Well, in case you missed it, I'm on a 3-day juice cleanse.
Why?
Partly because I'm a bit of a masochist (that comes with the job, folks... jump squats, anyone?) and partly because I'm interested to feel for myself whether the advertised benefits of such a cleanse are really true. I'm suspecting they're not, but I might be a bit of a cynic. Eleven years in the fitness industry has wizened me to fitness & nutritional "programs" and "systems" with big promises. They usually don't deliver.
But I thought, since I always say that I don't believe cleanses are necessary, maybe I should see for myself it they actually work.
The jury is still out.
I'm halfway through Day 2. It seems the "cleansing" portion of the program has begun as I've been to the washroom more in the last 10 hours than my preschooler, who is motivated by a delicious Tic Tac at the end of each pee-in-the-toilet-wipe-flush-wash-your-hands triumph!
I would just about push her out of the way to get that Tic Tac.
I. am. hungry.
So here's what I've learned about myself and about hunger and appetite in the last 36 hours. It's taken me until this morning to fully realize this truth:
In my regular day-to-day life, I am almost never really hungry.
Take a minute and think about it... what was the last thing you ate? Were you actually hungry? I mean, were you actually hungry?
Not, could you eat?
Not, were you peckish?
Not, did you have a craving?
Not, were you bored?
Not, did you have an appetite?
Not, was it meal time?
I've realized that so many times in a day, I mindlessly put food into my mouth. In the last 36 hours, each time I've thrown out my kids' leftovers, handed my hubby a snack, prepared something for someone to eat, driven past a Starbucks (I love you and miss you, Starbucks, and I will be back very soon for a lot of coffee, delivered intravenously if possible.), I've realized how easy it is to eat or drink just for the sake of it.
So I'm not sure if my body is being cleansed. But I think maybe my mind is...
More tomorrow!
Have you ever tried a cleanse or fast? What results were you hoping for? What results did you get? Would you do it again?
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