9 Rebooting Symptoms & Why You Get Them

A Reboot is a time where you only consume fruits and vegetables for a select period of time. A Reboot is a time to boost the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat, reduce unhealthy cravings, lose weight, reduce your risk of serious health conditions, improve longevity, reduce fatigue, reduce muscle aches and pains, improve immune health, aids and supports your natural detoxification pathways via your digestive system, liver, kidneys and skin and improves your overall wellbeing and health.

Many people will experience what is commonly known as ‘detoxification symptoms’ in the initial stages of the Reboot. This can range from 1 to 3 days and up to 2 weeks, this is very dependent on many variables but on the plus side you can combat these symptoms.

Reasons why you may experience Reboot symptoms:

• A diet high in processed chemical laden foods prior to your Reboot – complete avoidance in the consumption of salt, sugar, caffeine, processed oil, refined grains, MSG, alcohol and other chemical additives can cause significant changes to energy, mood and cravings initially. Even a small amount of the above ingredients can affect your health and cause withdrawal symptoms once given up.
• Lack of preparation before the Reboot – the more drastic the change the stronger the symptoms can be.
• High calorie intake prior to the Reboot – a large reduction in calories can cause a variety of symptoms such as feelings of cold, fatigue, headaches, strong food specific cravings as the body adjusts to the changes and much more.
• Blood sugar irregularities– diabetes, insulin resistance and hypoglycaemia are all conditions of poor blood sugar control. When we make changes to our eating habits and lifestyle it may take a few days to weeks for this to start to normalize. Here is more on blood sugar during your Reboot
• Chronic dehydration – chronic dehydration can cause a host of symptoms, when we start to consume more water plus juice we may feel like we are running off to the toilet often, with time your bladder and kidneys will adjust to the increase in fluid intake.
• Hereditary factors – predisposition to certain health complaints such as headaches, skin conditions, sinusitis and digestive complaints.
• General health prior to the reboot – liver, kidney and digestive health can affect the way we metabolise our foods and our ability to naturally detox wastes. Our overall health plays a key role in our initial experience.

Common Symptoms Experienced During a Reboot:

Flatulence & bloating – initially this can worsen during a Reboot for some people, the sudden increase in fruits and vegetables from the many complex sugars, fibre, phytonutrients and enzymes but this will soon pass and your stomach will feel flatter than ever. If symptoms persist or you have IBS you can consume fermented fluids such as kombucha tea, coconut water kefir or take a probiotic. Here is more on fermented foods.

Diarrhea – this can occur due to a tendency towards IBS, rapid increase in fibre (eating + juicing phase), rapid increase in fruits and vegetables and an all liquid diet (juice only). Here is more on what you can do about Diarrhea. Fermented drinks can also assist.

Constipation – once we have made drastic fibre and dietary changes our digestive may suffer and slow down due to the increase in fibre (during the eating phase) combined with lack of water or due to a reduction in the fibre consumed during the juice only phase. Drink more water, more exercise and juice/eat more dark green leafy vegetables. Here is more on what you can do about Constipation.

Headaches – this can be caused from lack of water and/or calories, caffeine withdrawal, sugar withdrawal or blood sugar irregularities. Hydrate with more water, juice, teas and broth.

Skin breakouts and reactions – since the skin is the largest eliminative organ as we make big changes to our diet our skin may initially suffer. Here is more information on acne and eczema. It is important to sweat it out and drink more water.

Fatigue – this can be due to a reduction in calories, lack of hydration as you may not feel like drinking more water when you’ve already drank juice, withdrawal from certain substances such as caffeine, sugar etc. as the body is readjusting to these big dietary changes your energy will soon soar.

Aches and Pains – this is common! There are many theories as to why this happens but we know for sure calorie restriction, electrolyte changes, dehydration and blood sugar changes can cause this. Drink extra coconut water and other electrolyte & magnesium rich juices. Here is more on electrolytes

Brain fatigue or brain fog – this is commonly caused from a reduction in calories, sugar and/or caffeine. It is important to rehydrate and consume more juice.

Strong cravings – this can be caused by the avoidance of all your normal foods, sugar irregularities, body wanting to reinstate lost calories ASAP, long standing nutritional deficiencies, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances. More Juice Broth Water Electrolytes!

Tips for a Successful Reboot:

• Preparation is key! Before completing a Reboot we highly recommend a week of preparation to reduce detox symptoms.
• Drink plenty of juice – you really can’t have too much! Make sure your ratio of fruit to vegetables is 20% fruit to 80% vegetables.
• Drink plenty of hydrating fluids such as water, coconut water, herbal tea and vegetable broth.
• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables rather than eating other non-reboot foods if you feel the need to chew on something while doing the juice only phase.
• I really encourage herbal teas that may combat ailments such as chamomile or peppermint for upset stomachs, licorice tea or cinnamon tea for sugar cravings, fennel for bloating to name a few. Here are more ideas and tips that will help you succeed in your Reboot

Here is more on why the first 3 days or a Reboot are the hardest!

If your symptoms persist see your health practitioner if you have tried all the above suggestions and/or all suggestions given by your coach or nutritionist.