I took the plunge. I decided to try a juice cleanse. A friend put the bug in my ear and the more I looked at the website, the more curious I was to try it. I considered just buying a juicer and trying a DIY cleanse, but I just didn’t have it in me. I didn’t want to buy a juicer (which I’m finding can be quite expensive) only to find out juicing just wasn’t for me.
So let me tell you what attracted me to Blue Print Cleanse. First, the bottles look cool. 🙂 Okay, I’m kidding, I’m not that much of a sucker (sort of). The number one draw to this cleanse was the simplicity. The bottles are numbered 1 through 6 and you just drink them in order throughout the day. Can’t get any simpler than that and, trust me, I need some simplicity in my life.
What you can’t see in this picture is there’s a 12-pack of beer on the top shelf of the fridge….yeah, not part of the cleanse.
So anyway, if you read the benefits of the cleanse and the FAQ, they really do a good job at convincing you how beneficial it is for your body. Straight from their website:
Possible Benefits:
* Boosts immune system
* Alleviates allergies
* Improves thyroid function
* Provides rest for the digestive organs
* Encourages physical rejuvenation
* Promotes normalized weight
* Promotes normalized blood pressure
* Reverses signs of aging* Elevates mood and sex drive
* Alleviates symptoms of PMS
* Promotes clear skin
* Increases energy
* Increases fertility
* Combats viruses
* Suppresses Fibromyalgia symptoms
* Saves money you would have otherwise spent on “that new antibiotic.”
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? I was easily convinced.
How long to cleanse?
I chose the 3-day cleanse instead of a 5-day cleanse for a couple reasons. First and foremost, cost. I had to give my arm and leg for this cleanse (shipping is high too because they use FedEx overnight so you receive the juice fresh). Seriously though, I bought it for myself as a “treatâ€â€¦treating my body and health with a little more care than usual. Second reason I chose 3 over 5 days is I have no faith in myself! I just didn’t think I’d be able to last 5 days on a liquid diet. I mean, let’s face it…you can call it cleansing, juicing, whatever, but it’s essentially a liquid diet. And I figured I’d rather be starving for 3 days instead of 5. I also opted for the beginner level cleanse because well, I’m a beginner and didn’t want to get too ahead of myself.
Prepare, prepare prepare
Blue Print Cleanse does a good job at sending you a couple emails before you begin to help you prepare. Since it is a bit of a shock to your body, you want to prepare as much as possible. I started the cleanse on a Tuesday but really watched what I ate starting Saturday before. I cut out my coffee (you can cry for me, because I did) and increased how much raw fruit and veggies I was eating. By Tuesday I was eating strictly salads and fruit. Another thing I started doing way before the cleanse, but is also recommended during the cleanse, is to start my day off with a warm mug of lemon water. I’ve come across the benefits of lemon water several times in my readings. It’s become a part of my morning ritual now…right before I make myself a cup of coffee (hey, I’m only human).
The nitty gritty
So let’s get down to the nitty gritty. What do these juices taste like? Well, they’re no mint chocolate chip milkshake, that’s for sure. I had to keep reminding myself that they were serving me a purpose and that purpose was not to satisfy my taste buds.
Juice #1 (and #3) of the day is a green juice:
See ingredient #2? Celery? Yup, that’s what it tastes like. I like celery smothered with some peanut butter or dipped in some sort of ranch dressing or hummus, but in juice form? Not so much. But I could get it down no problem. This one was “breakfastâ€.
Juice #2
This was my second favorite one because it tasted a lot like a mojito. Very easy to get down and very refreshing. I drank this as an early lunch. At this point I was feeling very confident and happy.
Juice #3 is another green juice and was an early afternoon snack.
Juice #4
By the time you get to #4, you realize you aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. Holy frijoles…this was my LEAST favorite. They’re not kidding about the “spicy†part. My mouth was on fire. So spice mixed with pure lemon juice, not a good combo for me. This was the only juice I had to cheat a bit and add a little more agave in order to get it down. Lucky for me agave was on a “cheat sheet†that came with my order. This was a late afternoon/early dinner drink.
Juice #5
Red beet juice, yum….not. Two root vegetables in juice form taste and smell like….dirt. It was surely better than #4, but I wasn’t too thrilled at this point in my day 1 cleanse. I was using the bathroom A LOT (I had to get up in the middle of my pedicure to pee, for goodness sakes!), I was trying to get use to this hungry feeling that I never let myself get, all the acids from the fruits were hurting my tongue, and I was just overall not sure if I could do another 2 days.
Then Juice #6 came along (insert angels singing here):
Now this one was my absolute favorite. It came about as close to that milkshake flavor as I could have hoped. This one was clearly the dessert and you better believe I savored it. It was sweet and milky and oh so good. It gave me that extra hope I needed to power through the next couple days.
Recap of Day 1 Cleanse
Day 1 was definitely a day of adjustment. My body is getting use to all the liquid going through it which meant I hit the bathroom a lot. I had a headache pretty much all day probably mainly from caffeine withdrawal but also from hunger. But despite being hungry, I never felt famished to the point of not being able to function, which was a nice surprise. And although my goal was not to lose weight, I did shed about 2 lbs. on day 1.
Stay tuned for my day 2 and day 3 update.