So my friend Emily and I decided to give a three day cleanse a try! I have always had this curiosity about cleansing. Then I became really interested in the idea when I heard about it on Eat, Drink, Love (unfailing addiction to reality TV, ESPECIALLY foodie TV shows, #notsorryaboutit).
It never really appealed to me to actually do a cleanse until I started in my yoga journey. The detoxifying element of it seemed like the best way to enhance my practice from a dietary aspect (insert hippie hashtag here). I had talked about it with Emily and she suggested we try the Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse together (strength in numbers!). So we did our research, scheduled three days on our calendars (Monday-Wednesday) and prepped ourselves for our new experiment!
We had read that all the ingredients would add up to about $16 a day. We found this to not quite be the case and ended up at about $25 to $30 a day. This could be because some things weren't in season so they were more expensive and we found we overbought on a couple things as well. To cut our costs a little we split some of the ingredients that we only used a little of (coconut oil, almond butter, probiotic, omega 3, flaxseed, etc.).
Since we decided to do this during the work week we both prepped our breakfast, lunch and snack drinks ahead of time and took them with us to work. The Sunday before I did all the cleaning, chopping and packaging so that each morning I could just dump the ingredients in the blender and pour them in to go cups.
Here is a print out of the Dr. Oz one page info sheet (for PDF
click here).
Day 1:
The morning started out good. The green tea detox drink was good but a little on the sweet side for my taste so I decided to eliminate the Stevia for the rest of the time. I really thought this was going to be gross because I'm not the biggest green tea fan but with the lemon it was very enjoyable!
The breakfast drink (water, flax seed, raspberries, banana, spinach, almond butter and lemon juice) was very yummy and pretty filling. We decided that will be our go to snack drink but we'll probably split it in half for snack. The breakfast drink is also coupled with half a multivitamin and a probiotic supplement.
Then came the lunch drink (celery, cucumber, kale, green apple, lime, melted coconut oil, almond milk and pineapple). I had prepped this one in the food processor to really break up the veggies. The flavor of it actually isn't too bad but the consistency is the killer. I ended up eating it with a spoon and chewing it. It's also pretty fibrous so it really fills you up and makes you a little bloaty. I could only eat about half of it. The lunch drink is paired with the other half of the multivitamin and an Omega 3 supplement. After lunch I was feeling really tired and sluggish which is typically when I have a little afternoon treat/pick me up (candy) but I just kept up with the water and waited for snack time.
I repeated half of the breakfast drink as my afternoon snack. Next was the dinner drink (mango, blueberries, coconut water, kale, lemon juice, avocado, cayenne pepper and flax seeds). I was expecting this to be really yummy with the blueberries in it but it wasn't my favorite. The aftertaste with the coconut water and cayenne pepper is kinda gross. It's also pretty thick consistency which makes it a little tough to get down. I was only able to drink 3/4 of this before I was too full to finish. This one really bothered Emily's stomach so she decided maybe this cleanse isn't for her.
I skipped my hip hop cardio class since you aren't supposed to do any strenuous exercise while cleansing so it doesn't "shock your system". I finished up the day with the 30 minute detox bath which was relaxing for the first 5 minutes then I got bored. But overall it was a good way to end the evening.
Day 2:
Morning was good, the detox drink was MUCH better without the Stevia. The breakfast drink was my favorite drink and I decided I could probably drink this for breakfast even while not cleansing.
Lunch was rough as I was very cold from the recent drop in temps so I was really craving something warm to eat. But I just ate half the lunch drink then saved the other half for day 3. Again this one made me feel pretty bloated and full.
Dinner was much easier with the use of a straw this time around. The aftertaste is still tough to get through but not totally terrible. My yogalates class had a week break so I didn't have that to go to in the evening. The detox bath was relaxing and I slept like a log that night! I could get used to these baths but maybe just an abbreviated timeframe.
Day 3:
Made it to day three! Felt really good in the morning (although mother nature and traffic tried to put a damper on it with snow, yes I said SNOW, in the middle of October, ICK!). Detox drink was very welcome to warm me up in my chilly office. Breakfast drink was still good but I got a little tired of the seeds.
Lunch was tough this time around, thankfully I went home for lunch. I thought having spilt the previous day's drink in half then putting it in the fridge would be fine, turns out it gets bitter and gross overnight. I remade the lunch drink with fresh ingredients but still couldn't get through half of it, I gave up and decided to wait for snack. I had the majority of my snack drink (breakfast recipe) in the afternoon.
Dinner drink was fine, I lessened some of the coconut water in hopes of making it taste better but ended up having to add the regular amount because it wasn't liquifying enough. Enjoyed my detox bath then had a pretty good night's sleep. I woke up the next morning feeling much better than before!
Results:
As for quantifiable results, I lost 4 pounds which I wasn't really expecting. It also seemed to help clear up some of the breakouts I'd been having on my face.
Not sure that you can really put a measurement on how I feel but it seems like I have more energy even in the chilly weather. I was worried that my stomach would get upset when I switched back to more solid foods but it really hasn't been bad. It seems like the first couple days after cleansing I have had a heightened awareness of how foods effect my body. So this has helped me make better food choices and listen to my stomach when its satisfied.
I went to yoga a couple days after the cleanse and I felt more intune with my body and its abilities that day. So I think I accomplished at least part of my original goal which was to enhance my practice.
I want to keep up with the vitamins and supplements at least for a couple weeks. It seems like people are getting sick with the change in seasons so I want all the immune system defense I can get!
I learned that cleansing is just as much mental as it is physical. It takes some mental toughness to get through it! With it just being three days it helps with the mental aspect (insert tough sports coach's voice saying "you can do anything for three days!"). I would definitely consider doing a cleanse again, maybe just not this specific one. I imagine it would be a nice way to reset the systems after the holidays or after a period of not so healthy eating.
Tips:
- Take your time with each drink. They are all pretty filling so sipping on it helps you realize when to stop. I found that going through some backed up DVR helps take your mind off it as well as slows you down.
- If possible, avoid tempting situations (restaurants, happy hours, etc.) I think this really helps with your mood throughout the cleanse. I tend to get, as Chris likes to call it, "hangry" (hungry and angry) when I'm hungry or dieting. But surprisingly I never really had any hangry spells!
- If you happen to be a freeze baby like me you may want to consider this for warmer months as everything except the morning detox and evening detox are cold. Or maybe just plan for a time when the seasons aren't changing and your body is used to the temperatures. We had a significant drop in temps so my body was still trying to get used to it.
- Continue to drink plenty of water, its imperative when cleansing.
- Buy frozen fruits (raspberries and blueberries) to save some money for those that aren't in season.
So there's my cleanse review! I've got quite a backlog of new recipes I didn't even realize I had so I promise to share those soon. Some of them have been the result of cleansing and satisfying my fruit and veggie cravings! I also have a fun tailgate idea to share! So there's lots to come, stay tuned!
Cheers!
Steph
