I’ve been working out consistently for a few years now, but what I can never seem to get a full handle on is my diet! Here’s the thing…when I do diet, I see the results. I tend to go with extreme diets (I did keto twice) and then revert back to my old eating habits.
While I’m very happy with my working out regime, I truly believe mastering my diet will have the best results for me and my body.
So, with that, I’ve decided to try a 7-day juice cleanse. The timing of this cleanse coincides with an upcoming trip to Hawaii, but my ultimate goal is to reset my body, my palette, and my mindset!
Obviously, I want to lose some extra weight on the cleanse, but that’s not my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is to take back control of my food consumption.
I let food control me! It’s so crazy, but I do. I get excited to eat. I eat when I’m bored. I eat to enjoy the taste. And, if I’m hungry…forget about diet!
When my hunger cravings kick in, I just want to eat tasty foods…like carbs. I love pasta! So, I want to be very intentional with this cleanse and let this kick start my healthy-eating lifestyle change.
I decided to document in for anyone also looking to do a similar cleanse. In fact, a lot of people requested I share how it goes on Instagram! I also wanted to record the changes over the 7 days, for my reference and for my continued growth long after the cleanse.
A Few Days Before
Prior to committing to the juice cleanse, I decided to go on a mostly-salad diet. I would have a protein shake and coffee for breakfast, and salads for lunch and dinner. I’d have a few small snacks thrown in the mix.
I’d say this was 80% of my routine for a few weeks before the cleanse. The other 20% still consisted of the diet, but with cheat meals thrown in.
Since I was starting the juice cleanse on a Sunday, I decided not to go cold turkey. The Friday before, I started to reduce the amount of food I typically eat, and increase the amount of water I drink.
I’m good about drinking 60-80 ounces of water a day. With the juice cleanse, the recommendation is to drink at least a gallon of water every day (128 ounces). So, I started that on Friday.
I also made it a point to skip my typical weekend coffees. The only things I planned to consume on the cleanse were the juices and water, so may as well be as ready as possible! On Saturday evening, my 7-day juice cleanse (from Squeezed) showed up!
Day 1 Recap
Day 1 was easier than I thought. Granted, I went in with pretty low expectations. It also helped that the juices tasted pretty good! I created a schedule for my 6 juices to follow each day:
Juice 1 – 7:30am
Juice 2 – 10:00am
Juice 3 – 12:00pm
Juice 4 – 2:30pm
Juice 5 – 5:00pm
Juice 6 – 7:30pm
In between my juices, I made it a point to drink about a gallon of water throughout the day. I also went to the gym and did a low-resistance workout. Throughout the day I went to the bathroom more than usual, but that was to be expected.
Because I know my weaknesses with food, I decided to think of each juice as a “meal”. That way, I could still get excited about my meal, but I’m really just having my required juice.
I think this made a big difference as well. I didn’t have strong hunger urges throughout the day. I also didn’t experience any headaches or discomfort, unlike my boyfriend, who’s doing the cleanse with me.
All-in-all, day 1 was a success!
Day 2 Recap
My second day of the juice cleanse was on a Monday, and I make it a point to workout every morning Monday through Friday. That didn’t stop during cleanse week. What was different was that I didn’t take any pre-workout, and I noticed a difference.
I definitely wasn’t as pumped and energized as I normally am. I made it through my workout, but it felt more difficult than usual – I attribute that to no food consumed in over 24 hours.
I stuck to my schedule of when to drink the juices and I didn’t have any bad cravings. I had a few instances where I felt hungry, but made it a point to chug some water! I’m not feeling bad, having headaches or feeling weak. I’d say day 2 was another success.
Day 3 Recap
Day 3 of the cleanse was another success! I worked out in the morning, but definitely felt lower energy than my normal workouts, both with food and pre-workout. I stuck to my guns and followed the schedule for drinking the juices.
I had some hunger cravings at night, but made it a point to drink a lot of water, and that made the difference. I had a mentally draining day, and that caused me to want to eat. However, I’m showing myself that I’m fully capable of controlling what I eat, my thoughts around eating and when I eat.
Fun fact – the scale shows I’m down 3lbs!
Day 4 Recap
Something interesting came up on day 4 – my bathroom trip was very colorful! I know that may seem like TMI (too much information), but when I had done research on a juice cleanse, no one mentioned that!
After digging deeper, certain fruits and vegetables can cause discoloration of your urine. That’s exactly what happened!
Outside of that, day 4 was as smooth as the other days. I wavered on my drinking schedule, just because of so much happening during the day, but all juices were consumed!
Day 5 Recap
To me, day 5 has been the hardest. Not from a hunger perspective, but a boredom perspective. I’m bored with the juices! I’m ready to incorporate healthy foods back into my diet!
I will say that this cleanse has made me realize that I’m not as hungry as I think I am (when I’m not doing a cleanse) and that I don’t have to indulge my “hunger” with bad foods, just because I’m “starving”. That may be the best thing that can and will come out of this cleanse!
I’m still pushing through my workouts – it’s rough without food to fuel me and pre-workout to get me going in the mornings. I’m tired, but I’m not. It’s hard to put my finger on it!
It’s like I have more mental clarity and my tiredness isn’t from a lack of food, but the mental strength of going through a 7-day cleanse.
2 more days to go!!!
Day 6 Recap
Day 6 was definitely easiest from a hunger/cravings perspective. At this point, I didn’t have any desires to eat anything bad…or, anything at all. My boyfriend is doing the cleanse with me and he’s having a much harder time controlling himself than I am. He wanted to eat tonight! I told him that he can, but I’m holding out!
Day 7 Recap
My final day! I had my first 2 juices of the day, then my boyfriend and I ended up getting a healthy dinner. I used it as an opportunity to control what I eat and how much I eat, and I did good!
A part of me would have liked to get through the full day, but I’m very proud of how much control I had over the past 6 days. I was truly expecting the worse. Now, I want to move forward with smaller food portions, healthier foods overall, and drinking a gallon of water a day.
Overall, I would say this juice cleanse was a huge success! Here are some of my most memorable wins:
- I lost 6lbs
- I took control of my cravings and hunger
- I stayed strong and followed the regime
- I’m no longer craving food that doesn’t serve my body
Here are a few surprises:
- I broke out
- My urine was colorful
- I technically only lasted 6 ½ days, but will use the remaining juices as meal replacements
I would definitely recommend the cleanse to someone looking to take control of the way they think about food, and what they do with food. It’s a wonderful reset! If you have any questions, feel free to drop them below and I’ll do my best to answer!
