Most of last month, I had been feeling bloated and uneasy. I don't know what it was, but whenever I ate, it just didn't feel comfortable. I was also lethargic and low energy. Like 10 mins into a workout and I would get really tired.
I figured that maybe my body wasn't getting the right nutrients to keep me energetic and awake - which was SO true since I had been eating absolute junk.
So I decided to give my body a break and jump into a detox - The 3 day Juice Cleanse.
Doing the juice diet does some great things to your body :
Firstly, it gives your digestive system a break. No breaking of solid foods - just good old liquids.
A healthy body will be able to extract nutrients and keep you energetic.
It flushes out many toxins from your body and gives your liver a break
It helps boost your immune system
Helps to kickstart weight loss
Leaves your skin glowing and fresh
So here is my account of the 3 day cleanse-
Day 1 -
Juice 1
I woke up in the morning and the first thing I did was squeeze half a lemon and some ginger into a glass of warm water.
This is an important one. Supposed to give you a good boost
Juice 2
Thanks to my mom, we have all sorts of juicers and blenders at home. So this definitely made the whole process a lot easier. Around 1PM, I mixed one green apple, one cucumber, bunch of kale leaves, half a lemon and some ginger.
I had no idea how this juice was going to turn out. Going by the color I expected it to be bitter but the cucumber and green apple dominated and it actually tasted really GOOD ! yum :)
Juice 3
By the time it was 3PM, I started getting really hungry. I got a major hunger pang but I talked myself out of eating solid foods.
Instead, I tried to focus on what was coming next - the Strawberry Banana Smoothie! yay!
At around 4:30 PM, I blended together a banana and some strawberries in almond milk.
I NEEDED this smoothie because it was filling, tasted delicious, and got rid of my sweet craving for the day.
Juice 4
At 7PM, I blended some watermelon and threw some ice cubes into it - SO refreshing.
By this time I was really enjoying all my juices and constantly looking forward to the next one. I didn't feel the need for any other food and was quite pleased with myself.
Juice 5
At around 9PM, I blended the most dreaded juice. I absolutely dislike celery. I don't like the smell and I definitely don't like the taste.
But celery is such a superfood that it was important to include it in my diet.
So I (sulkingly) blended a stalk of celery, bunch of spinach leaves, one pear and some grapes
Once again, the pear and grapes balanced out the flavors but I could totally smell and taste the celery. This was my least enjoyable juice - but when juice is all you got, you just down it :D
At the end of Day 1 I was definitely hungry but I controlled myself. I just kept telling myself that my body has already received all the nutrients it needs - anything more is just me being greedy.
It was difficult but I managed to get to bed and sleep the night off.
Day 2
I woke up and had the Lemon and Ginger juice to start my day. I was expecting Day 2 to be really hard - but was surprised at how easily I got by.
I did feel hungry, but each time I had a juice, I felt healthier and brighter.
I repeated all the juices from day 1 except for the watermelon juice. Instead I mixed oranges and carrots for a little change :)
Day 3
My stomach was so flat ! :D I felt lighter, my skin felt great and overall I felt really good.
I repeated all the juices from Day 2 and my day went by real smooth. I was never hungry and never lethargic. Infact, in all the 3 days, I never felt low energy or starved.
So how did I benefit from the Juice detox?
Ofcourse I lost some weight and my clothes fit better
It was a great jumpstart to my healthy eating
No more bloating and uneasiness
And the best part of all - I had been getting small rashes on my skin every night (for the past few weeks) - some sort of allergy I was not able to figure out. The detox got rid of it :)
I went on a no carb diet for 4 days following the Juice cleanse. I would mostly eat salads and drank lots of water. Gradually, I started eating other foods and now I'm continuing the healthy eating and exercise and I feel great :D
I've managed to keep off the 2 kilos I lost in this entire process and plan on shedding some more.
