Last week, I tried my first ever juice cleanse. Thanks to the South Block Juice Co., which offered me their 3-day cleanse to review on the blog, I couldn’t say no, especially since I’ve tried things like the salt water cleanse, and the salt water flush didn’t make me poop.
I had tried their juices before and liked them but could I really last three days with no food? It seemed really hard.
However, the cleanse was stocked with 6 juices per day so there were plenty of calories to get by on. More than anything, I knew the mental willpower would be the issue.
Here are the juices:
9:30am: Detox — kale, spinach, cucumber, apple, celery, parlsey
11:15am: Glow — pineapple, green apple, aloe, fennel, lemon, mint (My favorite!)
1:15pm: Greens — kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, mint, fennel, lemon
3:30pm: Cure — carrot, pineapple, ginger, lemon, tumeric, cayenne pepper
6pm: Renew — carrot, beet, green apple, kale, lemon, ginger
8pm: Caveman Mylk — cashew, filtered h2o, dates, vanilla, cinnamon, pink himalayan sea salt
The Experience
Day 1: I was anxious about it. I am not good at saying no to food and I wondered why I was doing this! But, I wanted to see if I could and I knew it would be good for my body so I went ahead. With the juice, I never felt really hungry but more like I wanted to eat out of habit. Like most everything else, it hardest at night. However, I felt like I had plenty of energy, no stomach issues like normal and felt pretty even keeled overall. I almost succumbed to a cookie that night but didn’t and went to bed.
Felt: Energized, clear-headed, steady, not hungry
Day 2: I was pretty hungry when I woke up but didn’t want to drink the first juice yet! I chugged water and had a little coffee (I know that’s not really allowed but I had to!) The “detox” drink is not my favorite because it really is full of veggies but I was glad to drink it and fill up. I had a lunch meeting and wasn’t sure how to handle it. I ordered a spinach salad and picked at a few pieces but mostly just so I didn’t feel awkward at the meeting. I had no problem with energy or hunger most of the day but night time was the hardest. Luckily, the “Caveman Mylk” is SO tasty and I was really looking forward to it for last. I drank a lot of water, the mylk and literally willed myself not to eat. It was that hardest moment so far.
Felt: Hungry at end of day, energized, clear headed, generally healthy with none of my normal irks, aches, etc.
Day 3: I was ready to be done at this point. It wasn’t that hard but I just wanted to eat. Sadly, I hadn’t fully committed to getting through the day. I’m so weak! Somehow, I made it through to the evening. I wanted to eat so badly! Again, I wasn’t all that hungry, just wanting food — that old desire to eat, eat, eat. I’ll be honest. I had an oatmeal cookie. But that was it! I felt bad about it but drank the last juice and went to bed.
Felt: Weak-willed, hungry at end of day, still energized and even-keeled with no stomach issues or headache
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m happy I tried the juice cleanse. Because I usually only juice at home, I rarely ever try anything outside my normal green juice that is not very tasty. It’s full of kale, spinach, broccoli, etc. but some of the juices in the cleanse were amazing. The “Glow” juice was SO good! I’m glad I got to go out of my normal juicing routine.
My stomach issues (just irritation on a regular basis) disappeared, as well as my daily tension headaches. I slept very soundly and as I mentioned above, felt very energized and clear-minded. Many people say they see a “glow” in their skin after doing a juice cleanse. I couldn’t tell on that but I certainly felt healthier!
For me, it was a good exercise in self control because I have a hard time saying no in the evenings when it comes to snacking. This proved I can do it and hopefully will help in the future.
I would recommend this juice cleanse from South Block Juice Company to anyone looking to try it out. It’s only three days and is a good way to dive into doing cleanses. You can order online, by the way!
