December 7, 2016
Benefits of a Juice Cleanse ~ My 3 Day Journey
I have always wanted to do a juice cleanse but honestly never thought I would be able to do one.
I’m a big foodie and the thought of drinking nothing but juice for three days always 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 as I was used to eating healthy and consuming minimal caffeine and I 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 and 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 gives you 6 fresh pressed juices a day.
Here are some of the benefits they say a juice cleanse can provide:
- Designed to give your body 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, your body can focus on healing and absorbing all the healthy nutrients.
- Can boost the immune system
- Helps control appetite and cravings by eliminating processed food.
- Reduces inflammation
- Better sense of well-being
- 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 a juice or a large glass of water and as you consume so much liquid quite regularly, I didn’t feel hungry and had plenty of energy! The first half of day 1 seemed easy, where things got hard 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. 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 was so 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 as I enjoyed the taste of them and was feeling light and almost airy. I was actually surprised at how much energy I had and how much I enjoyed consuming just juice.
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 also felt really good and loved all the juices. It is amazing how much more you taste things when you eliminate everything else. The juices seemed so much 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 made 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 treat.
All in all I am very happy with how the cleanse went. The hardest part was during dinner times when I was cooking and watching my family eat. Other than that I found the cleanse fairly easy. Yes I had moments of weakness but all in all the juices surprisingly satisfied me. I felt content and full of energy.
While I have no way of knowing if I improved my digestion, reduced inflammation or if I boosted my immune system 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. My body felt energized and I felt lighter on my feet.
I think the 3 day cleanse is just right. They say there is no harm in doing one for 3 days and I felt like it was the perfect amount of time to take a break from processing foods and nourishing my body!
xo Chelsea
