Does a the thought of doing a 10 day juice fast seem like more than you can handle? Why not try a modified juice fast!
The modified juice fast or modified juice cleanse is a great way to test the waters and gain some confidence in starting a new healthy eating routine.
So what is a modified juice fast? Basically the concept involves changing the juice fast to fit your nutritional and emotional needs by adding some solid foods and/or supplements. This type of cleansing also modifies the rate at which your body will detox and eliminate toxins.
I’ll explain the details of this cleanse below but first….
Who should do a modified juice fast?
Are you wondering if this might be for you? Have you wanted to start a juice cleanse but keep putting it off? Do you think you are too busy to do a long term fast? Is your situation on this list?
- Procrastination in getting started
- Too busy to fit anything more into your schedule
- Worried about not getting enough calories on a juice cleanse
- Have a weakened immune system
- Pregnant or breastfeeding
- Emotionally not ready to handle the detox process
Are any of these situations familiar to you? If you want to begin a healthy lifestyle but any of these apply to you, you may be a good candidate for the Modified Juice Fast. Keep reading.
Keep Juicing
Juicing is still the basis for this cleanse. I recommend you drink juice first thing in the morning just like a regular juice cleanse. Depending on your situation you may modify the cleanse in any one of these ways.
- Continue drinking juice throughout the day until dinner. For dinner eat simple, whole, and natural foods. Fresh steamed vegetables, brown rice and a green salad (no store bought dressing) are good choices. Do not eat dairy, meats, or caffeine on this cleanse. Keep portions small.
- Drink a combination of juices and smoothies. The same ingredients can go into your smoothies as in your juice. You’ll need a blender. Peel all your vegetables and fruits. The skins will wear down your blade unless you have a heavy duty blender such as a Vitamix. You may need to add filtered water to make the consistency drinkable.
- Add supplements to your juices. There are many powdered supplements available such as green whole food supplements, protein powders, ground chia or flax seeds which you can add to your juices for additional nutrition and calorie boosts. Some people don’t consider this a modification of the juice fast but rather an essential part of a cleanse.
Is It Right For You?
But wait. You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t this cheating?” or “Will I really get results from this?” or “Is this really detoxing?” The real answer to these questions sits only within each person. You will gain some healthy benefits from any of these modifications though perhaps not as noticeable, as with a full juice cleanse. You may not lose as much weight for instance.
The point of modifying the process is to make cleansing achievable for anyone. If you are still on the fence about starting a juice fast you should consider this.
Your turn
Would you ever try a modified juice cleanse, especially if it was your first time? Let us know in the comments below. And please share this article with a friend who may find it useful.
As somebody who lasted 3 days on a total juice fast, I fully support a modified juice fast. I could totally handle juicing until a healthy dinner. I would personally like to do this modified version once a month. Also, I think it would help me with better food choices in between the juicing, before and after.
I guess you could say I’m doing a modified juice fast. I didn’t feel I was ready to commit to 10 days, so I’m just doing a 5 day juice fast, followed by 7 days of strictly fruits and veggies (including continued juicing). I’ve been blogging about it and it’s going quite well, overall. Today is the 5th day and it’s not been a big deal. The third day was the hardest.
Hi Julie,
I read your blog posts, so cool that you’re tracking your progress. I’m sure it will inspire others!
Hi I am interested in a juice cleanse, but not to lose weight. in fact I believe Im a little undersized. At 6′ 1″ i weigh only 165 ibs. I am looking mostly for a cleanse. Is there anyway I can still juice fast without losing more weight and possibly even gain some?
If I prepare a batch of juice in the evening and store it in the fridge, will it be good the next day? Mornings are too hectic for me so just don’t have time to juice in a.m.. I rather do it in the evenings.
Juice will last maybe up to 24 hours. The longer it sits, the more nutrients lost. You’ll have to decide what is best for your situation.
Also, be sure to use a sealed GLASS container to help retain some of those easy-to-lose nutrients.
Hi Carey,
My wife and I just got into juice fasting after watching Joe’s documentary. We’re now on our 6th day (we’re going for 15 days) and everything is just doing great. I love all the information that you’ve shared in your blog and I want to thank you for writing such quality posts.
I have a couple of questions:
1. How often do you do a juice cleanse? Joe Cross does a juice fast after every 3 months. How often do you cleanse?
2. What’s your advise regarding dietary changes after a 15-day fast? How do you break a fast? We’re really determined to change our eating habits for the better. We also follow a Paleo type of diet.
Thanks so much and keep up the awesome work!
Hi Raymond,
Congratulations to you and your wife for starting a juice cleanse. And thank you for your kind words.
I cleanse a couple of times per year, usually spring and fall. Two to four times is common. The more often you cleanse, generally the shorter each cleanse is.
It is important to break a fast slowly. For instance, keep juicing but add a smoothie or piece of fruit into your first couple of days after fasting, then maybe add a smoothie during the day and a green salad for dinner. Slow transition. Healthy foods. Small portions.
I’ve gotten so many great questions like this, so I’m writing a guide book to juice cleansing to help people through the process
Coming soon!
Thanks for the prompt reply Carey. I guess we’re going to do a 5 or 7-day cleanse after every 3 months. My original plan was to go straight ahead to a steak house after the cleanse but I guess I have to delay that for a while and follow your fast breaking tips. hehehe. Looking forward to your juice cleanse book and I believe it’s going to help a lot of people. Happy New Year and have fun!
I am discussing the fast with my husband. He has a hiatal hernia, and when he doesn’t eat for long periods of time, he is in intense pain in his lower esophagus. Any ideas?
I can’t address his needs medically, but you can juice throughout the day and add small meals as snacks.
Hi Carey,
I am a 51 yr. old female and I want to get on the track of MUCH better eating. I need to lose 70 pounds. I was wondering if people over a certain age should talk to their Doc. first? I am actually in fairly good health otherwise, I do not have high BP, I am not diabetic and I keep really busy and work out at Curves three times a week and walk at least twice a week for 30 min at 2.9 to 3.0 miles per hour in the treadmill. I do take 5mg. od Crestor and a thyroid med. I would really like to try this!!
Denise if you’re on meds it’s always best to check with a doctor, especially if you’re cleansing for more than 10 days. Good luck on your cleanse!
To Julie…Where can we read your blog. I am interested in trying a modified juice cleanse and am interested to have an idea of what to expect. I know everyone is different but it would help. I think I am mentally ready and just plan a 3 day to start. I just want to make sure I have all the info I can get my hands.
Lori, you can click on her name to go to her blog.
Hi Carey
My husband and I have also been inspired by Joe’s documentary and have spent the past week getting mentally prepared to start a juice fast. We stocked up our refrig with leafy green veggies and fruits and started making mean green juice drinks yesterday. We own a Vitamix which allows us to ingest the pulp, skin, and seeds of our fruits and vegetables. We thought we were ahead of the game by not wasting anything. After all, dietary fiber is generally obtained from plant foods making it easy for the colon to move along easily. We thought the fiber we’re getting from whole foods would be nutritionally beneficial.
After reading the FAQ and learning about the reason for drinking juice versus eating raw foods is to give the body nutrients without digestible material. Needless to say we were disappointed to learn that what we’re doing is the “modified version” of the juice cleanse and considered to be more of a maintenance diet and not a true fast.
Can we expect any weight loss being on the modified version?
Yes Muriel you can experience both detox and weight loss on your version (smoothies). Just note that the rate at which it happens will be slower. Most smoothie detoxes are at least 21 days.
I’ve been juice cleansing for 3 days and have had only 1 hard BM… is that normal and/or OK… Am I cleansing? I am doing the original green recipe from fat, sick, nearly dead?
also, what ingredient is good to combat acid reflux…Thanks
Yes you’re cleansing, but a hard BM may have to do with your pre-cleanse diet, probably not enough fiber. Try making your juice in the blender (smoothies) for a few days to get some fiber in your system, then go back to the juices.
Hank I had the same issue when I did my fast, plus it didn’t happen til day 8…
I would like to do a cleanse but have low thyroid issues for which I take Armour Thyroid. Otherwise I am in great
health. I read somewhere in all this information that people with thyroid problems should steer clear of
cruciferous vegetables . What can I use in place of the kale in the mean green and be as effective? Do you have
any other suggestions? Also, if combining fruits and vegetables together is a no no then what about the apples
in themean green? I am very new to all this and appreciate your help or anyone else’s. Thanks much
Victoria,
I don’t know much about this condition and I don’t know what you’re hoping to achieve with juicing. Some veggies that might work for you: beets, carrots, peppers, celery, cucumber, squashes. You also may want to consider smoothies instead of juicing. Smoothies retain the fiber and you can add nuts and oils like coconut oil.
Hello, I am breast feeding and would like to do a modified cleanse. Do you have any suggestions as to how much or what types of things i should supplement into the cleanse? thank you!
Kat
I’m doing a modified juice fast with only juice except one meal a day, when I have vegan – pref. raw vegan – food. I might do a full juice fast at some point; I haven’t decided. This is just what I’m ready for right now, and it’s working for me. My husband is doing the same. He plans to do a full juice fast next week. We’re going away for a couple of days during the time he wants to fast and he plans to tote along the juicer and a bunch of veggeis and fruits, and just get a hotel room with a fridge for them. He said that if Joe travelled across the whole country and juiced for every meal, he can handle it one state over for a couple of days.
My husband and I are interested in starting a 7 day juice fast with one healthy meal for dinner however I am confused on how much juice we are supposed to drink during the day and are we allow small healthy snack in between?
Thanks!
Stephanie … thanks for this post … since, I too, have the same question … do we juice 3 meals? 5 meals? all day? whenever we are hungry?
Basically you can drink as much as your body needs. This post may help http://myjuicecleanse.com/juicing-health-tips/how-much-juice-is-enough/
hi carey, we are 5 days into our modified juice cleanse. for us, the best way to do was a juice in the morning with a pulp muffin, healthy lunch and a juice for dinner. sometimes we snack on whole fruit or veggies during the day to get us to the next meal time, but we are nw getting used to our routine aand we both feel really positive about maintaining this for a few months.
Pulp muffins, yay!! I’m so happy that you’ve found your groove. Keep the good stuff going!
I will be hopefully starting a juice fast tomorrow after my colonoscopy since my bowels will
Already clean of all debris. I plan on also eating germinated brown rice to modify my cleanse,
to stave off that empty feeling that makes me very uneasy. I hope that after a few days I will be able to transition into the full cleanse. I will go off the cleanse the same way, by adding brown rice and then steamed vegetables and then fruit smoothies. I hope I can do it!
Sounds great Eve! Be sure to visit our Facebook page for some community support! We’ve got a great bunch over there!
If i.eat one.and juice the rest of the.meal will i lost weight fast ?I m working out hard so.I.need protein
balance is the key to cleansing.