The 5 Stages of a Juice Fast

Six years ago an actress friend of mine went on a juice fast.

The drinks were nasty, but she lost a bunch of weight and did, in fact, feel “cleaner” afterwards. She made the experience sound magical.

I was skeptical.

The only other person I’d heard talking about juice fasting at that time was Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress who named her child after store-bought produce and always seems to be speaking only to an audience of women rich enough to live like she does.

As a general rule, I am against anything that Gwyneth Paltrow is for. I wrote the whole cleansing thing off as a fad.

But now it’s six years later and the juicing thing refuses to die.

Juice-based businesses have popped up in many places.

Juice-fasting proponents claim that fasting helps with weight loss, rids the body of toxins, reduces cancer risk, aids digestion and boosts the immune system (though most of these claims haven’t been scientifically proved).

Juicing is no longer solely the province of aspiring actresses, hippies and health freaks. Even people who don’t smell like Woodstock happened in their hair are doing it.

My skepticism gave way to curiosity. I’m active, I usually eat healthy foods…but let’s just say I could lose a few pounds. My Midwestern upbringing led me to eat a lot of red meat over the years, and while I’m pretty good about getting regular exercise, I have the portion control skills of C.C. Sabathia.

I know what I should do to lose weight, but often don’t. My problem is willpower.

Which is why the idea of a juice cleanse appealed to me.

Health professionals say that you shouldn’t think of a juice cleanse as a long-term weight loss solution, and I didn’t. Instead, I was drawn to the challenge.

Could I go three days without food?

For most of my life, I hadn’t gone much more than three hours between meals. If I could complete a cleanse—going 72 hours without chewing anything—the improvement to my willpower would far exceed any temporary weight loss I might experience.