3 Day Juice Cleanse

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As I took my first juice from the fridge on Day 1 of my 3 day juice cleanse instead of reaching for my coffee and as I heard my housemate cooking breakfast in the kitchen that very same morning, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy!

Yes I have just completed the 3 day juice cleanse by Perth Raw Foodies. Their trusty website states; A juice cleanse is an amazingly effective and easy way to remove built up toxins from within the body. It thoroughly cleanses, stimulates and rejuvenates organs including the liver, kidneys and both small and large intestines. Jam packed with living enzymes that aid digestion and enhance nutrient assimilation, the juices are specially formulated to increase your energy, boost your immune system, balance hormones and give a gentle internal cleanse. Unlike store bought juice, drinking raw cold pressed juice ensures vital micronutrients are easily absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Raw cold pressed juice enters the body in a pre-digested form and takes very little energy to process, this new abundance of energy usually used to digest and process cooked and processed food is now used to heal, cleanse and detox the body.

All that being said, I SERIOUSLY did not know what I was getting myself into!

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The strong recommendation that you should prepare yourself 3 days before is definitely not something to scoff at, unfortunately, I did. I have never done a detox before so I had no idea what to expect. While I don’t eat badly and can’t eat gluten – which means I can’t eat anything in a bakery – and by default, must mean I’m better than the average person at what I put into my body, I really do wish I had have taken more notice in the days before embarking on this journey. I call it a journey because it really and truly is!

This is probably the longest I haven’t drunk coffee for, let alone fasted for. I usually have at least 3 coffees a day and eat a lot – usually many little meals. The headaches that come with withdrawing from coffee (and smoking less cigarettes) are not pretty. Some evenings they got to be so much that all I could do was sit in bed, not tired enough to sleep. I definitely did sleep more than ever though, as recommended, but also because I seemed to have more time on my hands. Who knew not eating would save so much time? They recommend afternoon naps. I hate sleeping during the day, I always try to avoid it because when I have short bouts of sleep I often have nightmares and then wake up thinking it’s the morning, rendering me completely delirious for the rest of that day. I did nap in the afternoon on day 1 and 2, as advised and it is a great remedy to avoid the cravings and the pain of headaches as well as heal the mind and body. In the evening you are allowed a milk drink which really helps with these symptoms, giving you a more soothing feeling. That part was definitely my favourite of the ‘juices’ and something to look forward to in the evenings.

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As a blogger, I have attended many events over these past few days and watching everyone drink, eat and be merry at this holly jolly time of year has been a real pain but because I go to so many events I didn’t have your average case of FOMO – I could handle it. I swear I had a heightened sense of smell though, not sure if this is possible? Probably from smoking less but the smell of food and alcohol was quite off-putting at times when you knew you couldn’t be a part of it. At an event on Day 1 I got to talking with a stylist who had done the same cleanse and she told me that she couldn’t complete it and had to eat. I laughed really hard because, for some unknown reason, I didn’t even contemplate that happening to me, boy was I a fool. I was a fool to laugh because half way through day 3, as the food fantasies increased to almost breaking point, on a Friday night no less, I found myself looking at the tantalising selections in the cupboard and fridge as my minds eye cooked up the ingredients and showed me the most glorious dinner plate filled with delicious meals I could make at only an arm’s reach away. Luckily I didn’t cave but I was close! At least the headaches had gone by this stage.

It got better on day 2 and even better on day 3, no nap required and I could work on my computer much more easily but the food fantasies really took ahold of me towards the end.

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I must admit, I have had two roley cigarettes per day. I hate roley cigarettes but they are ‘better’ for you and sadly I don’t really want to quit, at least not right now and I decided going completely cold turkey with zero food, coffee or alcohol to help me cope probably wasn’t the best idea – but I liken this experience of no food to the mind games your brain plays on you when you do quit smoking. I successfully stopped for 4 months last year and what your brain does is, it gives you these alarm bell signals, “OH I KNOW! Why don’t you have a cigarette?” It tricks you and sends you this jolt, as though it was the best idea you had ever come up with. Then you realise, no I’m not doing that thanks very much! Well with the juice cleanse, my brain kept telling me, “Oh food! You can eat FOOD!” I had to keep reminding myself that I was only in this for 3 days and could eat soon. The food fantasies only happened on Day 2 and 3, for Day 1 I didn’t even notice myself being hungry. It’s not really hunger pangs either because the juices give you a sufficient amount of nutrients to keep you going, it is more just the exciting thought of how delicious food really is. In between those funny thoughts though you have to laugh at how the mind works it’s magic in trying to get you to do what it wants. It takes serious resilience to get through that sort of thing and can be very frustrating but I find it quite funny at the same time, the tricks of the mind are incredible. If nothing else, this experience will certainly make me appreciate what I put into my body from now on.

My skin got a little dry for some unknown reason as it is usually very oily but overall my complexion looked very nice, better than usual. I think I did lose a bit of weight which I’ll no doubt put straight back on but I don’t mind that – I’m not doing it for weight loss but this is certainly a good start to that process if you want to. My tummy does feel very clear and un-bloated which is rare for me because of my allergy to gluten and knowing that my organs and liver are well healed and detoxified is a huge relief. I’m glad I did the cleanse but it was tough for me, if I had have prepared myself more in the lead up, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as bad – so if you are interested in doing this, eliminate caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, refined sugars, bread, pasta, white rice, dairy and meat products in the lead up, for at least three days before. During this time they also recommend drinking lots of water and sticking to consuming raw foods, fruits, vegetables, broths, juices, smoothies and herbal teas.

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Everywhere I look now, empty juice bottles. It’s over!! Give it a try yourself, I was so lucky to be in the hands of professionals who guided me through this and who were there to answer any questions I had at any time. Don’t try this unless you try it with people who know what they’re doing – VISIT PERTH RAW FOODIES to do your very own 3 day juice cleanse or find out more. No doubt, your body needs it!

Now don’t mind me, I am going to go have sex with my breakfast haha and before I get too excited, I know that weaning yourself off this detox is also advised. Re-introducing things slowly and lightly is a good idea. Too bad it’s the polo today!

‘Til next time,

xxx SV xxx

06-12-2013

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