I made it! Three whole days without eating solid foods ... oy, what a week! I did my normal 2-day detox (details found
here), then did one day of the raw juice cleanse by
BluePrint Cleanse. Here's the low-down ...
Sunday night, we got back from camping. Of course, spending a night out in the wild already makes you come home feeling dirty, but I was inspired to clean up inside and out!
At about 5pm, I started to prep for my 3-day cleanse. I drank a whole bottle of Citrate Magnesium, found at my local Rite Aid, to flush everything out of my system. Gross detail, but I keep it real here, folks. This process in itself probably was a good enough "cleanse", but I was on a mission ...
Monday and Tuesday, I did the 2-day detox. No food at all for 48 hours. Day one is always the hardest. Extreme hunger, headaches, hard to focus, and no patience for anyone or anything. My family is thoroughly warned before I go through these detoxes, so they are great about leaving me be. Day two is easier - the hunger isn't as bad, although my energy levels are pretty low. There were no bathroom issues, being I got rid of everything on Sunday. The
BluePrint Cleanse arrived on Tuesday morning, and I immediately stored it in the refrigerator to use on Wednesday.
The
BluePrint Cleanse website is amazing at helping you decide which cleanse is right for you. Lots of information, ingredients, and details to help you choose what the best juice program is going to help you see the best results. Plus, they are fantastic with customer support, so any questions you have, they encourage you to contact them.
I went with the Excavation Cleanse, being I am pretty skilled in the cleansing department. BluePrint offers 3 different levels of juices to choose from - a newbie, a middle of the roader, and an experienced juicer. The Excavation Cleanse uses the most of the green juice over the fruit juices, and promises to really rid the body of the stuff it's been hanging on to for years. Instructions are simple ... drink each of the 6 bottles, in their numbered order, finishing all bottles by the end of the day (2 hours before bedtime is suggested to end consumption). I started at 8am, drinking a bottle every 2 hours, having the last bottle at 6pm.
Let's start with the taste ... the green juice is made up of green veggies such as kale, celery, and romaine. Unless you like the taste of grass, I would chug these bottles as fast as you can. I am used to drinking whole leaf teas, matcha, and even wheat grass, so while this taste is never desirable, I can tolerate it. The spicy lemonade wasn't too bad, although the habanero stuck to my throat a bit. I am not a lemonade kinda gal, but it was a nice change from the 3 bottles of green juice I drank before this bottle. The cashew milk was surprisingly sweet and reminded me of a vanilla chai. It was pretty chalky in my book, but a nice finish to the cleanse.
Here's my one warning with the
BluePrint Cleanse ... stick close to a bathroom. I flushed and fasted before taking this raw juice cleanse on, and there were a couple times (starting after bottle 3) where I needed to get to the restroom asap. Nothing major ... just the leftovers that the juices are collecting on their way out, but enough to cause a little panic to make it to a toilet in time.
Overall results ... I lost 8 pounds in 3 days. My carb cravings are currently non-existent. My family ate pizza last night and the smell wasn't even appetizing! I am eating light today, as to not upset my stomach from having zero solids the last 3 days. The menu suggested for today by BluePrint is watermelon for breakfast, leafy greens for lunch, and low-sodium broth with another leafy green salad for dinner. I have already shopped and stocked my refrigerator with lots of yummy and healthy foods, including fish and veggies. My plan is to eat clean from here on out, packing my meals where healthy foods are not an option, and staying focused on what I am feeding my body. Eventually I will start hittin' the gym ... maybe take up Zumba again or find a fun cardio class that I can be excited to go to.
While eating fast food and filling up on carbs may taste amazing, the toll it takes on my mind and body are just not worth it anymore. Eating healthy takes a lot of time and preparation, but the clean feeling is always awesome and makes me feel so much better.
** Please note: I did not receive any products or discounts from BluePrint Cleanse for this blog post. I paid what you see on their website and have had no contact from this company outside of regular customer support. **
