One Day Juice Cleanse

Have you ever had a stretch of days where your tummy just felt...for lack of a better description, blah? Maybe you had too much to eat over a holiday or it was nearing that time of the month. You wake up puffy and your rings don't budge, and your favorite jeans are tight in the belly. No matter if you try to eat healthy and get enough water, sometimes it just isn't good enough, right??

You just need a quick fix. But how?

I was in this predicament a week ago. I had read a bit about juicing and my mother had an old juicer for me to borrow. Why not? I figured I'd try it for one day. I can do anything for one day!

The Juiceman Jr.

After looking at some plans on Pinterest, I found this one. It had a plan for a one day cleanse although most of the produce was to be bought for two people. I got it all (thinking that I would do it for a second day, if I liked it). The recipes and grocery list can be found on the page that I linked to. I couldn't have been easier!

I woke up on my "juice day" desperate for some black coffee. I had my minimal two cups. I know they say to avoid caffeine, however coffee has been proven to be a powerful antioxidant itself! They also say to avoid strenuous activity. I ran 4 miles after my coffee. *shrugs*

About an hour later, I decided it was time to get my first drink ready. I gathered my veggies and used Fit produce wash to clean them. I precut them into chunks that would fit into the juicer. It was bright green and smelled of kale. I took a sip. Blech. Not good. I drank it up, although it never got any better. At this point, I was looking forward to my second drink.

About an hour later I realized I was a bit hungry. I had been up for four hours and this was the first hunger pang I have had. Not too shabby, I thought! I figured I would start prepping my next drink in about a half an hour so I would at least be keeping myself busy.

Time for drink two! It was about 11:00 am when I had my second drink. Better than the first drink, but still kid of yucky. I'm looking forward to the last drink of the day. Already. And the next drink is another "green" like the first one. About a half an hour after my second drink I had some sharp stomach pains, but they passed quickly. Not sure what it was...the cause never presented itself.

After six waking hours, I am feeling good and am not hungry a bit. Two drinks down...four to go! I prep and drink my third drink. It tastes the same as the first with a slight heat from the ginger. Pretty gross, but I know this is my last green green one of the day, so I feel a relief. It is now 1:30 pm and I feel great!

The fourth drink is called "The Roots" and my assumption is that it will be a sweeter drink since it has beets, carrots and apple in it. Cutting them down was a messy task. Raw beets are tough to cut and stain everything, so be forewarned! Juicing the roots down was a little tough on my borrowed 20 year old machine. Next time, I will cut them into smaller pieces. Oh yeah...and about my assumption? No, it wasn't that sweet and it wasn't that good. Tolerable though, and one drink closer to the milky drink that I am now craving. I have a feeling the next drink will be pretty decent since it is pineapple. It's is now 3:30 pm and still no hunger...

 

Ding ding ding...round 5! By this point I have gotten a bit better at prepping my veggies. I get the drink prepared in no time and to be honest...this one is pretty good! It is light and refreshing. The best part is that I am feeling great and almost done!

The sixth drink is by far the best. No prep to speak of and not a lot of clean up. I used a aerator to get the spices churned up into the almond milk. I relaxed on the couch and savored this one with an episode of Mad Men. Ahhh.....I felt pretty darn good about the whole thing...

Day one was a success. My body was flushing sodium and toxins out and I had to pee a TON...all day...and all night...and the next morning. I honestly don't remember having to use the bathroom that much even when I was pregnant! Oh and speaking of bathroom stuff. I really don't like to discuss bathroom habits, however I would like to post a link to something that you may want to be aware of before you juice beets. I don't want anyone to have the scare that I did. Beet tip HERE.

Fridge Stocked with produce!

I chose not to continue with day two. It took a ton of time to prep the veggies and clean the machine after each juice. Think about it this way; I drank a juice every two hours. It took about 20-30 minutes to clean and prep the produce and about 15-20 minutes afterwards for cleanup. I spent the entire day in the kitchen and not with my kids. I felt great and I had gotten what I wanted out of the one day experience. I used up the veggies in other recipes and continued to eat healthy!

Final thought: Would I do it again? Yes. Would I do a three day cleanse? Ehh...maybe?

Have you done a cleanse? If you have please share your thoughts in a comment!