Cleansing is everywhere these days! Tune into any podcast, blog or social media outlet and you'll hear claims about the benefits of juicing, fasting, and detoxifying.
But is cleansing right for you? Is it something that will benefit you in your health journey? A cleanse isn't something to be taken lightly. It involves special dietary needs and requires a lot of effort.
So before you jump headfirst into starting a cleanse, ask yourself these three things to make sure it's right for you.
1. Are you doing it to lose weight?
If you're doing a cleanse solely to shed some unwanted pounds, you may end up being disappointed. Yes, cleansing can drop weight quickly, but without proper support, those pounds can pile right back on again.
Cleansing can give you a high; you feel radiant, your skin glows, and the pounds seem to have effortlessly dropped off. But if you haven't addressed the underlying issues about why you've been engaging in unhealthy behaviors before the cleanse, you'll go right back to where you started.
Doing a cleanse is tempting, especially when you feel awful about your weight. It's a seemingly quick solution to your weight loss woes. Yes, juicing can be beneficial, and yes, a detox can clear out toxins, but if you're not in the right mindset, you may end up worse off than where you originally started.
If you've been trapped in the diet cycle for months or years on end, starting over every Monday and binge eating on the weekends, this is not the best time to begin a cleanse. Get yourself into a regular routine of eating first, and consider a cleanse once you feel balanced.
2. What's your end goal?
This is a complicated question. Your mind can easily "trick" you into thinking you want to do a cleanse to be healthy. But secretly, you may be doing it to drop a quick seven to 10 pounds (see number one).
Be honest with yourself when you ask this. Are you doing this to detoxify? To re-set yourself? To find some balance? Whatever your reason, it's important that you go into the cleanse with a healthy and realistic mindset.
Cleansing is intense. It can bring up a lot of toxins (including emotions) that must be cleared from the body. So, if you're honestly looking to re-set your taste buds, clear your system of sugar, or achieve some other healthy, holistic goal, then a cleanse can be a great tool to accomplish these objectives.
3. Is the cleanse healthy and balancing?
There are a ton of different kinds of cleanses out there. Many of them are healthy. Many of them are not. Do your research and make sure it's something that is balancing and healthy for your body.
A lot of the detoxes out there are focused on clearing out 1-2 organs in your body (most often the liver and the digestive tract). But these may be very limiting for you. You may need more. Aim to do the types of cleanses that truly cleanse your entire body. Many Ayurveda cleanses successfully detox your entire body, not just your liver and digestion. There are also whole food cleanses that encourage full body detoxification.
It's important to remember that cleansing can be very healing and detoxifying if done properly. Do your research on what the cleanse entails before you decide it's something that would benefit you.
It's important to check in with your body and ask yourself these three questions before you jump into a cleanse! Getting honest with yourself will put you on the best path for cleanse success.
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