Before jumping right into the good and the less good of the Five-Day Juice Detox, here is a little recap of what happened last week: five days, five ginger shots, 20 juices of 550ml, and an indeterminate amount of herbal tea. Nothing else.
Here is the outcome of my experience, what’s clear is that it has been 100% beneficial for my body and my mind.
The good
It has cleansed my liver and kidneys, flushed the bad toxines, and cleaned my intestines;
I’ve been on top form and full of energy, I did the same amount of sport than on a usual week and never felt lightheaded or anything;
I’ve slept like a log and woken up well-rested every day. I usually sweat a lot at night and for some reason I haven’t at all since Day Two;
My skin has cleared up. I’ve always had tiny spots here and there, and they’re gone too;
I’ve been in a great mood the whole week with a light spirit;
I’ve been focused at work (except on Day Four);
I’ve shifted away from eating between meals and drinking too much tea and coffee (and hopefully I’ll stick to it!);
I know now that life without tea and coffee is possible;
I might have lost 1 kg or 2, but since I don’t ever weigh myself it’s hard to give you a figure;
The icing on the cake is that I’ve only produced biodegradable waste!
I have to say that one of the highlight of the experience has been to share it on my blog, with friends, colleagues and family; spark people’s interest get to discuss the benefits of juicing (and clean eating in general); and break down some clichés. The best and most rewarding of all is when friends tell me they bought a slow juicer and want to feel the goodness of fresh juices.
The less good
I’ve had a bad caffeine and theine withdrawal headache on the Day One;
The ‘mental hunger’ – the ‘I NEED FOOD’ episode – wasn’t pleasant, I wasn’t hungry, I just wanted to bite on something solid;
It’s quite a fair amount of preparation. I can’t chuck big pieces of fruit and vegetable in the slow juicer so it’s a lot of chopping;
It cost me a bit more than a normal week of groceries. I spent about €80 for the whole week (about 25 juices);
Buying pineapple in January, not ideal really – so at least I bought Fair Trade.
You too want to take up the challenge but five days seem a bit excessive? Start with one juice a day (breakfast ideally), then go one a one-day detox; a few months later you can do three, and if you feel like it, even five!
Start small, think big! If I can do it, you can too!
Picture: https://www.factretriever.com/raw-food-juicing-facts
Comments