I really like eating. Alright, alright; I downright adore eating. I live to eat and will never, ever, in my life, claim the opposite. A passion, an obsession, and even a hobby of sorts, my admiration for tasty consumables partly defines me. But....I'm no food junkie. Growing up, my mom never filled our fridge and pantry with those horrid processed snacks and baked goods. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, the "worst for you" foods she ever allowed in our home was chips and salsa. We also ate our fair share of rice, potatoes, and pasta. You see, discriminating grains and starches is a rather recent (and quite depressing) act in my life.
My mom also taught us how to eat our veggies. I don't know exactly how she did it but I can't recall a time that I didn't enjoy typical kid scorned veggies like broccoli, spinach, and asparagus. Today, I still live by the standards my amazing mother instilled. While most of my blog posts don't promote the healthiest of fare, I can assure you, I eat like Peter Rabbit 5-6 days a week. And while I (kind of) hate to toot my own horn, I eat healthier than the vast majority of people I know. Eating organic, nixing the bad kind of carbs (85% of the time) and loading up on greens is how this crazed foodie stays in shape.
But when Suja juice offered me their 100% certified organic and vegan 3-day cleanse, I cringed. Sure, I was grateful for the generous offer, but the idea of not eating a single morsel for three days straight was a bit terrifying...even with my nutritious ways, I've yet to try a cleanse. Hearing horror stories about the R-rated crude comedy film side effects, I shivered at the thought of putting my body through such a thing. And yet, with all of the negativity swirling around my food-obsessed brain, I found a way to force myself to think about the amazing things the Suja cleanse could do for my body. And since juice has always been a guilty pleasure when I'm not feeling well, I figured it couldn't be that bad. I was right. It wasn't bad at all.
So here's the cleanse in a nutshell. You drink 6 juices a day (in a specific order) for three days. All of the juices are organic, Non-GMO certified, vegan, soy-free, and gluten-free. They're cold-pressed to avoid nutrient damage from oxygen and heat and also go through high pressure processing (HPP) which preserves shelf life and freshness. Although Suja discourages cleanse users against it, you can eat raw fruits and veggies, broth, or a plain baked sweet potato - if absolutely necessary. Let me preface my cleanse experience by saying that two of my friends "cheated" with the allowed foods. There was no doubt that I would too. One of those friends also claimed that things weren't so "pretty" the first day and half. Needless to say, her experience made me very nervous. But...I love a good double dare or risk, if you will, so I daringly chose to start my cleanse during the work week. I was just praying my stomach wouldn't become my own worst enemy.
Day 1
I woke up and as suggested, drank a warm glass of water with lemon and some apple cider vinegar. Forcing it down, I was actually feeling the slightest bit excited for the first juice. Since I knew I wouldn't be working out on days 2 and 3, I ran two miles and returned home and was greeted with my first juice of the day. Glow is a green concoction of apples, cucumbers, spinach, collards, celery, mint, apple, lemon, and kale. To be completely honest, this would become my least favorite juice of the entire cleanse. I don't know what it was, but I just wasn't down with Glow.
Next was Fuel, a bright orange mixture made with ingredients like carrots, oranges, apples, pineapple, lemon, and turmeric. Wow. Fuel was so satisfying with its natural sweet goodness. I love, love, love carrots....and oranges...so I'm not surprised at how great this one tasted. 2 down and 4 to go. I didn't drink my regular morning coffee and yet, I had energy, was free of headache, and mentally "there" at work. Oh, and my stomach was behaving completely normally too. I'll just leave it at that.
It was only about 2 hours later when I felt slightly hungry again. Definitely not ravenous, I still decided to go on ahead and drink my "lunch." Purify is a deep red blend of beets, carrots, apples, cucumbers, celery, lemon and more. Not much of a beet fan, I was sure I'd hate it. But, I loved this one. And while I wasn't "full" by standard definition, I was satisfied.
Before I left work for the day, I drank the "mid afternoon" juice. Figi, another bottle of green stuff, is made with Fuji apples, cucumber, celery, kale, cucumber, collards, lemon, and ginger. I'm not gonna lie...I would drink this stuff on the regular if the bottles weren't almost $10 a pop. So full of flavor, you'd never know that you were taking in a vast amont of veggies.
When I was home, I began fearing the idea of watching Chris eat his real-life dinner. But then I remembered it would simply consist of grilled chicken and veggies that he had made for the week since his lady wouldn't be doing any cooking. Grilled chicken and veggies wouldn't tempt this gal. When I opened the bottle of Green Supreme, I was actually in a legitimate state of enjoyment. This stuff tasted like sour green apple candies I ate as a kid (when my mom wasn't looking). Yet, the juice was really filled with goods like apples, kale, and lemons. So basic in its ingredients, I couldn't believe how delicious it was.
Alas, it was time for dessert. I had been told by one of my friends that this "juice" was her cleansing savior. A creamy-looking liquid, Vanilla Cloud is made from almonds, coconut, cinnamon, honey, and nutmeg. While I see the appeal, I still enjoyed some of the other fruit and veggie concoctions much more. That night, I went to bed not even remotely hungry. I was content in every way.
Day 2
I woke up feeling like my...ahem, normal self. My stomach hadn't bursted in two and my brain was functioning as usual. Shocking, I know. I went through the same juice routine as Day 1. I was certain that Day 2 would bring on some of those "not so pretty" side effects. But...my body continued to respond perfectly to the Suja juice line-up. At one point, however, I did find myself near tears when all of my co-workers were eating delicious Mexican take-out. Shame on them...didn't they know what that could do to me???
I didn't cheat and I couldn't believe it. I didn't even want to cheat. I was satisfied all day and my cravings hadn't gotten too bad. Day 2 was complete and I was bouncing with energy. Chris even laughed at me as I went on a crazy cleaning spree at 9PM that night.
Day 3
One more day. One more day. One more day. I could do this. On day 3, I definitely woke up craving my usual spinach and avocado weekday omelet. But...I'd drink Glow instead. Ohh Glow, I was quite over you. As the day went on, I began thinking about what I'd be eating the next day....on my first day back "on food." There was a decadent cuisine wonderland consuming my mind, body, and soul. But...I'd persevere.
Halfway through the day, a co-worker asked how I was feeling. I had spent so much time thinking about the food that I wasn't eating that I hadn't even thought about how amazing I really felt. "You know," I told her, "I actually feel pretty damn good." And that was that. I got through Day 3 with no problems at all. Cravings, yes. But, issues? None.
Yesterday, I woke up and literally ran to the fridge. My spinach and avocado omelet was soon staring up at me and I could barely contain my excitement. But then, with just one bite, I wasn't even that into it. Later, at lunch, I continued eating healthfully with an Ahi Tuna topped salad. Sure, it was tasty...but I still wasn't fazed. Tonight, I'll be eating at one of my favorite restaurants and that, my friends, is sure to bring back my food-honoring spirit.
The Suja 3-day cleanse did a lot for me. In just three days, I learned that I have way more self-control than I ever gave myself credit for. I also learned that I could take on a 5-day cleanse sooner than later. The cleanse confirmed how vital fruits and veggies are to my body and how I should consider reducing my meat-intake more than I already do. And the icing on the cake? I lost 4.5 pounds and have kept it off the last two days. Hoping to keep it that way too.
Thank you Suja Juice for this awesome opportunity. The cleanse did wonders for my body and I can't wait to take on round two someday soon. But one lucky reader of mine will be able to try this amazing cleanse even sooner with my Suja Juice giveway. Yep, you read correctly. Jackpot, kids. Just see Rafflecopter below and enter to win! Oh, and to my winner...you're welcome :)