I’ve been wanting to do a Juice Cleanse for a very long time and this has never been related to weight loss for me. The thing is, I suffer from a few food intolerances, which makes eating healthy while I travel a bit complicated. I normally try to maintain a somehow healthy diet and I watch out for those foods that give me horrendous stomachache because my body can’t process them. I am not really fuzzy with food at all, I have never been, but throughout the years I started discovering I was lactose intolerant, I had an intolerance to garlic and onion too, which sucks since I love both. I can’t eat Nutella because I have a hazelnut intolerance but overall I am lucky I am not necessarily allergic to any food in particular, I am just intolerant to a few and I try to keep off them. Its very hard to stick to this while I travel though, specially because I cannot be asking every place I go to remove the onions, the garlic, the lactose and so on. My point with this is that after so many trips in the past few months, I’ve left my stomach very upset with me and while I was on the flight back from Key Wes, I decided it was the right time to do a detox cleanse and restart my digestive system, flush all toxins and start from scratch.
I knew that it was going to be tough to give up on solid food for 3 days, but at the same time, I was doing my cleanse with Juice Brothers (chose the “deepest” option) and I knew the 6 juices I had to consume per day were specially design for each particular stage of the day, with the right amount of vitamins and energy I needed. I didn’t do the juices myself, you need to be able to do it with someone who knows what they are doing to avoid any problems, so I went for the safe bet.
I shared the process with you on Snapchat but I got a lot of emails and comments on Instagram asking me to share the whole experience with you so here it goes:
Day 1.
I woke up to the first juice of the day and I felt super excited to start my cleanse. -My stomach had been hurting me all throughout my trip to Florida because of over eating (Isn’t that what you are supposed to do on a holiday though?), so I felt yucky most of the time. The food was amazing don’t get me wrong!-
Anyway, I was super psyched to start this and I didn’t think 3 days was a long time anyway.
I am very used to drinking coffee, even though I don’t over consume it (max 2 cups a day), so by midday I felt VERY tired…You are not supposed to have anything apart from the juices and drink A LOT of water, perhaps some herbal tea but thats about it. The lack of caffeine was really getting to me and that with a mix of jet lag had me on zombie mode the entire day.
I have to confess I never felt physically hungry, mainly because the juices were packed with vegetables and I had to consume one every 2 hours so my stomach was always full. The HARD part was the physiological hunger, meaning that my brain was always like; Where is the food! Have a chicken wrap, now!…When the end of the day came I literally started to question why I was doing this at all, but then I realised I hadn’t had a single stomachache all day and that felt GOOD!
Day 2.
I woke up feeling very tired -again-, but my stomach felt AMAZING! (it was the first time I haven’t woken up with an indigestion in 2 weeks). I normally try to work out at the gym at least 3 times a week and go for a run at least 4 times a week but I just had ZERO energy. I knew you were not supposed to do any intense exercise while you were cleansing so I tried so stay at home, catch up on deadlines and do my laundry from Key West, but being at home wasn’t distracting enough and ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS FOOD. Again, I wasn’t actually hungry, but my brain was and it was sending me: EAT NOW signals all day, which I think was the hardest part of the whole thing.
Day two was the most difficult one because it was the middle one, where the Detox actually kicks in but to my surprise, I wasn’t suffering from any aches at all. I have heard that doing these type of cleanses can often give you bad kidney and liver pain because both organs are working their ass off to clean your body and that can cause pain, but surprisingly and luckily, I never had a single ache which makes me think that I am actually quite healthy in the way I normally eat after all.
I couldn’t wait for day 2 to end and by this point I was missing coffee and craving food I normally don’t eat like you can’t believe. I started making recipes in my head. I even went to one of my favourite food stores with my fest friend to window shop, he wasn’t amused at all hahaha.
Day 3.
Day 3 and my last day was the day where I started to feel like I wasn’t a zombie. My energy wasn’t fully there but I managed to cycle to the city to meet a friend and keep myself occupied. I started to notice that my skin was looking very bright, like it was glowing, must be all those vitamins!. The hunger brain signals weren’t bothering me anymore, but I did hear that day 3 gets a lot easier. All in all I was just so happy it was the last day and I was proud I went through with it. I spent the past 3 days watching 2 movies per night to try keep my brain occupied from the late night cravings, so by the time I had to open my 18th and last juice, I was SO FREAKING HAPPY! I had done it!.
I have read in many places that the results of this cleanse can be seen through a period of 2 weeks, it’s not immediate but it gives you a huge boots on your immune system and digestive system. It’s mentally hard to go through it because you have to deal with all the craving, believe me, its very hard but I am so happy I did not cave.
This experience has been a very good experiment for me, because I want to see how my stomach reacts in the long term, I’ve also heard this can help with some food intolerances and that is something I want to explore more. I am even considering doing this every 2 or 3 months, to click that restart button again and hopefully the next times will get easier and easier.
I did A LOT of research before I started and I found THIS ARTICLE super interesting, in case you are thinking or doubting on wether you should go ahead with it or not. Its very important that you do it the right way, so you don’t starve your body not giving it enough vitamins and energy so I would suggest doing it with a company that are specialised in cleanses. I have to be honest, I read somewhere that some people are still able to work out while doing the cleanse but that wasn’t the case with me at all, I didn’t have the energy and whenever I tried to do some squats or sit-ups at home the past 3 days, I was exhausted after literally 5 reps, so I laid off any exercise and tried to rest as much as possible.
I am on day 1 post cleanse now and I literally got up at 7:30 am because I COULD NOT WAIT to have my morning coffee and some oatmeal. Apparently the first couple of meals you have after your cleanse have to be somehow “liquid”, so I went for a mushy porridge with chia seeds, linseed, blueberries and agave syrup to start with. They recommend to add a bit of fibre to kick start your digestive system again, hence why I added the linseed. I will probably have a pea soup for lunch and finally, go to my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in town to celebrate the fact that I was strong enough to go through this without cheating!!!
If you want to do this, make sure you do it for the right reasons, for well being and health, not weight loss, that is not the goal of this. Some of you might be wondering if I lost any weight and the answer is I don’t think so. I didn’t weight myself before I started because that wasn’t the goal of my cleanse, but if I did, it must have been a minimal amount, which is normally after only consuming liquids for 3 days, but I will probably put it back on the moment I start eating solids again. This cleanse is not about weight loss, for that, got to the gym my loves, like that you can also get toned in the process ;).
If you have any more questions fire up on the comments! I would love to clear them out for you and thank you for following my progress and being supportive on Social Media. LOVE YOU GUYS!
47 Responses
I tried a juice and soup cleanse for three days. It got me so bloated for all the fiber I ingested… and the feeling of having nothing to chew is so unsatisfying. But I worked out and felt a little dizzy. I didn’t know we should rest. Nonetheless, my body was in needs of a non-processed intake, so it was good.
First of all Congratulations! You did it! Just curious, how much did it cost you? And how is the taste?
Marylane
http://styletomystreet.com
Hello!!!
Thank you for this post, I was thinking of following a cleanse detox diet and I was wondering if you know another similar company which is placed in USA. Since, I am not sure if Juicy Brother could send me those juices here.
I hope to hear from you soon,
Nieves Sayre
Dear Andy,
so proud of you!! I did a juice cleanse a few weeks ago, for 5 days, and I didn’t make it through without cheating .. I felt so miserable, although this was the initial reason to do the cleanse, to reset my bad eating habits and start fresh again after weeks of binging on unhealthy food.
maybe I have to try it again at a time when it’s not so busy both at work and at home ..
you inspire me everyday, especially with your fitness routine & I loooove your snaps!
keep going dearie,
xx Eva
http://www.thehatquarter.de
love you Andi :D
Hi Andy,
I’ve actually been thinking about trying out a juice cleanse and your post really did help me! Now I really want to do it and see how my own body will react to the cleanse.
Thanks!
Erika
http://whaterikawears.com/
Hazelnut intolerance?! No Nutella! I just wanna give you a hug. Jokes aside, this sounds like such an amazing thing to do. I wish I knew someone who could help me make all the balanced juices. Time to start researching.
http://www.adxmaiora.com/night-life/
Hi Andy,
I followed your juice cleanse on Snapchat and you inspired me to try it. I don’t know if I have allergies or intolerances but my stomach has not been feeling well since my December trip to Mexico. Today I finally made the decision and started my cleanse 2 hours ago. I have read a couple of articles saying that the cleanses don’t really do anything but your experience made me want to do it. I’m only doing one day just to see how it goes and hopefully I feel better. It doesn’t hurt to try right? Well, maybe just your wallet.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have been wanting to do a spring cleanse for weeks already, but somehow been pushing it to next week. I have invested a lot of time to research and read about similar detoxes.
I am prone to lot of allergies during spring and also have lactose intolerant. Just after NYE I did a vegan detox for 20days and that really helped me boost my immune system.
Today I am starting my liquid cleanse, I really hope I can finish this. This would be the first time I will give up on solid foods for that long. This really helped me take the decision to get started.
The hardest part is staying away from the gym. Knowing me I will still end up working out. Hopefully i resist the temptation and stick to light yoga and meditation.
Once again thanks for sharing your journey, I hope I can push myself to finish this.
Sita X
http://www.cocolett.com
I’ve been looking for a week long juice detox to kickstart a lifestyle change, this was definitely a good read to help me along my search
Amazing article. I was looking for something that can use a detoxing but after coming here it really worth reading. Now I can say nothing could be better than this. Thanks
I do enjoy juicing, and agree it should be for health – they all look so yummy and I’d love to go one before I go to Mexico!
Lauren x
Britton Loves | Lifestyle Beauty Wellbeing
I love the feeling of day 3, you feel like anything is possible. :)
http://j.mp/DNAMAG
That`s wonderful! I’ve been considering juice cleansing detox sometime a while, and what you write is encouraging! have a nice day to you xo
Naïve Live
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That was so interesting to read! I noticed quite a few people doing a 3 Day Juice Cleanse on IG, and got curious about how it works. I don’t think I would ever do the cleanse though; I am a gym junkie, and I am sure I won’t be able to keep up with my routine on liquids only. Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your experience!
http://www.yuliannova.com/
You would definitely have to rest on those days dear. I didn’t have the energy for workouts while I was doing the cleanse.
Xx
A
Great post
Xoxo
http://fashionbackyard.blogspot.fr
Hey Andy,
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I’ve been experience for a time now the same intolerances as you do. My stomach does not react well to lactose products, onion, garlic, and so on. I’ve been having awful stomach aches and wondering if I should quit coffee (to be honest, I don’t think I’ll be strong enough to do). I confess I had the wrong idea about this kind of cleanses. I thought the main goal was to lose weight, but the moment you started sharing your “juice journey”, I’ve started to read a lot about it and wondering if I should do the same. I particularly like the idea of giving some rest to my stomach :)
Again, thanks a lot for sharing! Keep doing what you’ve been doing. You’re an inspiration (and, yes, ignore the haters)
xox Nicole
golightlyscloset.wordpress.com
Having food intolerances SUCKS and the constant stomach ache is something we shouldn’t have to live with so its important we learn our own bodies and cut out those foods that don’t agree with our digestive system. Thats why it was so important for me to do this, because I wanted to reset my stomach and start feeding it all goodness, with the occasional cheating day of course :P.
For losing weight I stick to exercise and not even losing weight, but keeping in shape and healthy :)
Xx
Last year I tryed this juicy diet and I loved it :-D
Yess!! For how many days???
I am sorry for you.Can’t eat Nutella?This is a nightmare!I am always eating Nutella ! Something you don’t say is that you like to drink alcohol.That’s a problem and maybe you start.Even that is just when you go to the disco.And like i told you,go to the doctor.Make some laboratories.Just an advice from your friend from Puerto Rico.Hughs Andy.
This looks like a really great detox, great post x
Millie x
queennmullie.blogspot.com
I have always been hesitant to do a 3 day cleanse! This post makes me feel more confident that I could get through! Would you recommend starting with a one day cleanse to start?
Muchas felicidades Andy! Yo llevo tiempo queriendo hacer algo así y en verdad con tus snaps me has dado el ultimo empujón para tomar mi decisión, tu recomiendas los jugos de Juice Brothers, vivo en Ámsterdam también así que quiero hacer mi detox con esos mismos solo tengo dos dudas:
¿Son muy caros, o cuánto cuesta cada botella aprox?
¿Ahí en la tienda me pueden dar asesoría de cuáles elegir?
Gracias!! :D
Empezando día 2 de mi clense, yo estoy haciendo sólo 2 días. El primero me sentí super bien, como dices: cero dolores y molestias! Tambie Me tocan 6 jugos al día y todos super yum!! Ya te platicaré como me va al final del día! Jaja I’m glad I decided to go for it! Tq amiga, besos! xxx
Glad this worked for you. I personally really dislike the way these ‘cleanses’ are marketed, as people seem to forget that a juice cannot detox you – it’s the kidneys and liver doing that work. But especially for those whose system has been overwhelmed by foods they’re intolerant to, I can see how this would be beneficial as a bit of a psychological ‘reset’.
Rachel | http://www.currentlyrachel.com
Awesome!
Shall We Sasa
Hey Andy!
I feel like I’m gonna be labeled as a hater if I don’t agree and cheer you on for doing a juice detox. However, I can assure you, I’m a lover! <3
But it does not change the fact that the efficiency of such radical detoxes are not supported by medical or nutritional science. I checked the article you linked and it did have some scientific sources, which is a good start, however, only two of these articles are related to a research about the effects of a special diet on the digestive system, the rest is about infants or artery disease. I checked these articles and even though they support the idea of a diet, the research has been done on a really small sample serving as both control and experimental group. That is just not enough to back up such a huge nutritional trend, not to mention that the participants were not put on a liquid diets in any of the researches and only "changes to diets were applied, such as an increase of either fruit or vegetable consumption, as well as a reduction of refined carbohydrates and saturated and trans-fatty acids."
It's of course great that you are better after feeling constant pain and you are free to do whatever you want. I don't want to sound like a food-snob (it's probably too late for that) but just want to stress that there is no scientific proof out there that such a radical detox is more beneficial in any ways then a normal, balanced and healthy diet.
Again, I'm not hating, I'm just quite interested in nutrition and wanted to put my 2 cents in. Keep being amazing, Andy! :*
I value an respect all points of view dear :)
Love!
A
I saw it on Snapchat
Happy you wrote about it, I would love to try a juice cleanse too
Love,
http://www.Lauralexo.com
Oh! I really want to try, but I think its so difficult to only drink and not eat!
Thank you so much for sharing this! It’s a super interesting read since I wanted to do a juice cleanse for so long!
xx
http://www.thefashionplaybook.de
I think I would definitely struggle psychologically too, but this really sounds like it did a lot of good! I really want to do a cleanse soon too, just to give my body a chance to restart and detox.
Steph – http://nourishmeclean.blogspot.com
Un post interesante, no conocía este producto.
http://elsecretodemistercloset.com
I’m interested in doing some sort of cleanse as well so I will be looking into this brand more closely and do the cleanse over a weekend when I’m not working. ;)
http://vodkaandarose.blogspot.co.uk
yes! do it when you can just be at home and relax :)
It’s hard but your health is worth it. Everyone in the food industry treats each tolerance no matter how minor seriously
http://Www.whimsicalzoo.blogspot.com
Good morning Andy ! I like to see your snapchat story because I used to live in Vondelstraat for a year and it make me feel good to see my loving city. By the way, I am French girl of 22. I don’t have a healthy life but I really want to start. I only dance 1,5 hours a week and like fat food often (I am lucky to be thin !). I want to start healthy food and more sports during the week. I am really interested by doing the cleans juices but my question is; do you think I should start before changing my “way to live” or after ? Hope you’ll understand what I am saying. Have a lovely day ! Betty (sorry for the loooong comment)
Babe I think its a good way to start when you are committed to change your eating habits. I really DONT believe in diets, but I do believe in eating healthy, for your own well being. Once you make that decision, doing a cleanse to kickstart it would probably be a good idea :)
Thanks for following my Snaps!
Xx
This is very interesting, I’ve always wanted to do a juice cleanse too. But like you I love to exercise and don’t think I would be able to do both x
http://www.wonkylauren.com
Just do it for 3 days and rest on those days ;)
Xx
Well done Andy!!! I follow you on snapchat and my thougts is that you’re great!!
Thanks for all the explanations. I guess they would be helpfull if I’ll ever try to do something like in next months.
Let me know how it goes if you decide to do it! :)
Xx
This sounds so interesting, I’ve always thought about trying a juice cleanse myself but never actually came around doing it. But your experiences sound very optimistic, maybe I should try this after all!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Its definitely not for the fainthearted and it takes a ton of determination but its worth it for the health benefits I think! just do some research before :)
These detox juices look perfect, will try them ;) Merci!
.
http://taimemode.blogspot.fr