Pre and Post Cleanse Protocol
You’re either browsing our website because you’re interested in trying a cleanse, or you’re a repeat customer back for some more of the good stuff, or, you’re simply curious to learn more about how juice cleansing works...
Just drink the juice and get on with life right? Wrong. Well, kind of wrong. The fundamental thing is to do what works best for you, and if diving straight in and out of a cleanse is something you’re used to doing and you feel comfortable doing so, then we’re not here to tell you you can’t do that...
However, you will get MUCH more from your cleanse if you prepare well beforehand and also ease yourself back into a normal eating pattern afterwards too. Let’s look at what this preparation might look like:
PRE CLEANSE
Where’s your head at?
A juice cleanse can be a challenge mentally, especially if you’re new to it or aren’t used to imposing such strict rules on your diet. Try and get yourself into a positive headspace before you start; remind yourself why you’re doing it, what you want to gain, and remember to cherish your health and your body for what it’s about to achieve. We like to wind down mindfully before a cleanse using helpful apps such as Calm and Headspace; these are also great for during your cleanse too.
Focus on diet
Ideally, you don’t want to shock your body too much by eating a burger one day and then starting a cleanse the next. You will reap a greater reward by easing yourself in gently. A few days before you start your cleanse try cutting out all processed foods from your diet and focussing on eating lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds plus good quality protein. It’s also sensible, if you’re a caffeine addict, to decrease your consumption of caffeine before you start your cleanse as a few days with no coffee or tea could be a real shock to the system and make it harder for you to stick to your cleanse if you suddenly go cold turkey. It is also sensible to cut out alcohol a few days before your cleanse too, and make sure that instead you’re drinking at least 2 litres of pure water a day. As dairy foods can be mucus forming, we recommend that you try plant based alternatives to dairy foods pre and post cleanse. Essentially, eat simple meals that are easy to digest, free of refined sugars and carbohydrates and full of leafy and cruciferous vegetables.
Support your body
In the same way that it’s sensible to take it easy food wise before a cleanse, it’s also a good idea to support your body and take things easy when it comes to other lifestyle elements. When you think about it, a juice cleanse is a period of significantly fewer calories than perhaps you are used to consuming. That being said, easing yourself in is the best way to go. Along with upping your water intake and watching your diet in order to take the eliminatory pressure off your liver and kidneys, you could also consider your exercise regime. Perhaps swap to low impact, gentle exercise such as yoga or walking, and keep this up during and directly after your cleanse. The idea is not to divert precious energy towards physical activity, (even if your goal is weight loss), but to allow your body the time and space it needs to detoxify well - and this means using the majority of your energy for these processes...not Barry’s Bootcamp.
The Presscription Intermediate Cleanse (as seen above) is designed to boost wellness and vitality. This deeper cleanse contains the perfect blend of phytonutrients, antioxidants, plant protein, and living enzymes to mobilise stored toxins, increase circulation and metabolism, and flush out waste. This cleanse is perfect for those who want a deep cleanse but are not quite ready for the intensity of the advanced cleanse!
MID CLEANSE
Follow the correct order
Our cleanses have been specially formulated alongside leading nutritionists to gently support the body’s detoxification systems, and also to help you complete them as easily as possible. For example, all of our cleanses end the day with quite a substantial nut mylk. Although you might be tempted to drink this one at any point during the day when you feel hungry, you’ll thank us if you can save it until the evening, as the evenings tend to be the hardest time to stick to your cleanse! In the cleanse booklet that you receive along with your cleanse delivery, we’ve also put detailed times of when to drink each juice. We’ve done this so that you’re never left too long without a juice, helping to stave off those hunger cravings. The cleanses have also been formulated from an ingredients perspective to work in sync with your body. For example, the Gut Cleanse 1 has the charcoal juice early on in the day to actively remove toxins early on in the cleanse. Follow the given order for the best results!
Chill out
As we said before, take it easy while you’re cleansing. This means paying attention to your stress levels, practicing some mindfulness, tuning in to your body and not going too hard core with the exercise.
Chew your juice
This is important! It might sound totally bizarre, but chewing your juice encourages better digestion. Remember, digestion starts in the mouth with the production of salivary amylase. If we start off this process in the mouth then the absorption and assimilation of the nutrients contained in the juice will be smoother and more effective. Yes, there’s no fibre in your juice so you might not feel like you need to chew it, but it’s not water. Your juices are your meals for the days that your cleansing, so take your time with each one.
If you need to eat…
Eat!! Obviously, the idea of a juice cleanse is to give your body a break from digesting solid food. However, we’d much rather you complete your cleanse with the addition of a few healthy snacks, like some nuts and seeds or some pieces of fresh fruit, rather than giving up because you’re too hungry. If you need to eat, choose healthy foods like steamed vegetables and drink lots of pure water as well as your juices too. One of the most common misconceptions with juice cleansing is that your juices should be the only thing you drink that day...this couldn’t be more wrong! Squeeze some lemon juice into a large bottle of water and sip it throughout the day too for maximum hydration and detoxification.
POST CLEANSE
Ease yourself back in
The longer the cleanse you’ve done, the more careful you should be about easing yourself back into a normal routine. If you’ve cleansed for 3 or 5 days then spend the first day or so post cleanse eating easy-to-digest foods, lots of vegetables and fruit and maintaining your habit of drinking water with lemon in the morning. If you’ve done a one day cleanse it’s still important to not just reach for the heaviest, richest thing on the menu but to opt for a plant based option instead, but it will likely take you less time to readjust to solid food again. Regardless of how long you’ve cleansed for, you’ve just given your body a bit of a spring clean - it would be a shame to spoil this with overly processed foods, heavy animal produce or excessive amounts of sugar.
A sample day’s eating could be some fresh fruit and plant based yoghurt for breakfast, some vegetable soup and salad for lunch and some quinoa and roasted vegetables with leafy greens for supper. Snacking on nuts and seeds and drinking plenty of water is also advisable.
Exercise
Keep it simple to begin with, and keep up your practice of being more mindful and less stressed. Think of your juice cleanse as the kickstart you need to live a life that’s more in tune with how your body is feeling.
Feel accomplished
You did it! Finishing a juice cleanse is a great achievement, as it can be as tough a journey mentally as it is physically. Feel happy and content that you had the willpower to stick to it. Just think, if you can successfully finish a juice cleanse then you can certainly eat healthily and look after your health for the long term!
Cleanse up!
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Shop our range of cleanses, from beginner to more advanced plus our therapeutic cleanses such as gut cleanses, blood sugar balance cleanses and weight loss cleanses here.
