5 lbs in 5 Days: Day Zero – Prep Day

(Apologies for lack of credit, I came across this on Twitter and it was unattributed)

So, here we are on Day Zero of my 5lbs in 5 Days* challenge! It starts properly tomorrow, but Day Zero is preparation day.

It’s a fine morning to begin our countdown, the sun is straining to come out from behind the clouds. I was woken by the dawn chorus, a beautiful way to start the day. If you have the oportunity, get as much fresh air as you can, breathe it in deeply and appreciate the budding trees and nesting birds.

This is an excellent time to clear out the bodily clutter and start anew. In a week’s time you will feel you are a different person!

If, like me, you are a regular juicer and have a fairly ‘clean’ diet ie free from processed foods, alcohol and sugar, then you probably only need the weekend to taper down before the week long juice fast. If you are doing this for the first time and/or tend to have takeaways or convenience food and so on, then I recommend you spend a couple of weeks gradually introducing more fruit and veg and reducing the sugar/alcohol/coffee/processed foods before you do a full-on juice cleanse. That way, you are less likely to experience withdrawal symptoms in the first couple of days – this could be a headache for instance or a strong craving for caffeine – and therefore less likely to give up before you’ve really felt the benefits.

My day began with my usual cup of hot water – unfortunately I can’t have lemon juice in it, it sets my teeth on edge! Sometimes I have ginger tea; fresh ginger is anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal and is a strong weapon to deploy when doing a cleanse or when fighting off viruses or inflammation in the body.

Next I had a very fiery Morning Glory – see Juicy Winter Warmers – which was particularly spicy today and a great wake-up juice!

Another glass of warm water was followed by a large breakfast smoothie:

Small banana

Handful of Walnuts

Heaped Tbsp of Pumpkin Seeds

2 Tbsps Quinoa Flakes

2 Large Romaine Lettuce Leaves

1 Tsp Wheatgrass Powder

1 Medium Glass Fresh Apple Juice + a little filtered water

1 Heaped Tbsp Coyo Plain Yogurt

It has plenty of protein, carbs, omega oils, vitamins and minerals to keep me going all morning. If you want it a little fruitier/sweeter and a little less ‘green,’ try adding a couple of dried apricots or a pitted medjool date.

For lunch I’ll be having leftover home-made vegetable soup (see Thick and Chunky Winter Vegetable Soup)

with home-made Gluten-free Tiger Nut Bread

 Mid-afternoon I’ll have The Red One 

Beetroot juice in my funky Grip and Go glass bottle

This evening I’ll either have a huge salad with avocado or a vegetable stir-fry, haven’t decided yet – depends how cold it is by then!

Don’t forget to keep hydrated, lots of water and fruit or herbal teas will help prevent any detox headaches and hunger pangs.

Try to wind down from tv, computers and other devices well before bedtime and get an early night. Try to avoid over-exertion of the mind and body during this juice fast, it’s not advisable to start building that extension or increasing your work load. Any chance you get to just ‘be’, to be still, to be alone, to meditate, contemplate, do some yoga, go for a stroll, take it. Cleansing your mind is as important as cleansing your body.

Hope this has given some useful insight to pre-cleanse prep and I look forward to hearing your experiences during the week.

See my other Juicing Posts for more detailed tips and to read about my Super Juice experience.

Good luck!

*http://www.juicemaster.com

Copyright: Chris McGowan