And yet we wonder why our skin is broken out, our energy is low and why we have that extra layer of bloat that’s keeping us from feeling anything but skinny in those damn skinny jeans. Then we ponder said issues with our friends on a hungover Sunday brunch that obviously consists of eggs, cheese, bagels and giant pot of coffee.

So when I heard about the Blue Print Cleanse, I was immediately enticed. Giving my body a much needed 3-day vacation sounded great. I was ready to make like that rapper who sips on Gin and Juice… only minus the Gin. So in efforts to see if this really works I swore off food for 3 whole days and kept a journal of my moods for you fine ladies.

Day One
I woke up already hungry. Not a good sign. There really is nothing like looking at six bottles of juice and thinking this is ALL I will be eating today (even if it does come in pretty packaging with a bright green lunch bag).

I started off the morning with some hot water as recommended and a green juice that was actually pretty good. Hunger pangs disappeared and I had plenty of energy.

I whizzed past lunch time sipping on a DELSIH juice of pineapple, apple and mint. (Seriously this juice would be great mixed with vodka. A thought I admit I felt guilty for thinking…) So tasty was this juice, that I totally ignored the fact that my friends were chowing down on grilled cheese, French fries and tomato soup right in front of me. And by totally ignored, I obviously mean I was giving their food the awkward stare that the creepy boy at the bar gives while wiping drool from my chin. Have you ever smelled grilled cheese and tomato soup? Sure this juice is good but c’mon, people.

3pm rolled around and I thought I was in the great famine of 1774. Was there actually a great famine in 1774? I don’t know, because I just made that sentence up; but if there was one, trust me, I know what they were feeling. And I’m pretty sure they weren’t thinking, “Boy, I wish I could have a juice made of all green things like Kale and Parsley.”

But I drank it anyways and it not only curbed my hunger and left me buzzing with energy, but I felt like my grandma would be proud. And if that wasn’t enough emotional hunger to get me through the next few hours, well, then I don’t know what would.

I’m not going to lie to you, dear readers, by the third green juice of the day I was ready to throw in the towel. Or eat it. What was yummy before became a bit hard to stomach, but for the sake of being “clean and green” I drank it down and really did feel great after.

The cashew milk was a delightful treat for the night. I would like to buy this in large quantities as an alternative to milk, soy, almond milk and all that other crap we put in our bodies. It was really and truly delish. Was it because I was drinking 5 other bottles of juice that this was so appealing? Maybe. But even post cleanse I find myself craving that cashew/cinnamon/agave/vanilla bean heaven.

Days 2 and Day 3
Once you pass day one, the final 2 days are a blur. I felt energized and have never peed more in my entire life. TMI, perhaps, but also a very true story. Sure you have moments where you would like to eat, but it’s not because you are HUNGRY (the juices still give you a sufficient amount of calories) – it’s because you are so used to the act of eating.

The whole experience made me realize how often we all talk and think about food. And more importantly, how often we reach for food (usually that’s bad for us) in moments when we aren’t even hungry. Like clockwork, when 4pm rolls around I usually reach for a snack. On the cleanse I knew that wasn’t an option and I realized I wasn’t even hungry for it! It made me think back to all those other 4pm come-arounds where I wasn’t hungry for a snack but ate it because I was bored/stressed/tired/a snack at 4 sounds like the right thing to do.

At the end of the cleanse, I felt like I could go for another 3 days if I wanted to. Did that stop me from eating part of a chocolate chip muffin in celebration of completing? Hell no. But do I feel great and would I do it again? Yes.

A side benefit: I lost 4lbs. I didn’t set out on this journey to drop the lbs and I’m not sure if that will come back the second I start eating any food that hasn’t been juiced, but it does feel good to have a little extra room in my pants. But what feels even better is the fact that I gave my body a much needed rest to get back on track. My skin is glowing, I woke up and didn’t want to kill the world, I didn’t miss coffee (gasp! I know!), and I look really good in my clothes.

Despite what some people say about cleanses, after months of pouring vodka and beer down your throat,  I highly recommend sipping on the juice (sans gin). It’s just for 3 days and your body will thank you!

You can check out all things Blue Print Cleanse here!

By just being a tad more conscious of your recycling options, you can make a huge difference with relatively minimal effort.  Here are some common products that you can recycle right in your home town!

Batteries – These babies are full of heavy metals and toxins that are of special concern to soil and water contamination, so be sure to recycle them!  Keep a box in your room so once those batteries from your remote control (or any other battery powered “appliances”…) burn out you can send them in to be recycled.  Batteryrecycling.com has a good program where you can send in pretty much any commercial battery for recycling, or you can check out any local recycling centers in your area to see if they offer this service.

Laptops – I don’t know about you, but I have definitely made my way through computers.  My most recent, Doris, has a cracked screen and a dead battery.  Who in their right mind would want to take her off my hands?  Gazelle.com, that’s who.  They offer laptop recycling services and even offer payment for some laptop models!  If poor little Doris can have a $30 value, just imagine what your old laptop can fetch!

Clothes – As college girls, I’m sure we’ve all become familiar with the beauty that is Goodwill.  There is no better excuse for buying new clothes than donating the old ones to a good cause.  But what about those that are just too threadbare to donate?  Surprisingly, you can donate them anyways!   Goodwill and the Salvation Army send out these clothes to “rag sorters” which recycle the fabrics themselves.  Another good option for running shoes in particular is Recycled Runners, a company specializing in recycling and donation of running shoes.  Hit up their website for donation info and sights in your area.

Glasses – Although we hate to admit it, most of us sport a pair of spectacles now and again.  Now I’m sure you look fabbb in your Polo readers, but what about those fug pink wire ones in hidden your closet from 6^th grade?  Believe it or not, thousands of people are without glasses when they really need them.  Donate them via New Eyes for the Needy or drop them off at your local LensCrafters to ensure that they are handed off to somebody who really needs them.

Medications – Even if your new birth control meds make you bitchy, never ever flush them down the toilet!  Pharmaceuticals can seep into our water supply, polluting local bodies of water and even our own drinking water!  Instead, find a local pharmacy with a “take back” program for any over-the-counter drugs, personal care products, and prescription drugs and spare the fishies your terrible PMS symptoms (joking!).

Anything else – If you can’t find a good place for it, just donate it or, better yet, put it on Craigslist!  Craigslist perfectly embodies the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”; no matter what you have you are bound to find someone else that has been dying to find it.  What’s more, they’ll even come pick up your junk and might even pay you for it!  I really can’t think of a lazier way to make money while exercising your eco-friendly side.

Even if your junk isn’t on this list, it can probably be recycled!  Check Earth911.com before you throw anything away – it’s a great resource for recycling info! It even has a search tool so that you can find a local drop-off site for all of your unwanted junk.  Happy recycling!!

Mmmm. Irish Coffee should fix this right up!

It’s no secret that much of the college social life revolves around drinking. We drink to celebrate, mourn, express loyalty to our football teams, to ease boredom, hell,  some people drink to make homework a little more interesting (no, no one else does that?).  Well, all that super fun drinking  sometimes results in not-so-fun consequences: mysterious bruises, ruined shoes, hours’ worth of un-tagging on Facebook, that dude lying next to you, and the raging, horrific hangover trying to escape your brain by splitting it open.

What’s a girl to do? Your mind jumps to Gatorade (don’t have any), Egg McMuffins (dammit, it’s past 10:30!) and water (your Brita pitcher is full of hunch punch) before remembering that bottle of Bloody Mary mix in the back of the fridge. Should you suck it up, stir in some vodka and take a hair of the dog that bit you?

Nope.

The phrase itself refers to an old school Rabies cure (literally, they would place a hair of the dog that bit you in the wound), but has evolved into the idea that if you drink a small amount of whatever got you into this hung-over state, you’ll feel better. It didn’t work for rabies, and it won’t work for your hangover.

A hangover results because of the dehydrating effect alcohol has on your body. Remember what we learned about breaking the seal? Alcohol suppresses your brain’s ability to create anti-diuretic hormones, so you lose essential water, electrolytes, salts and glucose via bathroom breaks. The morning after, your body is frantically trying to replenish all that lost hydration, resulting in fatigue, headache, nausea, etc. These symptoms get worse as your body tries to rid all alcohol from its system, leading some to believe that all this hangover nonsense could be cured by simply drinking more.

Unfortunately, more alcohol will only postpone your hangover. It might temporarily relieve some of the symptoms of a hangover (and keep you in those beer goggles until the boy actually leaves), but when it wears off your body will still have to recover, only now it your liver has extra toxins to break down and remove. So in the end, your headache and nausea will probably be worsened by more alcohol, definitely not relieved.

The best cure for a hangover (besides, you know, not drinking in the first place) is to drink plenty of water to fight dehydration, some Gatorade or Powerade to replace electrolytes, lots of rest, and at least 4 hours worth of mind numbing TV, preferably Real Housewives or True Hollywood Stories, but whatever’s on VH1 will do in a pinch.

Before you dismiss this as just another article about the master cleanse, please read on!

Studies have proven that liquid cleanses, like the juice cleanse, the infamous master cleanse, and even the water with lemon cleanse, are more harmful to the body than beneficial. Probably because girls tend to do them for weeks, even months at a time, to lose weight.

We forget that the purpose of a cleanse is to help rid the body of toxins from processed foods and from our environment, not to become anorexic for a week.

Every day our body is exposed to chemicals from car exhaust, pollution, and the very lotion we apply to our skin. We breathe in harmful particles floating in the air. We eat fruit that has been soaked in pesticides and meat that has been injected with antibiotics.

Our incredible bodies constantly filter out all of these toxins on an a daily basis — it is a self-healing, self-renewing and self-cleansing organism. However, all of this can be too much and we find ourselves feeling sluggish and unhealthy. This indicates that your body needs some help. A holistic detox is the best method.

Here’s how:

1. Purchase an internal cleansing system.
I am currently finishing up the Whole Body Cleanse (2 week cleanse) made by Enzymatic Therapy and love it. The box includes 3 bottles of supplements: Super Milk Thistle  – stimulates toxin-clearing bile flow, Fiber Fusion – daily cleansing fiber binds to toxins so they don’t get reabsorbed into your bloodstream, and The Laxative Formula – gently purges the intestines of built up toxins, makes sure the toxins are carried out of your body for thorough detoxification. I have experienced zero abdominal discomfort from this and it definitely hasn’t made me feel like I have to run to the bathroom every five minutes.

2. Change your diet.
In conjunction with the internal cleansing system, you need to make your diet super healthy.
- Avoid all refined carbs including white flour and sugar.
- Avoid all foods with chemical preservatives and flavorings including foods that contain toxic elements.
- Drink at least one to two liters of pure water daily.
- Eat ripe fruits and vegetables that are free of chemical fertilizers.
- Minimize coffee, tea, dairy products, and … alcohol (I know, this is a toughie).
- Eat protein like white fish and chicken.

3. Sweat and sleep.
Do some moderate exercise so that you can sweat out the toxins as well. If you don’t feel up for this and have access to a sauna at your gym, use it. Also, sleep is so so important. I think many of us forget that we need more bed-time than we actually give ourselves. Getting 8 hours of shut-eye will determine your appetite, energy and mood.

Within 2 weeks of practicing theses lifestyle changes, you should notice a significant improvement in not only how you feel, but how you see your body. It’s given me a new appreciation for the incredible support it gives me on a daily basis. Show your bod some love too!!

But the Katie Couric in me has decided to investigate just how legit this organic makeup is.

First off, let’s make this Organic 101 for a second and define what it means to be organic. Organic products are products that are produced without pesticides or other chemicals. They are also produced in a way that is environmentally friendly, as toxins are not released into the air. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has now made standards that regulate which foods can be deemed organic. Although usually more expensive, organic foods can be better for you, so the same should be true for organic makeup right? Turns out, not so much.

I decided to check out my best friend, Sephora, to see just what organic products they offer. Sephora is stocked with three “organic” brands: Care by Stella McCartney, Juice Beauty and NVEY Eco. Each brand claims to be pure, luxurious, and certified organic. Looking through their products they look pretty great: Care is big on moisturizing skincare and NVEY has some really pretty eyeshadow kits.

Too bad that upon further research the term organic kinda seems like a hoax…

According to OrganicConsumers.org (yeah it’s a .org so I trust it) it turns out there are no standards for organic beauty products! The Organic Consumers Association is doing its best to alert buyers that “certified” labels are not actually set to a specific government standard unless they actually say “USDA Certified.” Unless these products are certified with that specific label, they often still contain the same chemicals as their non-Organic counterparts. Oftentimes the carcinogenic chemical 1,4-Dioxide is still put in makeup products falsely labeled as organic. These products claim to be certified but they are often certified by lax regulations.

Unfortunately, none of the makeup brands on Sephora are USDA certified and thus are not recommended by the Organic Consumer Association. (Shame on you Stella McCartney!)

Check out a list of more approved beauty products here. Some companies like Organic Essence have a 100% USDA organic line of beauty products (but it is mostly lotions and soaps).

I guess the bottom line is: if you’re gonna buy organic makeup be aware that many make false claims and are often equivalent to regular or natural makeup lines. Stay in the know and save your dough!

My day started off OK. I woke up in good spirits feeling ready to take on another day without food when I remembered that it was time for my massive morning dosage of salt water. The night before, I had premixed my oral enema and left it next to my bed in the hopes that I would then drink it immediately when I awoke and I would be so out of it that I wouldn’t fully realize what I was doing. And it worked. At least, a third of the way through it, it worked.

After that I was left to choke down the rest, and though it proved to be more effective than yesterday, I came to the conclusion that a belly full of salt water is no way to kick things off. Tomorrow I’ll be entrusting my a.m. colon purge to Chocolate Smooth Moves; because I’m already struggling to find reasons to wake up in the morning without that staring me in the face.

So, after that I got dressed and left my house for a day of work in Brooklyn, armed with 5 servings worth of the lemonade. I got to the studio where I work and took a seat, pounded a lemonade, and started on my usual tasks. Then someone dropped something and I nearly fell out of my chair reaching for it. Then it happened again. Then I spent about five minutes staring at the materials before me, trying to remember what exactly I was supposed to be doing. Then I stood up to walk to the bathroom and was struck by how limp I felt. By 2 p.m. I had finished all of my lemonade and I knew there was no way I’d make it back to my apartment if I stayed until the end of the day, so I ducked out early in an attempt to avoid going into hypoglycemic shock on the train.

By the time I got home, I was starving and very, very irritable. I drank two glasses of lemonade mixed with some digestive supplements I picked up from Whole Foods on the way home (which, I learned from some research online, are a highly recommended addition to the Cleanse) and sat on the couch, trying to rally my energy to make it to the gym.

Eventually I forced myself into my gym clothes and out the door. On the walk to the gym I considered calling people back who had called me during the day, but I realized that I had no desire to make friendly chit chat with anyone. I got to the gym and managed to churn out my entire usual workout, and felt surprisingly chipper when I was done. Endorphins are amazing.

I walked into my apartment to find my roommate and his girlfriend eating homemade burritos and drinking beer. He looked up guiltily and apologized for the food being everywhere, to which I replied, “Dude, don’t worry about it. Just because I’m not eating doesn’t mean no one else can. It’s my choice.”

Which, I guess is the whole point, and the most irritating part of this little endeavor. I could quit, literally, any time. I could have dug into the rice and black beans and veggies on the stove and it would have been over, plain and simple. And I wouldn’t die, and the world wouldn’t end, I would have just given up on a rather unscientific diet developed by a borderline crack-pot with mediocre-at-best writing skills. But for some reason, I keep trying to convince myself to persevere.

Just wait until the first few days are over, then see. Just wait until you run out of syrup and then you can think about stopping. Just aim for a week; sevens days are certainly better than nothing. Even though the Master Cleanse is interfering with my social life and my work and my immediate happiness, I keep holding on, though I can’t pinpoint why. Is it the genuine desire to rid my body of the toxins Stanley Burroughs tells me are lurking in it? Is it the sense of competition – that if others can do it I certainly can? Is it to experience how my body feels after fasting 10 days? Is it to renew my sense of taste and my body’s response to food?

I suppose it’s a mish-mash of all of the above. I just wonder if it’s enough to keep me going until next Friday.

Immediately after guzzling the truly foul concoction, I supposedly had an hour in which I would be pooping my brains out. As I had developed a stomach ache and was kind of hating life, I opted to spend this hour taking a nap, during which I had a dream that I was eating a Subway Veggie Sub, only to realize halfway through that I was supposed to be Master Cleansing and got really pissed at myself. I woke up starving and made myself a lemonade, then promptly fell back asleep. I woke up at 12:15 in the afternoon without having pooped at all, nor having any need to.

Well, at least I drank all that salt water.

The rest of my day was pretty much spent drinking the lemonade and napping or lounging about because I was totally exhausted. The only time I left the house was to go to the gym where I did my normal workout, but took half an hour longer than usual to do it because of all the breathers I had to take. Later I attempted to leave the house to go to a viewing of a film my roommate had worked on, but felt so beat I decided it was a pointless endeavor and watched a while lot of Comedy Central instead.

Throughout the day, my feelings about the Master Cleanse fluctuated wildly. One moment I was thinking that it was insane and there was no way it could possibly be good for me, then I’d remember all the rave reviews I had heard about it from others, then I’d think that food is awesome and not eating is not and I was totally over it, then I’d tell myself to take it one step at a time and I was feeling fine at the moment, wasn’t I? And really, when I thought about it, that was the truth; while I was tired and had moments of extreme hunger (namely while on the treadmill), and wasn’t exactly Miss Social Suzy Sunshine, I didn’t feel all that bad. I was surviving just fine.

Burroughs and the people I talked to who actually did it all report that the first few days of the Cleanse are the worst. Burroughs attributes this to all the toxins being loosened and floating around your body, where as I’m more inclined to think that it’s because you’re used to eating food and when you’re Master Cleansing you’re, uh, not doing that. But I DO have a sore throat…perhaps triggered by evil body-harming toxins that were previously lying dormant in my lymph nodes? Or merely a result of drinking copious amounts of lemon juice and cayenne pepper? Tough call.

For now, I’ve made a deal with myself that I have to tough out at least the first four days, and then see how I’m feeling. Baby steps, yo.

I just hope I poop soon.

Three day grapefruit fasts, weeklong juice regimes, monthly cleanses, I’ve heard them all, and haven’t wanted to try a single one.

Call me strange, but I’m a fan of food. I’m no holy profit or international peace symbol, and since shrugging off my Roman Catholicism, feel no guilt for eating a sandwich on Good Friday. Basically, I have no need to give up food I work two jobs to pay for.

My friends go on and on about the health benefits of fasting, but I’ve always felt eating a regular healthy diet has it’s own health benefits—with the added incentive of energy.

While I totally respect and appreciate people who abstain from food for religious reasons, I’ve just never been the kind of girl to equate being hungry with being healthy.

That was until I realized a good friend of mine, who is completely normal and well adjusted in every way, regularly fasted on Sundays.

“All I drink is green tea” she told me a few weeks ago when I asked her why she wasn’t joining me for lunch, and explained that flushing out her body and relaxing once a week was one of the best things she’d ever done for herself.

While my friend is on the thin side, she watches her weight very closely, and explained that giving her body one day a week to “get rid of toxins” in a simple, easy way has really helped her maintain her weight.

The health benefits to a one-day fast seem to be there, and if a person does it correctly, there doesn’t seem to be anything dangerous about it. The key to one-day fasting appears to be in the day before and day after; getting mentally prepared to gently coax your body into a fast, and keeping yourself from bingeing the day before or after. Splurging on food before fasting is not only counterproductive, it may also be a sign of a bad relationship with eating.

After listening to my friend talk and seeing how healthy she is on a day-to-day basis (never mind having the best skin I’ve ever seen in my life), I can’t help considering a Sunday green tea fest myself. After all, staying away from food for one day isn’t going to kill me, and the only way to test the advantages of a practice is to try it out.

I may just make next Sunday my official attempt at a Day Of No Food.

…I’ll let you know if I survive.