True liquid lunch
A juice cleanse is a quick but challenging way to rid yourself of last year’s damage
TREND. Most of us use the New Year to think about doing a body good and ridding ourselves of the damage we caused it toward the end of the previous year — and likely much of the entire year. This is when a five-day juice cleanse (yes, nothing but juice for an entire work week) is in order for many lately. Metro tested this process with a typical cleansing system (Blueprint Cleanse, 
www.blueprintcleanse.com), in which you receive a delivery of six daily juices and the willpower is left to you. Very restrictive cheating is allowed, and the real obstacle is to overcome the temptation of food.
If you’re considering trying this yourself, here’s a rundown of this writer’s days of clean living to give you a sense of what it’s like.
Day one
I pass a deli on the way to work. The smell of bacon and coffee sends me into panic mode. How am I going to survive five days without solid food? (Note: I never eat bacon or drink coffee.) Work keeps me too busy to notice that by 4 p.m. I’m on my fourth juice and am not that hungry, headachy or sluggish. It’s recommended that you go to bed on an empty stomach and drink your last juice by 8 p.m. I don’t know if it’s my nonstop day or this fast, but I’m out cold before 11 p.m.
Day two
My cheat sheet allows cucumber slices, celery sticks and clear vegetable broth. I’m fixated on two foods today: miso soup and bananas. If those were on my cheat sheet, I’d be fine. I see this as a sign of improvement since yesterday I was fantasizing about everything bagels. I consider all the time I’m saving not pondering what’s for lunch and dinner but am probably coping by planning my meals next week. I’m a week away from a burrito.
Day three
I have no appetite today. By 5 p.m., I’m not even through my third drink. I couldn’t avoid a lunch meeting and am stuck in a conference room with 30 people chomping on wraps, sodas and salads, but I make it by drinking liters of water. I catch myself staring at a co-workers tortellini salad, but my lack of hunger makes it more tolerable. My energy level is the same, but I don’t find myself crashing around 4 p.m. — a definite plus. I’m a little nauseous, but I think it’s more about the toxins being released than anything else, or so I hope.
Day four
I’m still hungry but feel like if I’ve made it this far without solid food, I can survive two more days. My energy level is sustained. I go for a massage (it’s recommended for toxin release), and my back, neck and shoulders (almost always tight and tense) are rubbery and supple. I sleep like a baby too.
Day five
I’d lay down in the middle of the street for that bagel right now, yet I feel great. My head is clear, I feel lighter, my energy level is high, and, as long as I don’t see food, I don’t think about it much. I wonder what I’m going to eat for the next few days now that I’m allowed to have “solid food.” The cleansing instructions suggest I ease into things slowly (read: no pizza and cupcakes on day one). Right now, a banana sounds heavenly.
For full detoxing
Though cleansing basically works because it flushes toxins out of your body, flushing said toxins is
difficult. Therefore, in addition to liquid cleansing, a colonic is also recommended.