That time I did a juice cleanse

I have always believed that food is one of life’s simplest and most enjoyable pleasures. I am a big fan of trying new flavours and cuisines and have never shied away from sugary treats.

Growing up, sweet things were my weakness. I would devour a whole packet of chocolate biscuits whilst studying, and when I was at uni, I enjoyed a medium McFeast meal with a vanilla coke three or so times a week. When I started working, my desk drawer housed a generous selection of  chocolates and confectionery to get me through the day. How I have never had a weight problem, I will never know.

In more recent times, I still love food (and probably fill up my plate more than I should) but I am becoming more aware of what’s good for me and what’s not. After having kids, my body shape has changed and sweet snacks didn’t help with the weight I gained from pregnancy. I realise I will never have the body I had when I was 19 but I don’t want that anyway. What I do want is to look and feel healthy and have the energy to get through my busy days. I can tell you that consuming too much sugar every day did not make me look or feel good at all.

Earlier this year, I started writing regularly with a new friend I met at a writing workshop. Sally is vegan and we would work at a cafe which served vegan and raw foods including green juices and smoothies. I respect Sally’s food choices and have been lucky enough to try some amazing meals she has made which has opened my eyes to some new healthy  food options. Sally has never lectured me on what I should or shouldn’t eat or pushed her food preferences onto me and I really like her for that.

When I met Sally, I was quite new to this kind of food and had never had a green smoothie before. At our first writing session, Sally ordered a green smoothie and when I went up to the counter to order myself something, I saw that it was mostly fruit so I thought I would give it a try. The smoothie was surprisingly yum and I was hooked. From that day on, I started making my own green smoothies at home in my Thermomix.

One major issue of eating so much processed sugar is that you crave it constantly and I knew I needed to do something about this once and for all. I had read a lot about juice cleanses but never thought I would have the determination or the will power to actually go through with it. About a month ago, I decided I’d had enough of being like this and it was time to have a go at a juice cleanse. I had been visiting the Pure Glow Cleanse website for months and later that day, without hesitation, booked myself in for a Radiance Reset 3-day cleanse.

The following Monday night, the 18 juices (6 per day) were delivered to me and I felt quite excited and proud that I was actually doing this. Me!  The meat-eating, sugar-loving me who had only tried my first green smoothie earlier this year.

So here’s how the 3-days went.

Day 1

I woke and waited til my usual breakfast time to have my first juice – the Sunrise Elixir which was made up of water, lemon, cucumber and aloe vera. Needless to say I was STARVING! I started panicking and whinged and complained to everyone I spoke to that morning that I had made a dreadful mistake and couldn’t go on!

The next juice was a bit more filling but my head started to feel really fuzzy and this continued throughout the day. I also found myself going to the toilet every half an hour or so which was a bit of a pain because I was out for much of the day.

I again felt like I couldn’t go on when I started drinking the last juice of the day – the Chai Vanilla Dream. Apparently, this one gets rave reviews but it definitely wasn’t my favourite and I think that’s because I am not a fan of nut milk.

I cooked spaghetti bolognaise for my family that night and made extra so they could have leftovers the following night. Cooking that meal was hard but I managed to find the will-power and focused on my juices.

At the end of day 1, I was so tired and went to bed early.

Day 2

I enjoyed the Sunrise Elixir a lot more on the second day. In fact, all the juices were rather pleasant and I found day 2 to be much easier. Even the Chai Vanilla Dream was easier to get through.

The juices and smoothies were not sweet which was a massive change to what I am used to but strangely, this didn’t bother me and I really enjoyed them. My favourite juice was the Good Karma which was probably the most sweet of all as it was made with carrot, grapefruit, green apple, ginger, turmeric and lemon.

The fuzzy feeling I had experienced on day 1 had gone but I did still feel a little hungry at times. I was also a bit cranky and short-tempered, especially towards the end of the day. I think my husband was happy when I went to bed early again that night.

Day 3

On the third day, my parents cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast for themselves and my daughter Emma while I drank my Glowing Greens juice. The smell of the delicious bacon did not bother me because by this time, I was totally enjoying my juice cleanse experience. It did feel a bit weird not to chew anything for 3 days but I could feel my body was loving this.

I felt so proud of myself when I finished my last juice. I went to bed early again that night feeling so pleased that I had made it.

Results

I didn’t lose much weight after my cleanse but that wasn’t my intention. My stomach, however, was flatter and my skin was clear and I felt so good all over. I slept really well over those three days and my insides felt so clean.

For the next week or so, I found it really easy to make good food choices and to watch my portion sizes. I missed and craved the Pure Glow Cleanse juices for many days after.

It’s been 3 weeks since I finished my 3-day juice cleanse and since then, I have had a few days of not eating that well but I can truly say my sugar cravings have subsided significantly and I have further improved my eating habits.

I will definitely do another juice cleanse with Pure Glow Cleanse in the new year when my girls go back to school. Next time, I will make sure I don’t have to cook for my family and I will prepare myself better by cutting out sugar completely for at least a few days beforehand and increase my water intake.

There are so many people out there who have made significant lifestyle choices when it comes to healthy eating and they are very passionate about their choices. This is NOT ME. I will never become vegan or eat only raw food. I will still eat meat, cupcakes, chocolate, cheezels and all those other yummy bad things I have always enjoyed. Just not everyday.

What I am striving to become is a person of moderation and I am achieving this by introducing more healthy food options into my diet and reducing the quantity of unhealthy treats I consume. Since my juice cleanse, I have been going a day or two without eating chocolate each week and when I do eat it, I only have a small portion and that feels like enough.

If, like me, you are wanting to kick-start better eating habits, I highly recommend you give a juice cleanse a try. If 3 days sounds too much, Pure Glow Cleanse also have a 1 day cleanse to ease yourself into it. They deliver their juices across the Perth metro area so it’s so simple to get started. 

I am sure you won’t regret it!