And sorry, but I don’t have the answer.  Well what do you want?  I’m not a freakin nutritionist!  Though I might not have the answer, I do have opinions, and lucky for you I’m pretty free with sharing them.  To date, I’ve done two different cleanses, a juice cleanse and the Isagenix nine day deep cleanse, and I’m going to break them down for you.

1. They’re pricey.  Think you’re going to be saving money cuz you’re not eating?  Well you’re kinda wrong.  Cleansing ain’t cheap, but think of it like this; if you’re using a reputable cleanse, you’re putting the best stuff the world has to offer in your body…and anyone who shops at Whole Foods knows good quality food is going to cost you.
2. Timing.  Don’t be a dummy and schedule your cleanse when you have a party, vacation, holiday, or whatever unless you don’t mind explaining to numerous opinionated people why you’re not speed eating at the buffet.  And trust me, everyone has an opinion, and some people jus won’t be able to wait to lecture you that what you’re doing is dangerous and/or unhealthy.  Oh, and they’ll probably be chomping down on a turkey leg while they do it.
3. Goals.  What do you hope to accomplish with a cleanse?  Let’s be honest with each other, ok? We both know a week or so of cleansing will not undo months (or years) of treating your body like a garbage disposal.  It’s a cleanse, not a magic wand.  Both times I’ve done a cleanse, I didn’t fixate on the number of pounds I wanted to lose, just that I needed a jumpstart.
4. Willpower. We all technically have the willpower to complete a cleanse, but are you willing to use it?  If you’re going to fold like a cheap suit as soon as you see a muffin, you might need to work your way up to a cleanse.  Now I’m not saying you can’t do a cleanse, I firmly believe you can, but willpower is a muscle, and if you haven’t used yours in a while you might have to get it a little warmed up.

Have I scared you out of wanting to do a cleanse? No? Oh good.  So now what kind of cleanse should you do?  As I said before, I’ve done a juice cleanse (the JOOS juice cleanse to be specific) and the Isagenix 9 day deep cleanse.  Personally, I preferred the Isagenix cleanse, I felt like I wasn’t getting enough protein on the juice cleanse.  In the interest of full disclosure, I have friends who preferred juice cleanses, different strokes for different folks.  Regardless of what type of cleanse you choose, I think one of the greatest things about cleansing is the sense of accomplishment you get when you’re finished. It always feels good to finish something you start, especially when it’s tough.  When you finish a cleanse, you feel like you have the willpower and drive to take on the world, so run with that feeling!

For additional information on cleanses:

Isagenix            http://heatherfoley.isagenix.com/us/en/home.dhtml

JOOS                        http://drinkjoos.com/

Blueprint             http://blueprintcleanse.com/