Juice Cleanse- My 3 Day Journey

I have always wanted to do a juice cleanse but honestly never thought I would be able to. I’m a big foodie and the thought of drinking nothing but juice for three days seemed daunting to me. Juice cleanses, as you likely know and have become more than trendy over the last couple of years and juice bars have been popping up everywhere. I like fresh pressed juice and would often have one in addition to my lunch for some added nutrients.

Since beginning my holistic journey and studying to become a Holistic Nutrition and Health Coach, my diet has never been better. I don’t even like to use the word diet cause it is not a diet. I am just eating well, really well. So it seemed as though now was the perfect time to try a cleanse. I was used to eating healthy and having minimal caffeine and wanted to see if I could take my clean eating to the next level. I was hoping to give my digestive system a break and my body a rest from processing food. I wanted to consume nothing but nutrient dense vegetables/fruits that are high in phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals and eliminate hard to digest foods.

So I signed up with a company in Kelowna, where I live, called Glow for their 3 day beginner cleanse which includes 6 fresh pressed juices a day.

Here are some of the benefits they say a juice cleanse can provide:

• Give your system a break from processed and cooked food which allows your body to focus on digesting raw fruit and vegetables which are high in enzymes and nutrients.
• Increased energy as you are not wasting energy breaking down food so your body can focus on healing and absorbing all of the healthy nutrients.
• Boosts the immune system by loading up on fresh raw fruits and vegetables.
• Helps control appetite and cravings by eliminating processed food and refined sugar.
• Reduces inflammation.
• Increases your sense of well-being.
• Promotes shiny hair and glowing skin.

Day 1- I woke up and had a large glass of lemon water with some apple cider vinegar in it. An hour later I had my first juice at 7am. It was really tasty and kind of sweet with the pear in it. The juices are scheduled to be taken every two hours and every other hour you drink a large glass of lemon or aloe vera water. This means every hour you are making an effort to drink either a pressed juice or a large glass of water. The first half of day 1 seemed easy, where things got challenging was at dinner.  Cooking dinner for my family was tough, it was hard to smell the delicious food simmering on the stove and not be able to eat any of it. All I wanted was to have what they were eating but instead I held strong and stuck to my scheduled juices. I made it through day 1 and I must say I was pretty proud of myself for completing the first day.

Day 2– I woke up feeling light and energized. I was looking forward to my first juice of the day and was feeling light and almost airy. I was actually surprised at how much energy I had and how much I enjoyed the different juices. As the day went on I didn’t feel too hungry as you are constantly having a large glass of water or juice on the hour every hour.  All the liquid seemed to tie me over and I had plenty of energy from the naturally sweet and nutrient dense juices.

Day 3– I woke up feeling like a lean machine. I knew that I only had one day left so I was motivated to complete the cleanse.  I felt really good and was amazed at how much more you taste things when you eliminate everything else. The juices seemed more flavourful each day that went on. I found the ones with beets, carrots, or fruit quite sweet and the flavours seemed more intense. I also liked that it was easy preparing for my day knowing that my meals were already made and ready to go. I’m busy with a full time job as a medical rep, two kids, a husband, and with studying to become a holistic nutritionist in my spare time. So having my meals ready to go on the fly was actually a huge bonus. I didn’t have to think about what I was going to eat for lunch or dinner as my juices were already prepared and ready to go.

I did make sure to take it easy and avoided high energy activities, wanting to give my body a rest that it likely deserved. The day seemed to fly by and I looked forward to my favourite juices. Some were sweeter than others, some more tart with citrus. I really enjoyed the beet juices and the ones with pear. The added sweetness made it seem like I was having a delicious dessert.

I must say that all in all I am very happy with how the cleanse went. I was feeling like it was going to be the hardest three days of my life but it actually wasn’t as hard as I was expecting. The toughest part was during dinner when I was cooking for my family and watching them eat. Other than that I found the cleanse somewhat easy. Yes I had moments of weakness but all in all the juices surprisingly satisfied me. I felt content and full of energy. I definitely felt like I lost some weight even though that was not my goal in doing the cleanse. I’m sure it was mostly water weight but if you ever feel like you need to lean out and reduce any bloating before a big event, then a juice cleanse can likely help! I have no way of knowing if I improved my digestion, reduced inflammation or if I boosted my immune system but what I do know is that I felt great. I felt lean, energized, and happy. Maybe I was just proud of myself for actually completing the cleanse or maybe it was from all the nutrients I consumed in those three days, I’m not sure. Regardless I enjoyed the cleanse a lot more than I expected I would. I think the 3 day cleanse is just perfect. They say there is no harm in doing a fast for 3 days and I felt like it was the perfect amount of time to take a break from processing foods and to nourish my body!

xo Chelsea

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Juice Cleanse- My 3 Day Journey

I have always wanted to do a juice cleanse but honestly never thought I would be able to. I’m a big foodie and the thought of drinking nothing but juice for three days seemed daunting to me. Juice cleanses, as you likely know and have become more than trendy over the last couple of years and juice bars have been popping up everywhere. I like fresh pressed juice and would often have one in addition to my lunch for some added nutrients.

Author Nourish Your Life

Instructions

Benefits

• Give your system a break from processed and cooked food which allows your body to focus on digesting raw fruit and vegetables which are high in enzymes and nutrients.
• Increased energy as you are not wasting energy breaking down food so your body can focus on healing and absorbing all of the healthy nutrients.
• Boosts the immune system by loading up on fresh raw fruits and vegetables.
• Helps control appetite and cravings by eliminating processed food and refined sugar.
• Reduces inflammation.
• Increases your sense of well-being.
• Promotes shiny hair and glowing skin.

Routine

• Day 1- I woke up and had a large glass of lemon water with some apple cider vinegar in it. An hour later I had my first juice at 7am. It was really tasty and kind of sweet with the pear in it. The juices are scheduled to be taken every two hours and every other hour you drink a large glass of lemon or aloe vera water. This means every hour you are making an effort to drink either a pressed juice or a large glass of water. The first half of day 1 seemed easy, where things got challenging was at dinner. Cooking dinner for my family was tough, it was hard to smell the delicious food simmering on the stove and not be able to eat any of it. All I wanted was to have what they were eating but instead I held strong and stuck to my scheduled juices. I made it through day 1 and I must say I was pretty proud of myself for completing the first day.
• Day 2– I woke up feeling light and energized. I was looking forward to my first juice of the day and was feeling light and almost airy. I was actually surprised at how much energy I had and how much I enjoyed the different juices. As the day went on I didn’t feel too hungry as you are constantly having a large glass of water or juice on the hour every hour. All the liquid seemed to tie me over and I had plenty of energy from the naturally sweet and nutrient dense juices.
• Day 3– I woke up feeling like a lean machine. I knew that I only had one day left so I was motivated to complete the cleanse. I felt really good and was amazed at how much more you taste things when you eliminate everything else. The juices seemed more flavourful each day that went on. I found the ones with beets, carrots, or fruit quite sweet and the flavours seemed more intense. I also liked that it was easy preparing for my day knowing that my meals were already made and ready to go. I’m busy with a full time job as a medical rep, two kids, a husband, and with studying to become a holistic nutritionist in my spare time. So having my meals ready to go on the fly was actually a huge bonus. I didn’t have to think about what I was going to eat for lunch or dinner as my juices were already prepared and ready to go.