain energy, just from fruits and vegetables. If you’re hungry, then eat some raw veggies or have an apple. You can do it and you will also learn during the cleanse about true hunger vs mental triggers. It’s really an amazing process.
The latest cleanse I did was a combination of juices and soups. THAT was a game changer. I felt amazing and regretted that it was just two days. I’ve never been a soup person, it’s a texture thing. But this French lentil soup that Organic Pharmer created, https://organicpharmer.com was freaking delicious. As was the detox soup. This is coming from a girl who would only eat soup if it was squash and not chunky (OMG, especially Panera Bread Winter Squash soup….nom nom nom….)
I’ve had another amazing week of clean eating and workouts and yet the scale creeps up in the opposite direction. Is it frustrating? Sure. But the science side of me knows that a thousand different things can be happening and I just need to trust the process. I’m definitely stronger and that means I’m creating more muscle. I’m sore from workouts, that means I’m retaining water for healing those micro tears in the muscle fiber. I’m less bloated for sure and that in itself is awesome. So I trust the process.
After all, when you get a flat tire, you don’t slash the other three before changing the first, right?!
This was my first time doing a juice cleanse. I was concerned about feeling hungry and weak. I was surprised on the first day of my three day cleanse, that this was not the case. The six different juices were filling and kept me satisfied all day and night. On the second day I was feeling more energetic and less bloated. Upon finishing my cleanse on day three I felt more alert, I was sleeping better. I wished I had purchased a five day cleanse.
I was nervous about starting to eat regularly again. However, I had the momentum to eat clean and really pay attention to what I was putting in my body. The first couple of days after my juice cleanse, I indulged in Dr. Blum’s Healing Soups.
I would definitely recommend the Organic Pharmer to anyone that feels out of balance and needs a boost. I am looking forward to my next 5 day cleanse!
Love all the soups; I feel better from the soups:
Sometime I add kale to the detox broth