Juice Cleanse: Day 3

Hooray, the torture session is over! Just kidding, it wasn't that bad, although there were definitely moments where it felt like torture.

Yesterday I woke up early and made a trip to the store to get more veggies. If you hadn't guessed already, let me tell you, juicing gets expensive. Each day I juiced about one large bag of spinach, two cucumbers, one-two apples, several stalks of celery, five satsuma oranges, and one beet.

There were other things thrown in there too (like carrots, ginger, pomegranates,  pineapple and kale), but the most expensive thing was definitely the leafy greens. Each bag of spinach was about $4 and I went through three of them. I probably sent around $60 total, but I do have quite a bit of fruits and veggies left over. Making juice yourself is definitely cheaper than buying pre-made juices.

After I drank my first juice, I started making some fresh almond milk to take to work. Before heading out, I drank my first juice made with kale instead of spinach. Blech. A quarter of an apple, lemon, and three satsumas couldn't conceal the nastiness that is kale juice. It tasted like drinking grass, and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth for almost an hour. It did keep me feeling full for over two hours though.

I was a little nervous about going to work while cleansing, but it turned out to be fine. I drank my yummy almond milk on my break and felt really satisfied. If you decide to cleanse, I definitely recommend making almond milk, it's really easy (post coming soon) and its such a nice flavor change from juice. Your body will thank you for the protein as well.

When I got home from work, I was flippin' starving and not feeling all that well. I have read to "listen to your body," while cleansing...so that's what I did. I ate a salad with spinach, cucumber, orange slices and balsamic. It felt a little weird to chew, but oh my lord, salad never tasted better.

So, I kinda made it to three days. I mean, it was almost 10 pm when I ate my salad...so you can be the judge. I'm going with a score of 9 out of 10. Maybe a 9.5.

This morning I woke up and actually wanted juice! I'm debating between coffee and fresh pineapple, orange and spinach juice. Normally, this wouldn't be a tough call at all! But here is the thing about doing a juice cleanse; you put in all that hard work and when it's over it motivates you to keep eating healthy. You don't want all that suffering to be for nothing! A cleanse shows you just how strong your will power truly is. If you can drink juice for 3 days or more, you can say no to those french fries or piece of cake.

Would I do it again? Maybe, although probably not for a while. I do feel lighter and more confident in my ability to control cravings, but it was pretty difficult. If you're thinking about doing a cleanse, I would recommend it. Challenge yourself! If you're nervous, try it for one day and see how you feel.

Here are my overall thoughts:
PROS:

• At the end I feel lighter, and more control of my body and mind.
• The juices (for the most part) are really good, and after you may just start craving fruits and veggies! 
• I want to keep eating healthy now that the juice cleanse is over.
• Crazy dreams! This could go in a neutral category, because some were awesome and some were not.
• Heightened senses. At one point I told my coworker I felt like I had "vampire senses." Vision was better, smells were stronger and my skin felt more sensitive.
• Energy without caffeine! I haven't had coffee for three days now, and haven't felt my normal grogginess when I go without.

CONS:

• It can get pricey. I would recommend doing a juice cleanse during a week when you will have a little extra cash.
• You're hungry. Really, really hungry. But, I could list this under the pro category, simply because you remind yourself what it's like to be truly hungry and not "bored hungry."
• You can't go out, and socializing can be hard. Food and friends go hand in hand, so I recommend cleaning when you have a fairly empty schedule. That being said, I also recommend trying to keep yourself busy with non-food related projects. If your mind is busy, you aren't thinking about food!
• Headaches and being cold. During the nighttime especially, I was much colder than usual. I ended up sleeping in wool socks and a sweatshirt!