To All The Juice Cleansers of The World…
Are you an avid juice cleanser or liquid dieter? Do you find yourself constantly committing to these cleanses as a "reset" after another failed diet or too long of a break from healthy eating? But the reset only lasts so long until you need to return to yet ANOTHER cleanse. Falling into this cyclical pattern of bingeing, cleansing, restricting, and then repeating—it’s EXHAUSTING and never-ending.
While juicing does provide the body with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that are both essential and non-essential, living exclusively off of juice for days or weeks on end is not a great way to lose weight and MAINTAIN said weight loss. If you take one thing away from this post, take that it is so important to understand how our bodies work, what they need, and if and how juicing can fit into that equation. Because at large, isn’t that what we are all striving for? We want to eliminate the yoyo-dieting and lead a healthy lifestyle by committing to a well-balanced diet.
Did you know that our bodies are designed to be a mind-blowing, and amazing detox machine! All of the food we eat (and literally everything we ingest) gets filtered by the liver. The waste products and toxins are eliminated via sweat, feces, and urine. Your body does not need the aid of any detoxification products or juices in order to do this- it was made for this! While a day or two of juicing is probably not doing any harm, it also shouldn’t be labeled as healthy or what our body needs to detox.
Some studies have shown that juicing, fasting, or drastically reducing calories will raise the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which makes it harder for us to keep the weight off in the long run—and this includes those that also exercise. If you are exercising while on these cleanses, you are increasing your stress levels because you are working hard to burn calories, while also dramatically decreasing your calorie intake. Changing your eating habits so significantly takes a lot of focus and commitment and is not technically something one would consider enjoyable, which ultimately has a negative impact on our overall mindset.
Cleanses put your body into starvation mode. Starvation mode is your body's physiological response to long term calorie deprivation and can cause metabolic damage. Your body will ramp up hunger cues in order to get you to eat. This ultimately means you will be hungrier, have even more intense food cravings, and have LESS energy to exercise. As if that isn't enough, when you DO go back to eating solid foods, your body will try to hold on to as many of those calories as possible because it doesn't know when it will receive more nourishment.
If you somehow manage to lose weight during these cleanses, it is very likely just water weight, or (gasp), muscle being catabolized for energy! Catabolism is the breakdown of muscle tissue, and occurs when your body isn't getting the proper nutrients it needs to function effectively. The bottom line is, cleanses are extremely stressful for your body and absolutely not necessary for you to reach the full potential of your nutrition, weight loss, and/or fitness goals.
Instead of opting for juice cleanses and liquid diets, why not just slightly decrease your calorie intake for long term weight loss goals? Focus on eating lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats—AND also moving your body in ways that you enjoy. This approach is the most beneficial thing you can do for your body and will help you avoid the trap of the juice cleanse cycle and other yoyo diets. If you do decide that juice cleanses are still for you, try only doing the cleanse for 1-2 days and make sure you are only committing to light, physical movement instead of strenuous exercise. Like anything else, cleanses should be done thoughtfully and in moderation.
- Shelby Cropper