Juice Detox – my review!

Don’t worry you are on the right blog – today’s post is my recent trial of completing a juice detox or as some call it a juice cleanse.  For a while I have been feeling ‘sluggish’ to choose a word, just a result of running the blog, having a job, loosing weight and getting fit, combined with limited sleep and my consumption of coffee, chocolate and the bull of red drinks.  You know the drill, just like everyone else who is working their socks of to achieve their dream.

I wasn’t looking to lose weight as such,  but give myself a dose of healthy before the crazy festive season starts.  I had heard of juice detoxing through twitter friends, so I took to trusty google to set about finding myself a solution.  I am time poor at the moment, so it had to be a solution that did  not involve lots of shopping or blending.  I found Soulmatefood who have a number of programmes available in the UK for you to choose from, including a juice cleanse as well as food weight loss.

Having made contact I decided on the 5 day juice detox and waited for my juices to arrive!

juice detox

So what exactly is the Soulmatefood cleanse?  From the literature:

Jump start your metabolism for long term benefits. Our amazing fruit based, all natural cleanse not only rids your body of harmful toxins, but will help to increase metabolic performance and energy output, leading you on your journey to optimum health.

This scientifically designed juice and smoothie cleanse helps to improve efficiency of body function and digestion, due to a cleaner colon, leading to improved absorption of nutrients.

You have six juices per day and the programme lasts five days.  You have to drink 6 glasses of water a day, you can exercise lightly and don’t drink any other fluid other than juices and water. Each juice contains approx 200 calories so 1200 a day consumption.

I knew that in order to limit the detox symptoms I needed to cut down on coffee so I started on a tour of fruit teas in the weeks leading up to the cleanse.  My diet is mainly protein and vegetable, fruit based so I made sure to be strict in the days before the cleanse starts, this is not a time to go and be bad before starting the cleanse.

It felt like Christmas when the juices arrived, I unpacked them all into the fridge and then OCD made it look like a little shop, labels facing forward.

Day 1 of Juice Detox

Starting the day with Juice 1 when I woke up and then have one every two hours.  Juice flavours:

Juice 1 – Carrot, Orange, Ginger & Superfoods
Juice 2 – Pineapple, Banana & Coconut
Juice 3 – Antioxidant Blend, Cherries & Mixed Berries
Juice 4 – Apple, Beetroot & Blackcurrant
Juice 5 – Orange, Mango & Passion Fruit
Juice 6 – Strawberry, Banana, Grape & Orange.

I was pleasantly surprised that all of the juices were tasty and not a case of holding your nose and drinking.  I loved the Orange, Mango & Passion Fruit and this really didn’t feel like any kind of health drink at all.  A small point, but it is reassuring to me that the juices went out of date the day after I finished the detox, nothing that lasts 2 months here!

Day 1 was absolutely fine, I didn’t feel hungry although I thought I would and the day slipped by with ease and I didn’t feel like I was detoxing.

Day 2 & 3 of Juice Detoxing

Oh my lord! I woke up with the worst headache that basically didn’t leave for 2 days.  It wasn’t a strong crippling headache, but it lingered and I was more tired than usual, cold and according to hubby, a little grumpy. I had kind of expected this, but when you are doing your utmost to work as hard as possible, this was a hinderance.  I even had an afternoon nap!

juice cleanseDay 4 &5

GOOOOD MORNING ENERGY – the capitals is maybe one way that I can explain the energy deluge that I had on the start of Day 4 that lasted for 2 days.  After a really good nights sleep I was like the energiser bunny all day, went for runs, got all my work done, did some strategic planning for 2013 and had all my juices and water.  Hubby kept asking had I had some extra strong coffee as I was really like a women possessed! My skin looked great, really hydrated and glowing and the mind – yes the mind was extremely clear and full of wonderful ideas.

Day 4&5 were over the weekend so to feel like I was in the spirit I decanted one juice into a glass and felt like it was a cocktail!

Day 6

But it was a 5 day cleanse!  Exactly what do you do on day 6? Well the first thing I did was to check if I had lost any weight, which is one of the side effects = 4lbs off in 5 days.

When the Soulmatefood arrives they do encourage you to continue and complement your journey with their weight loss programme, but you need to order this the day after your shakes arrive, during your first day in order for there to be no break.  I hadn’t thought this far ahead, but wish I had been organised enough to sort this out.

On Day 6 I went back to my protein and vegetable diet, keeping to 6 small meals a day instead of 3 regular meals as my stomach had shrunk from not eating for 5 days.  The meal sizes were much smaller than usual, but I really had got used to consuming calories every 2 hours, so I made sure to carry snacks around with me.

Juice Detox – worth it?

I have struggled with how to write this incase you are reading this looking for a final piece of evaluation before you go ahead and purchase.  So the only way I can do this is completely honestly.

Day 1 was absolutely fine for me, but I was unprepared for day 2 and 3.  I knew that I might have detox symptoms, but I wasn’t prepared for the level and the impact on working. However I did feel great on day 4 onwards and 1 week after the detox and I have only put 1 pound back on, I am guessing due to the rapid loss.

If you are asking me would I do a juice detox again then the answer is yes – BUT I would make sure that my workload and commitments meant that I was able to be flexible how and when I worked those days, whilst your body is actually trying to detox.

I would also ask yourself what are your motivations?  Are you looking to actually detox or lose weight.  The cleanse made me think a lot more about the drinks and vitamins that I consume and my biggest flaw, actually listening to my body. This doesn’t mean I will not be working the same hours, just that I will now know load and clear that I am tired 😉

Before you start also look at what you are going to do on day 6 once you have finished the detox.  Don’t do this half way through the detox, but I would make sure that I had a plan in place.  I would include a meal plan, as not eating for 5 days makes your brain go all kinds of funny when you are trying to work out what you want to eat!

Visit www.soulmatefood.com for more information about the Juice Cleanse and other programmes.

Have a fabulous Saturday

monique trulove --wedding blogger

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