PREP IS KEY!  You can help enhance your cleanse experience by properly preparing.  We strongly urge cleansers to start incorporating as many fruits and vegetables as possible into every meal for a minimum of 2 days prior to starting your cleanse.  Following are a few healthy guidelines for those days just prior to your cleanse to help you feel your best.

Translation:  No Steak-and-Martini-Say-Goodbye-to-Food party the night before your cleanse!  Your body won't thank you on Day 1.

EATING

Avoid:  dairy and eggs, meat and poultry, white starches and grains, fried/processed foods, refined sugars, animal-based protein powders, alcohol, coffee, soda

LIMIT:  organic chicken and eggs, fish, beans/legumes, green tea or caffeinated beverages

GO FOR IT:  fruits and vegetables, grains like quinoa, millet and brown rice, nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews and brazil nuts), use sweeteners like agave, raw honey and stevia, water, water, water, herbal teas, apple cider vinegar

EASY AS 1, 2, 3!  Your juices will be numbered in the order you are to drink them, 1-6.  We recommend starting each day with a cup of warm water with lemon (it helps activate your digestive system...by the way, we think everyone should do this EVERY day!)  Then, you should drink Juice #1 at the time you typically eat your first meal of the day.  The rule of thumb for Juices 2-5 is to drink them about every 2 hours, but it is definitely not a hard rule.  Drink Juice #6 about 2 hours before bedtime.

YOUR BODY DURING A CLEANSE:  During a cleanse, your body is taking a break from digesting processed foods, alcohol, sugar and whatever other indulgences of our normal lifestyle.  So instead, it's working to get rid of the toxins that can build up in your body.  There are sometimes negative side effects to the detoxification, but be sure to think of that as the GOOD news...it's getting out of your body.  Some of the symptoms of detox include fatigue, headaches, constipation/diarrhea, skin eruptions, cold sores, dry mouth (drink more water), nausea, and insomnia.  Some people experience some of these symptoms, some experience none of them.  I've never known anyone to experience all at once, so don't worry too much about it.   Just breathe your way through the cleaning!

CHEAT SHEET:  While the goal during the cleanse is to abstain from all food, we know that sometimes that doesn't feel possible.  Not to stress!  If you feel the need to chew, then just be smart about it.  Some reasonable cheat items include a few stalks of celery, slices of cucumber, half a cup of black coffee, a pinch of Celtic sea salt added to any juice or water, a quarter of an avocado or some warmed Bone Broth.

POST-CLEANSE:  Congratulations!  Hopefully you have a good feeling of satisfaction from completing a cleanse - plus a nice glow to your skin and some extra energy!  Now you have to be conscious of breaking your cleanse properly.  You shouldn't go from zero to cheeseburger and fries right out of the gate.  That would be throwing away too much hard work.  Just remember that you need to reawaken our digestive system slowly.  Transition from light, easy-to-digest foods with high water content, back to more dense and filling foods.  

DAY 1 & 2:  Stick mostly to raw fruits and vegetables, lots of water, fresh squeezed juices.  Integrate steamed vegetables, seeds and raw nuts.  Think big Romaine salad, packed with extra veggies with some seeds thrown in and a light dressing fo fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper.

DAY 3:  Salads, more raw than cooked vegetables, but now it's okay to phase in brown rice, oatmeal, and starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and squash.  Also add in beans and legumes.

DAY 4 & 5:  Add in lean meats and fish, keep eating salads and veggies (of course), and work back to your regular routine.  Hopefully, this is the beginning of a new 'regular'!

TO YOUR HEALTH!