Juice Cleansing

So I am doing a juice cleanse. I have wanted to attempt one for quite some time and finally circumstances have worked out perfectly to enable me to do so. Those circumstances being:
~ my cousin came home for Spring Break and provided both the impetus and the expertise to get my aunt and I on it.
~ it is a slow week at work so my low energy level wouldn't be too big of an impediment to functionality.
~ we were all feeling somewhat bloated from the Easter holiday and were thus ready and willing to do a bit of a purge.


Now the reasoning behind this process is that over time -with all of the processed foods that we consume on a daily basis - toxins and preservatives build up in our systems and it sometimes takes drastic measure to get them out. Such as consuming only organic fruits and vegetables in liquid form for 3 to 7 days.



The idea is not to go out and buy bottled juice - even ones that advertise themselves as being organic - as these will inevitable contain some type of preservative themselves. To be truly effective the juices consumed need to be made fresh on a daily (if possible hourly) basis from fresh, organic produce. When I returned home from my family's Easter festivities I walked into the kitchen to find all the available counter space covered with just such produce. It was a beautiful sight. Also prominently displayed was the juicer - Juiceman Jr - ready and raring to go. My cousin is doing a much more intense cleanse - called the Master Cleanse - where she basically just drinks glorified lemonade for three days. But my aunt and I were easing ourselves into it by drinking fruit and veggie juice, and we even got the okay to munch on fruits and vegetables as well since we both felt the need to chew. Thus the delicious dinner you see featured above - a crunchy salad dressed with lemon juice and accompanied by fresh apple-carrot juice. The glasses were my cousin's sweet but futile attempt to keep us from missing our evening glass of wine.



I am now on my second day and I am definitely feeling the effects, but overall its not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. I am not constantly hungry and while I am somewhat less energetic than usual, I am not completely incapacitated. I managed an hour of Pilates late night with no problem and am even starting to feel like this is may be doing me some good. Tonight my cousin and I are headed to Piedmont Springs for a sauna session to sweat some of these purged toxins out of us. Hopefully neither of us passes out...!