Fueling the Machine - The Juice Cleanse

From time to time you need to reset your body. Mentally, physically... all the things.

Cleansing is something I try to do 3-4 times a year at least. It helps to clean out the system, reduces my sugar cravings, and increases my energy.

A beet and cabbage cleanse, a clean-eating supplement based program, and juice cleanses... I've done my fair share. These days I tend to lean toward 2-3 day juice cleanses. It's a quick shot of the good healthy stuff and I don't have to remember pills or powders. I just drink juice... all day, every 2-3 hours.

This time around I went with a 2-day cleanse. Day 1 was an all-juice anti-inflammatory cleanse and Day 2 was a super greens cleanse and light organic dinner.

I have tried a few juicery-cleanses and I tend to go with Clean Juice because it's easy to order online, they have a few options to choose from, and pick up is super quick.

Let's jump in.

Day 1 - Anti-Inflammatory Cleanse

This all-day juice cleanse does allow you to have a very light something to chew if you really need, such as a handful of unsalted organic nuts. Per Clean Juice, this cleanse is designed to fight inflammation. Inflammation in the body can lead to chronic health conditions. This cleanse contains anti-inflammatory spices (like turmeric), fruits, and vegetables to help your body decrease inflammation that is often caused by heavily processed foods.

Schedule

1st Juice: Gold - Made with cashews, maple syrup, vanilla, Himalayan pink sea salt, cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper, this juice has a bit of an Indian flavor vibe and is easy to drink.

2nd Juice: Red - Made with apple, carrot, beet, and lemon, this juice is good if you like beets. If you don't, this won't be your favorite. I happen to love beets, so it's no issue for me.

3rd Juice: Green - Made with spinach, celery, kale, cucumber, ginger, and lemon, this juice is the more bitter of the green juices they have. Most people prefer Sweet Green to this one, but I actually prefer Green instead. I guess I like it bitter.

4th Juice: Yellow - Made with lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne, this juice is my least favorite in the bunch. Others don't mind this one at all, but I am not a fan. It does rev up the metabolism!

5th Juice: Orange - Made with carrot, orange, pineapple, and turmeric, this juice taste like a tropical drink that should have some rum in it. It's my favorite one. Bring me an umbrella!

6th Juice - Gold - same as the first juice. This one is filling so it helps to have it bookending your morning and night.

Day 2 - Super Greens Cleanse

This is a 4-juice cleanse, wellness shot, and you have a light organic dinner at the end of the day. This cleanse is for resting your body & drinking a massive amount of leafy greens to flood your body with key ingredients.

Schedule

Wellness Shot: Wheatgrass - Aides in digestion and detoxifying your system. AKA. is very yucky. Eww. Eww. Eww.

1st Juice: Sweet Green - Made with cucumber, apple, kale, spinach, and mint, this juice is easy to drink and loaded with greens.

2nd Juice: Sweet Green - same as the first juice.

3rd Juice: Green - same as the 3rd juice of day 1

4th Juice: Green - same, again

Dinner: I made grilled salmon with olives, asparagus, and basil cauliflower-rice.

I did have a mini-Kind Bar before bed, because I'm human and I was in need of chocolate.

I did still consume some coffee each morning, which helps with the hunger aspect. My body is also used to daily intermittent fasting, so that part of the cleanse doesn't seem to have harsh of an impact. If I do a 3-day full-juice cleanse though, I get a bit hangry.

Before the cleanse I was tired, felt bloated, was unfocused, and was craving sugar and alcohol more than what I normally manage to. After the cleanse I have a better energy and focus, and haven't really felt the need for alcohol as a "craving".

The key is to not immediately start putting the processed foods back in - it's intended to be a kick-off to your reset of eating cleaner again. It's really hard to get your health back when it's bad... much better to be in preventative support mode.

So that's the deal on this cleanse adventure. Next time I'll try the other options so we can see what those are all about. I won't wait as long this time to cleanse again. See you next time!