Green Smoothie Cleanse... experiences, tips, advice, ideas all appreciated

[Rubydoobalicious]

Hello to my fellow Green-Eaters. I am brand new to this site, posting-wise, but I have been reading it for inspiration for a few years now. I have been doing the raw food yo-yo for over three years now, and I have done green juice cleanses before, but could never break properly. I am starting a green smoothie cleanse tomorrow after months of allowed/rebellious harmful* eating. (*Harmful to me- I believe that the only rule to adhere to is your personal health. Eating for the environment, I feel, is more easily applied once one is shown how it can be done healthily.) So for me, harmful foods are dairy and wheat/gluten/yeast foods, and refined and chemical- and sugar-laden foods. That usually leaves me desiring what is essentially a mostly-raw diet, but I break every once in a while with no guilt.
So, back to any tips on a green smoothie cleanse? I am fine with fruit when blended with greens, and so get enough calories with that and the one or two avocados I eat per day. (For some reason, I am totally turned off of bananas right now). Anything else I could do to mitigate the sugar cravings I go through? (Chocolate addict here, unabashedly). I always start with 3 stalks celery, 1/2 a cuke, kale, chard, or collards, 1 avocado, and about 2 cups frozen fruit, with a Tbs honey/agave.
Personal info is that I have PCOS (greatly relieved by RF), overweight (as of now), do bikram's yoga (fallen off the wagon, but am on that too for this cleanse and beyond), and have been 'doing raw food' for over three years now, on and off. I do really well with a moderate to heavy fat intake (depending on what you consider heavy) and usually transition into a lighter fat RF diet later as I get more acclimated. I also feel like the liquids on an empty stomach is a big issue, as well as all the cold liquids... instant nausea! Not as bad with smoothies as with juices, but still...
I would also love to hear anyone's successes that they have had in this. Thanks everyone, Rubydoobalicious

[rawdanig]

Well first off i can start off by saying that if you're trying to cleanse you need to cut out fats/oils during that time for at least 3 days because these actually cause the body to slow down cleansing/detox and then after those few days you can introduce light amounst of fat back into your diet like 1/2 an avocado or a small handful of nuts. When i did my GS cleanse i had 2 GS a day for breakfast and lunch and for dinner a big veggie salad. I only did this for 3 days and i could really tell how quickly my body kicked into detox mode. In order for me to keep my body in this mode i transitioned into a Low fat diet so now i'm eating lots of fruits and 1 big salad a day and a 32oz GS in the morning. As for your cravings i'd say eat fruits and a wide variety but i'm really good at ignoring cravings by just not thinking about it or drinking some water. Don't know if this is much help but good luck on your cleanse and don't over do it with the amount of cleanse time no more than a week should be fine and your body will continue to detox even when you switch over to eating a normal low fat diet.

[Rubydoobalicious]

Thanks rawdanig- I have no avo's in house anyway this morning anyway, so I will push through and do no fats for a bit; see what happens after that. I do wonder about the fat based vitamins I take- D and Omega's (prescribed by a doctor)- will they pass through if I start doing a fat cleanse, or store up and I will need less as the cleanse goes on? I usually do about a week cleanse, then have to struggle to keep energized, so yeah, we'll see on the length. Rubydoobalicious

[Melon]

Hi Rubydoobalicious...you have a long name here! :) Are you still doing a cleanse? I never did one, I just started on 80% raw a few months ago and went 100% raw 9 weeks ago. However, I've been eating relatively healthy (macrobiotc vegan - I guess it depends on what you call healthy) and avoided what you've been avoiding for 11 years! I have a sweet tooth too and I struggle with it but less and less since eating raw (so happy about it)!! I think what helps me is that I eat fruit in the morning and also have a smoothie that has fruit as well. I'm not sure if you don't like bananas or just avoid them for a while? I never liked them but I add them to my morning smoothie which I look forward to every day..I sooo love it! I posted it here: http://rawfoodfortruth.blogspot.com/2011/06/green-super-smoothie.html if you'd like to take a look. What have never tried is adding avocados. I have to warm up to the idea. :) I think there's enough fat in some seeds to help you absorb vitamins and still cleanse (just my opinion), I add about a tbsp flax. Another tip with sugar and chocolate cravings: when I started I didn't restrict myself. I think it's too much to expect from yourself all at once. I allowed myself to eat cake/ice cream/candied nuts/chocolate every day if I wanted to....as long as they was raw! As I said, those cravings will slowly disappear anyway so make it easier on yourself and transition slowly...or one rule at a time. That's my two cents... :) Good luck to you! Love.
Dita