Cleanse and Reset Without Feeling Deprived

I’ve been searching for a very long time for a company that could support my idea that juice cleansing and detoxing doesn’t have to mean starvation. I see so many women jump on the juice cleanse train with motives that only include losing weight and shrinking the number on the scale. Please throw away your scale already…

I want to encourage you to change your mindset behind cleansing. So many of you have e-mailed me about starting up a post-summer cleanse. So let’s get something straight: this is not about weight loss or dropping a pant size. In all honesty, you may lose a pound or two, if anything, and it will all come right back when you start eating whole foods again… but this is not what it’s about. Cleansing is about loving your body. It’s about going into all the rooms and clearing out the junk, and allowing for radiant light to rush in. Your organs, blood, lymphatic system, and skin are the rooms. Organic, whole nutrition is the light. When you truly cleanse with the right intentions, you cannot help but feel lighter on the inside, and empowered on the outside. Love has to be the ultimate reason behind the clear-out.

I recently went through my entire closet… all 8×8 of it. The energy I would spend just finding something to wear was incredibly exhausting at times. The majority of what my closet contained did not make me feel beautiful, and if I’m honest with myself, I probably hated 70% of my then wardrobe. Old, ratty pieces, pants too big, shirts too small, stained pieces, pieces I marked “take to the tailor” 3 years ago… I finally came to a point where I said enough (!!!!!!) and then I filled four large trash bags of everything that I didn’t love. If it didn’t make me feel absolutely beautiful, in the bag it went. Byyyeeee. Oh, the relief I felt watching those bags go out the front door was liberating.

Imagine the energy your body spends maneuvering around all the junk housed in our bodies. We fill the closets, cabinets, and rooms with crap over the years… processed junk foods, sugar, refined carbs, clogging fats… We’re exposed to toxins every single day. Whether it’s in the plastic water bottles we drink out of, polluted air in the city, tap water, aluminum deodorant, pesticides, insecticides, and the list goes on. Our rooms become constipated and we wonder why our skin breaks out, or why the bloating never goes away, or why our minds are foggy, and our moods ever-changing.

Cleanse the negativity. Cleanse the gunk. Cleanse the toxins. Cleanse with intention. Cleanse with love.

This is not about being obsessive or neurotic. It’s about adapting strategy and thinking smart. You have the keys to all the rooms, it’s time to clear out the crap and cobwebs.

If you’ve never done a cleanse, and are looking to try one, or if you DID do a cleanse in the past, and watched it fail miserably the second you had the go-ahead to jump back into your old routine again, I’m here to help. I’ve been there. (Secret: one time a few years ago, I did a mail-ordered 3-day juice cleanse, and as soon as it was all over on the last day, I went out to dinner with Kyle and ate sick amounts of bread and butter. It wasn’t pretty.)

TAKE ACTION! Here’s my approach to hitting the reset button & cleansing…

1. Decide why you want to cleanse. Is it your skin that seems to be breaking out real bad lately? Or is your bathroom schedule totally out of whack? The truth is, we ALL need to cleanse on a regular basis. The need for it will never end. But understanding your intentions first will really help you get in the right mindset before you begin.

2. Arm yourself with plenty of alkaline pH water, stock up your fridge with your preferred cleanse or reset program, and have on hand cleanse-approved snacks for hangry moments. I chose (and LOVED) the Metabolism Kit from Urban Remedy because it included smoothies with plenty of fiber AND real food like no-oatmeal cookies, spring rolls, and DELISH salads that I added organic raw nuts to for extra fuel. I even added some a la Carte Meal Replacement Shakes to my order because I knew I would need the extra calories. On a given day, I consume a lot of food because I am so active in Crossfit and my daily life (see: mom of two pit bull puppies). Not eating is simply not an option for me because I have programmed my metabolism to burn at a very high rate. But cleansing is also a top priority for me. I believe as an athlete, you can have the best of both worlds. During my three day cleanse I had yummy Nosh snacks on hand to get me through the day and keep my metabolism going, without spikes or crashes.

3. Practice mindfulness. This is incredibly important, and unfortunately probably the most overlooked. So many of us mindlessly put food in our mouths, while simultaneously driving, texting, or watching TV. We’re eating without paying any attention to what is going on inside our bodies. During your reset, pay attention. Open your eyes. Own up to your decisions. Your life is here and now, and the sooner you begin to understand your body, its triggers and pain points, the better your life will be. Trust me, this is huge. I’ve gotten to the point where I can tell if the food I ate at a restaurant had an unlisted ingredient that disagrees with my body. I can literally feel the difference and the effects of sugar in my body versus a wholesome, balanced organic meal almost instantaneously. This took years of practice and trial-and-error, but I’m so grateful now for my persistence.

4. Relax. Read. Get outside. Listen to relaxing music. Lay in a hammock. Get a massage. Meditate. Chill out. And check out Urban Remedy’s site on how to end your cleanse the right way here.

Let me know if you decide to try a reset or cleanse program now that summer’s coming to an end and the new season approaches. Now is as good a time as any!

I was graciously gifted my Urban Remedy kit, but they didn’t pay me to say all these nice things about them. All opinions and copy are my own. Don’t get it twisted