This is your warrant to live vicariously through me as I enter liquid-only detoxing territory and venture to ingest 17 liters of cold-pressed juices over the next 120 hours: Welcome to the 5-Day Juice Cleanse, courtesy of the awesome guys at The Juice Truck, and well, me!
I’ll be checking in nightly. Stop by, follow along, and shoot questions at me in the comments below. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and successes and that my account here will better prepare you for if and when you decide to try a juice cleanse yourself.
Day 1
I’m a firm supporter of mid-season detoxes, cleanses, fasts – call ’em what you will. Adjusting your diet is a great way to give your body a hard reset and prepare for all the changes that come with a new season: different foods, holidays, weather, daylight hours, activities. I generally eat pretty well and am quite active, but the last few months did a number on me – too many patios, roadtrips, street eats, and nights out have left me feeling a bit gross and generally pretty lethargic. It’s time to thank my body with a good cleaning and reward it for making it through 90 days of euphoric, but cumulatively toxic, summer.
Loading up on my first round at the Juice Truck’s storefront location. That’s only 2 days worth!
Some people call juice cleanses “juice fasts” but I admit, today has been far from a fast – in both senses of the word. For one, time seems to have slowed down, especially ever since I got home from work. It’s easy enough to sip away at delicious concoctions from 9-5 when my mind’s on my work; but it’s tougher when your mind’s at rest and you become more aware of your body – energy levels, its aches, its sounds. I also definitely don’t feel like I’m fasting; I haven’t felt really hungry at any point – just sorta, light…? My stomach’s churning with liquids, and I’ve caught myself on more than one occasion chewing at a phantom edible in my mouth. But I survived (heck, enjoyed!) Day 1.
I highly advise having a solid group of supportive people around you though. It makes a world of difference having friends who don’t think you’re nuts when you pass up a beer and opt for a bottle of juice you’re carrying on-hand at all times, or having coworkers replace a tired “see ya” at the end of their day with “good luck with the juices!”
My 5-day regimen – The Juice Truck’s nutrition team specially formulated it to work at detoxifying your body in the proper order.
TODAY I’VE REALLY BEEN CRAVING…
BBQ pork. My colleague Max had it for lunch and it’s been on my mind ever since. I’m heading out to a late-night movie screening shortly; I suspect this will be replaced with a bad urge to eat buttered popcorn (I can smell it already).
ENERGY: 6/10
I think I’m a bit behind on sleep from the weekend as it is so it’s hard to tell whether to blame my low energy on the cleanse. Having said that, I skipped my morning coffee today, too… I feel a bit of stuffiness in my head though, not quite headache status, but definitely not super comfortable.
ROOKIE MISTAKE:
I waited too long between bottles this afternoon when I got caught up in my work. You literally have to feed like an infant – ideally, every 2-2.5 hours. Otherwise you’re hit by deadening sugar lows, onset headache and that “my-stomach-is-eating-itself” feeling. Perhaps why my head feels a bit murky.
LAST WORD: I wonder if the “sleep tonic” is going to work tonight. Or if I’ll sleep like a baby because I feel a bit weak.
Follow Channels and Categories