Well, you have your juice cleanse in your hand, and you’re thinking, “Now what?” Juice cleanses can be pretty rough, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not a great time to explore your mind. Everyone always needs help before they start a big adventure. How to prepare for a juice cleanse is one of them. So here are some tips.
Write Down The Foods You Are Craving
This one is important, because it’s really important to know your mind. I’ve long felt there are two types of cravings: the pleasure craving and the nutrient craving. The pleasure craving is exactly what it sounds like: you just want the taste of something whether it’s chunky monkey ice cream or a huge honking burger. Pleasure craving food tends to be food you treat yourself to. It’s snack food, comfort food, and last minute dinner choices all rolled into one. Nutrient craving is that feeling, “I’m missing something,” and your body starts screaming at you to have it. One of my nutrient cravings is orange juice. I never want orange juice during my day to day life. But the second I start getting that weird craving for orange juice, I know that’s my body’s way to telling me, “Hey man, you’re starting to get sick.”
Because you’re depleting your body of both pleasure foods and nutrient foods while you’re cleansing, try to figure out which craving is which. Parsing out these cravings will really help you make the right food choices once you’re off the juice cleanse. You’ll know the difference between when you want that juicy red hamburger because your body needs the protein and iron from the meat, and when you’re body just wants taste that savory goodness.
Begin Thinking About Portion Size
This is one of those things that I mentioned in another article about juice cleansing, but suffice it to say it’s super important to think about portion size. Look at your cups. How much juice are you drinking? Do you know? I’m drinking a “glassful”? You’re going to need to think about it a lot when you’re off the juice cleanse. Portion size is one of the keystones to keeping your gains. Think about it as you’re cleansing, then make a plan to eat less when you’re done.
Your Hunger Meter Is Going To Be Reset
This is the perfect time to get used to the actual feeling of hunger. There are no two ways about it: you are going to feel hungry. You’ve cut your calorie intake pretty heavily, and that’s ok. Unless you’ve grown up poor, you’ve probably never experienced real hunger. Now you’re going to know what real hunger feels like.
This is an important step to weight control. In the Western world, you and I and everyone else has been culturally programmed to ignore what real hunger feels like. We eat at certain times of the day instead of when we’re hungry. We finish a full plate of food instead of listening for our body to tell us when we’re full. All of our cues about when we’re hungry and when we’re full come from external sources instead of internal signals.
So you’re going to be perpetually hungry as you go through the day, because “fullness” comes from the feeling of the empty plate, not when your stomach is full of food. Let your body adjust. Go with the flow. Juice cleanses are both mental and physical. They can put you back in touch with your body. You just need to listen to it.
Plan a Better Tomorrow
As you’re going through your cleanse, think about the type of food you want to ingest on a regular basis.
Think about how you want to incorporate those changes into your life. Like I’ve mentioned before, you don’t need to lead a celebrity lifestyle in order to eat fruits and veggies everyday.
Think of the places you eat regularly. At some places, there are probably no redeeming qualities to their menu. Get rid of them. At other places, order different things from the menu. Make sure those entrees include things that are green. A lot of places still make things protein style aka lettuce wrapped. Sure, it ain’t the tastiest, but the full fiber from lettuce will definitely help keep your daily calories and little bit lower, and make you a little bit fuller. You’ll can do it.
Comment below if you have your own tips for changing your life during a juice cleanse, and don’t forget to like us on FB and follow us on Twitter.
So go out there and start that juice cleanse. You got this.
