A Step-By-Step Guide To Surviving Your First 3 Day Juice Cleanse
It’s difficult not to take notice of the juice cleanse craze that has taken over major cities in the past few years. From avid health nuts to your average Joe looking for a little pick-me-up, juice cleansing has intrigued even the most skeptical among us. Of course, completing a juice cleanse from your local juice bar franchise is no small feat, and the task should not be taken lightly. If you’ve been considering a 3 day juice cleanse to reboot your system and rid your body of toxins that are weighing you down, there are a few things you should know to help you get through it. Yes, there will be highs, and there may be lows, but with this handy guide, you’ll be well on your way to accomplishing your juice cleanse like a pro! Let’s start with the basics about what to expect day-by-day.
The First Day of Your 3 Day Juice Cleanse
Everyone’s experience with a juice cleanse is different, and detox symptoms can vary based on how toxic our bodies are to begin with and how quickly our bodies release these toxins. Generally, the first day of a juice cleanse is relatively easy, at least for the first few hours. You’ll start your morning with one cold pressed juice, alongside eight ounces of water with lemon. If you’re used to a hearty breakfast, you may feel a bit sluggish, but this feeling should subside after your first juice. Those who are avid caffeine drinkers usually experience the worst symptoms, including headaches, sluggishness and irritability, as the body is not used to functioning without that daily dose of caffeine. We usually recommend cleansers wean off of caffeine in the days leading up to a cleanse, to make their experience easier.
Many cleansers report missing the act of chewing, and the routine of a meal, especially on the first day of a cleanse, since the body is not yet in cleansing mode and the digestive system is still humming along. Our bodies are hardwired in their routines, so if you are accustomed to three meals a day, your body will notice if you skip one. Be gentle with yourself, but if you have the nagging urge to chew something simply because you’re used to three meals, remind yourself of your goals and why you decided to cleanse in the first place.
While we do recommend staying active during a cleanse, you may notice your energy levels drop, particularly in the evening of the first day. At this point, you have gone through the entire day consuming less calories than your body is accustomed to. If you usually hit the gym after work in the evenings, opt for a light walk instead, or try a gentle hatha yoga class. Stretching and moving your muscles can help your body detox, but be careful not to overdo it. When on a low-calorie diet, your body can enter a hypoglycemic mode if you overexert yourself.
Many of us enjoy snacking late at night. If you usually reach for chips or candy at night, have a glass of lemon water and your last juice handy. A hot cup of tea can also help ease your digestive system and any hunger pangs you may experience.
What To Expect on Day 2 of a 3 Day Juice Cleanse
After making it through the first day of your cleanse, you should feel accomplished, proud, and maybe a bit lighter. However, be prepared, because day two can sometimes be the most difficult day for cleansers.
While you can expect to wake up feeling lighter, and most likely not craving a meal since your digestive system is no longer working hard to breakdown meals from the previous day, caffeine withdrawal may cause intense headaches and sluggishness on day two. If your body was particularly in need of a detox before your cleanse, you may experience excessive sweating, tiredness, irritability or anxiousness. It’s important to understand these potential detox side effects before starting your cleanse, so you can be better prepared to handle them when they arise.
If you do experience some uncomfortable symptoms, be sure to drink plenty of water to help flush toxins faster. Day two is a great time to treat yourself to a meditation class or sauna session. If you become extremely hungry during the day and have already consumed your scheduled juice and plenty of water, you can have a handful of raw almonds to help settle your stomach.
Keep in mind that, because there is no fiber or protein in your body to increase absorption, you may need to make more frequent trips to the bathroom during your cleanse. Don’t be alarmed. This is normal and healthy during your cleanse.
Day two is a great day to head to bed early and get plenty of rest. Your body is working hard to cleanse itself at this point, and you’ll need extra sleep to recuperate.
The Final Stretch of Your 3 Day Juice Cleanse
Welcome to the final day of your cleanse! Day 3 is usually the easiest, and most enjoyable day of a cold pressed juice cleanse. Cleansers usually report feeling weightless, energized, and full of life. Your digestive system is fully rested and you will no longer experience intense hunger pangs or negative symptoms you may have battled with in the previous days.
The last day of a cleanse is a great day for a massage, meditation session, or other activity that will help connect you with your body. Be mindful of your energy levels though, because you may still experience ebbs and flows on your final day. Continue to combat this with plenty of water, as you can still become dehydrated even during a cleanse.
You may be dreaming of all the foods you’ll eat once your cleanse is over, but remind yourself that, as important as following a cleanse protocol is, it is even more important to come off of a cleanse properly. The third day of a juice cleanse is a great day to head to the grocery store to stock up on healthy, raw, whole foods that you’ll eat to break your cleanse. Make a light vegetable soup and stock your fridge with plenty of fruits and veggies for the days following your cleanse. If you revert to eating unhealthy, fatty foods immediately after your cleanse, you could face a serious stomach ache and uncomfortable digestive issues.
The third day is an important day to ditch the “all or nothing” mindset. If you’ve slipped up in the previous days, don’t throw in the towel before your juice cleanse is complete. Make sure to finish all of your juices each day, and be gentle with yourself, no matter how you may feel about the way you handled your cleanse. The important thing to remember is that you are taking a huge step to take control of your health, and every little bit counts.
More Tips To Help You Through Your Cleanse
This guide is a great start to prepping your body and mind for a juice cleanse. Below are some extra tips to get you through your cleanse successfully:
Stock up on herbal tea - Particularly for caffeine drinkers, herbal, caffeine-free tea is an excellent way to add flavor to your diet during a cleanse. Six to eight juices per day can sometimes feel monotonous, but adding interesting tea flavors can help entertain your taste buds and keep cravings at bay. Hot liquids also help to ease cravings and hunger pangs, so make sure to keep tea bags close at hand.
Listen to your body - If you feel very ill, weak, and shaky, as if you may pass out, don’t force yourself to continue your cleanse. You can add a light vegetable salad or raw piece of fruit to your diet to help ease serious side effects. If you do happen to need a pick-me-up in the form of solid food, don’t throw in the towel altogether. Continue with your next juice as scheduled and don’t beat yourself up over it.
Plan wisely - Make sure to look at a calendar and plan your cleanse on a convenient three-day period. Usually, cleansers schedule their cleanses over a long weekend, so they can stay home and rest without the stress of work overwhelming them. Definitely do not plan a cleanse over a holiday, or when you know you’ll have friends or family visiting. It can sometimes be difficult to be extremely social during a cleanse if you generally like to go out to eat and drink with friends and family. Try to remove temptations like this from your life for a brief cleanse.
Break a sweat - While we do recommend taking it easy during a cleanse, breaking a sweat can really help speed things up in terms of detoxification. Take a hot bath or visit a sauna to aid your body in releasing toxins through the skin via sweat. Do not, however, attempt an intense cycling or weight lifting class, even if this is in your normal routine, as your body is not equipped to handle that type of exertion while it’s busy detoxing.
Dry Brushing – Dry brush your skin during your cleanse to aid in the sloughing of dead skin cells and open your pores to eliminate the toxins. Alternatively, you can also use a gentle exfoliant in the bath or shower.
Keep an eye on the waste you eliminate – It is natural to see a decrease in the waste you eliminate as you cleanse. The less you put in, the less you can put out. That said, it is again important to listen to your body. If you are feeling nauseous, but have not emptied the waste from your bowels or digestive tract, you may consider a herbal laxative to help. If you do, remember to stay hydrated!
Rest! – Get enough sleep to help your body recover.
Before You Start – Preparation is Key
A novice juicer often commits a critical crime – loading up on all their favorite goodies in an attempt to sate their cravings for the upcoming days. Perhaps you are a victim of SAD– the Standard American Diet) consisting of primarily processed and pre-packed food, and not enough fresh, nutritious food – it is a sign of busy lifestyles. However, we are what we eat. Indulging in junk food will have a significant impact on how you feel the next day, and set your juice cleanse off on the wrong foot. Many juice newcomers report feeling lethargic on the first day, so in combination with the sluggishness of junk food, you will only feel worse for wear.
To ease you into your cleanse with maximum results, start by gradually eliminating certain foods a week before your cleanse. Do not shock your system with the sudden introduction of a new diet!
Pre-Juice Hit List
Slowly start by cutting out the foods on our list, and drink the recommended eight glasses of water per day. The following foods are acid forming, and you ideally want to get your body alkaline before you begin your health journey. Here are a few suggestions to prepare for your new health journey.
Drink More Water
We often mistake dehydration for hunger, so drink the daily recommended eight glasses a day to keep your cells hydrated and keep the hunger pangs at bay. It is also crucial to your juice detox to transport the good stuff to your cells.
Cut Back on Caffeine and Alcohol
As mentioned, to get the best out of your juice detox, you want your body to move towards an alkaline state. Gradually cut back on those cups of java, soft drinks, and alcohol. For coffee lovers who find this hard, you don’t have to completely eliminate coffee during your cleanse (however, it is advised) but rather opt for a low-acid, cold brew, or substitute your hot beverage for a selection of healthy teas, which we will discuss later on. Alcohol is a no-go during your detox – not even a little sip!
Steer Clear from Animal Products
In the first and second days leading up to your juice detox, try to aim for a strictly plant-based diet. That’s right; no meat, eggs, dairy, butter… none of it. It sounds rough, but you are aiming to detox with full benefits. If you generally indulge in multiple servings of meat per day, try to cut down to one portion the week before you cleanse. Animal products put a strain on our digestive tract, so it is best to give it a rest and kick into high gear when you begin your juice-only detox.
While you are cutting back on meat and fatty animal products, up your enzyme intake by introducing more fruits and veggies into your daily diet.
No Processed Foods Either
The sooner you can eliminate processed food from your diet, the better, and this does not just apply to the days before your juice detox. Of course, we all love the guilty indulgence every now and then, with the emphasis on sporadically. Regular consumption of processed food and easy mails only puts a toxic burden on your already overloaded body.
Finally, make sure you plan your calendar accordingly, as we’ve touched on earlier. It is difficult to stick to your detox plans if your calendar is packed with social engagements and dinner parties you have to miss out on. Planning in advance will ensure that you see it through. Ideally, a long weekend at home is best for your cleanse, as you may need more frequent trips to the porcelain throne. Don’t see this period as a punishment, but rather as a period to heal from the inside out.
The Best Herbal Teas to Drink During a Cleanse
While you are on a liquid-only diet, nothing is stopping you from incorporating healthy teas into your daily routine. It adds a bit of flavor and a chance to break the potential monotony of your juice diet. Some of the benefits of incorporating unsweetened herbal dues in conjunction with your juice fast include:
The antioxidants of the teas on our list will also help flush out any extra toxins.
It helps to aid digestion
It can act as an appetite suppressant
You are naturally giving more energy back to your body. Green tea, for instance, naturally contains a low amount of caffeine, without giving your that coffee buzz.
It helps to keep you hydrated.
Aside from the ever-popular green tea, we have included a list of our favorite teas that you can incorporate into your diet.
Peppermint Tea – This is always a popular choice with a distinct, well, minty and refreshing flavor. It helps to act as a diversion from the juice, while also cleaning your system. Mint tea is also associated with easing upset stomachs and digestive issues. It also soothes stomach muscles to improve the flow of bile, which is essential to break down fat.
Ginger Tea – This ancient remedy is famous for its health benefits; from an upset stomach, motion sickness, or colds, ginger has you covered. As an added benefit, ginger helps to lower blood sugar levels, especially after a hard day of binging on sugary treats – this does not apply to your 3-day detox, but it is beneficial in balancing out the fructose in fruit juices. Pure ginger tea can be overpowering on its own, so you are free to mix it with another milder tea.
Dandelion Tea – We think of dandelions as garden weeds, but we shouldn’t throw them away for their detoxing properties. The flowers are used for tea, while the root is used for “coffee”. Native Americans firmly believed in the healing properties of dandelion with regards to kidney problems, heartburn, and digestive issues. It is also potent to cleanse the liver and gallbladder. Because dandelion is a diuretic, you can expect frequent trips to the bathroom, especially in conjunction with your juice detox.
Rose Hip Tea – Otherwise known as fruits of the rose – the buds before they bloom – roses aren’t just beautiful and fragrant, but are also jam-packed with vitamin C; much more than oranges. Needless to say, this makes for an excellent detox tea to supplement your 3-day juice detox. Aside from its powerful antioxidant properties, the vitamin C in rosehip is essential to produce collagen and promote healthy, glowing skin.
Milk Thistle Tea – Finally, we have milk thistle, well-known as a liver and kidney tonic. As you are on a juice cleanse with the intention to clean your body, milk thistle is an invaluable aid to flush your filtering organs. The active compound, silymarin, is a liver and kidney cleansing life safer!
Why Are You Not Feeling Good?
You have likely fallen victim to the awful detox symptoms we’ve mentioned earlier. Your body is working overtime to release toxins, so you may experience symptoms like low energy levels, mood swings, and irritability. You are also taking in a lot more nutrients than your body is generally used to. Don’t panic, and don’t lose heart! You are not doing it wrong. The severity of the symptoms all depends on the number of toxins stored in your cells.
You may also be suffering from MCN Syndrome (MUST CHEW NOW). A hungry person is often an angry person, but check in with yourself and establish if you are really hungry, or if you just need to chew on something. If the answer is the latter, you’ve got this! This leads us to our next topic…
Can You Eat Anything During Your Juice Detox?
While you are technically not encouraged to eat anything solid for the next three days, exceptions can be made for a helping of nuts (not the whole bag!) or a serving of a veggie of choice, with a touch of salt if you need to extra sodium. The most important goal of a juice cleanse is to reconnect with your body, and listen to it. If you are truly hungry and need a little something to push through, you need to honor this. As long as you have a sensible snack, and jump right on track with your juice, you will be fine. Stay tuned to your body, and only do what you can realistically handle. Just don’t throw in the towel in favor of a cheeseburger.
Can You Exercise During the Cleanse?
You shouldn’t be doing anything too rigorous during this time. See it as an excuse to rest. Hard workouts will only add extra strain as your body is ridding itself of toxins. If you are a die-hard fitness junky, try going for gentle walks or a yoga session – it will also relax your body and mind.
How Often Should You Do a Juice Detox?
A juice cleanse resets your body, but don’t overdo a good thing. If you love the results of a dedicated 3-day juice cleanse, then detoxing once a month is a good rule of thumb if you are a healthy person. However, it can vary depending on your lifestyle, so if you are in doubt, have a chat with your doctor who knows your family history about the frequency of your juice detox.
After The Cleanse
Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? (Okay, maybe your first cleanse wasn’t that much fun, but you did it!) Now is the time to max out on the benefits of your detox. You have taken the first steps and reclaiming and re-activating your health, and now is the time to gently transition back to your normal life and diet – hopefully with a few healthy changes.
Take a Moment
Just take a moment to appreciate what you have accomplished. You preserved and saw it through, and every day you detoxed, you nourished yourself on a cellular level. Take a moment to recognize how you feel immediately after cleansing, what you have learned during these three days, and keep this knowledge as you slowly progress back to solid foods.
Take it Slow
Naturally, you would want to dig into a big piece of cake or juicy steak to celebrate your victory, but hold up! You do not suddenly want to overload your organs. This will undo the hard-earned balance in your digestive tract, and you can suffer from a few negative side effects like bloating and stomach cramps. Don’t rush it. Your favorite treats aren’t going anywhere. Especially in the first two days, avoid alcohol, red meat, and processed food. Gently ease into solid food again, and focus on consuming lots of fruits and veggies in the following days – don’t worry, you can eat them.
Use The Opportunity to Transition into a Healthy Lifestyle
You have learned a few new healthy habits – both during and before the cleanse. Now is the time to incorporate them into your lifestyle to support your health. You don’t have to abstain from everything on our hit list, but you can slowly start to wean off it, drink more water, and of course, raw fruit and veg juice.
Keep an Eye on Yourself
You also have the perfect opportunity post-juice detox to identify and eliminate certain food sensitivities or allergies. Now that you are slowly exposing yourself to solid food again, keep track of what is triggering any sensitivities. Wheat, soy, nuts, and dairy are often common culprits. Introduce these foods gradually, one at a time to accurately pinpoint any issues.
Your Post-Detox Diet
Just like planning your pre-cleanse diet, you need to plan your post-cleanse accordingly. Start with soft foods as you are easing into solids. Again, pay attention to your body. Some people easily transition between juice and their regular diet within a day or two without any side effects, but it differs from person to person.
A juice-only diet significantly changes your gut biome following the fast. This is why you should generally gradually upgrade from soft and easy to digest foods that your stomach can easily break down before you tuck into that piece of steak. Scrambled eggs, yogurt, and soup are all excellent options. You can use your imagination. Smoothies and shakes are also your friends during this time.
That said, don’t forget about the importance of protein – the building blocks of muscle. Your body will naturally crave protein after the cleanse. It is true that fruit and vegetables contain very little protein that your body needs. Protein is also critical not only to grow lean muscle, but also to repair and promote healthy skin, hair, and nails. As an extra boon, it also helps combat cravings. Therefore, it is important to introduce lean proteins to your post-cleanse diet – up to 15% to 30% of your calories should come from them. Every cell and every fiber of your body needs protein to function. You can introduce protein in your diet by consuming more fish and chicken before you move on to your red meats.
Finally, keep your portions small. We know our stomachs can stretch like a balloon, and your stomach needs time to adjust after you break your juice fast. Keep your portions reasonable to not only keep the pesky pounds at bay but also to prevent digestive issues and general discomfort. Remember, a juice cleanse is about a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix.