This is the second in a multi-part series. Click here to read part one!
That’s another element of the juice cleanse debate: the way it makes you feel.
“The main thing I noticed was definitely how I felt after cleansing,” Ashley* said. “I surprisingly had a lot of energy, and just felt a lot lighter if that makes sense…it was kind of hard to adjust to [juice cleansing] mentally, but physically I felt pretty great.”
After reading and hearing so many conflicting accounts on the pros and cons of cleansing, I decided the best way to form an opinion would be to experience it for myself. So, I talked to Ashley and Jenny and formulated my own juice cleanse plan.
While Jenny said she paid $300 for her ten-day juice cleanse, Ashley and Brooke* bought a juicer, and made their own drinks following a cleansing guide they found online.
Unwilling to invest in a juicer, I researched juice cleanse programs. BPC, which seems to be the most popular, was definitely out of my price range, but I learned that Whole Foods sells their juices for individual purchase, sans the steep home delivery fees. (Note: they still cost $7.99 per 16 ounce bottle).
Feeling fully informed and equipped to embark on my own juice cleanse adventure, I designed what I would like to call a poor woman’s cleanse: 24 hours, with four BPC juices purchased at Whole Foods (instead of the usual six juices per day that home delivery customers would receive).
I understand that one day may seem like too short of a time frame to completely experience a juice cleanse. However, I found in much of my research that one-day cleanses can be a good way to break habits, or otherwise set yourself on a healthier path, without setting yourself up for a risky juice crash diet.
I also figured that a day would be long enough for me to get a taste of juice cleansing without getting too hungry. Besides a full-length cleanse being out of my price range, I like eating far too much to give up solid food for more than a day or two.
Liquid Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
So back to my breakfast.
The BPC program dictates that in order to cleanse, you drink six juices in a specific order, at least two hours apart. I had four juices, so I started drinking them later in the day and tried to intentionally stagger them, so I would never be too hungry at any point.
Technically, I was prepared for the green juice. Careful study of the BPC website had taught me that after a morning of drinking lukewarm water to prepare my system, the kale-apple-ginger-romaine-spinach-cucumber-celery-parsley-lemon juice should be my first “meal.”
Juice #1, a.k.a. breakfast
“When your stomach is empty first thing in the morning, it’s able to assimilate whatever you put in it much more than if you consumed something prior,” BPC online instructions explain. “That is why we always have Green Juice first. Your body will absorb ALL of the vitamins and nutrients without interruption.”
While BPC recommends a three-day tapering down of your diet prior to the cleanse – gradually cutting out all coffee, sugar, meat, and dairy – I had started to wean myself off solid food just the day before, thinking that three days of preparation for a one-day cleanse were slightly unnecessary.
So, on Sunday, all I ate was small portions of white rice, a simple carb. By the time I went to bed, I was hungry, but I was far hungrier when I woke up at 7 AM on Monday morning.
Truthfully, I usually do not eat much for breakfast. I am not a morning person, and during the week, I have to rise at such an early hour that I generally do not have much of an appetite. Still, though, I got dressed and dutifully heated up some water to drink before leaving for work.
I may be drinking hot water, but at least my mug is cute.
I kept a journal throughout the day to capture my reactions for each part of the cleanse, so here’s my record of how that went: I don’t want to make this too hot. Oops, I think this is too hot. I really don’t want to drink this. This not how I wanted to start my Monday. Ugh. Okay, I’m going to drink it now. Yuck, I’d rather have a cup of tea.
And finally, That did not settle well with my stomach.
It was kind of gross. I would have much preferred a cup of tea, but that was my next step in cleanse-prep. When I got to the office, I went back to the kitchen to brew some herbal tea, but the only tea options were Earl Grey, English breakfast, and green tea. Sighing, I went with green tea: Close enough.
I had a busy morning, so I was briefly distracted from my juice cleansing mission. At 9:33 AM, though, I noticed how hungry I was; this was typical, because I normally would not yet have eaten, regardless of the juice cleanse.
At 10:37 AM, I found some time to drink my first juice, the appetizing-looking green kale concoction. I first noticed that some darker green material had separated from the lighter green juice, and was collecting at the bottom of the bottle, so I shook it. Once it was all blended back together, I cracked open the bottle and took a sniff.
The odor was overwhelming. It reminded me of bitter cucumbers, which did not at all make me want to drink it.
Bravely, though, I took a sip, and was relieved. The juice itself wasn’t bad; it tasted really fresh, and the flavor came in layers. I could taste almost every single individual ingredient, from the kale to the lemon juice.
The juice was also strangely thick in consistency, almost like a health shake or smoothie, and it was pretty filling. I went about my morning, punctuating phone calls, emails, and press call entries with sips of green juice.
Over two hours later, I still felt pretty full. But wanting to stick to my schedule, I opened my next juice at 1:06 PM. This one was a lime ginger lemon agave mix, and it tasted like limeade. There was no unappealing smell, and it was a real juice, not a thick liquid.
At this point, I made a note in my journal: Juice #2 goes down much more easily than Juice #1, but at this point in the day – especially with everyone else eating lunch – I really wish I could be munching on some solid food.
Juice #2, or healthy limeade 3
Look out for part three, coming soon!
*Names have been changed