Even though they have been around for a long time, this year seems to be the year of the Juice Cleanse! It seems like everyone I know is either on it, was on it or is getting on it! That includes me….I have been one of the many clients on more than one occasion, most recently after the Christmas holiday when my skinny jeans looked more like "jeggings" than actual jeans after indulging too much in wine and food and yes, not running. Let me clarify at the outset that I am not a nutritionist, do not play one on t.v., have zero credentials in the area of health and nutrition…I am an attorney, which in no way qualifies me to have an opinion on this topic, but maybe because I am attorney I do!
So, back to the post-Christmas tight-fitting jeans drama….why wouldn't you try it? "Jump start" your system…….lose 5 pounds instantly....and the best part....you are encouraged NOT to exercise because you won't have enough energy! Little work - lots of reward! Sign me up! So, a few days after Christmas, in desperation, I got online and signed up for another juice cleanse. The next day, I picked up my $200 worth of "fresh cold pressed juice" (I love the way we have come up with such a fancy and exclusive way to say - hey, we squeezed some oranges in a bottle a few hours ago) -- 18 bottles to be exact. As I started home it occurred to me that I didn't actually look at the nutritional content on the bottles of this particular cleanse. What I was most interested in was the sugar content, because knowing me and my commitment issues, I would be using this juice as a supplement in less than 24 hours. Yes, I should have done my due diligence prior to buying $200 worth of juice, but desperation leads to bad results. Anyway, when I did get around to researching the nutritional values, I found out that each of the bottles had over 20 grams of sugar in them (that's over 120 grams of sugar a day for 3 days!!). That's A LOT of sugar -- way over the recommended amount and way too much if you are using the juice as a "supplement" (now , I don't want all the actual nutritionists reading this to go nuts...I get that this is at least not processed sugar, so in some way better for me, but either way you slice it - 120 grams is too much). The caloric intake for each bottle was between 110-130 calories, so basically if you only drink the juice you are limiting your calories to around 660 calories a day. Of course you will lose weight! You could accomplish the same results with one Big Mac a day at 700 calories. In fact, a man just lost 37 pounds and lowered his cholesterol after eating McDonald's for 90 days! (www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/science-teacher-creates-documentary-based-on-mcdonalds-diet/-/9357080/23750942/-/w7swjt/-/index.html) Again, I'm not advocating you eat McDonald's everyday and I'm not saying there is no value in a juice cleanse or drinking some fancy "cold pressed juice." It's just not the "magic" bullet that we all want it (maybe need it) to be. With this information in hand, I decided that I wasn't up for another go at the juice cleanse. Plus, I really wasn't interested in giving up my coffee for three days either.....and yes, I've read caffeine is the number one drug in America - I'm ok with that, let's solve one problem at a time. Now, the real issue became, what to do with all of this juice?!? I convinced my husband it was good for him (he's super thin and fit so a little extra sugar wouldn't hurt him a bit), traded my kids a few juices for their other sugary vices of the day and then froze the rest thinking that maybe someone would drink them eventually....
We are all looking for a fast, easy solution to meet our exercise/diet/weight loss goals. In the words of a very good friend of mine, "stop those stupid fad diets and just run, the rest will take care of itself." He's right, it always does. There is no easy way out...make a commitment and "the rest will take care of itself."
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