If you've ever done a juice cleanse and succeeded then you'd be one of the lucky ones!! I'll give myself some credit though, this was my first attempt. An attempt that failed miserably! Haha!
What is a Juice Cleanse?
In a nutshell, it is a 3-day program where you consume nothing but juice. The logic being that your body gets a chance to detox and cleanse itself of toxins as it only gets liquids that are easy to digest and break down.
You get a total of 18 bottles for the 3 days, meaning you drink 6 bottles a day! 3 main meals and 3 snacks. The juices are a combination of fruit and veggie juices and the ones for the 3 main meals include the pulp from the fruit and veggies to keep you full! (Hmmm!!!! )
(Some of the lovely juices that were included in the cleanse)
Why did I decide to do the Juice Cleanse!?
Well first of all, I am into anything to do with health, so why not!
Secondly, I've heard so much about it, that I was tempted to give it a shot myself.
Finally, someone else was going to be doing all the juicing for me, so I'd have ready-to-drink juice for 3 whole days, meaning I wouldn't have to worry about buying the produce for the juice myself. All in all, it sounded pretty easy to me!
Day 1
Was not a good day to begin a juice cleanse. I was feeling flu-ey and achy to start with.
Ok! So bear in mind that during this juice cleanse, you are not supposed to consume anything else, only the juice that is given to you for the cleanse. No coffee, no tea, no nothing else!
So, therein lies my first failure! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT MY MORNING COFFEE!!! Aaaargh! I tried, I really did try, but I gave in to the craving as I felt the withdrawal symptoms creeping slowly but surely along! So, I gave in! I had the coffee in the morning! :-(
Then in the afternoon, I still had to prepare the kiddo's lunch. Sandwiches! Suddenly I had this craving for toast! Again, I gave in! OF course I still consumed all my juice as well, but it just wasn't keeping me full.
By late afternoon I was not only hungry, but I was grumpy too. In my line of work as an English teacher and Kids' yoga teacher, it really isn't a good position to be in! I had to teach 2 classes that evening, and I was not in a good mood. Snapped at my own kids, but maintained my cool with my students. Kids yoga was really tough too as my mind kept drifting away to food when I kept telling the kids to OMM!!!!
After yoga I was ravenous and again I gave in to temptation! This time it was Nasi Lemak! OMG!!! Failure! TO THE MAX!
Day 2 & 3
Day 2 was pretty much the same failed attempt as the 1st day. Maybe worse.
Day 3: I did manage to keep away from food for the 1st half of the day. I still had to have the coffee in the morning. Dinnertime I needed to eat, so I gave in. My headaches, hungry tummy and achy body got the better of me, so again I gave in!
(Empty bottles after 2 days of Juice Cleanse)
My Verdict
Then in the afternoon, I still had to prepare the kiddo's lunch. Sandwiches! Suddenly I had this craving for toast! Again, I gave in! OF course I still consumed all my juice as well, but it just wasn't keeping me full.
By late afternoon I was not only hungry, but I was grumpy too. In my line of work as an English teacher and Kids' yoga teacher, it really isn't a good position to be in! I had to teach 2 classes that evening, and I was not in a good mood. Snapped at my own kids, but maintained my cool with my students. Kids yoga was really tough too as my mind kept drifting away to food when I kept telling the kids to OMM!!!!
After yoga I was ravenous and again I gave in to temptation! This time it was Nasi Lemak! OMG!!! Failure! TO THE MAX!
Day 2 & 3
Day 2 was pretty much the same failed attempt as the 1st day. Maybe worse.
Day 3: I did manage to keep away from food for the 1st half of the day. I still had to have the coffee in the morning. Dinnertime I needed to eat, so I gave in. My headaches, hungry tummy and achy body got the better of me, so again I gave in!
(Empty bottles after 2 days of Juice Cleanse)
My Verdict
I think overall, I did lose a few inches, coz my clothes did feel looser even from my half-attempt at the juice cleanse.
My skin did look a lot healthier too. The increased consumption of fresh juices must have been doing their thing.
I must admit that although I enjoyed the juice being prepared for me, I still prefer the taste of freshly squeezed juice! If I do this again, I think I would prefer to do the jucing myself. It's fresher and reasearch shows that the maximum health benefit of the juice comes from consuming it fresh!
I DID overlook the point that I should prepare myself for this Juice Cleanse by observing 3 days of light eating prior to this cleanse, and that was probably why I failed. I would do this Pre-Cleanse Preparation the next time around.
ALSO, I would not do a Juice Cleanse on a weekend. My weekends are my time with my family and I'd like to be able to eat and drink freely during these 2 days. Perhaps a Pre-Juice light eating day to start on a Sunday, Start Juice Cleanse on a Tuesday or Wedsnesday would be a better option next time.
So, although I failed miserably in this first attempt, I would try this again because, I think that this Juice Cleanse has encouraged me to eat healthier. My body feels lighter and cleansed and I think I would be encouraged to make more healthy food choices to maintain this feeling.
IF you'd like to give the Juice Cleanse a try, do your research first and look into the different combinations of juices you should be consuming! Check out the fruits and veggies that you should include in order to reap the full benefits of the cleanse!
The combos that I got in this cleanse were as follows:
Sunny Breakfast: Beetroot, carrot and cucumber
Detox Green: Bittergourd, celery, cucumber, green apple & ginger
Joyful Lunch: Pumpkin, carrot & orange (sad to say that my batch of this juice tasted sour and off, so I only consumed 1 bottle)
Refreshing Snack: Pineapple, lemon & mint (one of my faves!)
Antioxidant Dinner: Grape & Red Apple (another fave!)
Happy Skin: Orange, celery, green apple & ginger
(Word of advice: If you're not used to consuming fresh veggie juices then start with consuming at least a juice a day to get yourself used to the taste and consistency of the juice before attempting the cleanse!)
In the end, you can't be doing your body any harm by drinking more fresh juices!
Happy Juice Cleanse everyone!
My skin did look a lot healthier too. The increased consumption of fresh juices must have been doing their thing.
I must admit that although I enjoyed the juice being prepared for me, I still prefer the taste of freshly squeezed juice! If I do this again, I think I would prefer to do the jucing myself. It's fresher and reasearch shows that the maximum health benefit of the juice comes from consuming it fresh!
I DID overlook the point that I should prepare myself for this Juice Cleanse by observing 3 days of light eating prior to this cleanse, and that was probably why I failed. I would do this Pre-Cleanse Preparation the next time around.
ALSO, I would not do a Juice Cleanse on a weekend. My weekends are my time with my family and I'd like to be able to eat and drink freely during these 2 days. Perhaps a Pre-Juice light eating day to start on a Sunday, Start Juice Cleanse on a Tuesday or Wedsnesday would be a better option next time.
So, although I failed miserably in this first attempt, I would try this again because, I think that this Juice Cleanse has encouraged me to eat healthier. My body feels lighter and cleansed and I think I would be encouraged to make more healthy food choices to maintain this feeling.
IF you'd like to give the Juice Cleanse a try, do your research first and look into the different combinations of juices you should be consuming! Check out the fruits and veggies that you should include in order to reap the full benefits of the cleanse!
The combos that I got in this cleanse were as follows:
Sunny Breakfast: Beetroot, carrot and cucumber
Detox Green: Bittergourd, celery, cucumber, green apple & ginger
Joyful Lunch: Pumpkin, carrot & orange (sad to say that my batch of this juice tasted sour and off, so I only consumed 1 bottle)
Refreshing Snack: Pineapple, lemon & mint (one of my faves!)
Antioxidant Dinner: Grape & Red Apple (another fave!)
Happy Skin: Orange, celery, green apple & ginger
(Word of advice: If you're not used to consuming fresh veggie juices then start with consuming at least a juice a day to get yourself used to the taste and consistency of the juice before attempting the cleanse!)
In the end, you can't be doing your body any harm by drinking more fresh juices!
Happy Juice Cleanse everyone!
