Neither this cleanse nor any other cleansing program should be followed without first consulting a health care professional. If you have any special conditions requiring attention, you should consult with your health care professional regularly regarding possible modification of the program contained in this book.
Copyright 2010 by Zo Sakoutis, LLC
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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First eBook Edition: March 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-55872-3
E2-20210413-PDJ-PC-VAL
Praise for the BluePrintCleanse
BPC is a manageable, enjoyable, yummy-tasting cleanse. Its not torture like other fasts or cleanses; it gives me energy. And when Im done, I dont crave a cheeseburger or pizzaI honestly crave healthier foods!
Christine Taylor, actress
I love BPC more than wrapping myself in Saran Wrap and sleeping in a sauna!
Robert Verdi, celebrity stylist and television personality
BluePrint is a user-friendly, regimented, efficient, healthy way to get back on track and improve the way you feel after youve done a little too much indulging. They couldnt make it easier for you!
Jim Gold, president/CEO, Bergdorf Goodman
After a few decades of treating my body like a trash can, BluePrintCleanse was just what I needed to kick-start a sane, healthy, restorative year. The BluePrintCleanse has become a trusted tool in my continued effort to reclaim my body and redefine my complicated relationship with food.
Edward Ugel, author of Im with Fatty:
Losing Fifty Pounds in Fifty Miserable Weeks
You must have discipline to have fun.
Julia Child
Love, Zo and Erica
S pecial thanks to Team BPC: Elvin Acosta, Ricardo Alvarez, Damon Alves, Carlos Aparicilo, Patrick Burlingham, Stephanie Campione, Andres Campos, Anthony Costa, Emily Eddins, Waleed Gettes, Andres Gonzales, Erin Greenman, Balaram Hariyogam, Christian Henderson, David Hodorowski, Alexandra Holmes, Keith Irwin, Jose Lema, Manuel Lema, Fernando Lopez, Sarah Main, Brian Martinez, Sunilda Rodriguez, Jesus Rojas, Juan Rojas, Jose Roldan, Victoria Salemo, Maggie Schanck
Bartenders throughout lower Manhattan and Brooklyn for making the writing process that much more inspiring
CI for all of your love and support!
Lisa, Jolise, Ian, and Douglas Sakoutis
Linda Jo + Big Mike, for always letting me hang from the monkey bars with no hands
Kristen Reyes
Rebecca Isenberg
Shira, Princess of Power
Mark Wood, the Magic Caterpillar
The Waverly
The Maritime
Schrager
S/wichcraft
Kern + Lead
Zipcar
Joe the Juice Bottle Man
Chris Stasinos wherever you are we will find you.
Louisa S.
Natalie Kaire
DJ Debra, aka Spinderella
Kung Fu Panda
Karaoke
McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Pfizer, the FDA, and yellow dye 2 for making what we do that much more necessary
ZO: In 2000, I greeted the new millennium not with a popping cork but with a nasty cold. It was just the latest in a long string of annoying illnesses, aches, and pains. A sore back. A chronic cough. Frequent headaches. Fatigue.
A friend of mine who was a devout raw foodist suggested I do a seven-day juice cleanse/fast to rid my body of the toxins that were making me sick. I was skeptical, but decided I had nothing to lose (except a week of food and, possibly, a few pounds), so I tried it. Although the end results of the cleanse were fantastic, I found the process itself to be excruciatingly painful. As my body detoxed, all the poisons came to the surface. I had terrible migraines and felt bloated, and my skin was breaking out. My cold got worse because everything was trying to exit my body very quicklyall at once! Later, I tried the Master Cleanse, which is primarily water with lemon and maple syrup. This wasnt quite as bad because Id prepared, but about four days in, a fungus appeared on my cheek. This was no doubt due to the fact that I was flooding my body with maple syrupessentially cooked sugar, a favorite food for fungi.
I realized that the reason I suffered such effects during the cleanse was that the process itself was simply too extreme. At the time, I was not a vegan or a raw foodist; I wasnt even a vegetarian! I worked hard and played hard, eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I was in college and New York City was my campusmy habits didnt exactly include yoga and salads. I worked as a bartender throughout college, mixing the opposite of green juice. I went out a lot, I partied with friends, I stayed up all night writing papers. I knew my body needed help.
The question was: How could I get the benefits of the cleansing without undergoing the agony I experienced during these cleanses? Because, to be totally honest, given how awful I felt that week, I was really hesitant to try it again.
And yet I realized that to be truly effective, a cleanse had to be more than just a one-time painful experience that you never wanted to repeat. It also couldnt be so extreme that it totally dictated your life, kept you in your house for the duration, and led your friends to avoid you for fear youd bite their heads off.
Cleansing and how good I felt afterward had another benefit: It made me realize the benefits of nutrition. So I went back to school and became a certified nutritional consultant, changed my eating habits, embraced raw foodism and, eventually, food combining (more on that later). But I never got the idea of cleansing out of my head.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I (and most of the people I knew) needed a cleansing option that was easy, tasted good, felt good, and made me want to do it again and again. It also needed to provide enough nutritional sustenance so I could continue my normal lifefriends, work, exercise.
ERICA: Zo was talking about this with everyone she knew, including me. We had been friends for more than seven years. A fellow foodie, I was on my own career path in public relations for chefs, restaurants, and wine brands. Our skill sets were a natural fit, and together we rolled up our sleeves, did a test run with our friends and families, and created what is known as the BluePrintCleanse.
* * *
The BluePrintCleanse was the first line of juice cleanses in the country to offer varying levels of intensity depending on an individuals dietary habits and history. Its a user-friendly system of cleansing designed to be practical for all nutritional lifestyles, from the most austere of raw food acolytes to the burger-and-red-wine crowd that needs to occasionally offset the damage from their indulgences.
Today our Manhattan-based juice detox delivery service is used by thousands of clients throughout the metropolitan area and the country. Its been written up in nearly every major media outlet, including Domino, People, Allure, Cosmopolitan, Fit Yoga, Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, and New York magazines. It has been featured on Good Morning America, NBC New York, and ABC News. Why? Because it is so easy, so commonsense, and so beneficial.
Our clients have their fresh-squeezed juices delivered right to their door with just a couple of days notice. They find that whether they do a 3-Day, 5-Day, or 10-Day Cleanse, whether they choose the easiest Level 1 or the most advanced Level 3, at the end they have more energy, clearer skin, a more focused mind, and feel completely amazing.
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