I had lots of questions coming in when I did my 3 day juice cleanse last weeks, so I thought I would do a bit of a review on my experiences during the cleanse and post cleanse what I now have adapted into my everyday life.

I did a low fruit 3 day juice cleanse through the company Schkinny Maninny. This involved 6 different 500ml bottles of cold press fresh juice delivered daily to my door. Now despite the name, this is not a fad diet or extreme weight loss method, rather a way to cleanse and boost your system with quality nutrition.

I had been considering undergoing a juice cleanse for a while now however I kept putting it off due to one reason or another. I knew I was going to find it extremely hard when I just love food so so much but then again I love a self challenge!

When Schkinny Maninny approached me asking if I was interested in trying one of their cleanses, I remembered a friend telling me she had done a 3 day juice cleanse with them only a few weeks before and really got a lot out of it. I checked all the usuals such a nutritional profile, brand ethics etc.. I was in and excited/ a bit scared to get started.

Day 1 my juices arrived! Different shades of greens, purples, oranges and a nut milk. I also received a small seed mix to chew on, teas and detoxifying bath salts.

What I loved, learnt & struggled with on the 3 day juice cleanse!

• One of the big things I was looking forward to before starting the 3 day juice cleanse was the concentrated quantity of nutrition I would be receiving straight to my blood stream. Each day I was receiving 6 L of cold pressed, mostly vegetable juice from a variety of nutritional sources. My favourite was a juice combining cucumber, kiwi, spinach, parsley and apple. This was my first juice of the day. Mid afternoon was always the hardest, however bringing my focus back to the next juice and what it would be doing for my body really helped me get through and actually enjoy the process to a certain degree.
• I had started to notice my body had become not happy with something in my diet recently. I therefore went into the cleanse keeping in mind that this was a really good opportunity to clear out my system and slowly reintroduce my usual foods once the juice cleanse had concluded to try and figure out what it could be. It worked! With a clean slate it became very apparent which foods my body was immediately rejecting.
• I got very hungry!! And then hangry (hungry/ angry), particularly in day 1. My days are usually long and I am moving from client to client, warming up and stretching with them. A snack between sessions was always my fuel to get through a morning and a routine my body had become rather reliant on. I found myself very tired over the 3 days however in saying that what I thought was going to be a slightly quieter week had become very full on. I allowed myself rest wherever possible and stayed kind to myself. As part of this I decided I would include extra activated nuts and seeds to snack on between juices- this really helped.
• Symptoms!! Oh my goodness. I actually didn’t expect to experience that many symptoms on the 3 day juice cleanse due to a clean diet and already limiting my chemical exposure and hardly eating refined sugars, dairy, gluten and limited coffee (3 max/ week) and alcohol. Day 1: headaches, nausea, so tired, poor concentration… Luckily I stuck with it and Days 2 & 3 were much better 🙂 Despite feeling like sh*t, I embraced the chaos that had taken over my body in realisation that it must of really needed a detox.
• While on the 3 day juice cleanse I realised that while I eat my meals mindfully, snacks were often on the go and grabbing something to eat before I headed out the door was like an automative routine. Whether I was hungry or not. I actually nearly ended up eating a few times on the cleanse purely while on autopilot… need energy. Eat. Since concluding I have tried to stay more mindful of my eating habits between meals.
• MY END RESULT: brighter skin, greater control over my appetite and a revised approach to my diet. As a result of a circulatory condition I am very prone to water retention particularly in my legs. On the 3 day juice cleanse I was able to reduce this and now have been able to identify common triggers adding to the inflammation. I did lose about 1.5kg over the 3 days however most of that was in water retention and for me fat loss was not a focus. Since the cleanse I have been making up 1 L of green juice/ smoothie each morning to sip on between meals and as a highly nutritious snack replacement. Todays green smoothie included mango, kale, cucumber, strawberries, chia seeds and coconut water.  You can find many more of My Smoothie & Juice Recipes here.

Would I do a juice cleanse again?

It is great to undergo a cleanse seasonally. Next time I think I personally would prefer a soup and juice cleanse, rather than just the juices.

Many of my clients who are needing just a mini reboot and cleanse will go back to their ‘Your Holistic Metabolism’ 14 Day Program and follow the first stage.

Post the 3 day juice cleanse I have been using many of the recipes and nutrition program structure from the book to further build onto the results I received on the cleanse.

x

Claudia