Juicing - Week 2

Posted by Jill

I couldn't be happier to be at the 2 week mark, since starting this juice cleanse.  Week one was tough, and I'm happy to say that week two was easier.  And more importantly, I feel so much better.  I can't say my health stuff is 100% cleaned up, but it's incredible how much it's improved in just two weeks.

So my plan of attack for week two was to continue on the same routine as week one, with some minor adjustments.  For instance, I added kelp or mung bean noodles into my broth at lunch.  It made a huge difference in making me feel satisfied.  I also had smaller juices all throughout the day, instead of big juices spaced out every few hours.  Then, in the last 3 days of this week, I added in some raw veggies and hummus.  Not much, just a little snack at the end of the day, which proved to be the time of day when I was most hungry and wanting to eat half a pizza while simultaneously crying myself to sleep.

When it's all said and done, I'm really glad that I stuck with this initial phase for a full two weeks.  It really helped give my body time to adjust.  Here's the rundown of things I've noticed in the past two weeks, and the reasons I am so happy that I did this.

• My pH level is damn near perfect - I test my pH levels once or twice a day, since this was one of the factors I was actively trying to improve with this cleanse.  Two weeks ago I was averaging a level of 5.75-6.0, which is very acidic.  Now I average a 7.5 to 8.0 which is alkaline and ideal.  I use test strips by pH Ion and it's a quick test strip.  You can learn more by googling 'healthy pH level' or checking out this article. 
• I've lost weight.  12-14 pounds, depending on the time of day.  Most people assume that a juice cleanse means heavily restricted calories, but that's not how I approached it.  My calorie count was pretty consistent with what I was eating before the cleanse, but the difference was that each calorie had a nutritional benefit.  If it didn't help my body, I didn't drink/eat it.  So I lost weight simply by what I was eating, NOT how much I was eating.  It's not water weight and it won't come back immediately when I reduce my juicing, if I continue to make smart choices.
  
• I've kicked caffeine.  For now.  ;-)  I love coffee so I doubt that I'll never have it again, but my dependency on it is gone.  I can wake up and start work without a cup of tea or coffee.  No headache, no irritability.  That, my friends, is a first for me.  I do still drink herbal tea and occasionally yerba mate, but I don't need it.  That's important to me. 
  
• My energy level is higher.  This didn't happen until the end of the two weeks.  In fact, for most of the cleanse, I was super tired even after a full night of sleep.  But then, something just changed and I felt great.  I still do. 
  

So what's next?  I'm going to stick with my juice for breakfast and my broth and juice for lunch.  I like this combo, it makes me feel satisfied and focused.  I don't know how long I'll continue with it, but at least this next week. 

For dinner, I'd like to start incorporating some raw food meals.  I miss being in the kitchen and I miss biting into food.  But I don't think I'm ready to go back to regular meals, even our healthy vegan ones.  Raw food just seems like the logical next step. 

For snacks, I'm going to stick with raw fruits and veggies, with hummus and nut butter sparingly.  I also love blending frozen banana into something that resembles ice cream.  I'm going to hold off on adding in regular desserts, so this will be my dessert type treat.

Thanks for those who sent in supportive and encouraging words - I appreciate you all!  This has been a challenging and awesome cleanse and I'm ready to take it into the next stage.  I'm already dreaming of a raw peanut sauce/kelp noodle type dish for dinner tonight....