Last week, one of my colleagues @boisibisphoto participated in the Boise Juice Co. 3-Day Juice cleanse. I was unable to because of my travel schedule.
Thankfully, she was able to document her ENTIRE EXPERIENCE. Here’s the good, bad & ugly of doing a Boise Juice Co. 3-Day Juice Cleanse.
day 1: boise juice co. cleanse
For anyone who’s never done a juice cleanse, you may find it terrifying. I sure did. Since having surgery in early September, I struggled to return to my normal healthy diet and the gym once I was able to. Even then, I kept finding excuses, and getting back into bad habits, like Starbucks every day. I found myself putting more on my plate, fugitively and literally, and using a lack of time as an excuse. Finally, I had it. I realized that I missed my old healthy habits of eating well and working out, but my current comfortable routine was hard for me to break. That’s when I decided a juice cleanse might be the perfect solution; a reset button.
I have never done a cleanse, or anything like it, so believe me when I say, I was scared. Luckily Jes at Boise Juice Co was totally transparent with me, letting me know it wouldn’t be easy. She also wanted me, through this blog, to show the good, bad, and ugly of the cleanse. So bear with me…
Day one actually starts the day before in the preparation. A Boise Juice Co employee and pro at juice cleanses, Journey, gave me some good insight when I went in to sample the juices. She said to start cleaner eating the day before starting, as it will help the digestive system during the cleanse so it isn’t working overtime trying to clean up the food while also not eating food. This little bit of advice I think made day one go so much better than it could have. She also helped me choose what type of cleanse to do. I chose the intermediate cleanse, that consists of 3 green juices, 2 fruit, and one protein. This is the most common make-up of the juices, but it can be adjusted to fit your needs.
Since it was Sunday, I slept in (thankfully) and didn’t get to my first juice until about 9:30 am, when I typically would have breakfast on a weekend. There are six juices each day, and are split up by approximately two hours between each, so starting later in the day, made for a more consistent frequency. The first juice I had was TropiKale, a green juice that was a nice wake up juice. There isn’t one juice that I tried at Boise Juice Co that I really didn’t like, so I’m not ever dreading any one juice, good taste goes a long way when there’s no food.
The next juice, Turn up the Beet, was one of my favorite, and no side effects hit me yet. With the third, I was beginning to get hungry. So I drank the RePear (another fave) and drank a lot of water. I wasn’t very active this day, which was slightly my own doing (homework procrastinator here) and also because I was feeling kind of tired. I’m writing this on day two, and I am definitely going to throw in some light exercise today, to use all of the nutrients and move it around my system. I began to get hangry at juice four, Vanity Pear, and wasn’t focusing on homework or really anything at that point. I was getting distracted by my cat, my boyfriend…SQUIRREL! I really felt out of sorts and extremely cold. I read in my handy Boise Juice Co book, that hot baths are good to help break a sweat and deliver the nutrients to different organs and tissues. So hot bath it was! I had the stomach pangs which I get when I’m not able to eat, but the bath soothed them some.
Juice 5 was reserved for going to my parent’s house, for dinner. Sunday dinners are common with my family, but it also happened to by my brother and sister-in-law’s first anniversary. So…they shared their cake top from their wedding as tradition has it. Willpower was strong last night, it was tough but I made it through, sipping on my Holy Kale of juices.
I was pretty tired at the end of the day, but I had my last juice to drink, Mai Chai. This was the juice with a concentration of protein in it so that I wouldn’t go to bed feeling hungry, and man was that right. This was actually the hardest one for me to get through because I was feeling so full. I don’t know how that happens! But each day has anywhere from 1100-1300 calories according to Boise Juice Co, so it is definitely possible.
Day one is done…on to day two!
DAY 2: BOISE JUICE CO. 3-DAY CLEANSE
So I made it to day two…and finished day two! I’m so excited!
As excited as I was, I don’t think day two was as hard as day one. The biggest difference was the headache that was close to breaking me. This is the most common complaint of a juice cleanse, so I reached out to Jes to ask what she does to remedy that excessive feeling. She asked if I was a coffee drinker before the cleanse, and I told her I was. Then, she asked if I was drinking any coffee during the cleanse, which is recommended for us addicts to help fend of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms, and I admitted that I had not had any coffee (black coffee scares me). She then suggested that when I went in to get my third day of juices to pick up a mocha shake or get some black coffee and use one of the “mylks” they press as a creamer. So I got a small black iced coffee and it did the trick (and didn’t taste half bad!). It kicked in about an hour after drinking it, and the headache was gone. But I also drank a TON of water as well. Let’s just say that if you are NOT going to the bathroom at least every two hours, you need more water. At least this is what happened for me…
Since I’m two thirds of the way done, I have gathered some of my own tips to remember or think of when considering a cleanse:
Accountability: I am so glad that I am sharing my experience through IG and through BoiseBucketList’s Blog. Telling the social media world, and my family of course, has kept me accountable for following through. Consider having a friend do a cleanse with you if you are like me and need someone to hold you accountable. Having a support system will make it easier. Or, post about it on your own social media. This will cut down on the temptation of “cheating.”
Drink Water: I know I mentioned this multiple times, but water is seriously important during the cleanse. I tried to get at least 16oz of water per juice, usually drinking between the juices.
Caffeine: Like I mentioned, if you are a religious caffeine drinker, do not stop cold turkey. I realized that drinking a black cup of coffee is not cheating your cleanse. Keep it small though, just enough to keep that headache at bay. If you still have a small ache – see the above importance of water.
Exercise: Day one, I was pretty tired. I didn’t want to do too much activity, but I wish I did more. If anything, go on a brisk walk. I did this on day two, and I felt livelier afterwards. I was kind of babying my body on day one, and I think part of it was I didn’t think I was getting the nutrients to keep active. However, the amount of calories in the cleanse is still a highly functional amount of calories. Maybe don’t go run ten miles, but still try to hit your 10k steps.
Attitude: You might be cranky. I was cranky, especially on Sunday. I warned my boyfriend to tread lightly. But we are all adults. You are doing something that is different than your routine, so just make sure you check yourself. If anyone hasn’t tried box breathing, this is a great time to learn.
BOISE JUICE CO. CLEANSE: DAY 3
Day three was the best. I probably sound like I’m gushing …but I’m being totally serious. I was sad it was ending. Part of this may have been because of how easy it was to know exactly what I was “eating” every day, with no prep work. But part of it was with how good I was feeling. My body was feeling so light yet still nourished. I had just as much energy as I was used to having. I was feeling good.
So on day 2, I gave some tips, but I think some things people want to know is the stuff no one ever wants to talk about. My mom is awesome, and asked the important questions. So here are some answers.
Q: How irritable were you?
A: Day one was the worst, I’ve said that before, and headaches were the second factor. However, my overall mood was not abnormally different.
Q: How were your bowels?
A: Ahhh the question everyone is thinking but no one was asking. Here it is. My assumption is everyone will have a different answer. I think what helped was the advice to start eating cleaner the day before I started the cleanse, to help my body not work as hard once I was eating less and giving my digestive system a break. So I think I was one of the luckier ones. I assume that when people hear cleanse, they think a similar experience to the process before a colonoscopy. My experience was better than that. Once again, drinking water is important here. But the honest truth, every few hours I would use the bathroom and the cleanse did a solid job. The second day had a similar but less frequent experience. If changing to a cleanse is a drastic change from how you normally eat, this may not be as smooth of a transition.
Q: Did you like the juices?
A: Yes! There wasn’t a juice I didn’t like. The joy of Boise Juice Company also is the ability to sample the juices and cross of any that you may not like. I had too many favorites to name!
Q: Was it hard?
A: Any challenge is hard, or it wouldn’t be a challenge. If you are determined and have willpower and accountability, it will be easier.
Q: Did you lose weight?
A: Yes, I lost about 7 lbs, but granted, a lot of that is the cleanse seriously getting rid of crap in your body. I lost about an inch around my middle, but I would chalk it up to the same stuff. This isn’t a weight loss program, but it is a good start for anyone who is ready to take the reins on a new healthier eating regimen.
Q: Would you recommend it?
A: Absolutely! If you have motivation and curiosity, it is definitely worth your time.
Q: Is it worth the cost?
A: Yes. The cost from Boise Juice for a cleanse is $48 per day. If you can afford it or can plan and save for it, I think it is worth it.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: Again? For sure! My inside friend at Boise Juice does a cleanse quarterly, and it sounds like a good idea. I could see using it myself whenever I feel like I get off my good eating habits and need that extra help to reset my body (say…after the holidays?).
For anyone who has any other specific questions, or just want to chat DM me on Instagram @boisibisphoto.