With all of the health crazed trends and fads going on, juice cleanses and diets are becoming more and more popular by the minute. Many brave souls dare to rely solely on green juices for a period of days, remaining hopeful that they may lose a pound or two in the process. Not many people, however, decide the take on this challenge as a growing adolescent.
Being a high schooler, I was determined to experience this juice cleanse hype for myself. I decided to take on the 3-day Bikini Body Detox by Danette May. The cleanse consists of juices and smoothies, but on the second and third-day, I (thankfully) was allowed the pleasure of eating sautéed kale and quinoa for lunch and dinner. I truly did not know how excited one could be over a plain bowl of kale and quinoa.
For those of you high schoolers (and anyone, really) who are on the fence about starting one of these cleanses, perhaps what I learned in my experience will help you come to a decision.
1. Breakfast Is The Most Important Meal of the Day
On an average day, I don't have bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. But I'm sure to grab a little something as I run out the door. I never understood the magnitude of how much a sufficient breakfast can affect someone until this cleanse—not to mention a growing high schooler who has to endure eight hours of school.
One of the days, the juice I drank for breakfast was composed merely of water, cucumber, lemon, lime, ginger, and mint. There was no consistency to the drink; it was basically like drinking a glass of water with a hint of cucumber and lemon. Without having an adequate breakfast, I felt myself dragging on throughout the day like a zombie. I barely had any energy, and paying attention in class was nearly impossible until lunch time.
2. You Are Allowed to Modify the Cleanse for Your Needs
I know what you're thinking, you want to follow the cleanse precisely, in order to achieve the best results. That's how it was for me at first. As soon as I woke up, the cleanse called for drinking warm water with lemon, cayenne pepper, and apple cider vinegar. Determined to finish this nasty concoction, I chugged the drink as I felt a burning sensation trickle all the way down my throat and into my stomach.
No matter how beneficial apple cider vinegar is for the body, it is not for everyone. As much as I really wanted to give this a second chance, I simply couldn't do it. Instead, for the next two days, I made myself a warm cup of water with lemon and a small dash of cayenne—totally bearable. And ya know what? It's ok.
Throwing up was just not worth the cost of downing that awful drink. You can modify as you see fit. One day I was so hungry between breakfast and lunch that I had to eat an apple. At first, I was disappointed in myself, but then I remembered that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
3. The Cleanse Will Probably Not Work Into Your Schedule
We're all busy bees, and as much as I tried to adapt my schedule to fit the very timely increments of the cleanse, I just couldn't do it. My specific cleanse required me to have a lemon green tea exactly one hour after having the apple cider vinegar drink (which was as soon as I woke up). Yet I wake up 20 minutes before I leave the house for school in the morning. There is only so much that I can cram into my morning routine so that I can make it to school on time.
I simply could not transport this hot tea to class especially since I had to carry around my thermos filled with my breakfast smoothie, and my 300-pound backpack. There was no way that I could have kept this tea hot until an hour after I drank my lemon and hot water mixture, and I dealt with it. Cutting out something is not the end of the world, though every scrap of food or drink counts when you're on a cleanse.
Another aspect of the cleanse that did not work very well into my schedule was the lunch/ breakfast situation. I am one of the very lucky students who is assigned to have a lunch period at 9:57 am. So if I were to consume my lunch at this time, and have dinner around 7 pm, I would be running without fuel for nine hours. Yeah, that one's not gonna work for me.
The first day I made a rookie mistake of having both breakfast and lunch within the same three hour time period, and boy was this a blunder. I was so hungry by the time I came home from school, that I literally ate my dinner at 4:30 pm and had to deal with starvation for the rest of the night.
The next two days, I ate my breakfast during lunch time and ended up eating lunch when school ended. Although this gap is lengthy, I found that it was definitely the way to go. The very specific times to consume a meal was one of the very flustering and aggravating parts of the cleanse for me. With an extremely busy schedule between school, sports practices, jobs, etc., doing such a time-demanding cleanse may not be feasible.
4. You Need Food
When I told one of my friends that I was on a cleanse, she instantly replied, "If you're just going to be drinking kale and other veggies, what's the difference between just eating them?" At first, I didn't really think there was a difference—but trust me, there is.
During the cleanse, I felt weak and sluggish. On the second day, I came home and sat on the couch, checked my Snapchat and Instagram and fell asleep. Little did I know that at 7:00 pm, I would be waking up from a 4-hour nap. My body was so drained and unenergized. Maybe carbs aren't so bad after all?
What I do know is, that the demands placed on high schoolers required fueling foods. I learned the hard way, that it is practically impossible to workout, complete all your five hours of homework, and study for that monster history test with nothing but blended up fruits and veggies in your system. Not to mention, we are growing. Adolescents need their share of plentiful and hearty meals for a developing brain and body.
5. You Don't Need a Green Juice to Feel Healthy
There are plenty of ways that high schoolers can eat and be healthy without having to dreadfully down a kale, spinach, ginger, and (who even knows the rest) green juice. Yes, having a refreshing, and good tasting green juice is a good idea once in a while, but drinking them non-stop for three days is definitely excessive. Eating healthy does not have to be expensive, boring, or time-consuming.
#SpoonTip: Check out Spoon Healthier for an abundance of easy, healthy, and non-expensive recipe ideas! Also, don't forget to hit the gym once in a while.
6. A "Bikini Body" Does not Define Beauty
Yes, I did a cleanse called the "Bikini Body Detox." Yes, I did lose weight. But no, I did not do the cleanse for this reason. I did it to detox my body. With all of the #bodygoals and #bikinibods hashtags trending on basically every social media platform these days, it's easy for girls to beat themselves up over not looking like a Victoria's Secret Angel.
Let's remember ladies, having a perfect bikini body can be overrated. You don't have to be a six-foot tall model with a huge thigh gap and an eight-pack to feel beautiful. As long as you are confident with yourself, having your health in mind, and feeling your best is all that matters. Confidence is the new bikini body.
The Verdict
When the arduous three day of juicing was over, I could not be happier to go to my local Whole Foods and pig out (in moderation, of course), but I definitely did feel cleansed. The third day was really when I felt the effects of the cleanse. I felt clean and pure. I noticed that even my skin became clear.
Yes, I also did lose weight, but I did not do the cleanse for this reason. I did the cleanse because my stress eating was out of control. I had to detox all the junk that I was carelessly putting into my body. However, the cleanse was too hard for me personally to balance with school and all the other things that come along with being a high schooler.
If you want to partake in the cleanse, I recommend doing it on a weekend where you don't have a bunch of plans and obligations. This cleanse gave me a new outlook on my body, my health, and my life. I am way more conscious about what I put into my body, and I am totally more confident now that I have accepted the fact that I will never have the perfect bikini body. If you're trying your best to be health conscious, that's all that matters.
Disclaimer: We are not suggesting that you try a 3-day juice cleanse.