I’d been hearing about this juicing craze for awhile and thought the whole idea behind it was totally unhealthy, crazy and misery inducing. I mean I can barely EAT my vegetables and fruit and now you want me to put them in liquid form and DRINK them and ONLY them for 3 days straight? Yeah, I’ll pass. That is until a few weeks ago. Some co-workers and I were sitting at lunch and they couldn’t stop talking about how awesome the act of juicing was and how much it had become a great reset for them both mentally and physically. They won me over when they said hunger wasn’t an issue and that while they didn’t begin the juice cleanse with the intention of losing weight, inevitably they’d shed up to 10 pounds!
Now I have to preface this and say, I am totally against any diet that urges you to cut any one thing out for a long period of time. Heck, I’m against dieting period! I’ve tried them all, and they totally work..until they don’t. I’ve done all the diets so I feel like the expert here.” The Lemonade Diet” √ “The Keto Diet” √ “The gorge then starve myself by eating only 500 calories a day also known as the HGC Diet” √ I also remember back in my early twenties having the bright idea that I would go on a nothing but yogurt everyday diet. Where I got that idea from I have no idea. Long story short, I have dieted since my 20’s and I’ve learned the hard way that these diets seem like they work and yes you can lose 20 pounds in a month but that 20 pounds is coming back and it’s bringing about 20 friends with it! There is just no easy way to lose weight, and the only thing that I know has worked for me is coming to terms with the psychology behind why we don’t eat right and then learning how to eat without extremes.
So why did I juice for 3 days straight? Well first, I did it because as I was talking to my co-workers the health benefits that they mentioned were music to my ears- clearer head, more energy, feeling refreshed, and while I’ve been working on my mental when it comes to eating healthy, I haven’t found my sweet spot when it comes to my habits. I am much better than I have been in the past, but I still crave candy, drink more alcohol than I should, and snack way too much throughout the day. The juice cleanse was a way to prove to myself that I could stick with something and possibly get a little clarity both mentally and physically while doing so. I want to share my juicing experience with you in case you’re all thinking of a way you can do the same.
Day 1
Thankfully Pressed Juicery is having a sale, because at the regular price of $35.00 a day I would feel a lot more pressure to see some immediate results which would then have me going into the juicing thing with a negative outlook from the start. I get the 3 day cleanse for a very economical $90.00.
I go to the Pressed Juicery near my house and ask for Cleanse One which is their highest calorie cleanse (1400 a day)on the menu. Cleanse Two comes in at 1100 and Cleanse Three just 700. I feel super excited to start and am even more excited when I see the ingredients on the label of each bottle – pineapple, apple, lemon, and mint? Yeah I GOT THIS!
Each juice is labeled with a number, letting me know which to take throughout the day. The idea is to drink the juices every two hours. I start with the Vanilla Almond protein drink as this is my drink 1 juice, which actually isn’t even a juice at all. It has vanilla beans, almonds, dates, and sea salt. I AM NOT A FAN and start to regret doing this cleanse thing. The protein drink is super grainy and it leaves a bad after taste. I power through though because the next green drink seems promising.
It takes me the whole morning to drink my protein drink so by lunch I’m already supposed to have had the second drink. This becomes the theme for the whole 3 days and I’m drinking juice after juice because I just can’t chug them all in enough time. It doesn’t seem to be an issue though and it actually helps because I don’t find myself wanting to snack throughout the day. I drink my Greens 2 juice and am happy I powered through because it is DELISH. It’s so refreshing, filling and just the amount of sweet I need. The only disheartening part of the green drink is the muck that settles at the bottom of the bottle. Seems the juice has separation anxiety and needs to be shaken up constantly which makes it look gross but taste great!
By lunch I’ve had 2 of my 6 juices and have arrived at a work meeting. I bring along my next two bottles of juice just in case the meeting goes long. On a side note, I hate meetings, especially working meetings so I’m already feeling like I need chips, candy or something other than juice to put in my mouth to make it bearable. Since I’m juicing, Roots 3 will have to be enough to get me through the next two hours.
It is NOT enough however. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it, it is actually better than the morning protein drink, but the gingery after taste really throws me and since I’ve only had 1 juice that I really enjoy so far, it’s just not making me feel satiated. But I down it anyway just so that I don’t feel hungry.
By the end of the day I am craving something crunchy and salty and about to go mad! When I get home I beg LaJon to put 1 vinegar Lays Potato Chip on my tongue but he refuses and urges me to stay diligent. I read somewhere that you can have any of the fruits or veggies that are in the juices so I pull out a Persian Cucumber and tomato from the fridge (wait tomato isn’t in the drink but it’s a fruit so it counts right? Actually I don’t care, it’s better than a burger which is what I really want), I cut it up and put Trader Joe’s magic seasoning Everything But the Bagel on it. It tastes like a steak dinner and for the first time I feel like I just may be able to get through the next two days.
By the way I wasn’t able to get through all of the juices and have my evening protein drink left over.
Day 2
I wake up feeling amazing!! I don’t know what it is but I feel refreshed and rejuvenated! Is it the juice cleanse? Is it the good nights sleep I just had or is it that LaJon and I had a much-needed night of cuddling and watching This is Us? Whatever it is, I’m feeling goooood! I didn’t finish all the juices from yesterday and still have the Chocolate Almond drink from last night so I trade it for the Vanilla Almond drink I hated from day 1. I give the two Vanilla’s to LaJon so they don’t go to waste(spoiler alert, he loved them :/).
Chocolate Almond is a winner! It goes down smooth and while grainy it doesn’t have that weird aftertaste of the Vanilla Almond drink. Could my morning BE any better?
I get to work and realize I haven’t had coffee for two days and I don’t crave it at all. Well until one of my managers sends a message to the team saying she’s treating everyone to Starbucks. REALLY? REALLY? I politely decline and take another swig of Chocolate Almond and try to pretend it’s a mocha frapp hold the foam.
The day goes by pretty uneventfully, I enjoy my first two drinks and by the time I get to Roots 3 it’s not as bad as yesterday. Oh I forgot to mention that after my lunch drink the BEST drink of all is next! It’s my afternoon juice and it’s really something to look forward to! Citrus 2 is my treat juice of the day. It’s the perfect and refreshing and curbs my candy eating sweet tooth. Citrus 2 you have my heart!
During lunch I head over to Trader Joe’s. I’m doing a blog post about my favorite Trader Joe’s finds after reading another bloggers post about their favorite Trader Joe’s finds. I’m going to pick up my finds and try out some of the other finds I found (see what I did there 😉 I walk into Trader Joe’s and it feels like my senses come alive. It’s as if I’m visiting Trader’s for the very first! Was the bell pepper always that bright red? Have the oranges always been that fragrant? To keep myself sane I try to think about how good all of my finds will taste once I’m off the cleanse. I start to pick up random things just because I’m hungry, does this Gluten Free Norwegian Crisp Bread look like manna from heaven or is it just me? I buy it and start planning the many fabulous avocado toast and salmon snacks I’ll create with it.
After spending close to$200 (Trader Joe’s & Pressed Juicery are totally in cahoots with one another) I head back to work to finish out the day. By 3:00 PM I have what feels like a headache coming on. Is it because I’m not eating real solids? Is it because I’ve gone without caffeine for two days? Or am I just dehydrated? They stress to drink water during the cleanse and I don’t think I’ve had a full bottle all day. Water has always been one of those bones of contention for me and I don’t get enough of it even when I’m not juicing, so I chalk it up to the latter and grab a bottle of water and some aspirin.
The headache is now just a dull annoyance at the back of my head when I go home for the day. I immediately unpack my groceries and cut into the cucumber I just bought on my Trader Joe’s haul. It is absolutely amazing! I have to stop myself from eating all the cucumber and have the rest of Greens 2 before I head off to sleep.
Day 3
It’s the last day of the cleanse and it honestly begins feeling like it will be the longest day ever! I have two drinks left over from Day 2. It’s weird because while I feel hungry, I know that I’m not because I don’t even finish my juices everyday. I think the feeling of hunger is all in my mind especially in the morning. I’m a breakfast girl, it’s my favorite meal of the day, and since I’ve been going without it for the past 3 days I’m feeling uneasy. Again I wake up with a light-headed clear feeling that’s hard to explain. It’s like I’m super present and alert. But is this in my head or is it the juice? I immediately crack open Chocolate Almond and finish it as I’m getting ready for work. By the time 11:00 AM rolls around I’m on Greens 2 again and I’m feeling just fine. I think I’ve got the hang of this juicing thing. I even have lunch with the girls on my team. I’d been avoiding having lunch with them for the past few days because I didn’t want to jump across the table and snatch food from their hands however, today I’m feeling stronger and I head down to hang out at the community lunch table. To my surprise I’m not tempted at all and just drink the rest of Greens 2 before I head out to another meeting (did I mention I hate meetings) with Roots 2 in my bag.
So maybe I should be more clear about my disdain for meetings(especially since work peeps may read this post). I don’t necessarily hate all meetings, I just find that some can be a complete waste of time especially when there is no agenda and no clear purpose. The two meetings I’ve had the last two days are not those kinds of meetings however, it’s just that I’m working on re-writing some class content and I really don’t feel very confident in that medium just yet, so these meetings are stressing me out because of my lack of confidence. Mix that with the fact that I’m a on juice fast and you have hangry, annoyed, uninspired Winter.
The meeting wasn’t bad at all but I do feel hungry afterward which actually is a bit of lightbulb moment for me. I never thought of myself as an emotional eater, but I think I just may be. After realizing I needed to really take a look at a class I thought I’d re-written well but actually had a lot more work to do on, I want nothing more than a big bowl of pasta and a big bowl of wine (yes bowl). Roots 2 I guess you’ll have to do.
I get home and immediately finish the last of the cucumber. It is divine! LaJon has been working on a mural so he gets home after I do. He is famished and finishes some of the pasta I made a couple of nights before I started the cleanse. I look at him wishing I could eat and drink anything I want like he can and not gain a pound or miss a beat. I don’t think I have hated and loved someone so much at once ever in my life. To top it off LaJon is a super snacker and he’s tearing into the Trader Joe’s haul and it’s making me more hungry. I grab a Granny Smith Apple and sprinkle sea salt over it as a light snack before bed. It is LIFE AFFIRMING and I go to sleep a happy girl!
In Conclusion
I finished the fast! I didn’t cheat (well not really anyway), and I wake up the day after super excited to eat solids again! LaJon makes me coffee and eggs with my favorite seasoning.I luxuriate over every single bite, I want to savor my food and really be present in my meal, not just scarf it down like I’m used to doing. The juicing has inspired this in me and I plan to really slow down more and try to sense all of the flavors as I eat them. The juice cleanse has also inspired me to pay more attention to how my body feels. Am I hungry because I’m hungry or do I just need to drink water? While I am craving candy could an apple be just as good? Am I eating because I’m stressed or am I eating because I am hungry?
I go into the office and announce to everyone that “I CAN EAT TODAY”. My co-workers laugh their asses off and ask me if I’d do the cleanse again. To which I say YES, however I will have my veggies and fruit with me constantly and I will probably eat a fully loaded vegetable salad at the end of each day!