I started off the day strong with a glass of purified water and apple cider vinegar. I knew I had to have my wheatgrass juice on an empty stomach, so about an hour and a half later, I headed out and got a shot of it. I returned home and sure enough, about a half hour later, I started to feel nauseous. I figured it would be just like yesterday - that it would soon pass and I would be okay. I took a little walk outside and couldn't handle it. When I got back home, I threw up. It was seriously awful. My head was pounding harder than it ever has before and I wasn't sure if my body was rejecting the wheatgrass, if I was allergic to it, or if it had done its job of detoxifying me so much that I needed to get all the toxins out. Either way, I was on the couch for another hour trying to recover.
As the afternoon went on, I began to feel a little better, but not much. I drank a watered down cup of apple and pear juice and tried to relax. Then, I started to feel worse. In the early evening, I tried to drink some pressed kale, beet, and cucumber juice, but just couldn't get it down. I couldn't even bring myself to drink water and I was feeling more and more ill. I realized that perhaps with the wheatgrass incident, two days of a juice cleanse was going have to be it this time around. I felt nervous to end the juice cleanse because I didn't want to stop the valuable cleansing process, and I also wanted to keep my commitment, but realized that my best is good enough for now. Something seemed wrong with the fact that I couldn't even get down the juice, that I was throwing up, and that I felt that ill. I know that many sources say that these side effects are part of what occurs during the healing crisis of a cleanse, but I didn't want to hurt myself or put myself through something so violent, even if it was healing. I figured I could work on healing myself at a slower pace. Besides, almost two days is better than none!
However, if you are thinking of doing a 3-day juice cleanse, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. You may want to consider if it will be more economical for you to either buy a juicer and your own fresh organic produce or to purchase fresh, on-the-spot pressed juices at your local organic juice bar for the duration of the cleanse. Organic groceries are expensive (I spent about $55!) and a juicer will cost you around $50 and up, so be sure that you will make good use of your juicer if you decide to purchase one. Otherwise, it may be wise to just purchase your juices as you go from a local establishment (just make sure they do not add any sugar to your juice and that they use only organic produce).
2. Spend a few days before and after your juice cleanse on a non-dairy, non-toxic, all-natural, organic diet. This includes brown rice, vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, etc., and does not include caffeine, nicotine, pasta, bread, meat, eggs, dairy, etc. This will help your body start to detox on its own, and begin to clean itself out before you get even more serious with the juice cleanse. It will also make the juice cleanse less of a shock on your body. (I really wish I had done this!)
3. Don't make the same mistake I did by trying to do everything at once and to the extreme. If you are new to juice cleansing, it might be in your best interest to not do wheatgrass shots, or anything else that has a serious and fast detoxing effect on the body. It could be too much for your body to handle and you could become overwhelmed, physically and mentally. I think that if I hadn't tried to do those wheatgrass shots, then I would have probably gotten through another day.
Overall, juice cleansing is pretty cool, but I think I need to take a more gentle approach with myself next time. In fact, while I was researching information on the juice cleanse, I came across several sources of information for general eating guidelines that would help cleanse the body. These diets basically consist of a light, vegan, organic diet. Perhaps I will try to do that sometime soon, as it is, after all, the ideal lifestyle I'd like to lead. For now though, I am still definitely sticking with my goal of eating organic produce whenever possible, never ingesting artificial sweeteners, and reducing my intake of dairy. Here's to our health!
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