Personal Trainer versus Juice Cleanse
It's the start of a new year, and if you're like many, healthy changes to your diet are tops on your list of resolutions for 2016.
A juice cleanse is one way to start.
Your digestive system works nonstop to break down and absorb the food you consume. A cleanse provides your body a break from digesting all the fiber, fat, heavy proteins, and the chemicals that are found in most foods, alowing it to concentrate only on absorbing the vitamins and nutrients found in each juice you drink.
This process gives your body some extra time to release toxins that have built up in your tissues.
Other benefits of a juice cleanse include reducing inflammation and soothing the digestive tract.
Once the cleanse is over, most people report feeling lighter (some even lose a few pounds), clear-headed, and energized.
All of this intrigued Brendan Hulbert, Personal Trainer at Midtown Athletic Club in Rochester, NY. While Brendan is in great physical condition, eats healthfully 90% of the time, and works out at a high level of intensity, even he has some bad eating habits (he's a self-confessed doughnut junkie).
And given that a new year had just arrived, Brendan was determined to start it more healthfully than he had ended 2015.
Enter his first-ever, three-day juice cleanse during which he drank juice and a few smoothies exclusively from the club's juice bar.
I sat down with Brendan following his cleanse to talk about his experience.
Q: How many different juices and smoothies did you try and what was your schedule for drinking them?
Brendan: I tried four different juices and smoothies over the course of the cleanse. I drank them every two hours throughout the day up until 9pm.
Q: What were your expectations about the cleanse before you started?
Brendan: I expected the cleanse to be difficult and definitely a bit of a challenge. I knew I would need some willpower. I was expecting to feel tired and obviously hungry.
Q: How much did you work out during the cleanse, and how did those workouts differ from your regular workouts?
Brendan: I tried to work out every day. Normally I work out somewhat intensely, but during the cleanse, I toned it down by about 90%. It's not possible to work out extremely hard during the cleanse.
Q: How did you fight feelings of hunger?
Brendan: I drank a ton of water. I probably drank almost two gallons every day.
Q: How did you feel on each of the three days? Did any particular day stand out for one reason or another?
Brendan: On the first day, not eating was a big challenge for me. We have a tendency of scheduling our day around our meals. Once that's taken away, it confused my brain. The second day was the easiest. The third day was definitely the most challenging.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is very active like yourself, and is interested in doing the cleanse?
Brendan: Do it! You won't be able to work out as much as you normally do, but sometimes it's good to take a break, even when you don't want to.
Q: Was the cleanse what you thought it would be, or was the experience radically different from what you expected?
Brendan: It was what I was expecting. It was actually a little bit easier than I thought it would be.
Q: If you were to do another cleanse, what would you do differently the second time around?
Brendan: When I do another cleanse, I will definitely do it with a friend. It's always easier to do things with somebody else so that you can encourage eachother and keep eachother strong.
Q: What did you learn about yourself over the course of the three-day cleanse?
Brendan: I learned that I was definitely developing some bad eating habits and it was good to put a stop to them. See aforementioned doughnuts.
Q: What was the first thing you ate following the completion of your cleanse?
Brendan: Not a doughnut! I had a banana. I had to teach MXT that morning and I didn't have time to eat a proper breakfast.
Interested in trying a juice cleanse with our Old School juices (which Brendan drank) or our organic, cold-pressed juices? Contact Cafe Manager Laurie Taillie at laurie.taillie@midtown.com or 585-512-2774 for more information.