Tuesday, January 22, 2013

3-Day Juice Cleanse: The Recap


If you follow me on Instagram and/or Twitter, you're probably aware that I recently did a three day juice cleanse. I've had a lot of questions so I thought I would share a bit about my experience.


SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recap


The Inspiration

My desire to do this juice cleanse started after watching the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." After hearing all the ailments this could help with, I grew intrigued. I constantly find myself struggling with little to no energy (most likely due to my anemia) and addicted to caffeine to get me through the day. I hate that I'm dependent on caffeine to function and have been seeking a better alternative. I had heard in the past that chlorophyll can help with anemia symptoms so I figured upping my dosage of leafy greens couldn't hurt.


The Plan

Because the "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" inspired this cleanse, I chose to follow the three day plan from the website associated with the documentary I watched, rebootwithjoe.com. It called for 5 different juices a day with lots of water in between and herbal tea before bed.


The Juicer



SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Using My Breville Juice Fountain Plus


After asking around for juicer recommendations, I was pretty sold on the Maxi-Matic EJX-9700 that Kate recommended. But my husband is the king of scouring consumer reports and wanted to do more research before purchasing. We consulted the juicer buying guide on Joe's website and picked a few that seemed to meet our needs. Then he did some deep digging on reviews for each. When all was said and done, he ended up buying me the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus. We love it's look, how easy it is to clean, and how well it juices.


Day 1

I started on a Friday because I knew the first day would be the day I had the most will power and that being at work would provide the most temptations. The morning juices were yummy and super easy to drink. The lunch and afternoon snack recipes seemed to yield a lot more juice than was necessary. They also contained a lot of produce that I had never juiced before and didn't really have an acquired taste for (onions, bell peppers, and clementines) so they were sort of difficult to make myself finish. The Gazpacho Juice was definitely not to my liking and the Citrus Inspired Green Juice was really, really tart--major pucker power!



SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recap


SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recap


As suspected, work did provide some temptations, but I'm lucky to have very supportive colleagues  Although I did well during the day (can't tell you how hard it was to turn down the catered lunch!), the afternoon called for a bit of celebration in the office. I can't lie, I totally caved and had a macron (They were Chantal Guillion, what else was I gonna do!?). But by evening I was back on track with the dinnertime Sunset Blend Juice; who knew you could juice a sweet potato?!


Day 2



SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market


Saturday morning started with the delicious Purple Power Juice (which even my hubby loved) and an early trip to the farmer's market for some fresh produce. We always have a good time at the farmer's market and loading up on goods for the rest of my cleanse was no exception.


SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market

SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - Sunnyvale Farmer's Market
Outfit details: Maroon floppy brimmed hat - Forever 21 | Sunglasses - H&M | Nude silk blouse - Equipment | Gold collar necklace - H&M | Black drape collar jacket - H&M | Gold flecked coral sweater - H&M | Brown vintage shoulder bag - Coach | Black patent "Feel Beautiful" tote - c/o WHBM | Black skinny jeans - Rich & Skinny | Black chelsea boots - F21 



After thoroughly enjoying the Green Lemonade, I was suffering from caffeine withdrawal headaches so I took some ibuprofen and laid down for a nap. After waking up, I was a little behind my juicing schedule. By 6pm, I had just finished my V28 juice and was completely stuffed. Between that and my dislike of the black licorice-smelling fennel, I decided to skip the Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber Juice and finished off the second day of my cleanse with the Bountiful Brassica Juice.


SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recap



Day 3

After the Apple-Carrot-Beet Juice and Great Greens Juice, I was starting to feel juice-fatigue and ready to chew my meals again, but I was still determined to finish the cleanse. While I was chugging the Tabbouleh Juice (which tasted distinctly Tabbouleh-like) my fella was making his own guacamole. In my weekend state, I caved to a few tastes of green goodness. Next up was the Bruschetta Juice (which was super-tasty and made me want some bread to eat with it) and my final juice of the cleanse was my juicing go-to the Green Juice! On day three, I found myself full of energy and ready to get things done--hooray--which is just what I was looking for!


SF Bay Area Fashion and Lifestyle Blog - 3-Day Juice Cleanse Recap


The Takeaway

The overall experience was wholly positive. I remember feeling exceptionally full and I'm sure it's no surprise that I made many trips to the ladies room! I'm glad I chose the three-day cleanse and not something longer. I think I got exactly what I was hoping for out of it; I weaned myself off coffee in a fairly painless way and found an alternative way to get energy. I also feel all around good, mind and body!

That being said, I think I'd recommend a juice cleanse to anyone who is quitting caffeine. As for myself, I'll definitely do another 3 day juice cleanse in the future, but next time I'll be picking my own juices. For now, I'm back to my morning dose of Green Juice to jumpstart my day!





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9 comments:

KatWalkSF said...

Congrats on completing the three day cleanse girl! I have never even made it close to that far and I have tried several times!

carlina said...

How wonderful, Adiel! I have been a fan of veggie/ fruit smoothies for as long as my bf has forced me to drink them. ;) They're basically a blend of fruits and vegetables- nothing gets filtered and more nutrients are ingested. Good luck with this-it's so good for you!

xo Carlina

AllergicToVanilla.com

kate franco said...

major pucker power - you are too cute. love that you did this!

Natalie said...

So glad you posted this! My parents got my husband and I a juicer for Christmas and we love it. We haven't done any cleanses, but I'm definitely interested in it. I've seen the documentary, but didn't realize there were recipes to go along with it. Such a great resource! Thank you for sharing!


www.natalie-dressed.com

Rebecca Gunthrie said...

Way to go Adiel! I've been thinking about a juice cleanse for a while (I have no energy and im hopelessly addicted to sweets), but I just don't know if I have the will power. I do love a green smoothie in the morning though. What's your recipe?

Adiel said...

No prob! Hope my experience helps!

Adiel said...

I love eating fruits and vegetables, but this whole drinking them thing is brand new to me and it's taking more time to get used to it than I thought it would. The 3-day cleanse really helped though! Perhaps I'll try the smoothie thing some time.

Adiel said...

Ha! You tasted it! Don't you agree that's a pretty spot-on description? ;)

Nina Rachel said...

mhhhhhh the juice loookss sooo yummy :-)
It would mean a lot if you would visit our blog! http://fromarmanitozurich.blogspot.ch

lots and lots of love from the cold switzerland :-) xx