On Monday, I began a 3 day juice cleanse from The Ripe Stuff. It was my first since November! I’ve done a bunch of one and two day cleanses in between but never felt the need to do a full on 3 day like I did after traveling for a month and celebrating the 4th of July for 4 days straight. I wanted to do it because I was craving sugar and cheese like crazy and had been drinking a bit too much alcohol for my liking.
The first time I did a cleanse, I did not allow myself to cheat at all except a piece of gum on two of the days. Now, I’m a little more lenient with myself having a 1/4 avocado, 10 raw unsalted almonds or cashews or 1/2 a cucumber after my last juice but at least 2 hours before bed. It helped me sleep better. I did the cocktail cleanse but swapped the almond milk for the cashew nut milk made with cinnamon, dates and agave. It was delicious. I also asked for one the new watermelon juices from the “beet the heat” summer cleanse and it was delicious! Since it’s a small company, you can make substitutions.
So after the cleanse, you are supposed to eat a vegan diet. This something that I have yet to do post my cleanse experiences because I do them late in the week and struggle to do so without totally shifting my lifestyle. I was determined to do it this time! Technically, you’re supposed to do it before as well but hangover brunch at The Friendly Toast didn’t allow that to happen.
I started my day with a green smoothie made with Vega One Nutritional Shake, banana, kale, chia seeds, almond milk and ice. I had raw cashews as a snack (which probably was 2 or 3 servings… oops). For lunch, I bought a salad at Trader Joe’s that sounded like a winner for my post cleanse diet featuring quinoa, edamame, chickpeas, pumping seeds and cranberries. I don’t usually put cranberries on my salads because they always have added sugar and they are too tart for me but the convenience was worth it. I prefer raisins. I had another mid day Vega One shake with just almond and peanut butter in the afternoon. Before and after my spin class I had a few Honey Stinger chews. Dinner was a large raw salad with kale, avocado, black beans, raw pumpkin seeds, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes. Dressing was a cilantro thang that I later realized had dairy in it…. vegan fail. It was so hot in my apartment, that I made vegan banana soft serve in the Blend Tech for the first time for dessert.
I was a hungry lady after juicing for 3 days. I lost a total of 3 pounds from start to finish, about 2 less than normal for me with juice cleansing. Not sure what to make of it. I didn’t do it for weight loss but still I usually have more than 3 pounds of water weight to lose. The new Tone It Up diet plan has a bunch of new juice and smoothie recipes. I think that the next time I want a quick detox, the 7 day slim down will be my top choice implemented with a few juices or smoothies for meals 1, 2 and 3. I really like not eating solid food for the first half of the day as it helps with my digestion after lacking proper nutrients and fiber to help things move swiftly along.
Have you tried a 3 day cleanse since I first mentioned them back in November? What did you think of yours and which one did you try?
NEW VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENT
Are you a new mom, know a new mom or are currently pregnant? In honor of the royal baby, I created a video to help you learn how to flatten your abs after giving birth. Check it out on YouTube here.
