Hi Tiffany, thanks for reading Live Lighter and for your very excellent questions!

Everything you’ve mentioned in your plan sounds good. The above outline for cleansing is an ideal cleanse for a beginner, but really it’s up to you as an individual how you’d like to approach your cleanse. I like your idea of working your way up to a month-long cleanse – I think it’d be less stressful to your body, especially if you’re a smoker and soda head as those stimulants will decrease the effectiveness of your cleanse but any cleansing will help and may even prepare your body and mind for an even stricter cleanse(s) when you’re ready.

As for the water fast, this is a hard core undertaking, placing even more stress on the body/mind/emotions so I’d suggest working up to it after you’ve mastered the more mild forms of cleansing (like this one in this post).

As for food suggestions check out these Live Lighter categories:

- http://livelighter.org/category/healthy-recipes/allergy-friendly/

- http://livelighter.org/category/healthy-recipes/green-detox-meals/

- http://livelighter.org/category/cleansing-detoxing/detox-drinks/

And you might find a few different ones in: http://livelighter.org/category/cleansing-detoxing/green-detox/

Hope this helps you, Tiffany; and try to have fun with this challenge!

Hi. I am a first timer knowing its time for a change! So Im sorry for questions that my seem simple.
So should I start at a month? or since you had said to limit stress, and I am a smoker and a major soda head(so much so I will give up smoking for another soda!), should I maybe go for 1-2weeks. then try again in a month to do 2-3weeks and so on?
And Im seeing some posts about 3days of water only.. is that a differant type of cleanse?
What I was thinking was to do:
Breakfast-juice smoothie/Lunch- salads(hoping romane and spinach, grilled chicken apples(or cranberry), vinigrate maybe some kind of walnut or almond) Dinner-Green juices and snacks between meals as broccoli/carrots/or fruit(any suggestion of food would be great ) and of course LOTS OF WATER.
So does this sound right or have I missed something? Thank you!

Hi RaphealF, thanks for sharing!

I’ve used the Lady Soma Fiber Cleanse for several years now. I do the full-blown Lady Soma Detox about every 3 months – but in between, I take the Lady Soma Fiber Cleanse. I believe it’s the best on the market for a gentle and reliable cleansing. Won’t dehydrate resulting in only greater problems later, but instead aids in normalizing proper bowel function. A must have!

[...] For more on cleansing, check out this article, “Gentle Cleanse for First Timers”. [...]

Hey Tiffany, hope the fasting is treating you well! To be on the safe side, I really don’t think you need the cleansing product this time around. (from my experience, cleansing works best if you do it on a regular – such as seasonal – basis)

When you’re ready to use the cleansing product, I’d suggest getting the go ahead from a health practitioner you trust and who knows your general health condition.

Can I ask you one more thing? If I’ve just done the 3 day water only detox followed by 3 days of juicing and water, followed by gently easing into raw fruits and veggies, yogurt, nuts, grains, etc, would I need to even take that First Cleanse herbal product that I bought? I held off on it because it’s something you do while eating, but an now concerned that it might be too much after doing this detox. I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!!!

Good question, Tiffany. The answer is really individualized depending on how long you’ve been cleansing and your own specific needs. Generally, though, for a 3 day fast, I’d suggest anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to repair, heal and replenish.

Hi Heather, thanks for your questions. If you’re generally healthy and don’t take in a lot of chemicals (like from smoking, drinking, etc.) and you’re not experiencing unbearable side effects, then you’re alright.

Your plan sounds good to me. Continue drinking watered down juice until you’re ready to come off your fast. To prep your body for solid whole foods, you can blend them (here are a bunch of recipes: http://livelighter.org/category/healthy-recipes/green-detox-meals/).

Your plan overall sounds great. I encourage experimentation since everyone’s different; you’re looking for whatever works for you. Please come back and let us know how your plan worked!

Steph

One more question… What are the guidelines for the steps above as far as how long to do each, specifically repair and heal, and replenish?