Tag Archives: cleanse

I got shredded with tea! Another detox experiment

Got a stubborn waistline that even 1,000 crunches hasn’t moved?

Sick of looking down at your stomach, rather than your feet?

Want to burn fat fast?

I didn’t. In fact, I’m not convinced I lost anything, but I believe there’s nothing stopping you from achieving a body transformation.

I wasn’t chasing fat loss, so that’s not why I’m writing this. 🙂

I came across Shredtea through a friend of mine who tried it and claimed to achieve results.

How I wondered?

I have never tried a product like this before, and since it was Australian, I decided to put it to the test to see what effect it would have on my body.

To be clear, I didn’t aim to achieve weight loss using this product. I didn’t need or want to lose weight. It was simply another interesting journey I experienced.

To give you a ‘try before you buy’ perspective, this post will give you an insight into the Shredtea experience – how their detox plan works, and how you might benefit.

You’ll have all you need to get started “shredding”.

What is Shredtea?

Shredtea is an all natural herbal tea designed to have you shed excess water weight, and fat when combined with an eating plan and moderate exercise daily.

It is advertised as a 14 day (2 week) offering, where the “shredder” a.k.a you, undergoes a #14dayshred body transformation should you follow the guidelines provided with the tea.

There is some great material that you are provided to ensure you get maximum benefit from the detox. The meal guide provides excellent nutritional knowledge to help you loose fat, links to external inspiration and educational sources, and also some great lifestyle tips too.

There;s apparently a workout guide to follow in the near future as well. Stay tuned for that development.

Sounds good.

How much does it cost?

It’s $50 USD for a starter pack, which gives you 2 packets of tea (a morning and an evening blend) and guidelines to follow – everything you need for 14 days of detox.

You can buy supplement packets of the tea individually from $25 USD.

Why is an Australian company selling in USD? Good question. I’m guessing the primary target market is the USA.

All prices include delivery, which is a nice surprise.

Why did I choose to ‘shred’?

I wasn’t trying to lose weight by trialling Shredtea.

I looked at it from a health and well-being perspective, seeing what the detox effect was like in comparison to my recent juice detox.

I wanted to experience how drinking a ‘prescribed’ selection of tea would leave me feeling, and if my body would ‘shred’ – lose water weight and fat (even though I didn’t follow the eating plan and exercise guidelines).

What did I think of Shredtea?

I can summarise shredtea by saying it was a pleasant tasting, bowel-moving, body cleansing herbal infusion.

During the 14 day detox program (#14dayshred), I was left feeling clean, clear minded, energised, and definitely lighter in the bowel soon after waking.

Based on this experience, I think had I have followed a more stringent eating plan and more regular exercise, I would have certainly “shredded” some kilos.

Yep, I believe it works.

Beside that, I noted the following observations while consuming my daily tea.

Taste

The taste of the tea can only be described as being literally like a fruity glass of grass and leaves.

Trust me, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

There are two tea types:

#14dayshred – This tea, taken before bed, is bitter initially but pleasant as you drink. It’s sweetened with a delicious liquorice after taste, sort of like an after dinner mint, served with a side of grass. It’s an interesting mix, and more pleasant as consumption increased.
#dailyshred – This tea provided an excellent start to the day. It had a crisp, fresh taste with the blend of ginger, cinnamon, and lemon myrtle, responsible for this. A seriously great, cleansing, mind-clearing start to the day.

Feeling

How did I feel?

Clean, clear minded, energised, and lighter in the bowel after some extreme movement first thing after waking!

Specifically:

Lighter and cleaner on the inside
Less bloated, and no gas
More energy, without the sluggish feeling when you have a bowel full of ‘crap’ (excuse the pun).

Laxative effect

This is where the tea is able to prove its claims most strongly.

No joke, it makes you poo.

Like clockwork, I would rise from bed and experience extreme rumbling. That’s when I knew.

Time to find a bathroom!

Yep, it was certainly a cleansing experience, having the following effect on my body:

Regular bowel movements – I found myself rushing to the bathroom shortly after waking, every day. Sometimes twice a day!
No pains or cramps – despite the effective laxative effect, I didn’t experience anything noticeably bad

TIP: Make sure you are sleeping somewhere with good access to a bathroom for the duration of the #14dayshred detox. You’ll need it in the morning.

What did Shredtea do for me?

Undertaking a Shredtea #14dayshred detox made me feel great.

Mentally easier to complete than a juice fast detox, taking the tea each day was a simple implementation to my daily routine.

Really, it gave me a good feeling while I was taking it. Here’s why:

I had at least 1 to 2 solid bowel movements, one first thing upon rising, and another occasionally in the late afternoon.
I experienced a ‘clean’ feeling of a detox
I had improved mental alertness
Improved quality sleep, feeling more restful upon waking.

Did I notice any physical change?

Hard to say, so I’ll let you make up your mind with the following before and after pics.

Photo BEFORE the #14dayshred

Photo AFTER 14 days on Shredtea

Again, I was happy with my physique before undertaking the trial of Shredtea, so I am not focusing on this as a personal indicator of this products effectiveness.

It made me feel great, and I’m happy with that.

Well, there you have it, my #Shredtea experience.

I enjoyed it, and found myself feeling clean, clear minded, energised at the end of the experience.

If you’re reading this and are having troubles loosing a few extra kg’s or just want to cleanse yourself, I encourage you to give it a try.

I got something out of it, and I am sure you can too.

I hope this helps you with your body transformation aspirations.

Thanks for reading my work.

Like it? Please share with your friends on social media. The more people I can inspire, the happier I’ll be.

Until next time…..

Yours in inspiration,

Jason

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What I learnt from my 5 day Juice Detox, and what I plan to do different next time

May 16, 2014Health & Wellbeingbody experiments, cleanse, detox, health, healthy alternatives, juice, natural, nutritionJason Townsend

I hope you enjoyed the last posts on why I chose to juice detox, and how I did it. It isn’t scientific (you can find heaps of that all over the web), as much as it is a recount of the personal, physiological, and emotional effects I encountered.

Wow. What an experience.

As I write this, 2 weeks after the completion of the detox experiment, I still find myself influenced by the experience.

I’m more appreciative, thankful, thoughtful, and concious of the wonderful foods I eat.

In this post, I will give you more of an insight into what I gained from it, and what I will do differently next time. This will hopefully give you (and I) closure, and wrap the experience up with some excellent take-home messages.

My summary of the 5 days on juice

Day 1 was an adjustment to the absence of food

Energy levels were good, but breakfast was, well, a bore. Lunch was coming. Yay! Oh, wait, I’m not allowed to eat. Hunger pains, so maybe I should just reach for a tasty snack….. of yet another juice. So, so much fluid!

Day 2 was all about struggle

Struggle with the impulsive need to chew on something, and with the reduction in energy levels as my body adjusted to this new energy source. I became less and less “hungry” as I turned to replenishments of juice every 30 minutes or so, which left me surprisingly satisfied.

Despite this, I was noticeably clearer in thought and more relaxed. The juicing was having good effect.

Day 3 was revelation and hell, all in one

I awoke with good energy levels, feeling energetic and with no desire to eat anything. At this point, I had reached peace with the absence of solids in my diet. I felt great for the most part of the day, having great mental focus and energy. I was realising my desire to eat was less about satisfying a hunger, the juice was taking care of that. It was more to satisfy the habit of eating.

Then, it started.

By mid afternoon, I would find myself feeling mildly dizzy, or even “drunk”. Happy drunk though. I would stand up and have to pause, taking deep breaths to wait for the room to stop spinning. It would take longer for me to conclude my thoughts, despite having a clear mind. Life was in the slow lane.

Time for another juice, which helped restore energy momentarily.

At this point, I really questioned my reason for undertaking such a cause. My integrity and desire to complete pushed me through.

Day 4 – welcome to cloud land

After a stressful day prior, and a dramatic loss of body fluid overnight, my body was out of sorts, and the symptoms of slow thought and dizziness mildly intensified.

I was living in a cloud.

At this point, I made the executive decision to include protein supplement more frequently in an attempt to provide an energy boost. My energy returned, and I was no longer interested in the idea of food.

My commitment was strong and my desire to prove to myself that I could make the 5 day duration was empowering.

Day 5 and the joy of an immanent end

Gratitude, elation, and excitement at the prospect of food! With energy levels and my spirit high, the final day was all about reflection and focus on the delicacies to come.

A short day to end a long week without food!

What I learnt from the 5 days of juice detox

If you read the first post in this series, you’ll know that I did this juice detox not to lose weight, but to cleanse my body and reconnect with my food.

The juice detoxing experience provided me exposure to a new way of being, which didn’t include the nutritious munchies that I surrounded myself with daily.

More than anything, It highlighted just how much my life revolves around food.

If you think long and hard, I’m sure you’ll agree.

With all that goes on in life, it took isolation from food to regain an appreciation for it’s place as part of my being.

A new appreciation for:

The meditative effect of food preparation – Preparing your meal is exciting, calming, soothing, and satisfying. To share the experience with another is to add a whole other (most enjoyable) dimension. I realised that food preparation offered a meaningful distraction from my worries, fears, and insecurities, and provided a social setting to connect with those I care for most.
The consumption of food is a joyous experience to cherish – I had become numb to the experience of food consumption. It had become a necessity – to fuel the activity that I surrounded myself with daily. Once removed, the wonders of texture, sight, smell, and taste, became ever so apparent to me. Prior to the detox, repetitive meals, lacking in variety, were not doing the potential experience justice.
It takes time – In order to experience any joy from food, there must be ample time available! Meal time had become a rushed chore that stood in the way of bigger and better things. I realised there is nothing more important than food, so I should devote more time to being grateful, appreciative, and respectful of the gift I am given each and every day.

Without food, there is no life.

I now can see that to enjoy the experience of food first of all with myself, then with others, is the most important thing I have.

In future, I plan to appreciate these, and more.

What I will do different next time

Committing to 5 day of juice detox was an enlightening experience, and an achievement I am proud to have completed.

If you have made it this far, and have read the first and second posts, you will appreciate the open minded way that I conducted the detox experiment. As this was my first time, there are, of course, improvements that I would like to make to have the experience even more effective.

In fact, there are 3.

1. Duration of the detox

As I have hinted throughout, I loved the juice detox experience, and I will be doing it again.

In fact, to continually remind myself of the joy of food and provide my body with a cleanse, I am committing to a 3 day juice detox at the beginning of every month.

Why 3 days?

I found that I achieved the most value from my juice detox experience by the end of the third day. The subsequent days were draining; spent floating around waiting for permission to chew into a juicy lentil burger.

2. Higher dosage of juice

My single heaped teaspoon of Vital Greens wasn’t enough. To combat this, I was consuming many more glasses (and hence more water) to achieve the nutrition level my body required.

I believe the excess water had a dilution effect, and I wasn’t getting the full benefit of the nutrient I was consuming.

Next time, I am going to do one of the following to increase the nutrient content:

a minimum 2 teaspoon dose of Vital Greens; or
mix Vital Greens with another green drink such as barley grass or wheatgrass.

3. Include a plant based protein source first thing in the morning

As I found in my results, I required something in addition to fuel my body through the detox process.

I chose pea protein.

The main reasons for choosing this was because it is plant based, and dissolves in water (so requires low amounts of energy for digestion).

In future, I will be experimenting with the inclusion of either half an avocado or 30-60g of pea protein first thing in the morning to supplement the detox.

I believe this will provide the energy I felt I lacked, and the ability to complete the detox without caving to the temptation of a quick fix.

There you have it! The end of my 5 days on a juice detox.

I totally loved the experience, and I think there are many more people out there, including you, that would love it too.

If you ever needed any more inspiration to give it a go, check out the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It really highlights that all types of people can get something out of the experience.

Please, if you liked this story, share it with someone who you think might benefit. I hope I can be an inspiration to the well being of others, and show just how easy you can make something which seems so radical.

Thanks for reading my work.

Like it? Please share with your friends on social media. The more people I can inspire, the happier I’ll be.

Until next time…..

Yours in inspiration,

Jason

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My 5 day Juice Detox – How I did it, and the results

Welcome to the second of a three part post covering my juice detox experiment.

In the last post, you will have learned why I decided to undertake this journey, and some of the benefits that convinced me to try it.

Everyone chooses their own path to take, and for me, the path for this journey was clear.

I wanted to test my mental connection to food, and gain an understanding of my cravings and what they were caused by. To regain awareness and appreciation of food.

By the end of this second post, you will have a first-hand recount of my 5 day juice detox and what I experienced each day. You will learn exactly how I did it, so you can start your own cleansing detox today! I even took a video diary and kept a journal to share with you.

A thought for you to consider leading into this post:

Every detox experience is unique to the individual.

You can’t compare your results to someone else, or to preconceived expectations you have of the experience. It is totally unique to you.

You can get a glimpse of what I experienced below 🙂

How I did a juice detox, and how you can do it too

I didn’t put a lot of preparation and planning into this experiment. I knew why I was doing it, and I had the resources to get started, so I went for it!

I know that sounds simple, but I hear you asking “what steps were involved in doing it?”

Looking back on how it all turned out, I can see that I broke the 5 day juice detox process into the 5 simple steps as follows.

1. Pick a duration and set a date

Decide on a duration for a juice detox, and commit to it!

There are many durations you can pick, some as wild as 60 days! Some other (more realistic) milestones to choose from are 3, 5 & 7 day periods on a juice detox.

I picked 5 days of juice.

Why?

For me, 3 was too easy, and 7 days took me into a weekend. With the daily work routine and less social activity during the week, it made sense for me to conduct a 5 day juice detox during my working week.

The next step, committing it to my diary and preparing for my week off food!

2. Remove the temptation of food

Got your detox plan sorted? Great!

Now, go to your pantry in the kitchen, open the fridge, and take a good, long look.

All that yummy food needs to go!

I scheduled my juice detox into my calendar so I could be prepared. I spent the week beforehand making sure I used all available ingredients at hand, and not buying anything more to store in the house.

This activity was quite fun. It forced me to be more resourceful in meal preparation, and taught me improvisation and a form of delayed gratification.

I could normally have whatever I want. I just go to the shop and buy it! Not this time.

With my commitment, I had an understanding that I could have all that I wanted, but only after finishing the juice detox.

Donate to friends, hide in the freezer, feed to your cat. Do whatever is necessary to remove the temptation of food from your life so you can devote yourself to the detox.

NOTE: I found it very valuable to leave some simple, healthy items of food accessible, as it turns out my nutrition intake wasn’t enough. Nuts, seeds, and my favourite plant-based pea protein powder was my ’emergency’ stock.

3. Get equipped

I made my juice detox as simple as possible.

All you will need are the following 3 simple “ingredients” for 5 days of nutrition.

Fresh, filtered water – To remove the nasty chemicals that kill the good bacteria in your stomach (and lessen the cleansing effect of the detox), I filtered all my water. You can use any water filter of choice. I used an Ecobud Gentoo water filter jug, as it is Australian, and more importantly, removes fluoride from the water. You can read why removal of fluoride is important here.
A vegetable based protein source – I used pea protein during my detox. Initially I planned to drink only juice, but I found my energy levels dropped to a point where I was feeling faint at times. I decided to use my favourite pea protein at these times (see my journal notes below). It is vegetable based, alkaline, and very easy on the stomach.
A wholesome, nutrient dense green vegetable juice – The most important part of the detox, the juice! I used Vital Greens for the detox. I’ll explain more in the next section 🙂

That’s it! Very simple, and that’s the idea – in making it simple, there are less reasons not to do it.

4. Choosing the juice

Choosing what is going to fuel your body through the 5 days of transformation is the most important step!

There are many ‘juice’ types you could choose to use. Options such as:

Using a juicer, buying fresh fruit and vegetables, and creating yummy juices yourself
Using a pre-packaged juice that is high in nutritional content, highly alkaline, and low in sugars
Use a ‘green drink’ supplement.

In his ‘Get the Edge’ audio program, Anthony Robbins talks of using a ‘green drink’ supplement such as wheatgrass or barley grass to perform a juice detox.

Looking into this option, I liked it.

Why?

It’s minimalistic, requires very little time to prepare juices, and requires no special equipment.

It removed many of the pains I could experience when attempting the juice detox – time, money, and difficulty. I didn’t have a juicer either, nor did I want to make that investment just for this experiment.

I’d been consuming Vital Greens, a superfood supplement, for over 18 months, and was really happy with it’s taste and how I felt drinking it. Rather than choose to buy more ingredients (such as wheat grass), I decided to use what I had available, and try the Vital Greens approach.

How much did I use?

The recommended serving size for Vital Greens is 2 teaspoons per 200ml of filtered water.

In general, I used a single heaped teaspoon per glass (the teaspoon was heaped with as much that it could carry).

That’s what I did, and you can do it any way you like. There are plenty of awesome juice detox recipes and ideas out there to try.

Don’t spend too much time on it though, as you will find what feels right when you actually do it!

After all, there can always be improvement..

5. Moderating activity and affirming the objective

Morning runs, afternoon hill sprints, and weekend bike rides. Ahh the active lifestyle.

Does this sound like you? Great!

Although I made the choice to moderate the intensity of my exercise for the week, the good news is I didn’t stop, nor did I feel the need to.

You will see from my diary entries (below) that I still maintained steady exercise, which included:

Regular walks
Resistance exercise sessions (TRX and bodyweight)
Moderate intensity cardio
Yoga

Which wasn’t too different from my normal routine.

No matter what, I recommend taking it easy, as this is a very big deal for your body. Depending on your body type, your response to the detox may be more stressful than the next person.

So you’re and athlete and you worry about losing muscle mass and starving your body?

I’m not here to convince you otherwise. There is plenty of research to suggest the opposite, so long as the juice you are drinking contains enough nutrient. If it is still a concern, ask yourself:

Why am I doing this juice detox, and what is the transformation I want to achieve?

Remind yourself of the true reason for this challenge.

I was determined to test my mind-body connection with food, and experience the cleansing effect of high nutrient intake, so any loss of muscle was not a concern for me (and although I did not measure in any way, I do not feel I had any signs of muscle loss during my detox).

There you have it. Those are my 5 easy steps to make a successful juice detox experience for yourself. Here they are again:

Set a goal
Remove the temptation of food
Equip yourself
Get the juice; and
Re-affirm your objective.

Once I committed myself, the detox was simple to do. Sure, there were struggles with willpower (as to be expected when removing food from my life!), but I overcame these and learned so much from the experience.

I’ve got your interest now haven’t I! Are you wondering how I handled the experience?

Let’s look at my results 🙂

The results of 5 days on juice!

Now to the results!

If I could summarise the experience, I would say:

it left me feeling clean, clear minded, and with a thorough appreciation for the taste, texture, smell, and the social impact of food in my life.

It was an amazing experience, and I will be doing it again. More on that in the next post.

For now, enjoy my recount of the juice detox experience below.

My real life journal entries

Want to know what really happened over the 5 days of juice? Check out my raw diary entries below to see what I was doing and feeling through the detox process.

DAY 1 – 28/04/2014

Cups: 11111111
With protein: 11 (10 total )
Weight: 73.9kg

Energy already low from weekend holidays recovery
Starting to get stomach aches at 11am – I feel like solid food
Feeling fine otherwise
Going to toilet every 1 hour
Feeling light headed, but not hungry
Feeling hungry at 3pm. Had pea protein with drink. Much more fulfilling.
Feeling depressed and craved food. Had peanut butter and nuts before bed.
Recovering from lack of sleep. Depressed thought patterns and lack of drive (normal for me with lack of sleep)
Bed early at 8.30pm
EXERCISE – 12min intense TRX abdominal workout

DAY 2 – 29/04/2014

Cups: 1111111111
With protein: 11 (12 total )
Weight: 72.9kg

Feeling good. Green drink with protein to start
Went to toilet. Stool dense and green tinge. Felt very empty once finished.
Feeling a little hungry and light headed at 10.30am. Had another juice to get rid of this feeling.
Juice might be too potent. Urine is tone of yellow like too much vitamins. limiting to 1 heaped teaspoon per cup.
Feeling very calm and clear minded
Feeling faint while walking at 12.15. Had another juice.
Faint feeling continuing at 2.30pm. Thought about including protein powder, but held off. Another juice.
Mental clarity OK. Feeling some fatigue
Faintness intensifying. Notice sitting at desk. Caved and had 30g protein with green drink.
EXERCISE – castle hill. Felt drained at first, then energy stabilised once 10min in. Completed heavy cardio workout almost as normal.
Cheated and had a handful of nuts once home. Was really filling. Felt a little guilty.
Good energy. Bed at 10.30pm

DAY 3 – 30/04/2014

Cups: 111111111111
With protein: 1 ( 13 total )
Weight: 71.6kg

Excellent sleep. Woke up once to go to the bathroom
EXERCISE: 1hr Yoga before work. Feeling ultra relaxed.
Not feeling desire for solid food as much. Feeling content with what I have in juice.
No hunger. Feeling a little faint @ 2pm
Tough afternoon, really testing my commitment to the detox. The desire to have food, driven by boredom and dissatisfaction at work, is high, Reached a climax once arriving from work to an empty house. Caved and had a handfull of nuts. Tasted so good, but guilty feeling at surrendering to a very minimal urge.
Really highlighting what is in this for me – its a mental challenge. Pushing the boundaries of what I know about myself.
I turn to food when bored / depressed. It will be a good exercise to determine what things I can do to alleviate these feelings.
Weighed myself at 5.45pm. 75kg! I put on 3.5kg since 6am! What are the causes?Considering almost no solids ingested, this is very strange.Feeling tired and a little hungry before bed. Another juice! Very fatigued. Bed at 9.30pm
- Stress
- Emotional
- Water retention due to the stress

DAY 4 – 1/05/2014

Cups: 111111111
With protein: 1111111 (16 total )
Weight: 71.3kg

Lost nearly 4kg overnight! Went to toilet twice during the night. Seem to have lost all water stored while I was sleeping.
Feeling very groggy. Possibly due to interrupted sleep.
Went for a short walk before work, practising deep breathing and gratitude.
Felt quite hungry and faint. Had a juice with protein. Feeling better. I think the extra calories in the protein helps. Maybe my juices are not potent enough?
Really quite faint @ 8am. I think my calorie intake is insufficient. Going to try increasing the strength of juice.
Feeling like on a cloud. Energy is average. Strange feeling where I have energy but am too tired to use it.
Lunch time. Green drink and protein. Starting to have more energy now.
Energy levels restoring. Feeling much better. Clearly need more calories, coming from protein powder
Feeling tons better after protein hits. Energy is elevated, although less than normal
EXERCISE – ride, mowing and some upper body strength
Weight – 72.5 @ 6.30pm

DAY 5 – 2/05/2014

Cups: 11111111
With protein: 1111 (12 total )
Weight: 70.9

Feeling intense gratitude for the experience. Feeling so “clean”. Hard to explain until you try!
Energy is much better with protein inclusion. Energy levels are good.
Did a set of chin ups and hanging abdominal raises and did not notice difference.
Energy levels during the day at work are OK, but still sub-normal, with light headed spells when walking after sitting
At 1pm I called an end to the detox.

There you have it. My 5 day juice detox experience wrapped up.

I touched on a few benefits in the video journal and in my notes, and there is a few more I will discuss in the next post. Stay tuned!

As with all things health and wellbeing, results are totally unique to YOU. I hope you enjoyed mine.

I would love to hear your feedback, especially those of you that are going to (or plan to) attempt a juice detox.

Until then, stay healthy, and don’t be afraid to try something different.

Magic happens outside the comfort zone….

Thanks for reading my work.

Like it? Please share with your friends on social media. The more people I can inspire, the happier I’ll be.

Until next time…..

Yours in inspiration,

Jason

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My 5 day juice detox – Why I decided to reboot

May 6, 2014Health & Wellbeing5 days of juice, body experiments, cleanse, healthy habits, nutritionJason Townsend

Those who know me, know that I’ve always been big into health an nutrition. I’ve tried a lot of weird stuff, so now I am looking to push my understanding to a new level and try a juice detox – eating no solids and consuming a high nutrient “green” drink.

This blog post is the first in a 3 part series, and will provide you with the benefits of detox, and my top 3 reasons for giving it a try.

Maybe the information will inspire you to try too.

To give you a personal recount, I have included a video diary of the results, followed by some real-life journal notes from the experience. You can check these out in the next post 🙂

The good news is, I loved doing the detox, and I’ll be doing it again.

Let’s get to business…..

Why did I do a juice detox?

Our lives are busy. Our meals are fast. Our time is short. With all of this constant activity (and eating), it is easy to get complacent with the glorious food we have access to.

I believe this thought is directly reflected in our digestive systems. There is so much food we are consuming, the body becomes overwhelmed and numbed to it’s nutritional properties. At some point, we need a break. A change in habit. A new start.

It’s referred to as a detox.

I was inspired by my “mentor” Tony Robbins. In his audio coaching series “Get the Edge”, he indicates a juice detox is an ideal way to unlock your inner energy by clearing your body of toxins and bad fats.

I am also extremely health concious, curious and willing to experiment with new things, so I thought “why not?!”

Aside from that, there are some well known scientific and spiritual benefits to enjoy as well.

The following are my top 3.

My top 3 reasons for doing a juice detox

1. Cleanse my body of toxins

The average diet contains a lot of nasties – trans-fats, starches, yeasts, toxic chemicals, preservatives, salt, sugar etc. Over time, these all get caught in your body (stored with fat, trapped in the intestine and colon), and accumulate until you gradually get sick.

Without giving your body a well-deserved break, there is no chance for there to be a recharge. Think you feel good? How do you really know? It may be that your understanding of “good” is actually a definition you have given to your normal state.

What if you could actually feel better?

Create yourself a new definition of “feeling good”?

I think that’s something worth finding.

2. Re-energise and alkalise my body

After the cleanse, comes the recharge.

With the absence of any nasties present in conventional food, and the digestive stresses that solids put on your body, far less effort is required to replenish energy stocks while consuming juice (or liquid nutrient).

It is also true that there is less exposure to stomach acids and enzymes that degrade important nutrient content in the foods we eat. With an average ingestion rate of 15 min for liquids, versus 2 hours for solids, the nutrient bypasses the laborious digestive cycle and hits your bloodstream with high-potency goodness much faster, and with less effort.

What does this mean for your body?

High potency, easy accessible goodness, that’s what.

It must be noted that I am consuming a special vegetable-based juice, not a supermarket variety. My juice of choice (Vital Greens) is loaded with nutrients and is alkaline in nature (very low acid). Regular fruit juices are highly acidic, full of sugars, and are not that great for your body.

I won’t go into it in detail, but you can read on the importance of alkalising your body here in this excellent article.

The ingestion of this highly potent alkaline drink, ensures that I am receiving an overload of complex nutrients that the body can use to repair, re-energise, and cleanse throughout the detox.

3. Re-invigorate my connection with food

I have been doing lots of experimenting with food lately. Most recently, I have been experimenting with techniques used by Tim Ferriss in his 4 Hour Body book.

Although it made eating far more efficient, I feel I have lost contact spiritually with the taste, texture, excitement and enjoyment of the food experience.

It’s boring, lifeless, and really un-inspiring when used 100% of the time.

I want to take stock, take a break, and really see what I am missing altogether. I want to see how my mind reacts without the succulent goodness of a salmon portion and side of green vegetables (my favourite) as an expectation of an evening.

It’s about a mental challenge to test my craving and level of connection with nature’s succulent delights.

There you have it. When life get’s stagnant and uninspiring, It’s a good time to try something new. Maybe this post will inspire you to try something new in your life, and add in a little “shake” with the stir.

How did the 5 day juice detox turn out? You can see a video of the results and the real life journal entries in the next post.

Thanks for reading my work.

Like it? Please share with your friends on social media. The more people I can inspire, the happier I’ll be.

Until next time…..

Yours in inspiration,

Jason

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