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Courtesy of BluePrint Cleanse
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DAY THREE
Last day! I'm typing this as I'm finishing up my #5 juice (Green Juice), and I have to admit: I'm extremely happy that there are only a few army-green sips left in my immediate future. Today I've been preoccupied with food, I think because my mind and body are getting excited about the cleanse's last day. I've never run a marathon, but I assume this is similar to what it feels like when you're single-digit miles away from the finish line. The beef of the race is behind you, and you're almost there—but not quite. Since I don't want to take you through another play-by-play of each juice (I'm sure you get it by now), here's my overall takeaway from my BluePrintCleanse experience, outlined below.
The most difficult parts of the cleanse:
- Finding things to do with friends at night. I didn't make any nighttime plans during my cleanse and had to shift my social schedule around. How miserable would it be to be wolfing down your burrito while the other person is sipping on a Spicy Lemonade?
- Not being able to eat. Like I mentioned in the past two days, I haven't exactly been hungry, weak, or sick. But I miss food.
- Getting used to the Green Juice taste. We have another woman in the office who is testing BluePrintCleanse's Renovation Cleanse (which has the beet juice in place of the Green Juice). She claims she'll take the beet over the green any day. But keep in mind that you will get used to the taste.
- Not having regular bowel movements. (TMI alert!) It's not that I felt constipated or had stomach pains, but as weird as it sounded, I kind of missed (and was intrigued) by not being so "regular," plus I didn't like the idea of any waste sitting inside of me. Today I bought Organic Smooth Move tea, and believe me—it worked. I highly recommend it to help your body flush out the toxins and waste that the juices are digging up from your insides. All of the liquid detox ladies I know have tried it—and swear by it.
- Crazy amounts of bathroom breaks. But at the same time, there was something refreshing about having clear pee all the time.
The easiest part of the cleanse:
- Not having to think about what I was eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. BluePrintCleanse makes it easy by numbering all of your drinks for the day. In fact, their slogan is "We think, You drink."
- All your juices delivered at once, but this only goes for the 3-day cleanse. Since the company wants the juices to be as fresh as possible, you would receive your 5-day cleanse in two installments. Some cleanse programs deliver every day, which could hinder on the time you drink your first juice of the day. This combined with the point above makes the program great for anyone with a super-packed schedule.
- Even though I've harped on the "unique" taste of the Green Juice a few times, the juices did go down very smoothly. BluePrintCleanse has done a great job in making their juices tasty enough that even the most timid palettes won't have a problem choking them down.
- The BluePrintleanse website. It has all the materials, information, and facts that you need to get on track for your cleanse. They even provide you with a "cheat sheet" along with your order because they know we're all human. (For the record—I didn't cheat once!)
Lastly, here's a few things that I learned about myself while on this cleanse:
1. My body doesn't need a ton of bread or pasta to function, so long as my diet is balanced with nutritional foods.
2. I've seen proof that my snacking habit was as a result of boredom, routine, and a reward system—not because I was hungry.
3. Oftentimes, hunger can be mistaken for thirst. Drink up that water!
4. I still have the willpower and discipline that I had in college. Believe me—seeing everyone with grilled cheese and tomato soup today was killer. But I resisted and stayed upstairs with my Green Juice. Now I know I can say no to fried chicken night.
5. Now that I've seen how positively my body and mind have reacted to a pure-juice cleanse, I'm vowing to eat more vegetables in their raw state. (Cooking diminishes the nutritional value.)
6. It's a great kick start to any new diet or weight-loss program that you're just starting. It's also great for a post-holiday refresher after you've binged on a bunch of sweets and treats.
I've lost about five pounds, but I haven't been doing BluePrintCleanse for the quick-fix weight loss. I learned in college while trying the poor-man's version of the South Beach Diet that dropping weight so quickly on account of food is never a long-term thing. I expect to see those pounds back in a a few days or so once I start eating solid food.
I would do BluePrintCleanse again, and I'd probably stick with the Foundation level. (The third level is called "Evacuation" and there's FOUR Green Juices involved.) But I would only do it again if I needed to give my sluggish body a jump start. I personally think it might be better to do it during the summer, when there's a larger abundance of healthy eating and outdoor wellness. The past few days have been below 30 degrees, which in my head calls for hot chocolate and a hefty meal.
Guess what, my last Green Juice is done! One more Cashew Nut Milk and I'm finished! I still haven't decided what I'm eating tomorrow, but I'll need to keep it to vegetables, fruits, and nothing too weighty. Tomorrow starts my "breaking of the cleanse" and BPC outlines how to do it here. Thanks for coming along for my juice journey. Be sure to check back in February when we discuss the 7 different detox diets and plans that our brave testers have trucked through, and their experiences along the way.
Tell us: Have you ever done a juice cleanse or a detox program? What has your experience been like? Not that you know a bit more, would you try a juice cleanse program?
