Juice cleanse: Does it work?
So, I have undertaken a three-day juice cleanse and this is my diary.
Before I begin, there are some things you should know about the Juice Cleanse by Jus By Julie….
A juice cleanse is essentially a short-term detox diet designed to rid the body of impurities through a series of specially formulated drinks filled with vitamin-rich fresh fruits and vegetables. Most people who juice experience a completely renewed sense of energy and have an unprecedented desire to continue eating healthy and taking care of their bodies after the cleanse has finished.
This is what I was hoping for. The juice cleanse is not a weight loss programme, so I was not expecting to lose any weight – I just wanted to feel refreshed and renewed!
I chose Jus by Julie juices because they are freshly made through a unique blending process that is designed to maintain the fiber of all the ingredients, as this will help the body feel full and nourished all day long.
We’ve assigned each drink in your cleanse package with a number (one through six) highlighted on the label to let you know the order to drink your juices in. Most people drink their juices two to three hours apart, but you should pace yourself and drink up when your body tells you that it is hungry.
When you purchase the cleanse, this is what the day looks like:
ONE- Beginning with Morning Glory. Packed with nutrient rich greens like: kale, romaine, spinach and naturally sweetened with vitamin-rich apples, strawberries and bananas to kick off your morning right.
TWO- The Spicy Lemonade is your new brunch. Created from lemons, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, it is similar to what is known as the classic master cleanse detox and we’ve included it here for you to pump up your vitamin C and metabolism.
THREE- Next up is Sweet Spin: spinach, kale, pineapple, banana and mango. Your going to like this one so much, we’re going to give it to you once more before bed.
FOUR- More than halfway through a day in the life of cleansing, you can expect to be treated with something sweet to keep you on your game and going. You will get get an assortment of Chia Berry, Acai Blend and Sweet Escape.
FIVE- For dinner we want to give you something hearty. One of our thick specialty drinks that will fill you up is in order, packed with a variety of nutrients you’re going to love it. You will get an assortment of Not So Chunky, Island Coconut and Almond Breeze.
SIX- Enjoy another Sweet Spin before you head off into slumberland so that you can really wake up feeling rejuvenated!
So, here’s how it went for me:
Day 1
Excited to be cleansing. Will I crave and think about food the whole time…? This thought enters my head a lot. But I eat a lot of kale and spinach, so the thought of the Morning Glory is no issue, and I love it.
I exercise a lot (roughly 3-4 hours a day – it is my job!), so I am worried that I am overdoing it on the calories out….I’m not getting many calories in to fuel my workouts with the juice cleanse. But I keep on drinking before and after workouts and I seem okay. Apart from the afternoon….you know, that bit where the slump comes and I reach for my Acai Blend, but it doesn’t hit the sport, even though it is super nice. I check the manual – egg whites! I can eat egg whites, hoorah! I eat a lot of egg whites and feel better.
I am very much looking forward to the sweetness of Not So Chunky, and it does not disappoint. I could get used to this.
I am allowed some green veges in addition, and since I have expended about 1000 calories working out and teaching today, i shovel down some sprouts in the evening. My husband will be glad he is away…
Day 2
I think about the cleanse today, and take the bottles with me. I take three classes almost back to back on a Tuesday and this is a tough day for me as I am generally starving afterwards. I sit in the car and have Sweet Spin and Chia Berry one after the other post-class. I am hungry.
When I get home I feel a little faint and at this point would usually reach for the dark chocolate. I am determined, however, not to. My son’s tea of baked beans and bacon and toast looks so appetising and I know I could gobble it up in one, but I resist. At a friend’s house I have hot water and lemon. MUST CLEANSE, I repeat to myself. I eat a lot of kale when I get home. Kale is hard going when that is all you can have!
I sleep well that evening, but my tummy is rumbling.
Day 3
I feel good and, whilst I never wake up feeling refreshed, I think the cleanse is kicking in. I know the pattern in which I must take the juices and I have a mind-over-stomach mind set today, even though I am going shopping for food for tomorrow when I start eating normally again.
The cleanse is working, and I feel like it’s flushing out the bad stuff. It’s not a weight loss programme, as I said, so I doubt very much anything will shift in the abdominal area, since there is still a fair amount of sugar in the cleanses.
As I complete Day 3 I consider if I could or would do this again. Yes, I would and the juices by Jus by Julie are really very tasty. Perhaps next time I will balance my body and not exercise so much. Then it will be like a cleanse and rejuvenation programme.
Have a happy, healthy week folks!
Claire Bolden McGill is a British expat who lived in Maryland for three years and moved back to the UK in August 2015. Claire wrote about her life as a British expat on the East Coast and now works in travel and hospitality PR in the UK. She still finds time to blog about her repatriation and the reverse culture shock that ensued – and she still hasn’t finished that novel, but she’s working on it. You can contact Claire via twitter on @clairebmcgill or via her blog From America to England.
this is really amazing and informative article. thanks for sharing this article.
Sounds like a good cleanse especially if they are blended “juices” ( what I would call smoothies) and not extracted juices. Best to do a cleanse when you can take time to relax and rest.