I can now say I have successfully completed a juice cleanse (pre blog post here). Admittedly it was for only 3 days, but regardless, it was a great and gentle little intro into this world which is become oh so popular.

So why juice cleanse?

No matter how ‘healthy’ you are there are always toxins sneaking into our bodies. Whether it be via pollution, foods (like the Hungry Jacks meal deal you may or may not have polished off last week..), sugar (in everything these days), high fat foods (the bad kind, not nut’s and avocado) and not consuming enough fibre. This puts undue pressure on not only our immune system but also our digestive system leading to decreased absorption of the GOOD things you actually are eating.

Did you know that many of these toxins can become deposits in our fat cells (hello muffin tops..) making it harder to lose fat?

Yes, your body is designed to keep on keeping on because it is an amazing machine, but just like machines, a little service here and there can make it function a lot smoother – and that smoother for us means clear skin, healthy and regular bowel movements, energy, clarity and the ability to work without coffee and stimulants!

So that is why I chose to try a juice cleanse! It’s a fantastic way to consume a bucket load of real, fresh easily-assimilated nutrients, vitamins and minerals while naturally working with the body to accelerate the elimination process of releasing toxins to restore optimum health – just in time for Spring!

According to Urban Remedy (who delivered my fab juices) ‘By giving your digestive system a rest, vital energy normally used to digest food is freed up, allowing that energy to become available for other uses, like cleansing and detoxifying. With all this “free time’, your body will begin to scour for dead cells, toxins, damaged tissues, fatty deposits, etc, all of which are then burned for fuel.’

Win!

So below is a short play by play on my cleanse – in a nutshell, they tasted great, yes I got a headache, yes I was grumpy by 6.30pm and yes I feel great now!!

Day 1

I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm went off this morning, maybe it was the anticipation of my 13 week challenge ahead (the juice cleanse is just the beginning), maybe it was a text message jarring me awake.. either way gold star for not going back to sleep like my usual Monday mornings! Instead, I took the pup for a walk, fixed myself a warm water with lemon drink (stimulates metabolism) before a quick yoga session in my lounge room (thanks Power Living DVD) before heading to work.

I decided to stick to Urban Remedy’s suggested times for the juices which means starting at 9am,11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and last one at 7pm.

9am  – #1 avocado, banana, coconut, vanilla and chia -yum!

11am: Ok so I am a little shocked by my juices. How can they be good for me when they taste like this?! They are all delicious! #2 lemon, cayenne pepper, stevia and water

1pm: Pleasantly surprised to find a soup – again, delish! # lentils, tomato, carrot, celery, garlic, veggie stock, olive oil, rosemary, thyme.

Its 3pm and I am on my #4 juice for the day (this one is a green little number full of apple, celery, silver beat, lemon and parsley) and I can honestly say I was expecting dirt tasting liquid  (sorry for the low vote of confidence Urban Remedy but you have surprised me)!

Also surprising is the fact I am not rocking myself in the corner starving and I only have an ever so slight headache (I knew Ben & Jerrys was a bad idea last night as my last horary for the next 13 weeks…) so far so good!

It’s now 5pm and I must say I am feeling a little ill.. but it’s time for juice 5 and thank god the juice turns out to be another soup which is amazing and instantly settles my stomach! #5 asparagus, leek, broccoli, green peas, veggie stock, olive oil, raw cashews, cumin.

7pm – dinner is light but somehow filling… #6 coconut milk and water, raw cashews, raw cacao, stevia and water.

9.30pm I am more than ready for bed – and surprising, I go to bed satisfied still.

Day 2

6am start to teach strength class this morning, and to keep my hunger at bay, I fill up my 1.5L water bottle with filtered water and my good ol’ favourite Vital Greens – perrrrfect!

3pm and my energy is flagging big time with a wee headache to accompany this. Fun fun. It’s the first time during a ‘cleanse’ that I have had any negative impacts, which I guess is a good thing (means it’s working and I need it, but also bad because I shouldn’t have consumed Ben & Jerry’s pre detox!!) Looking forward to cracking my 3pm scheduled green juice!

Early to bed again and must say I was a little grumpy come 6.30pm – lucky I had no clients!!

Day 3

Feeling good!! It’s only 7.41am and I just returned from Bondi to Bronte run (amazing!!) and am just going to take the pup for quick walk.  I hope my energy levels stay with me tonight as I have a movie premier at 6.30pm, which is the exact time I got really grumpy and tired last night.. stay tuned.

3pm. Be gone headache!!

9pm. So I didn’t stab the boyfriend for eating during the movie because I made it and I made it easily!

DONE!

Feeling great today my only regret is that I didn’t do the 5 day cleanse, and it just hit me today that it has been 5 days without coffee and I am feeling good! I have got out of bed A LOT easier the last two days and my digestion system feels to be functioning better as well.

I may have to make this a regular thing. Who knew a juice cleanse would be this easy and fabulous?!

* Juice and soup flavours change per season.