I Tried One of Those Clean Juice Cleanses and Here Are My Thoughts…

Have you ever wanted to try one of those Clean Juice cleanses? Well, my husband and I tried one and here is our review.

So if you follow me on Instagram, you know that last week, my husband and I tried our first Clean Juice 3-day juice cleanse. I have heard so much about these over the past few years and I’d wanted to try one. You know how much I love Clean Juice – it’s one of my favorite places… since I’d received a lot of questions about their cleanses and since I was intrigued myself, I figured I’d give it a try. My husband was interested in trying it with me, so we banded together! I will say, having the support of someone else to do it with made it so much easier than it probably would have been otherwise.

I’ll get my disclaimers out of the way:

• A juice cleanse is not going to be for everyone and that is a-okay! If this is not for you, no worries. I am simply sharing my personal experiences.
• Do not do a cleanse if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• A Cleanse also might not be right for you if you have a history with eating disorders or anything like that.
• This is not meant for weight loss (although that could be a by-product). It’s really about resetting the body.
• These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your physician before beginning any diet or cleanse program. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional. Consult with your healthcare professional to design an appropriate nutrition prescription. If you experience any pain or difficulty with this cleanse, stop and consult your healthcare provider.
• If you have any questions or concerns AT ALL, speak with your doctor, a registered dietician, or a certified personal trainer who has knowledge about this… Speak with someone who KNOWS YOU AND YOUR SITUATION.

Again, I am simply sharing my personal experience! I am always up front and honest with you and this is something I wanted to try, so there you have it. I am not getting paid, I did get to try it for free in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. 🙂 

Also, fasting in general, is not a new fad at all. People have fasted for literally thousands of years. There are many, many different types of fasts. Fasting can be GREAT for the body if done safely and properly. A juice fast is simply just one type of fast. 

OKAY! Now that we’ve got that out of the way… Here’s my review and experience with the 3-day Clean Juice Cleanse:

There are 5 different Cleanse options with Clean Juice... Juice till Dinner, 1-day, 2-day, 3-day, and 5-day. My husband and I chose to do the 3-day Cleanse.

The basic rundown is that you drink 6 specific organic cold-pressed juices in a specific order all day. You can also have as much water as you want. If you are a coffee drinker, Clean Juice says that you can still have organic black coffee (nothing added) or organic tea (again, nothing added) if you want. Otherwise, that’s it. Just the juices and water.

Why Cleanse?

We are all SO busy and so we can often forget to take care of our bodies. The standard American diet contains A LOT of processed food and over time, a lot of toxins get built up in our organs and our bodies. Yes, our liver performs as a detoxer, but still, sometimes it just gets backed up or overwhelmed and junk remains in our system. Sugar cravings? Caffeine cravings? Junk food cravings? That’s all due to our diets. The cleanse program is designed to give our body and our organs a much needed rest from everything we put into our bodies in our daily lives. The main goal of the Clean Juice juices is to flood our bodies with countless vitamins and minerals, allowing the body to rid itself of toxin build-up from our usual foods and environment. You’re putting good stuff in and flushing bad stuff out. Your stomach, liver, and colon gets a nice reset!

Now, what’s the difference between “Juicing” juices and the juice you buy at the store?

Clean Juice juices are cold-pressed. Unlike a centrifugal juicer, the cold-pressing technique generates no heat when it is extracting the juice, making sure that the enzymes and nutrients from the fruits and vegetables stay in tact. Clean Juice also does not HPP, or high-pressure process, their juices. This is a form of pasteurization that also can alter the integrity of the juice. Cold pressing allows their juices to have a shelf life of a few days, and during this time the nutrient content and taste will remain as fresh as possible.

The order of the Clean Juice juices through the cleanse each day is: 

• Wake up with Sweet Green – contains Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Apple, Mint
• Next enjoy the Orange juice – contains Orange, Carrot, Pineapple, Turmeric
• At lunch drink the Green juice – Spinach, Celery, Kale, Cucumber, Ginger, Lemon
• Next is the Yellow (aka: spicy lemonade) – Filtered Water, Lemon, Cayenne, Maple Syrup
• For dinner – my favorite – the Red – Beet, Apple, Carrot, Lemon
• For dessert – DELICIOUS – the White – Cashews, Filtered Water, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Maple Syrup, Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Day One

Day one, for me, was the hardest. All of my cravings were kicking in. I was thinking about all the food I could be eating. I looked at the food my kids were eating and I was like, “GIVE ME PRETZELS AND STRING CHEESE.” It was definitely challenging, but anytime I felt a craving I’d drink more water. My water intake the first day was insane!

Day Two

Day two was hard, but not as hard as day one was for me, personally. Some people say day two is harder… it just wasn’t for me. I did have a caffeine headache which wasn’t my favorite, but I’ve dealt with that before. My cravings were less the second day and I was definitely really hungry, but overall, it was getting better. I did also experience some fatigue / overall tiredness this day.

Day Three

For me, day three was awesome. I had this SURGE of energy. I felt great and wanted to go to the gym, so I did a low-impact workout, came home, and still had energy so I did TWO HOURS of yard work. Yes, that was probably a little much, but I felt good so I did. I did have a small handful of raw almonds in the afternoon because I knew I had burned so many calories I didn’t want my body feeling depleted. For my husband, my day two was his day three. He had the fatigue / hunger the most on day three. I have heard this is common with men just because of their metabolisms and hormones working differently than women’s.

Full disclosure, my husband and I decided to “break our fast” early with a light salad with leafy greens and veggies for dinner on the last day. We went Tuesday dinner – Friday dinner on the cleanse so we felt okay introducing a small, clean, light meal at the end. This ended up being a great choice for us and we both felt AMAZING on Saturday morning (day four, the first day of the cleanse being over).

How we felt after the cleanse: 

For me, I felt amazing. It really was the reset my body needed. Coming off the cleanse, I wasn’t bloated, I lost some water weight, and I had a lot of energy. My skin and hair also felt amazing! Seriously. Enough that even my husband noticed. The biggest thing though was that I was craving healthy food after the cleanse. It’s not that I ate horribly before the cleanse… we eat pretty healthy and clean at home… but I could certainly make better choices out or not snacking on crackers and pimento cheese (haha!) as often, etc. My body just really craved lean meats, veggies, salads… whole foods.

And in the week since the cleanse, my body has maintained those cravings. I am drinking more water, making better food choices daily, my sleep is better… it just was exactly the reset I needed.

Because I KNOW y’all want to know… and if you don’t, skip this part: “How was the bathroom situation?” 

Honestly, not that bad. I already drink about a gallon of water a day so my body is used to peeing a lot (#honesty). And, well, the other part? It really wasn’t all that bad. Yes, you do get flushed out, so to speak… but it really was nothing like I thought it would be in my head. I really do feel good!

My husband’s review:

“I can’t say I felt any different from an energy perspective during the cleanse. Some people talk about having so much more energy, but I didn’t experience that. But I also didn’t experience any of the headaches or general misery that I’ve heard some people talk about. Maybe because I eat clean enough in general, so my body wasn’t going through withdrawals like some people might.

I did shed some belly fat during the three days. I don’t know how much of it was just water weight, but my abs looked pretty good by the end of the cleanse.

I’ll probably do another three-day cleanse once a year or so. Or maybe a 1-2 day cleanse every 6 months. Right after Christmas to get rid of all the treats would be a good time.”

So now what about you? Have you ever done a Juice Cleanse? If you’re interested in trying one, I highly recommend Clean Juice! You can find a location near you here.