Author’s Note: this juice cleanse was not sponsored. I paid for it myself and the opinions below are my own.
Creating Healthier Habits :: My Juice Cleanse Experience
After a few weeks of bad eating and wanting to jumpstart myself back into healthier habits, I decided to do a juice cleanse.
What is a Juice Cleanse?
Taken straight from the vendor’s website, “This cleanse program invites you to fast from solid foods in order to flood the body with vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. Our cold-pressed process extracts insoluble fiber from fruits and vegetables, giving your digestive system a rest so that increased absorption of health-promoting phytonutrients and enzymes can take place.” –Main Squeeze. In simpler words – I replaced all solid food in my diet with cold-pressed juices completely for 3 days.
Benefits of a Juice Cleanse?
The main benefit of a juice cleanse is that you are naturally detoxing your livers and kidneys.
How to Prepare?
To prepare, my biggest decision was if I wanted to purchase juices or juice myself. My husband has done a long juicing cleanse in the past, so we do have a juicer. There are also several different companies and individuals offering pre-made juices. With the other time constraints I have, I decided that purchasing prepackaged juices would be the best decision for me. I went with the company Main Squeeze since they have multiple locations which made it easy to get the juices. They offer different cleanse options including a 1 day, 3-day, 5 day and a 3-day option that permits you eating a light dinner daily. I decided to opt for the 3-day full juice cleanse.
Getting Started
The cleanse has a scripted menu for the juices, but there are some options you can interchange. I have some tastes that I absolutely hate (beets), so I swapped some of the standard juices out with other equivalents that they recommended. Once I selected my options, I did have to go to multiple locations to secure enough of each juice that I wanted. They do offer delivery as well. To prepare, they suggest adjusting your intake some before the cleanse. I didn’t do this but do as I say not as I do!
How it Works
The suggested drink order is as follow:
- Drink #1 AWAKEN – or any refresher (02 – 07)
- Drink #2 GLOW – or any green (21 – 25)
- Drink #3 IMMUNITY – or any root (31 – 32)
- Drink #4 DETOX – or any refresher (02 – 07)
- Drink #5 VITALITY – or any green (21 – 25)
- Drink #6 ALMOND MYLK – or CACAO mylk (11 – 12)
Additionally, it is suggested you start each day with a 10-16 ounce glass of warm water with lemon. The drinks are to be consumed throughout the day at roughly 2-hour intervals and you are encouraged to drink a lot of water in between juices and throughout the day.
My Experience: Day 1 in Details
- I’m not a fan of lemon water, so I started the day with one bottle of water.
- Drink 1- Awaken (Apple • Lemon • Ginger • Cinnamon). This was a decent way to start the cleanse. The drink was easy to get down and the cinnamon and ginger did “pep” me up to take on the day.
- Drink 2- Glow (Apple • Cucumber • Kale • Lemon • Spinach). This drink introduced vegetables into the cleanse and was surprisingly easy to drink. It definitely tasted heartier than the previous drink, but was tolerable for me as someone with a light stomach.
- Drink 3- Here is where I first deviated from the suggested drink list. The suggested third drink was Immunity (Apple • Beet • Zucchini). I despise beet flavors, and I don’t like zucchini, so I knew this one would be a struggle for me. Instead, I opted for another root-based drink they offer and chose the drink Youth (Carrot • Pineapple • Lime • Turmeric). For me, this drink was the hardest to get down of the day. The carrot flavor was a bit overpowering. Also, this drink coincided with lunch time for me, and I think overall, I was a bit grouchy about not eating a tastier meal.
- Drink 4- Detox (Filtered H2O • Lemon • Agave • Activated Charcoal) This is the drink I was looking forward to the most. I had others telling me how delicious it is, but I was not prepared for the drink to be BLACK when I purchased it. I had no clue what to expect a black colored drink to taste like, but I took everyone’s advice and went for it. I’m happy I did because this was by far the best drink of the day. It tastes similar to a sugar-free lemonade and was a welcomed treat after I struggled through the previous drink.
- Drink 5- I substituted the 5th drink also. The suggested drink is Vitality (Zucchini • Pineapple • Kale • Apple • Spinach) which is another drink with greens that is a step up from the previous, greens-based option, Glow. I decided to substitute this and repeat Glow here. I know myself and doubted I would make it through a more greener option.
- Drink 6- The last drink is a sweeter option as a treat. You can choose from 3 mylk-based drinks. I chose to go with the Cacao Mylk that tasted like a sugar-free chocolate milk.
Days 2-3
I followed the same menu for all three days of the cleanse. I’m proud to say that I made it through the 3 days and completed it! Although I wasn’t doing it primarily for weight loss, I was surprised by the amount of weight I loss. Over the course of the 3 days, I lost a total of 9 pounds (water weight I’m assuming).
Interesting Thoughts and Tips
- I was surprised at how much I think about food. When I had to run an errand, I instantaneously thought about what food options were nearby. I was not as hungry as I thought I would be, which made me realize how much of my eating is mental and not actual hunger.
- Get an accountability partner! I had a friend who did the cleanse with me and that made it sooo much easier to get through. We didn’t want to give in and let one another down so it was easier to push through.
- Slow sips or big gulps. You’ll have to decide which works best for you. I found that sipping slower worked better for me. Although it made the drink and experience last longer, big gulps triggered my gag reflex more.
Have you tried a drink cleanse?
