Juicing is everywhere. Celebrities are doing it. There a thousand websites devoted to it. There are businesses popping up all the time promoting their organic juices.
It’s not enough to eat organic fruits and vegetables. Real nirvana is obtained when these things are slowly cold-pressed, packaged in thick glass bottles and sold for at least $10 a pop.
There are claims that ailments like ulcers, skin diseases and IBS can be eradicated just from juicing. There’s even a documentary about it – Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Catchy title, isn’t it?
I’m talking about juicing, cleansing, detoxing. It’s all the rage in the NYC-area. From Organic Avenue to Blueprint. There is even the Master Cleanse (aka the lemonade diet) which was first made popular in the 1970s and then again when Beyonce claimed that’s how she lost the weight for Dreamgirls.
Why do people do it?
- to lose weight
- to get healthy
- to rid the body of toxins
- to obtain inner peace and sanity
- to lose weight
What do I, Sensible Susan think of these reasons?
- it will be temporary
- eating whole foods is healthy – why do they have to juiced?
- isn’t the body a self-cleaning unit?
- paying $50/day for juice is insane
- it’s temporary and mostly water
So, why did I do it this past weekend?
TO TAKE A MUCH-NEEDED BREAK FROM FOOD AND ESPECIALLY FROM THE PLANNING, SHOPPING AND COOKING OF MEALS.
Oh, and to lose a bit of weight…
I picked a long weekend when the hubby was away so I could do it my way and be a grouch without feeling too guilty. I paid a significant sum to have the juices made for me and delivered to my door. I got 5 juices a day: 2 green juices, 1 beet and carrot juice, 1 red fruit juice and 1 almond milk.
I like fruits and veggies and have tried being on a raw diet for a while, and so, I actually liked the taste of the juices and found them rather enjoyable. I didn’t really miss food. I should note that I was neither hanging out with any other adults that weekend nor surrounded by any cooked food. I was like an alcoholic staying dry while on Mormom retreat. It was easy to avoid tempation in an unrealistic every day scenario…
I didn’t feel any hungrier on this diet than any other diet I ever attempted. Did I find my Zen? Um, no. The only epiphany I had was discovering that homemade almond milk with cinnamon is crazy delicious.
I did feel a sense of freedom, though. I was free from worrying about food. I was free to think of other more important things. I was free to feel like a celebrity – doing something all trendy and relying on other people to make and deliver my healthiness. If I ever meet Gwyneth or Demi, I’m sure I’ll feel an immediate kinship with my fellow “juicers”.
Will I juice again? Maybe. I’ll do it for more sensible reasons though – just to enjoy the taste of it or to use up an abundance of fruits and veggies if I ever grow a garden or belong to a CSA.
The ultimate results:
I did lose 2 lbs – woohoo! So, yes, I probably will do it again in a few months. The cleansing part? Well, the only thing that really got cleaned out was my wallet….
Susan Van Sciver 