Day 2 was yesterday- the midway point, the day in the cleanse when you wake up thinking, "Oh I've totally got this." Confidence, though great, sometimes gets me in a ton trouble- this instance being a great example. I woke up without an alarm on juice cleanse day #2 at 5:57AM....frankly because I had gone to bed at 9:30PM the night before from being so exhausted from not eating my normal diet. As I lay awake in my bed I figured, I could either stay laying here or, on my mat at 6:30AM yoga. Feeling confident as ever, I had a few sips of my morning green drink (which was by the way much improved on day 2 thanks to a splash of cashew milk and some ice cubes all blended together) and headed out the door. Again, I got myself caught in thinking I was a total Californian, feeling super earthy as I sat on my mat in the heated room. Little did I know I'd spend most of the class there. About 30 minutes in I realized why the class seemed so hard- my body did not have the energy it normally would to commit to the movements and postures. I thought because it was yoga it would be less intense and therefore an acceptable workout on a cleanse! Needless to say while everyone was doing dancer and tree pose- I was basically sleeping in child's pose. Word to the wise, take a few days off from exercising while on a cleanse. Lesson learned. There were of course residuals effects to my morning yoga over confidence that stuck with me throughout the day. Because I had started my day earlier than normal, I was hungry earlier than normal. I started the juices about 3 hours earlier on day 2 than I did on day 1. And because I worked out, I was twice as hungry after. By 3:30PM I had made it through 4 juices and was feeling hungry but not sure where to turn. I cracked and had carrots and hummus- and don't feel an ounce of guilt about it. I needed those crunchy snacks- and damn they were good! I skipped the dinner smoothie and had a plate of veggies instead and finished the night off again with the delicious cashew milk "juice"- which by the way tastes delicious warmed up. I also made another modification to the juices- because I was skipping the dinner beet juice and replacing it with either a piece of protein or plate of uncooked veggies for dinner, I didn't want to miss out on the nutrients of these beautiful beets. So I modified the pineapple juice (#2) to be half pineapple, half beet. The citrus pineapple taste almost completely overpowered the gardeny beet taste. Also, as you know from my adventures with the beets, I could not let a vegetable that decided to spray itself all of my walls, go to complete waste. And again, recipes to follow tomorrow, I promise. So lessons learned from day 2? Don't try to be superman or superwoman on a juice cleanse. I recommend treating yourself to a few "rest" days from your typical workout routine- or just go take a walk if you really need to circulate the old legs. Another lesson- modification is ok! If you are on a cleanse and cannot get the juices down because your palette so highly disagrees with them, try modifying by mix and matching! At the end of the day, all of those juices are going to the same place anyway. And if your body is screaming at you to eat- I am of the opinion that you need to listen to it. Rules and goals aside, our bodies are very smart and will always find a way to tell us what they need. So if that's protein or veggies- please hear your body out, it is speaking up for a reason. That's all for now- early bed time for this juice queen. Be sure to come back here tomorrow for my final thoughts on the cleanse, how day 3 went, and the recipes you've been waiting to get your grubby little paws on. :)
xoxo AA
