For a few days this week, my boyfriend and I are choosing to juice. We have a breakfast juice, then a lunch of real solid food, and then a dinner juice. After a month of being home from school, we realized that we were eating way too unhealthily. After being apart in our long distance relationship, being together meant every night could be date night. And date nights (or even just regular nights) meant we could have whatever we wanted to eat. This turned into a regular pattern of unhealthy eating. We both realized this around the same time and thought about juicing together, which turned into a concrete plan of juicing for a few days together and restarting our healthy eating habits.

Juicing consists of extracting the liquids from fresh fruits and vegetables. The juicing process removes all fiber and pulp from the produce and leaves you with just the juice. The juice is still left with its vitamins and nutrients. Drinking this juice for a few days provides the body with a detox. This detox can basically reset your digestive system and help process out all of the unhealthy foods you’ve consumed in the last few days. Also, it gives your stomach a break from breaking down the fiber in foods.

Detoxing is really difficult, at least at first. When you go from eating three full meals a day to one meal and two juices, well, it can be a struggle. I’ve craved everything I have ever craved in my life in the course of about 48 hours. Chocolate, Chinese food, cheeseburgers, waffles, pancakes — it has made me realize how easily I have been giving into eating unhealthy foods lately.

This realization has helped me understand I need to make healthier choices concerning my diet in the future. I can’t give into every craving and desire I have. It will be hard, and I understand that it will be, but even when I finish juicing I plan on trying to continue eating healthy.

If you have never tried juicing, I strongly suggest trying it. You don’t have to juice all day, all the time, or even most meals. You could have one juice a day and spend time looking at what you’re putting into your body for the day. You could become more familiar with the fuel you’re giving yourself.

As I spend time loading my juicer with celery and carrots and kale, I notice how few fruits and vegetables I have been consuming. You will see, too, if you try juicing. You can see how many produce items you can fit into your day and into your lifestyle. It’s not all that hard.

Well, that was a lie. The start of juicing is hard, but it’s worth it to treat your body with the respect it deserves and give it a chance to feel healthier than before.