The Reboot Cleanse Diet – Two Common Struggles
The Reboot Juice Cleanse, or Reboot Diet, is a popular and effective diet and/or cleanse; however, if you don’t approach it right, you will abandon it quickly as you struggle with hunger and detox headaches. Here, I answer two common questions from Reboot beginners who struggle to get the Reboot right.
YOU MIGHT have heard by now of the “Reboot Diet”, or the “Reboot Juice Cleanse” made very popular by Australian Joe Cross’ documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.
A fast recap of the film: Joe Cross is fat, sick and although not “nearly dead”, he’s on that path. (Yes, I know we all are, but his was shorter than many.) The good entrepreneur that he is, Joe decided to make a documentary of his approach to losing weight and getting fit.
For 60 days, he ambled across the USA while consuming nothing but vegetable-fruit juices made by his trusty Breville juicer. (Here’s my juicer comparison post.) We witness Joe getting thinner and more vital, as do a couple of inspiring people who join him on his juicing quest.
Many web sites have sprouted on the Interwebs to promote and support the Reboot Juice Cleanse. I, too, have added my two cents about how to best go about successfully implementing this Reboot Cleanse Diet. In Fat Sick and Nearly Dead – The Reboot Plan, I introduce the documentary and suggest some improvements about how to do the Reboot Juice Cleanse. In The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect, I caution that diving from a meat and potatoes dietary existence into an all-juice, all-the-time diet/cleanse is a recipe for headaches, discomfort, hunger and an overall f_ _k you attitude manifested by throwing the Breville juicer out the window.
With all that as background, the reason I write this particular post is to share my response to two questions asked at the Join the Reboot site. I’ll present the questions asked by two earnest, beginner juicers, and my response to each.
Two Questions, Two Answers
Jon asks: “I am new here and took the assessment which recommended that I should use the 15 Day Reboot program. I was actually interested in shooting for the 60 day juice fast as was demonstrated in the movie ”Fat Sick and Nearly Dead”. Is there anyone currently working towards a 60 day plan here? Should I give it a shot or should I stay with what was recommended?”
My Reply:
“Jon, I’ve been cleansing and juicing off and on for 30 years, and have helped friends do the same. Given that experience, let me suggest that you first learn to add the juicing to whatever diet you now have. Over time, begin substituting fresh foods for the stuff that inhabits cabinets. Then, drop a meal, add juice. Spend a week with that. Then drop two meals, add juice. Once you’ve gotten to this point, you may be ready to sustain a long juice-only cleanse.
This process will help ensure success and also minimize the detox effect, which could upend the whole juice cleanse. For more on this topic, read The Reboot Diet and the Detox Effect.”
Doris asks: “Hi I want to workout where will I get my protein”?
My Reply:
“Doris, getting protein during a cleanse is not easy… I mean enough to keep or build muscle while cleansing.
Most protein sources (meat, fish, eggs) are acidic and should be avoided during a cleanse. Unfortunately, even if you don’t do exercise that breaks down muscle tissue during a cleanse, most people lose lean muscle tissue. Of course, this is compounded if you do the sort of exercise that does tax the muscles.
As a long-time cleanser and exerciser, I’ve faced this issue many times. Sometimes I just say, “the heck with it”, and keep ingesting my whey protein in water. I still get good cleansing results. But perhaps a better solution would be to eat a vegetable-based protein, like pea protein, hemp protein, or a protein powder made from organic sprouts.
Whichever you do, I suggest that if you’re going to exercise during your cleanse –assuming you’re just ingesting juice — do it with less intensity. After all, an important part of cleansing is to let your body excise toxins, rest and recover.”
The Bottom Line
As with any journey, where you start on the Reboot Cleanse depends on where you are. The further away is your regular, every day diet from an all vegetable and fruit diet — the slower must be your transition into a veggie/fruit juice diet/cleanse. Given that a cleanse demands rest, you should choose to cleanse when you can be less active than normal, and that includes ratcheting down the exercise intensity.
During a cleanse, you’re likely to lose both fat and muscle, so you could supplement with vegetable-based protein like pea, hemp protein or protein made from sprouts. In the past, I mostly have used whey protein powder, which frankly is not ideal because whey is a dairy product and dairy is acidic, whereas a cleanse is about getting your body more alkaline. (This is the whey product I use.) These days, however, I use hemp and sprout protein (see the Amazon.com selections below).
Note: If you’re also going to use supplements, save time and money with this exceptionally comprehensive guide. If you’ve had any experience with juicing, how ‘bout you tell us about it in the Comments section below. Thanks for reading! Yep.
P.S. Below are the Breville Juicer that Joe Cross and I use, and the protein powders I mentioned. Click the images and learn more about them at Amazon.com, and there you can decide if any are right for you. P.P.S. Detox baths are a really helpful way to cleanse and mitigate detox effects such as headaches and lethargy. My recipie can be found toward the end of this post. UPDATE: After a year of near-daily use, my Breville filter got clogged up, and rather than buy a new filter, I pulled out the old, trusty Champion Juicer. It’s slower but bulletproof. Eventually, I let the Breville filter soak for a few days in vinegar and then gave it a good scrubbing. Now I’m back to using the Breville.
Last Updated on October 13, 2019 by Joe Garma
