So it seems like everyone and their mother is swapping out food for a liquid diet in the name of “detoxing”. Your office refrigerator is filled with puréed veggies, cold pressed juice shops are on every corner, and suddenly kale is the main ingredient in everything. So what’s the deal with cleanses? Although the body is constantly working to rid itself of toxins, many fitness and health bloggers are swearing by various methods of jumpstarting this process in order to help them reach their weight-loss goals and feel their best. Whether you’re a hardcore health nut or just want to slim down for bikini season, we found ten cleanses that are sure to make you feel rejuvinated and lean.
1. Cold Pressed Juice Cleanse
One of the most popular cleanses out there, the cold pressed juice cleanse can be made with a juicer at home, or are available for purchase from companies such as Suja, Pressed Juicery, and Urban Remedy. Ali, freelance recipe developer, food writer, and photographer behind Gimme Some Oven believes good things are meant to be celebrated and shared, and that is exactly what she did with the Suja Juice Cleanse in her post My 3-Day Suja Juice Cleanse. With this cleanse you drink the juice and water all day, so that means no solid food, coffee or alchohol for three whole days. Ali says she genuinely loved all the juices that were supplied from Suja. Including Vanilla Cloud, with almond milk, coconut milk, vanilla bean, honey, and filtered water. (Yum!) Ali described them to be really filling and left her feeling satisfied. Overall, she said she felt lighter and more energized by the end of day 3, and is planning on doing the cleanse again!
At $9 a bottle, the Suja cleanse is on the pricey side, but check out Costco and Gilt City for discounts and deals on the juices, and save by making them yourself if you have a juicer.
2. Master Cleanse
Arguably the most controversial of cleanses, the Master Cleanse, or lemonade cleanse, was made famous by Beyoncé when she used it to help her drop a reported 20 pounds in less than two weeks for her role in the movie Dreamgirls. Although Rosita Applebum is known as a beauty blogger rather than a health blogger, her vlog on her experience with the Master Cleanse has one of the highest Youtube views on the subject and is a straightforward account of her ten day experience with it. The Master Cleanse usually consists of ten straight days of drinking a mixture of water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Rosita explains that when she stuck with drinking the recommended amount, she had a high amount of energy and was able to drop ten pounds in ten days. Although she expresses that she probably will end up putting some of the weight back on, she found the cleanse useful as a detoxing solution and, said it helped curb her bad habits of eating fast food and sugar.
3. Eat Stop Eat Cleanse
Mike is a triathlete, yogi, and health and fitness enthusiast who is passionate about emphasizing the the healthiest version/superhero that lies within each of us with his blog TheIron You. In his post Let’s Talk About Intermittent Fasting he explains how IF (Intermittent Fasting) can be used as a form of detoxing because when the body no longer has access to food they switch from “growth mode” to “repair mode”, and our cells start to renew themselves. One approach to IF that he suggests is putting a severe restriction on food 1-2 days a week, and then eating whatever you like on the other days. Juicing is also a form of IF, and he suggests trying this out before a more severe form of IF.
4. Dr.Oz’s Home Made Cleanse
If fasting isn’t your thing, Dr. Oz’s cleanse may be right for you. Natasha is a new mom who blogs about food, fashion, and home decor on Schue Love. In her post Dr Oz’s Three Day Cleanse: My Review she recently tried this cleanse to help her lose some weight from her pregancy and jumpstart a healthy lifestyle. With this cleanse you supplement 3 smoothies a day with vitamins and tea. Unlike the juicing, Natasha says she didn’t feel an increase in energy after doing this cleanse, but she did lose 7 pounds and it helped to curb her cravings for sugar and unhealthy food. This one is also very budget-friendly, since the smoothie ingredients are all relatively inexpensive.
5. Eat Fully Raw
Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram founded the largest raw, organic produce co-operative in the U.S. and has been 100% raw for almost 7 years. She’s the creator of website and Youtube channel Fully Raw and believes in a raw diet. She suggests eating only fresh and uncooked fruits and vegetables in order to get the full nutritional value from food and reach optimal health. Since fruits and vegetables are much more easily digestable than meat and dairy, instead of going 100% raw you could use a fully raw diet as a clense. She started a 14 day bikini body challenge that will help you lose weight and feel healthy.
6. Paleo 30 Day Challenge
Michelle Tam, creator of blog Nom Nom Paleo, is an ex-food scientist turned Paleo advocate who is such a strong believer in the Paleo diet that she wrote a NY Times best selling book, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans, and created an iPad app filled with her recipes. A Paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet, is when you eat whole, unprocessed food that are rich in protein and fiber. The theory is that humans have biologically adapted best to whole foods, such as plants, meat, and seafood, so that’s the food that we will thrive best on. She suggests eating Paleo as a lifestyle rather than a cleanse or diet, but you can use her 30 Day Challenge as a way to detoxify your body of processed food and experiment with this type of eating.
7. Natural Foods that Cleanse
Brenda Leigh-Turner is a passionate fitness and health mentor and creator of the Lean Secrets health program, which includes a guide book, cook book and her popular Youtube channel. Brenda believes that your body naturally detoxifies itself, so there’s no need to fast or starve yourself in order to do so. Instead, she recommends eating food that has natural cleansing capabilites in order to enhance natural restoration. Some foods she recommends adding to your diet are ginger, green tea, and coconut oil.
8. Green Giant Detox Smoothie
Katrina Hodgson and Karena Dawn are the personal trainers and lifestyle coaches behind popular fitness plan Tone It Up. Their website features fitness tips, healthy recipes, workout DVDs, and a best selling Nutrition Plan that help a community of thousands look and feel their best. In this video the dynamic duo make a green smoothie with kale, that’s very detoxifying, and aloe vera juice, which is full of electrolytes. Incorporate this smoothie into your diet by swapping it out with your usual breakfast or lunch.
9. Oil Pulling
You don’t always have to change your diet in order to detox. Sarah Nagel is a holistic nutritionist who believes in all natural health and beauty, and shares her holistic tips on her blog Holistic Habits and Youtube channel. She suggests oil pulling as a way to help detoxify your body. Oil pulling is an ancient practice where you swish natural oil in your mouth in order to pull toxins out of your body. The oil reduces the amount of bacteria in your mouth by latching onto it so that when you spit the oil out, the bacteria comes out with it. Oil pulling is also an inexpensive and all natural way to whiten your teeth.
10. Detox Water
Cassey Ho is a certified fitness instructor, creator of POP Pilates and blog Blogilates, and designer behind fitness apparel and equipment line OGorgeous. Her high energy and positive attitude is infectious, so we can see why her mega-popular Youtube channel has almost 1.5 million subscribers! Drinking a lot of water is already the best way to rid your body of toxins, but in this video Cassey demonstrates how you can use her nifty OGorgeous Detox Water Bottle to make your water even more detoxifying by flavoring it with slices of lemon, orange, cucumber, and mint leaves. Looks delicious! We love this tip because you can easily add this water to a normal healthy diet if you’re not able to do a more intense cleanse.
Have you tried any of these cleanses before? Let us know on Twitter @Dealspotr.
