Y’all know me, I’m not one to go without a meal. But I have been hearing so much about juice cleanses that I decided to give it a try.  The good folks over at Skinny Limits helped me out, and I took their 3 Day Juice Cleanse for a test drive last week.  For three days, I drank juice and water only.  Okay, wait…I did have a quarter of an avocado on Day One and a slice of cucumber with two forkfuls of plain lettuce on Day Two.  I am a person who definitely needs to chew my sustenance.  I know you are already thinking “oh heck no, not for me!” but let me share my experience.

Skinny Limits is awesome, as they will deliver your juices, or you can pick them up from their store on Far West.  They make and bottle juice daily, and carry some grab & go raw foods as well.  I opted to visit the store, and was delighted that they didn’t just hand off my juices and send me on my merry, oblivious way. The counter staff took time to educate me about cleansing.  When they heard I was a juice cleanse newbie, the staff gave me advice on battling the need to chew with suggestions on veggies high in water content, like avocado and celery.  They also talked to me about detox symptoms, and went over my color-coded six bottles per day juices.  We even discussed why people juice cleanse, which for me is simply a way to detox my body, with the added benefit of the nutrition-heavy drinks.

Each day I drank six 16oz bottles of juice which consisted of three bottles of Pure & Simple Green, Balance Green Ginger, Scorpion Spicy Lemonade, and at the end of the day, Crescent Moon Cashew Nut Milk.  The green drinks are made from kale, spinach, parsley, celery, cucumber, apple and lemon.  I am not fond of celery, and it is a prominent flavor in this drink.  I found the celery flavor lessened some when served very cold, straight from the fridge.  It wasn’t so overpowering that I had a hard time drinking it.  The Balance Green Ginger was, to my palate, much tastier, and it is the same as the Pure & Simple Green, but with the addition of ginger.  Scorpion Spicy Lemonade is something I would greatly enjoy if I could add vodka to it, but that would retox instead of detox, negating the whole intention of a cleanse.  The lemonade is simply lemon juice, agave nectar, cayenne and water.  Dessert is always appreciated, and I very much enjoyed the rich and filling Cashew Milk.  Made of raw cashew, cinnamon, vanilla bean, Himalayan sea salt, coconut oil, agave nectar and water, it tastes much like melted vanilla ice cream.  The coconut oil will form little lumps in this drink, so I it sit out for 15 minutes or so to warm slightly before shaking well and drinking up.

How did I fare? Day One wasn’t too bad, but I was away from my house most of the day and ended up carrying my bottles of juice in an insulated bag, with a few ice packs to keep them chilled.  A craving for nachos compuestos set in with a vengeance between 3-6pm, but I fought back with a small chunk of avocado.  Day Two was pretty bad, as I obsessed over food all day long.  I had to eat something, just had to, had to, had to, so I gave in and had a thick slice of cucumber and some lettuce.  I was trying hard to be as solid food-free as possible.  I was cranky and irritated and not much fun to be around that evening.  Day Three was smooth sailing, but I was still craving nachos compuestos.  I wasn’t having hunger pains, so it was all in my mind.  I will say that it was pure torture cooking dinner for my family during the juice cleanse.

The day after my cleanse I woke up happy to be able to eat solid food, but even happier that I had consumed around 50lbs of produce in each of the three days prior.  My skin looked great, and although I didn’t have any discernable energy boost, I did have a more even temper.  And I didn’t even get crabby when my husband pointed that little tidbit out to me!  (I was probably still jubilant over dropping 3lbs while cleansing.)

In the days since my cleanse, I have eaten lightly, with veggies comprising about 60% of my meals.  I’ve dropped an additional two pounds, which is a huge motivation to continue to eat more plants and fruits.  I found that now, four days post-cleanse, I am thinking more about what I put in my mouth, where it comes from, if it is organic, if it is local, and the nutrition it has to offer.  The juices from Skinny Limits were delicious, and even though the second day was evil, I can and will juice cleanse more often.

Tips:

• Make meals ahead of time for you family, if they are not juicing cleansing with you.  Leave the room or house while they eat.  Go outside, go to the gym, go to the library, go for a walk, go where every you need to so you do not torment yourself with the lovely, luscious smell of freshly baked lasagna.
• Taper off caffeine in the week prior to your cleanse.  You’ll avoid the caffeine-withdrawal headaches if you wean yourself from coffee, teas, and sodas.
• Skinny Limits will make juice by the gallon, for large gatherings of juice loving friends.
• Do not, I repeat, do not try to eat a bean and cheese breakfast taco on the first morning post-cleanse. Trust me.

Visit Skinny Limits on their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter, too.  For beginners, the 3 Day Cleanse is recommended, but there are longer ones and cleanses that involve raw foods.  Always remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with water between juices.