what happened when I...

Lately I have been feeling a little off. I've been tired, bloated, headachy... you get the picture. I decided to try something new.
I'm not going to sugar coat it - I'm going to give you the raw deets. While everyone's experience is unique, this is what happened when I tried a juice cleanse.

I woke up in the morning tired as hell, but I was excited about the prospect of feeling amazing after downing some juice. My juice cleanse was delivered to my condo sometime between 5 and 8 am on a Saturday. I picked it up from the front desk around 8:30 and cracked open my "Clean Zing", a bevy made from alkaline water, lemon and liquid cayenne. It was tasty and invigorating. But I was hungry. I wondered when my hunger would subside. I thought about ditching the cleanse and making some eggs and toast.

My second juice, "The Good", was designated for mid-morning and was a mix of romaine, spinach, cucumber, celery, lemon and himalayan salt. I've had The Good before and it's pretty good. I was pleased with the flavour and this felt a little more like food. Still I was hungry, and I felt like I'd drank a swimming pool already. I've always found it challenging to get enough fluids. I just don't like drinking. It makes me feel full (but not satisfied), and I prefer to reserve that space for tasty food. This is something I'm working on.

My third juice was a shot - of E3 Live. I can't tell you what this is exactly, but it's supposed to be really good for you and it tastes like what I imagine windshield washer fluid tastes like. It's best to just toss this back and pretend it never happened.

My fourth juice, which I was to sip throughout the day, was a Brazil Nut Milk. This one was pretty tasty. I also liked that it was a bit thicker, and thus more satisfying. I nursed this one for about two hours and felt pretty good afterward.

My fifth juice - mid-afternoon - "The Giver".  Kale, collards, rainbow chard, celery, cucumber, pea sprouts, sunflower sprouts, lemon and ginger. At this point, I was pissed. I wanted pasta. I wanted to chew solid food. The juice tasted fine, but I felt like I had been drinking constantly for five years.

My sixth juice - another shot, this time of raw aloe. I have never consumed aloe before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But this was pretty refreshing and totally tolerable.

My seventh juice, The Good again, for after work (though this was a weekend). I knew what to expect this time around. I tried to imagine it was a big leafy salad. At this point, I had a burst of energy. That lasted about half an hour and then I went back to sitting on my butt. I honestly don't think I would've been able to complete this challenge on a work day. I found it took a lot of concentration to drink the juices in the proper order and to space them out evenly. It also took all of my will power not to microwave a pizza pop. If I had been at work, I probably would've made a horrible accounting error or bit someone...

My eighth and final juice - the Chia Seed Hydrator - alkaline water, chia seeds and lemon. A welcome break from the green things. I sipped this one happily knowing that I was almost finished the cleanse. Also, it was fun watching the seeds float around. I should mention that you are supposed to drink water in between each of these juices. This was probably the most challenging part of the whole thing. I was so busy thinking about the order of the juices and when I was supposed to start the next one, that adding glasses of water seemed like an impossible task.

After the eighth and final juice, I went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up, stomach rumbling. "I CAN EAT!", I shouted at my husband. I made breakfast. I have never been more thankful for food. Out of curiosity, I weighed myself. I was 4 pounds lighter. Yikes.

I was quite tired that day. I didn't have a lot of energy to expel. But two days later, I felt amazing. I felt energized - almost like a new woman! I wondered if  the cleanse had in fact worked. I can draw no conclusion other than yes. 

That being said, I have no idea how anyone could complete a multi-day cleanse. I was so crabby after just one day, any longer and I'd have been mistaken for the wicked witch of the west. But maybe I just need to work on my will power/general attitude.

Have you done a juice cleanse? How did you like (hate) it? What were your results? Would you do it again? I guess I would. (Maybe in like, a year.)