The Juice Cleanse Recap :)

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A month ago today, I wrapped up my first-ever three-day juice cleanse. And yes: I promised you a detailed rundown, which never materialized. Naughty-naughty!

But the way I see it, the recap you’ll be getting now is even better, enriched by a full four weeks of post-cleanse living, running and eating. Did I go to my old eating habits? Did I resume drinking 17 cups of coffee each morning just to wake up? I tell all!

But first, here’s the long story short, in case you’re just stumbling over to this blog (I don’t know… Perhaps you’re the person who came here yesterday looking for gym clean underwear? Or, more appropriately, green juice yuck. Welcome!)

Doing a juice cleanse was one of my 2013 New Year’s Resolutions. I was so serious about it, in fact, that I’d penciled in a date on my calendar… on a post-it. The cleanse was to take place at the end of March, after the LA Marathon — but before RnR San Francisco.

Then in LA, I had quite a bummer of a race, which solidified my decision to do it.

Better yet, my mom and husband decided they wanted to do it, too! So we bought a juicer (it’s amazing, by the way, super quiet and you can juice pretty much anything), I found a collection of juice cleanse recipes online that I liked, we bought an insane amount of vegetables — here’s the shopping list, if you’re curious — and got started.So here’s what happened over the course of a week (starting several days before the cleanse itself, when you’re supposed to prep your body by laying off meat and dairy, processed foods, and pretty much anything other than vegetables and fruits):

  1. We felt no hunger whatsoever. Quite the opposite. On each of the three days, we skipped one round of juice (you’re supposed to do six) because drinking one large cup of juice every two hours, with water in between was just too much. If fear of hunger and its typical side effects (light headedness, crankiness) is what’s holding you back from doing a cleanse – don’t even worry about it.
  2. I lost six pounds in three days. But don’t get too excited. As of today, all that weight is back. In fact, it came back within a week. I knew all along that this would happen, though: the goal of a short juice cleanse like this one is to rid your body of toxins, not weight.
  3. I didn’t drink coffee — with zero negative side effects. No headache. No sleepiness. No needing coffee. No thinking of coffee 100% of the time. To me, this was the most amazing result. I didn’t even drink coffee the day after the cleanse, for a total of four days! Now, I’m down to just one cup a day, two at most. They say juicing helps you get rid of your worst eating/ drinking habits, so there you have it: success!
  4. I ran my fastest half marathon just three days after the cleanse. In case you’re thinking juicing will make you feel week… on the contrary. I kept up my usual training before and during the cleanse and felt like I had more energy than usual.
  5. I have yet to eat meat and dairy. And I feel better than ever. I stopped eating meat in the week before and during the cleanse and found I didn’t miss it at all, so I figured: why eat it? The fridge has been restocked with almond and coconut milk in place of cow’s and soy cheese and sprouted tofu have become my new favorite things.

But how can you do all this running and eat no meat?

My mom actually asked this question. I’ll have to tell you about that another time, but rest assured: there is plenty of energy for running, biking and swimming, as evidenced below.

Have you ever tried going meatless? What are your favorite meat- and dairy-free recipes?

Today
Mini-triathlon at the gym:

Thursday
Longest swim I’ve done so far this year:

Wednesday
Long ride + mini run. This was a beautiful ride. I started on my usual route and kept going for 10 miles out. Rode by farms, what with grazing horses and cows. The run felt awkward (legs like jelly), but I did OK — and no music!

Tuesday

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