during the holidays, i (like most people) had quite indulgent meals. how can one say no to all the deliciousness that surrounds you? after christmas and into the new year, i did start to feel some of the effects. my face was breaking out a bit more than usual and i just felt a bit more sluggish and unhealthy. i thought this would be a good time to try a juice cleanse; just get my body back to a healthier state. if i was still working and drinking coffee everyday, it would definitely be a harder sell. however, since i stopped working, i have also given up coffee. =) i also wanted to mentally challenge myself that i could shop, cook and eat healthier: less process foods and more fruits and vegetables.
i did some research online and through yelp on reviews of different companies offering juice cleanses. i decided w/ pressed juicery for 2 main reasons: 1) their juices are tasty and primarily 2) they were offering a promotion: 3 day juice cleanse for $149 w/ free shipping (normally $199). typically most 3 day juice cleanses are between $199 - $299 and do not offer free delivery.
to prepare for the juice cleanse, they do advice that you start avoiding some foods prior to the juice cleanse. for the most part, caffeine and alcohol were easy. processed food was definitely harder due to my snacking tendencies. dairy, rice and red meat were a bit harder but it was just about moderation.
day one:
the morning started annoyingly, because on the pressed juicery website, they state that deliveries would arrive between 3-7am. well, my juices didn't arrive until 10am. in most cases, if people had to work, they would be set back one day and they suggest all juices be consumed w/in 3 days. since i'm lucky enough to be not working right now, i was okay holding out in the morning until the juices arrived. also, the juices arrived w/o any labels as to what order to drink the juices. when i called them, the lady was not very friendly and said, "you can find it on the website and the order is just suggestive. if you have a personal preference, you can consume in any order". this seems a bit of a farce as most juiceries recommend an order as how you absorb and digest the juices since it's based on what you've have or haven't consumed during the day. (okay, sorry, that was my rant on poor service; you know how i'm a stickler for good service). back to the cleansing...i drank one of the juices and was fine hiking for about an hour. i felt fine the rest of the day. because i had a late start, i was drinking the juices quite frequently and didn't feel hungry the entire day. i do have to say, drinking 6 bottles of juices w/ water in between each juice is going to clearly make you go to the bathroom a lot! that i would say is probably one of the more annoying parts. i didn't have any problems not chewing anything all day and i definitely wasn't hungry.
day two:
i wouldn't say i felt any immediate effects from juicing. i do admit, it felt nice to have a flat stomach and "feel skinnier" since you aren't eating. ran some errands and went for a walk and felt good. energy level was fine and again, didn't feel hungry. heck, i'm cooking dinner for my husband and son, so talk about temptation.
day three:
home stretch. have to admit, there were times my stomach was growling but i didn't feel hungry. i am not exactly a fan of cold drinks (hey, i drink just hot water all the time). so for me, each bottle of juice would take me between 30-60 minutes to finish. couple that w/ water in between the juices and i literally felt like i was drinking ALL the time. so i had no cravings to snack on anything. by day three, i do feel more energized in the sense of when i wake up in the morning, i'm not snoozing my alarm 3 times, like i typically do. my skin, hard to say. it could be mind of matter that it seems brighter and healthier. i do feel more balanced in energy level and less highs and lows of tiredness. in fact, yesterday i had both my son and nephew all day and felt great. usually i'm exhausted and would be napping when they are napping.
so, overall, am i glad i did this cleanse and would i recommend this to my friends / family and do it again. YES! (but not pressed juicery). for me, this wasn't about losing weight, it was about cleansing my body from all the holiday unhealthy eating and forcing myself to view food and dieting a little differently. i'm open to trying more vegetables and non processed foods; trying to cut back on carbs and sugar. i'm definitely not going to the extreme and eating only organic, raw and non processed things. i do wholeheartedly believe everything in moderation.
what also helped was doing the cleanse w/ people. i convinced some friends and family members to cleanse w/ me. it's emotionally great to have other people to root you on and vice versa. so pieces of advice for those considering cleanses: 1) avoid social gatherings where you are out and food is around! it's really mind over matter. you aren't hungry but if there is food in front of you and you can't have any of it, i'm sure you think you are starving! 2) try to cleanse w/ someone. seems trivial but the support is so great and critical. it's also interesting to see how other people's body reacts to the cleanse versus yours.
**there is a special on gilt city:sf right now from urban remedy for a 3 day juice cleanse for $149 (normally $200). they have great reviews on yelp and their website is pretty awesome and informative (ten times better than pressed juicery).**
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