Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Cleansing or Fasting? What's the difference?

My last day of the juice cleanse. Whoo HOO! Actually, not really because I enjoyed it! It was kind of nice not having to think about food all day long and what my next meal was going to be. I'm not super excited to dive into regular foods, only because I feel so clean! My body is rid of most refined sugars (which is my biggest challenge) that I ate over vacation. I'm kind of in the zone, and that's exactly what I was hoping a juice cleanse would do. It not only helped me clean out my system and remove my sugar cravings, but gave me a jump start into a desire to continue on my normal healthy living routine and eat clean foods and smaller portions.

I wanted to mention, because it came up on the comments in yesterday's post, that what I'm doing as a juice cleanse, is not the same as fasting. Yes, the dietary restrictions may look the same, but fasting goes along with continuous prayer for a specific need. While I'm spending time with the Lord every morning, praying and reading my bible, I want to be clear that I'm not fasting about losing weight. In fact, after doing Beth Moore's study on Daniel several years ago, I've understood that fasting should never be about weightless. Please don't get the two confused or put one in place of the other.

If I'm fasting, which my husband and I prayerfully have done together at times, we are seeking God's counsel for a very specific need. While fasts can be done in a variety of ways like fasting just one meal a day or just fasting specific foods and drinks, our fasts have eliminated everything but water. Again, this should NEVER have anything to do with weightless or be done for that reason. Biblical fasting is to seek God's face, to hear His voice clearly and to use the hunger cries as a reminder to continually pray. We've fasted over parenting issues, we've fasted over our son's health when he was 4 years old and had multiple surgeries and I've fasted as a wife when I've needed extra counsel from the Lord.

My juice cleanse this week, was not fasting. I was not in prayerful attention over a specific need even though I've sought the Lord each day. And I wasn't fasting about losing weight. The juice cleanse was just that- a cleanse to rid my body of all the junk I put in it over vacation. But I will tell you, that while I wasn't consumed with the thoughts of food this week, it did allow me to reflect more on the bigger things in life and hear God's voice more clearly on those subjects.

OK, I'm off to tape a segment on Marie Osmand's new talk show, coming to Hallmark Channel very soon! I'll let you know the details when I get them. I'll say HI to her from you. hehe ;) I'm looking forward to seeing Bugsy- the shaggy dog I worked with on my latest movie called "Puppy Love". He'll be doing the interview with me! I'll take a pic and share tomorrow or share on my Twitter feed.

Have a fabulous day- and remember to do what is good! Keep making healthy decisions, one choice at a time. Oh- and don't forget about working out or get walking!!  Now that my cleanse is over, I'll be sharing my exercise plan. :)

30 comments:

  1. My wife and I did a lemonade cleanse for seven days. Lost about 20lbs. It was a great jump start to losing weight and getting back in shape that we needed.

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    1. I also would like to know about the lemonade thing... sounds like a lot of sugar...

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    2. If it is the same lemonade cleanse I did, it is called the master cleanse. It is not made with a sugary lemonade mix of any sort. Water, fresh squeezed organic lemons, organic cayenne pepper, and grade B syrup. You need to be really disciplined for that as that is all you drink all day long. Then you do salt flushes in the morning and evening. You can google it (Master Cleanse) for more info

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  2. When you say lemonade cleanse what exactly did that include? I myself am looking for a cleanse so I would be curious to know what that all entails. thanks in advance! :)

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  3. I totally agree with the fasting thing! I too did Beth Moore's bible study on the book of Daniel and it was AMAZING! My goal right now is to run a half marathon...I still have a ways to go sincei just back back from a 3 week mission trip to Africa and just ran 3 miles for the first time today, but I keep pushing towards the goal! I absolutely love your blog and enjoy reading it! Thank you for the extra encouragement and motivation :)

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  4. I have never tried a juice fast. I am currently trying the HCG diet and while not hungry, I am certainly missing my old foods!

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  5. Candice, you used Pressed Juice for this cleanse. How do they taste????? I checked them out online and while some sounded pretty good, others sounded pretty awful! Truthfully? How was the taste???

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    1. I checked it out, too, and thought the same thing! :)

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    2. They are GREAT!! I haven't had one I haven't liked yet. My only ingredient I don't love a lot of is the ginger. But, I still drink some with it. The green juices are better than you'd imagine.

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  6. Thanks, Candace, for your insight and inspiration. I'm enjoying reading your book and look forward to your posts each day. I appreciate your willingness to put yourself "out there" for all of us. You certainly don't have to but definitely do have a platform available to reach and impact a lot of people in some really great ways. It's nice that you do that.

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  7. Question!! I checked out the pressed juicery website. How do you make these at home? I was expecting to see a recipe but it just looks like you have to purchase their juice. Do you recommend any other websites for recipes for cleanses, how to make your own. My neighbor has a juicer that he is willing to loan me. I really want to try this but at $70 a day x 5 I just can't afford it :-(

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    1. Pressed Juicery is a company that makes them and delivers or you can pick up from. They don't have recipes. I haven't juiced at home, so I haven't researched any sites or books on home juice cleanses. Hopefully, some of the other readers will have suggestions for you!

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    2. Check out JointheReboot.com for lots of great juice recipes and info on juicing at home

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    3. Hi Ingrid. I am Juicing right now on my own at home and I have gotten a lot of my recipes from The Join the Reboot website. http://www.jointhereboot.com/plans/ They have several plans you can look through, just make sure you scroll through all of them since they are all different and have different recipes which you can interchange of course.

      Hope that helps you a bit!

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    4. Thank everyone! I will check out that site. Although, buying them from pressed juicery sounds fabulous, I need this to be easy :-) I would just need to budget and save up for it. Candace, now that you have your new blender you need to follow up, down the road, and let us know if you do your own juice cleanse by making your own.

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    5. Ingrid, I love to juice. My favorite thing to do actually. I juice daily and consider it one of the best things I have ever done for my self. I started with a cleanse....juices only, for a week. Now I juice once or twice a day with a clean (mostly raw) diet. I feel younger in my 50's than I did in my 30's. Grey hair is gone and my skin is amazing. I sleep better, no longer get heartburn and all menopause symptoms are gone as well. There are several groups on FB for juicing. I get a ton of recipes on there. There are also a few books I would recommend. One is called the juicing bible and the other is The Complete Book of Juicing. I purchased both on Amazon for only a few $$$. These books instruct you on what herbs, fruits and veggies are good for what ailment. For example if you suffer from arthritis, than juice these...heartburn, juice these...and so on. Good luck
      I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I feel like a million.

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  8. I love that you distinguish between cleansing and fasting. It's so true that fasting is deliberate with spiritual intent. We all should have contact with God daily but a fast is so much more than just a cleanse. I've really enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to seeing what your exercise plan is!

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  9. Absolutely!! I think you're doing it right. You're such a great insp. Candace!

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  10. I am interested in doing a juice cleanse and I was wondering if you have a certain brand/kit you buy or if you follow an internet program? Thanks Candace! You are awesome!

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  11. I have done a juice cleanse and loved it. It was rough the first few days getting rid of the junk my body had stored. I went to the Fat, Sick and nearly dead website. It was a tremendous help and had recipes. Pinterest is also another great resource for juicing recipes. They have many that can just be done in your blender at home. No need to buy a juicer or be out any extra money. I am about to start my second round of cleansing. My skin which is normally extremely oily became perfect. I always did a juice of fruit in the morning and had tons of energy. I highly recommend it!

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  12. @ candance-thank you for responding to the cleanse and fasting. although i still believe if i abstain from something that takes away my attention from God and seek spiritual guidance from Him, it is a fast. however, i see everyone's point of view.

    im glad we all agree that we are on a journey to be healthier and most of us agree that we want to continue to grow in the Lord.


    im so glad everyone shared in a loving way. i have more insight on this issue:) thanks so much everyone and i love that our lives are changing together even if we disagree:)

    lot's of love,
    anonymous j

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  13. Did I miss the post on what kind of juice fast you did and/or suggestions for a juice fast? Where can I find the best ones? I get confused at times b/c there are so many out there! : )

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  14. Danke. Ich freue mich auf den nächsten Bericht. Thomas // Deutschland

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  15. You are an inspiration for those people like me, that want to stay fit, eat well and work out with a stable relationship with God. Thank you so much, Candace!
    I would like you write a post about christians books (and books in general) that you love! ( sorry for my english, I'm Spanish!)

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  16. What an inspiration you are Candace!!!! I'm going to try the cleanse for 5 days, but I keep looking at your blog to build my confidence up! So far today it wasn't all that great not when it was my husbands birthday last night so we have leftover Chinese food and cheesecake! My plan is to keep going today with a couple of hiccups but for my sanity and self accomplishment I will add one more day to my cleanse!!!

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  17. Love the blogs :)

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  18. thanks for this. it sure cleared some misconceptions. gonna share it!

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  19. My question about your fast is that it seems very inconsistent with the message I got from your book: eat a balance, healthy diet and exercise. I think cleanses go against balance eating because they aren't balanced. ??

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    1. My take...Candace chose a cleanse that is FULL of fruits and veggies. It wasn't just some random juice cleanse. It seems she was quite thoughtful in choosing a good, balanced cleanse. And, she states that she did it as a way to remove the toxins from her body after vacation (where she wasn't eating a very clean diet). You should check out the web site. The cleanses might not be for everyone, but from what I can tell, that source is quite good if you do want to try one.

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  20. I extol your mindfulness, honesty and humility on our journey to transcendence! Detox Cleanse and Fasting

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