The Juice Cleanse Reset Diet (14 page)

There are many reasons that you need to move daily. Proper detoxification is one of the most important of these reasons. Your lymph system carries nutrients to your cells and transports waste products away. In contrast to your blood, which is automatically pumped by the heart, your lymph system depends on physical activity in order to function properly. Without adequate physical activity, your cells are left swimming in their own waste products and starving for nutrients. This is one of the many things that can contribute to toxin overload.

Were you successful at changing your eating in the past, but have never formed a steady workout program? Or have you been disciplined with workouts only to go and ruin your workout with an unhealthy meal or eating too much? Now is the time to pull all of the pieces together for long-lasting benefits and results! Frequent and consistent exercise (regardless of the form) is a key component of the Reset Your Life plan.

Adding exercise to your life will deliver unparalleled immediate and long-term results that you’ll feel and see. It’s a surefire way to sustain
the results you have already achieved and to continue to improve your health. Exercise supports all seven categories of resets.

Reset Your Attitude and Your Mindset

Exercise triggers the release of endorphins, increasing your serotonin levels and boosting your happiness. Attitude is everything.

Reset Your Energy

Frequent exercise revs up your energy levels by strengthening your cardiovascular system, allowing you to move through life with ease and energy!

Reset Your Metabolism

Exercise purifies your blood and carries fresh oxygen to your cells, increasing metabolism and fat assimilation.

Reset Your Taste Buds

Adding exercise to your day leaves you feeling empowered and makes it less likely that you will crave junk food. When you feel good, choosing healthy food is much easier.

Reset Your Digestive System

Exercise invigorates your lymphatic system, prompting the elimination of waste products and freeing up your liver to focus on burning fat.

Reset Your Weight

Exercise is proven to be the best way to combat stress, which results in fat retention. The stress-busting and calorie-burning effects of exercise make it an essential component for maintaining your optimal weight.

Reset Your Beauty

Sweat purges your body of toxins that can clog your pores and plague you with dull and lackluster skin.

While it may not be in the form of traditional exercise, we aim to be active every day and to walk at least 10,000 steps even on days we
don’t go to the gym. You should aim to do the same. Get yourself a pedometer (they can be purchased for as little as $10) and aim for 10,000 steps per day. If you never go the gym and never commit to a formal workout but can fit 10,000 steps per day into your life, your fitness will be elevated and maintaining your reset will be much easier. Know your personality and then figure out a way to fit in more activity. If walking to the store is not realistic for you, pledge to park in the furthest parking spot. If you live in a temperate climate, make an effort to get outside more. Consider meeting a friend for an activity or to go for a walk instead of meeting for cocktails or coffee. As long as you’re able-bodied, some form of daily activity must be a part of your wellness plan. Choose what you enjoy, whether it be Pilates, yoga, classes at your local gym, walking, running, or hiking.

What will it take for you to commit to moving more? Do you need a workout buddy for accountability? Do you need to schedule an allotted time for exercise into your calendar? Do you need to invest in a trainer, gym membership, proper apparel, or some simple home equipment? Or do you just need a pedometer to start tracking your steps? The exercise that is right for you won’t necessarily be the same that is right for your neighbor, sister, spouse, or best friend. Find something that makes sense for you and your lifestyle. We’re sure you’ve heard it before, but the best exercise is the kind that you’ll do!

Now that you have made the commitment to eat better, you’ll need to make a commitment to putting more time into preparing what you’re going to eat. Meals made from scratch will be more nutritious, more delicious, and less expensive than meals taken out of a box and thrown in the microwave. But they are also more time intensive to prepare.

To set yourself up for success, choose one day to cook for the entire week. That way, you won’t be tempted to cheat just because you’re short on time. By making a habit of taking a couple of hours to cook on the weekend, you’ll save time during the week. You won’t have to worry about what to eat each evening, or whether you need to run to the store. You’ll have all the ingredients on hand.

Below you’ll find a shopping list, menu, and recipes for everything you need for one week. You can adjust the menu to include any of the recipes in
chapter 8
. Stick to drinking a smoothie or juice every morning, pack up your lunch and snack, and revel in the ease of enjoying a home-cooked meal every weeknight with only minutes of preparation. Although we haven’t specifically listed it below, you need to continue drinking 16 ounces of water at every meal and at least 8 ounces with each snack.

We created a shopping list (see
this page
) for the weeklong menu plan that follows. If you’re a vegetarian, shopping and preparing will be easier for you: simply stock up on unprocessed, canned beans and nuts, including black beans, garbanzo beans, cooked lentils, and so on. Any time a recipe calls for an animal product, either add more veggies, some nuts, or a cup of beans in place of the protein. You can also use quinoa in place of the animal protein.