MYTH: Juice cleansing is a quick-fix and your results won’t last.
TRUTH: Not true! You can maintain your cleanse results, such as weight loss, long term without a strict after cleanse diet. However... it is possible to end up right back where you started if you go back to the unhealthy habits you had before you started your cleanse.
Whether you’ve just finished a juice cleanse or are contemplating if it’s worth embarking on one, here’s how to maintain weight loss, keep your energy up, and feel great long after your cleanse is complete… without depriving yourself of food.
What to Eat After a Juice Cleanse:
- Eat and drink a diverse variety of RAW fruits and vegetables daily, especially dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, collards, wheatgrass, and Swiss chard. Count your fruit and vegetable servings instead of calories or fat grams. The more raw nutrition you feed your body, the easier it will be to maintain your weight loss results (and keep them going).
- Incorporate raw green juice into your daily routine. Keep your freezer stocked for convenient, instant, caffeine-free energy each morning and all the nutrients your body needs to burn fat and beat junk food cravings. This will make your post cleanse diet way easier.
- Fuel your body with healthy fats like avocado, coconut, raw nuts, superfood seeds (like hemp, chia, flax, and pumpkin), and extra virgin oils (olive, coconut, and avocado oils are a few of the best choices). Our No B.S. Trail Mix and Simply Nutty Bars are great sources of raw, healthy fats.
- Replace milk and dairy products with plant-based substitutes made from ingredients like coconut, hemp, cashew, almond, or oats. Missing your ice cream? Some Vanilla Cashew might do the trick.
- When dining out, order vegetables with everything. If you order a salad, skip the creamy dressings and opt for a vinaigrette or just simple oil and lemon. Don't be afraid to ask for substitutions.
- Feel like a glass of wine? Try to maintain a one-drink maximum, and as soon as you get home, drink a tall glass of water or a hydrating green juice.
- Schedule your next juice cleanse. At minimum, it is beneficial to cleanse once every three months (a lot of people like to time this with the changing of the seasons). It's a great way to stay on track with your weight loss and healthy eating goals. This time around, you won't have to ask yourself what to eat after a detox cleanse!
How to maintain weight after weight loss:
- Avoid wheat and other grains with gluten, sugary sweets, processed and artificial ingredients, fried foods, and dairy. These foods are easy to overeat and lead to weight gain. Stay away from almost everything sold in the middle of the grocery store and don’t buy anything with ingredients you can’t pronounce.
- Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of filtered water and incorporate more hydrating fluids like coconut water, raw cold-pressed juice, and herbal teas.
- Develop a morning routine. This includes waking up around the same time every day. Before you do anything else, drink a tall glass of warm water with lemon or lime. For the best health results, 15-30 minutes after your lemon water, drink a bottle of cold-pressed Celery Juice. Avoid grain-based breakfasts, which can cause a mid-morning crash (cereal, waffles, toast, etc). It's always best to start your day with a light breakfast that's easy for your body to digest and start your day with lots of energy. Fresh fruits, cold-pressed juices, and plant-based smoothies are the best ways to accomplish this.
- Manage your stress levels. Exercise and meditate regularly to lower stress and cortisol levels. Keeping cortisol (the stress hormone) in check helps support and maintain healthy weight loss.
- Get a full night’s sleep each night. This will help you maintain your weight naturally and improve your overall health and well-being.
- Restart your normal workout routine, or if you weren't working out during your juice cleanse, this is a great time to start a new routine! Do something active every day even if that just means taking a walk around your neighborhood.
- Don’t rely on willpower. Set systems in place! In order to manifest lasting change, you have to create healthy habits that make sense for your lifestyle and fit into your schedule. Then repeat them daily until they become second nature. Consistency is key! Remember, small steps lead to lasting change.
