A few weeks ago, I wrote about doing a juice cleanse for a day. I got a comment today asking about it, and realized I’d never written this follow-up post. I’d had some initial thoughts the day of the cleanse, but I’d wanted to think a bit more about the experience before posting.
If you’re too lazy to click over, basically, I felt kinda gross–gained some weight and just not generally healthy–and decided to do a juice cleanse for a day. I wanted to fit a little better into my fave skinny jeans.
Kelly, who is an RD, recently wrote a great post on five reasons not to juice cleanse.
Going into the juice cleanse, I didn’t expect miracles. I had been eating kinda crappily for awhile and was mostly looking for a mental reset, hoping that by forcing myself into a strict regimen of nothing but fruits and veggies in juice for a day, I’d have an easier time getting back to healthy ways. I didn’t expect it to magically “cleanse” my body. I one million percent agree with her point that the juices will not magically detox your body.
Also, juice cleanses are really expensive. Blueprint, which I did because it was on sale at Whole Foods, starts at $65/day. I spent around $40 on my juices on sale. Still not cheap, but a significant discount.
I chose to do this for one day instead of their typical 3-day cleanse because I could not imagine not eating real food for three days. One day, I could handle. Also, I’m currently at a point where I’d rather work out hard than consume less calories, so the idea of a lower-calorie regimen (Blueprint is about 1100 calories) for more than one day was not terribly appealing to me.
As I tried the first juice, I thought, okay, this could go two ways. I could just…have this juice…with my breakfast and just have a juice with breakfast. Or I could just try this for a day. The cleanse was six juices: two green juices, one lemonade-y juice, one beet juice (ew), one cashew milk (YUM) and one pineapple/apple/mint juice. All of the juices except the beet juice were tasty, and since you’re supposed to have plenty of water in between each juice, I never felt really hungry because I always felt so full of liquid.
I was about 4 juices down by dinnertime, and that was the only time I started missing food–so I went to a gentle yoga class. I came home and wanted to just do the cashew milk but finished the beet juice, too.
So? Did I lose weight? Yeah, a pound or two the next day, but that was certainly all water weight since I probably peed at least 10 times the day before. Did it “reset my cravings?” Yes, for the next two days until I went to a party and a few glasses of wine reset my cravings in a different way.
I think a cleanse like this is probably best if you have a big event coming up that you want to lose some quick water weight for, or if you have been eating crappy for a while and want something to force you to think a bit more closely about what you’re eating. (Or if you are having digestive issues–I know quite a few friends who’ve tried juicing to help with digestive issues.) I think a three-day cleanse would probably be more effective, especially from the mental/cravings standpoint, since it’s two extra days to reinforce the fruits and veggies. That said, I like my food and can’t imagine spending nearly $200 to not eat for three days.
Have you ever done a juice cleanse? Would you?
I think there is a certain novelty to it, for many people. I have seen groups of work colleagues do it, but ultimately I don’t think it leads people down a path to better health. Which is what really ought to be the goal. Better to workout hard with a personal trainer for a few sessions and learn a routine to do on your own or spend some time with a nutritionist and learn about making the right food choices.
@Glenn: Totally agree with what you’re saying and have definitely done both before. And truthfully, definitely know better to eat better than how I’m currently eating so needed something really to just kind of kick me in the ass for a day or so and get me back on track.
I am following someone on Instagram who is really so inspirational but she just started doing a ONE WEEK juice cleanse. She has so many followers and I do worry that the low calories over that long…anyway…to each their own, but I agree with you that doing something like this for a day or two is about as much as one should do.
@Ulli: Juice cleansing for a whole week?? I can’t imagine being able to make it that long, personally, but I’ve got a big appetite and try to exercise fairly rigorously about 5 times a week. I only lasted a day the last time I tried just making green juice at home – was so freaking hungry by dinnertime. Like you say, to each their own, but I think I’ll stick to just cutting back on wine and increasing water intake. 🙂
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this juice cleanse concept.
I have never ever tried it but I would definitely like to try it once and let you my experience about it.
I think there are so many great points in this post but I love that you said you wouldn’t pay $200 not to eat.
While I’m intrigued by these cleanses, I have no real desire to do them. I don’t think I could mentally or physically not run for three days nor could I come close to affording it. For me, I find a sugar detox is a great way to reset cravings. I avoid ALL sweetener (natural or otherwise) unless it’s naturally found in fruit.
@Kimberly @ Healthy Strides: Actually, juice cleanses encourage you to work out.
Good point about the paying $200 to not eat. I’ve been wanting to do a juice cleanse and saw this one was a Blend Sponsor so checked them out. I just couldn’t justify the costs either. I don’t understand why these things are so expensive?! I even looked for others that weren’t, and they just don’t exist. Oh well. I’m glad to hear your honest review. It makes me think I’ll wait a bit to try it for myself. Thanks Theodora!
I’ve done a juice cleanse from Blueprint a couple of times, but not for a couple of years. I 100% agreed with Kelly’s post on why not to do a cleanse – they will not “detox” your body, and nor will you lose weight. I have only done them when I feel like I have been eating a ton of junk and I need to “reset” my cravings, and for that, I’ve found them pretty effective. Once I came off the cleanse, I was definitely more in the mood for a big bowl of salad and not a plate for fries.
@Fiona: Right, that’s why I did it — to “reset” my cravings. Which worked until too many glasses of wine set them right back to where they were. Really I just need to “cleanse” my diet of wine, but what fun is that!?
I was seriously considering the Blueprint cleanse for myself, but, like others, I cannot justify spending $225 on juice (it costs more for me because it needs to be shipped to Philadelphia). And really, shouldn’t they pay ME to not eat 😉
I’ve researched other juice cleanses, like Earthbar, and those are expensive as well. That one runs up to about $300, as it is based in Los Angeles.
I’ve done a raw fruit/veggie detox for three days, and that was tough. I’m not sure if I’d make it on just liquids.
Thanks for your honesty.
I did a 3 day cleanse from a local market in march. it was 90 for 3 days, which i thought was reasonable and included 6 drinks a day.
i really liked it. i lost a bit of weight and bloat, and felt really good for most of it. i think its a good reset button, but doesnt have all those “detoxifying” qualities that everyone things.
I would do one, but I like to cleanse in a way where you sub food in to detox your body so your cleansing it and still eating. I’d rather do it that way with juicing in the morning to give my body a break with digestion. Juice cleanses are awesome, but in my opinion there are other , possibly better, ways of going about cleansing.
I’ve never done a cleanse but have a few friends who have. I’m not into temporary solutions, which is why I haven’t invested in one. I think it works well as a reset button, like you looked at it and if you can afford it, go for it!
I did a one day blueprint cleanse after thanksgiving, they were having a sale. I liked it, and had a similar thought process as you. If I have a big event coming up I’d splurge and go for 3 day routine. But until then I don’t really think it is worth it.
Haven’t done a juice cleanse but have tried a liquid fasting – just 70% water and 30% fruit juice for 2 days. But I didn’t do it instantly, before the day itself I kinda prepared and cut out solids from my meals, same after 2 days, I slowly began eating. It was great, I actually felt refreshed!
I don’t think any cleanse that lasts longer than two or three days works, since super-reduced caloric intake that lasts longer than that drops your metabolism, but I do like to juice a lot. If you drink a lot of freshly made vegetable juice, you take in a lot more phytochemicals, and there’s research showing that the people who consume the most phytochemicals also weight the least.
I did one 3-day Blueprint cleanse a couple of years ago (I was REALLY hungry by day 3), and I do a 2 day cleanse every 6 months or so (but I am also on Weight Watchers and exercising regularly). For me, it’s not so much about weight loss but just sort of cleaning out my system. I have noticed that even with the 2-day cleanse, it breaks my sugar cravings and my skin is nice and glowing. I also notice that I can really taste the flavor in food post-cleanse (and highly processed food tastes awful after a cleanse). I don’t think it’s a long term solution, but a 1 or 2 day cleanse once in awhile makes me feel great.
i’ve done blueprint twice. you can get it on sale at fresh direct and do 3 days for about $140. what i found was that i couldn’t finish all of the juices, so my 3 day cleanse lasted 4 1/2 days. i wasn’t really hungry. i ate a half an avocado on the 3rd and 4th days. the first time i lost 7 pounds (which stayed off) and the second time a month later i lost 2 (which also stayed off). what it did for me was break my diet soda addiction (was drinking 3 20 ounce bottles a day). now i’m at zero.
I also couldn’t bring myself to pay $200 for 3 days of juice. So I used the money to buy a juicer and make my own juice for 3 days (plus some off the shelf almond milk as a substitute for the cashew milk). The amount of raw produce needed to make 3 days worth of juice ran me nearly $200, so I guess that’s why these things are so expensive.
good post