5.31.2013

3-Day Juice Cleanse Diary

If you are new around here, I'm getting married in 22 days. Since January, I've cut simple carbs out of my diet - had about 15 pounds of weight loss - and since May 1st, I've been stuck. I tried giving up wine, working out everyday, saying no to my chocolate chip dessert....and nothing was moving the scale. It has been 8 weeks, and nothing has gotten me to a "new low".

Last week, after another frustrating weigh in, I decided to do a juice cleanse. I thought that it would maybe get me past this plateau that I've been stuck at for 8 weeks, and help catapult successful results over the next 3 weeks.

Juicing is really trendy here in Los Angeles so I was able to have the pick of the liter when it came to finding a juicing store that worked best for me. Pressed Juicery is the most popular - and the most celeb heavy - but it's about $50 more than all of the my other options, so I quickly put it to the bottom of the list.


I ended up choosing Juice Crafters in Brentwood. Their 3-Day Master Cleanse is $145 dollars, contains 7 juices a day, plus they include 1 free Aloe Vera water as well.
Day 1: Looking back, this was the hardest day. The first juice of the day "Greenset" is not my favorite. It's very ginger-y, and thick, and I had to take a sip of water after every gulp. The first day, it was hard to come up with my schedule of "juicing", but I found that I was drinking about every 2/2.5 hours, which did, admittedly, keep true starvation at bay. I tried to stay close to home and not do a whole heck of a lot. I didn't have enough energy to workout, and even a short walk with Roscoe made me feel a little tired.

The last drink of the day - the Almond Nut Milk, tastes very good. It's almost like a chai tea latte. I'm really sensitive to milk, and apparently almond milk is no different, but I was hungry and desperate. True to form, I was up the entire night with the worst stomach ever.

Day 2: I stepped on the scale and didn't even lose an OUNCE that first day. That really pissed me off, I'm not going to lie. I had a work breakfast that I had to attend, and while everyone was eating eggs and bacon around me, I stuck with tea. Shockingly it wasn't that hard. The juices started to become a little bit easier to get down, but I still took a nap at my lunch hour. I was really, really hungry at dinner time on this day, so I made chicken broth. Since I wasn't able to drink the Almond Nut Milk - which is the most filling juice - I figured it was ok.
Best damn chicken broth I ever did taste
Day 3: Down 1.5 pounds, but, nothing I've never seen before. I was pretty used to the juicing at this point, and I was just ready for this damn thing to be done with. I did have the chicken broth for "dinner" again.

Pros: 
  • The biggest pro for me of this whole experience was that I did it. I set a goal, and I accomplished it. It was a great practice in self-control and self-discipline, and I need a little practice in both areas. I am really proud of myself for doing this - it was an easy feat. 
  • It's a good break on your body. I wasn't drinking alcohol or coffee for 3 days, no junk food, chemicals, or processed food entered my body for 3 days. My entire digestive system got a break, hopefully cleaned itself out, and will be working extra hard these next few days 
  • It made me crave really, really healthy foods. The entire time, the only thing I wanted was a large salad and some salmon. I'm hoping the cleanse helps me make really smart decisions for the next few weeks.
  • It made me redefine hunger.
Cons:
  • You don't get to eat. 
  • It's expensive. It was $145 for three days ($48/day). Here is the way I justified it. Soul Cycle is $30/day, and I didn't do it this week, so really, it was only $85 for me ;)
  • I thought for not eating for 3 days I would lose 6 pounds...but, when I got on the scale this morning, I'm still only 1.5lbs down. Which, honestly, blows my mind.
  • It's really hard. I think it was easier to do because I work from home, and so I was able to manage my pace, stay close to the bathroom (I literally peed like 3-4 times an hour), and not have to commute.

Overall: I am really, really glad that I did it once. Like I said, I'm mainly just proud that I set out the goal to do it, and I did it. I didn't cheat, I didn't cry, I just did it.

However, I will not do it again. I do think, though, that I will do another cleanse closer to the wedding, it just won't be juices. I now know, that I could easily do a 3 day fruit and veggie cleanse, so maybe I'll give that a whirl.

In the meantime, I'm really, really looking forward to eating today.

11 comments:

  1. Good for you for creating a goal and sticking to it! I know you are 22 days out from your wedding and getting nervous about the scale, but you look BEAUTIFUL and Joel thinks so too! Try not to stress too much about it - this should be THE happiest time ever! Down 5 more lbs. or not, it's going to be the best day of your lives regardless. :) :) :)

    PS Thank you for going day-by-day with this cleanse. Always something I've wanted to try, but I'm too scared I'll give up after an hour.

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  2. Way to go girl!!! This makes me want to try it - even though I know I will be starving. I did the Dr. Oz cleanse and didn't loose any weight but my friend Abby lost 6 pounds...up for another cleanse lol? This one is smoothies so its not nearly as bad - check it out - http://table4one-lbp.blogspot.com/2013/04/dr-oz-detox-diet.html

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  3. My mind is blown you only lost 1.5 pounds!! You must already be so teeny that you didn't have much to go!. Did you at least feel better?? Proud of you for doing it!!

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  4. Girl, I don't know how you did it!! I think it would be good to "reset" your palette and appetite a little bit to help with cravings.

    Girl, you are soooo good.

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  5. I'm so proud of you for sticking with it! That's awesome and like you said, you accomplished something.

    I'm almost a week in with my gluten free and it's been really easy! Granted we're not real sticklers about it since we're not allergic (I'm not looking at salad dressing, etc) but for the most part, we're sticking to it. Maybe you ought to try this? I feel really good and even though I don't think I've lost any weight (not weighing myself until the two weeks is over), my stomach feels flatter. And I'm more hungry, so that must mean the metabolism is working. Right? ;)

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  6. I did a week long cleanse that I found on Pinterest a few weeks ago and gained weight. I like juicing, but it is expensive.

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  7. Good for you that you stuck with it. That's awesome. I don't think I could ever do it and am glad to hear your feedback. I can't believe your wedding is SO close. Very exciting! :)

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  8. I applaud you! That's some hard work. If you'd ask me, I can't see myself starving for three days with only juice to drink. But since you're aiming to lose weight in just less than three weeks' time, I get the pressure. Have you ever considered trying a green tea diet? There are natural fat burning teas that can make you lose up to 2 lbs per week if taken everyday, although of course, you have to balance this with a sensible diet and exercise.

    Weight Loss Tea Co

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  9. Very nice...Thanks for sharing this awesome content juice diet plan..you can check out out green tea diet related blog for more info.

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  10. Tea Time Tess blog shares a personal diary of a 3-day juice cleanse. If you're searching for the best detox juice, this blog post offers a relatable and informative account of the experience.

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