My 3 Day Juice Cleanse & Cleanse Benefits

Hello hello everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend! I know you haven't heard from me in a while (please forgive me and blame my European travels!) but I am happy to announce that regular scheduled bloggings are back in action now that I'm at home in New York for the summer! WOOO!!! (did ya miss me?!)

I had the most amazing time these past four months and stocked up on enough adventures to last me a lifetime! But while I wouldn't trade my experience for anything, traveling abroad definitely took a hard hit on my body. The late nights out, drinking and food indulgences, hour long train rides, 19 flights, 4 different time zones….you could say that my body is in some desperate need of some TLC (tender, love & care)!

This is why today I want to write to you about why I decided to do a juice cleanse, the benefits, and keep you in the loop these next few days on my overall experience with how it went and whether I would recommend it!

To be honest, I've read in magazines about celebrities doing these cleanses and always thought it was a bit extreme. I mean there is no way that drinking water with lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days straight could possibly be healthy. (yes, that is actually a real thing!) I thought it was just another health fad and that people used it as a quick fix to lose weight fast. I never even considered that I'd ever do one.

But here I am. On Day 1 of my cleanse. So what was the game changer? Aside from the fact that my mom and best friend said they would do it with me, after some research I found so many benefits of doing these cleanses! And of course, I am about to share them with you below!  Here they are ( taken from dr.oz and the raw food family's blog!)

Juice Cleanse Benefits

1. Detox

 According to Dr. Oz, cleansing gives your body a rest from digestion. Our bodies are used to breaking down and digesting food all day, every day, for years and years. So once in a while, it’s nice to give your body a break by only consuming nutrient-rich fluids. Especially if you are a junk food junkie, a cleanse will help reset your system and flush out tons of toxins.

2. Resets your taste buds

If your body is used to eating sugary foods all the time, that is what your taste buds will crave. A juice cleanse will help to retrain your taste buds to want the healthy foods because it will recognize how good they make your body feel. Your eating habits will be restructured and gives your body a chance to start fresh!

3. Super charged immunity

"The immune system is the body’s police force and one of the benefits of doing a juice cleanse is to charge the immune system. The anti oxidants and other vital nutrients in the juices support our body to make it strong against ailments. The juice cleanse super charges our body with essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, good fatty acids and more. A single day of juice cleanse contains nutrients more than a week’s meal of an average American."

4.Mental clarity

"A juice cleanse clears the nervous system of all toxins and bad substances which in turn has a positive mental effect.  You feel fresh and clear when you wake up and you feel more confident about yourself.  Mental clarity due to the juice cleanse offers a fresh perspective in life, clarifies who you are and what you want to be.  You will find yourself having a better relationship with yourself and with people around you."

5.Emotional stability

"One of the most common problems that people face today is emotional instability.  Doing a juice cleanse is an effective way to make you emotionally healthy.  Mood swings in women, and men’s problem with expressing their emotions and feelings can be solved through proper juice cleanse.  It cuts off the highs and lows of the emotional turbulence and helps you stay in touch with yourself and brings out the child in you."

6. Weight loss

"People love to lose weight and a juice cleanse is the safest way to lose the unhealthy fat around the belly and get rid of wobbly arms. The body generates new tissues, the muscles and skin gets tones and all the bad fat is lost due to juicing. While many other weigh loss methods drains the body of nutrients and strength, a juice cleanse boosts the strength and nutrients in the body."

I decided that if I was going to do this cleanse, I wanted to do it right. No crazy cleanses that left me starving and nutrient deprived . I chose the Blueprint cleanse because it focuses on giving you juices that have tons of vegetables and fruits in them and gives you around 1200 calories in 6 bottles a day. I am so excited to see how amazing I feel by the weekend and promise to keep you guys in the loop!

For now, have a great rest of the week and as always, I hope you all are staying healthy and happy!

XO
Lauren

5 Realizations To Living A Happy and Purposeful Life

Hey guys! I know you haven't heard from me in a while but I promise it is for good reason. My semester abroad in Florence is coming to an end and I have been so busy trying to soak up every moment of this beautiful city before I have to leave in a week. Yesterday for one, I spontaneously took one last "hoo-rah" trip with my best friend Emily to go hiking through Cinque Terre, which to say the least, made for the most UNBELIEVABLE day (16 hour day actually to be exact!)

Cinque Terre is made up of 5 of the cutest little villages on the coast of the Italian Riviera and has some of the most breath taking views I have ever seen. I mean come on, somebody pinch me this can not be real life!

One way to get from town to town is by train but since this healthy and happy girl likes her adventure and exercise, Emily and I opted to hike in the mountains along the waterside! The day started out a little rough at 6 am with some cloudy and rainy weather but hey, with a little bit of good vibes and positivity the weather turned out perfect! The sun was shining after a few hours and there was the most refreshing ocean breeze to top it off! Nothing was going to stop this dynamic duo!

Since it would take around 6 hours to hike through all 5 towns, we decided to just do the 2 hour hike from Vernazza to Monterosso. So off we went: two girls and our two VERY heavy backpacks might I add (i'll admit, mostly filled with food because of our fear of getting lost in the mountains and starving to death waiting for someone to come save us…)

Some snickity snacks we packed to keep us fueled:

-carrot and celery sticks

-peanut butter to dip the veggies in

-sugar snap peas

-pink lady apples

-banana

-homemade trail mix of walnuts, almonds and goji berries

And we can't forget my favorite protein bar that is organic, non GMO and also just plain delicious! I made my mom bring me some from whole foods when she came to visit last month because I was going through withdrawal!

Any who, yesterday turned out to be much more than just a hike. The crisp ocean breeze, the wide open ocean, the thrill of doing something new and exciting, it all contributed to 5 realizations I had about what it means to live a happy and purposeful life. With my mind clear, these realizations really sunk in and I hope they hit home for you too!

1. Life is a really big place and we tend to live inside our little heads. Open up, let stress and anxiety go & just be!

2. We should all peruse jobs and activities that bring out the fire in us. We all have a purpose, ask yourself what lights you up and then follow that!

3. Social media, gossip, texting: it's all nice pleasures, but its keeping us from living in the moment and experiencing life to the fullest. Put down the phone, get outside and be grateful for things that money can't buy: family, friends, green grass, blue skies, the day.

4. The more positivity you put out in the world and the more positive people you surround yourself with with determine your level of happiness.

5. The only one stopping you from your dreams or being happy is you. What do you want? Who do you want to be? Visualize it and make it happen. Let that drive be greater than any person or thought trying to hold you back.

Stop Comparing, Just Love Yourself!

This is a post I've been wanting to write for a while, and I finally found the right words to do so. Reason being is that I've been there. You've been there. We've all been there. We do it everyday! Whether its comparing our bodies to all the pictures we scroll through on instagram or comparing our relationship to another couple that we barely know, it happens. And you know what? I think that it's in our human nature to compare. But the truth is, that doesn't mean it's doing us any good. And it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try and change it. 

I've learned that while comparing ourselves to others is a natural thing to do, comparing breeds envy, frustration and unhappiness that eats away at you and spills over into every other area of your life.

Think about it...

"I'm not as smart as him" or "I'm not as fit as her" might only be a passing thought but it effects you deeper than you might realize. Every time you compare yourself to others, you condition your mind to create a pattern that is self destructive and that continuously puts yourself down. 

And what do you get in the end?

Stress- because you are trying to compete with other people.

Anger- because you think you are not good enough. 

Envy- because you're focused on what you don't have.

Depressed- because you've gained weight from using food as a way to cope with your sadness.

Self pity- because you are not confident and are blind to how amazing you truly are.

We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. We need to stop "racing" the people around us and just focus on loving ourselves and perusing our passions. Put your blinders on to block out the rest of the world and be selfish.Yes, selfish! Create a relationship with yourself that highlights all that you are and all that you are capable of, letting go of everyone else's judgement or expectations.

This is where happiness stems from. Self love. Simple as that!

When you truly love yourself and see that who you are is someone special, brilliant, and capable of ANYTHING you set your mind to, that is inner peace and self love. And when you have inner peace and self love, there is no external factor, no challenge to big, no situation too stressful that will be able to affect your calm sense of confidence and happiness. Nothing can rock your boat!

Like any other part of your body, train your mind. Train it everyday with the affirmation: "I am strong". "I am confident." "I am grounded". "I am me." And really, truly, believe that the key to happiness is to stop comparing, and start practicing self love.