I did it!! I finished my 5 day Jus by Julie cleanse and it was honestly one of the best decisions I've made in a while! Here's the play by play of my 5 day adventure and how it all came to be...
I've been wanting to do a cleanse for a while, but the timing always seemed wrong. Then I realized...the timing is NEVER going to be perfect, and I just had to put on my big girl pants and do it. Once I decided this...all the stars aligned and the cleanse came to be.
When I ordered, my initial plan was to start on "Friday the 13th" and write this dramatic blog about cursing myself with no food for 5 days. Blah Blah Blah. Due to a hiccup in shipping, my order was stuck in Memphis, TN for another night. Well...of course....I panicked thinking..."What do I do? My plan is ruined! I rearranged my entire schedule around this! Why me?!? Will the juice be fresh? How many nutrients is is losing as it sits there in Tennessee without me?!?". Well.... the angels from Jus by Julie came swooping in to save the day. They assured me that the juices are packed to ensure an extra day of shipping and freshness, but just to be sure I get the freshest juice possible, they would overnight me another 5 day cleanse that day for no extra charge. WOW!!! Talk about customer service! So...on Friday the 13th, when I got home from my staff meeting, I had not one...but TWO 5 day juice cleanses on my doorstep. This hiccup was a blessing!! It changed my whole mentality and served as another example as to why I should just roll with the punches because everything really does happen for a reason.
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| Heaven on earth!! |
The juices came fresh (not frozen) rubber banded together in bundles of 6. I kept out days 1 and 2, and put days 3,4, and 5 in the freezer.....along with days 1-5 of the second cleanse (YAAYY!)
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| 5 days of awesomeness right here! |
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| Freezer...fully stocked with 48 bottles! |
Ok...now....on to the real reason you're reading this! Here's how it went down...
I decided to take a tablet of spirulina and chlorella (3 of each a day) with each juice along with my normal multivitamins since they are know for helping to draw out the toxins. They are like green little magnets that help to get all the crap out of your system....and while we're on the subject, yes...it was green every day. Sorry if that was a little TMI for some but hey...I tell it like it is. I also took 2 triphala a day which is part of my daily routine anyways. Triphala is an Ayurvedic formula traditionally used for immune system stimulation, improvement of digestion, relief of constipation, gastrointestinal tract cleansing, relief of gas, treatment of diabetes, and treatment of eye disease. Also, after the 1st 4 juices of each day, I filled the bottle with water and finished that during the time until the next one. In addition had a 33 oz bottle of smart water I drank throughout each day along with a cup of tea here and there.
So yes...I was constantly drinking and peeing nonstop!
DAY 1
8:30 - Morning Glory (1)
9:45 - 16oz water
10:15 - Lung and throat tea (i'm a singer.....couldn't resist)
11:30 - Spicy Lemonade (2)
12:45 - 16oz water
1:30 - Sweet spin (3)
2:00 - 16oz water
4:45 - Chia Berry (4)
5:30 - Finish 33.8oz Smart Water
6:30 - 16oz Water
7:00 - Not So Chunky (5)
9:20 - Sweet Spin (6)
Saturday morning.....let's do this. I started the day excited and ready to go. Making it through the first 2 juices were a breeze! They tasted great which was a plus! By mid afternoon...I just had this urge to chew...I wasn't hungry...I just wanted to chew something. Easy fix....Drink more water. I decided from the start that drinking more would be my solution to all urges and cravings! Guess what....it worked! I continued to feel pretty great throughout the day and even did some yard work in the hot Florida sun. Probably not my best decision in hindsight, but hey....it had to get done! Once I finished...I had the Chia Berry drink. Woah! What a reward. It was delicious and SOOO refreshing after being outside in that hot sun! My husband took a sip and literally said....and I quote..."Wow! That's tasty!". Now that's saying something coming from him!! We were having a couple friends over for a BBQ that night so by 6 pm the conversations were flowing and burgers were flipping.......and I was drinking my water and fading fast. By 7 pm...I thought I was going to fall over and pass out. I was really spacey and weak, and the cherry on top.....pounding headache. I was expecting the crappy feeling to hit me at some point so I wasn't surprised when it did. I chose not to take any pain reliever for it since I knew what it was from and the whole point was to detox right??? So....I powered through. By 10 pm I was a total zombie monster. Lights out for me....
DAY 2
9:00 - Morning Glory (1)
10:45 - 16oz water and Lung and throat tea
12:00 - Spicy Lemonade (2)
12:45 - 16oz water
2:45 - Sweet spin (3)
3:30 - 16oz water
4:50 - Finish 33.8oz Smart Water
5:40 - Pukka Organic Detox tea
6:00 - Chia Berry (4)
6:45 - 16oz Water
8:00 - Not So Chunky (5)
9:45 - Sweet Spin (6)
Sunday morning hit me like an 18 wheeler! I was a little better than the night before...possibly because I just slept 10 hours straight. Well....aside from the middle of the night bathroom trips. I just kept on fighting through. I Showered, got ready for church, threw my spicy lemonade in a cooler and headed out the door. I slowly started to feel better, just weak with a light constant headache. After church, I cracked open juice number 2 and headed to Lowes for more home improvement stuff. The spicy lemonade gave me a little buzz which was nice. But after about an hour or more of walking through the store trying to pick out new ceiling fans and solar lights for the walkway......I again started to fade. I gave my husband the warning and we called it a wrap and headed home. Next on the list of things to do.....Fathers day BBQ....and who was cooking? Ding Ding Ding....ME!! Being the awesome wife I am, I fired up the grill and proceeded to cook up some boneless spare ribs for hubby while enjoying my 3rd juice, sweep spin (see photo below). It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Did I want to tear into those ribs like there was no tomorrow?? ABSOLUTELY....but I once again powered through, keeping in the back of my mind, I was doing this cleanse to better my health and get back on track! I did some chores around the house the rest of the day feeling pretty good. Once again, by 8 pm, I was beat. The headache started to come back and I got weaker by the hour. By 10:30 I was out like a light.
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| Fathers day feast! |
DAY 3
8:15 - Lung and throat tea
8:30 - Morning Glory (1)
9:30 - 16oz water
11:20 - Spicy Lemonade (2)
12:30 - 16oz water
2:15 - Sweet spin (3)
3:30 - 16oz water
4:30 - Chia Berry (4)
5:00 - Finish 33.8oz Smart Water
6:30 - 16oz Water
7:30 - Not So Chunky (5)
9:30 - Sweet Spin (6)
10:00 - Pukka Organic Detox tea
Monday morning...back to work. I woke up feeling alert and awesome! Then I panicked...How could I do that??? WHY would I do that??? Threw away all that sacrifice for jellybeans?? Jelly Belly jelly beans????Phew......get a grip! It was just a dream! I had a dream on Sunday night that I was at a water park. Awesome right? NO! At the top of the biggest slide in the park was someone hanging out jellybeans to everyone who came through the line. So....I ate them. A lot of them. If you know me, you know how crazy that is cause i'm not really a sweet's person. I'm the type who would rather have 2 servings of dinner and no dessert. Total food lover! Once I got my wits about me, I got out of bed and started my day. It was like I had a whole new outlook on life. I was feeling great both inside and out. I even wore a cute little dress to work instead of jeans. Making it through the day was easy. I brought my juices to work in my cooler, put them in the fridge at work and stuck to my normal routine. No headaches, no weakness, just lots of energy and happiness! It was great! Once I got home from work, I got my juices out to defrost for the next day, and got back to my endless list of things to do. Day 3 Rocked!!
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| Defrosting for the next day |
DAY 4
8:30 - Morning Glory (1)
9:15 - 16oz water
11:00 - Green tea and Alfalfa tea combo
12:00 - Spicy Lemonade (2)
1:15 - 16oz water
2:30 - Sweet spin (3)
3:00 - Finish 33.8oz Smart Water
3:30 - 16oz water
4:30 - Pukka Organic Detox tea
5:00 - Chia Berry (4)
6:30 - 16oz Water
8:00 - Choco-Nana (5)
9:30 - Sweet Spin (6)
10:00 - Easy now relaxation tea
It just keeps getting better! I sprung out of bed with a new pep in my step excited to run to the fridge for my "Morning Glory". I was finally starting to feel like this whole only drinking thing was normal. I didn't miss chewing, didn't miss other foods, and wasn't hungry at all. At one point I even thought.....WOW....I think I could live my whole life this way. Clearly that wasn't realistic, but it was just a testament to how good I felt! Today was also a fun day because I had a new drink to look forward to trying...Coco-nana! It was tasty and felt like a total splurge. Chocolate covered strawberries to be exact. The ingredients were chocolate, banana, strawberries, and water. Like I said...It was good, but I could have done without it since chocolate isn't something I really eat on a normal basis. Call me weird, but I think I would have preferred another green drink of some sorts. Anyways...later that night, to help enhance the cleansing effect, I decided to take a hot detox bath! I dimmed the lights, light some candles, cranked the "relaxation station" on Pandora and set the mood. For the bath I used Epsom Salts, Baking soda, some of my Soap Creek Himalayan pink salt relaxation blend, and a mix of Now Foods Lavender, Patchouli, Tea Tree, and Spearmint Essential oils. I felt like jello after a nice 30 minute soak. Heavenly is the only word I can use to describe it. Added bonus: our entire house smelled like an aromatherapy spa room!! Bedtime was magical!
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| All set for my aromatherapy detox bath! |
DAY 5
8:30 - Morning Glory (1)
9:00 - 16oz water
11:00 - Coco Latte Skinny tea (Ahhh so good!!)
11:45 - Spicy Lemonade (2)
2:30 - Sweet spin (3)
3:30 - 16oz water
5:00 - Acai Blend (4)
5:30 - Venti Starbucks unsweetened green tea (my little splurge!)
6:30 - Finish 33.8oz Smart Water
8:00 - Island Coconut (5) / Had to substitute sweet spin (6)
10:00 - Easy now relaxation tea
Pretty sure people thought I was on crack today! I was bouncing off the walls from the time I got out of bed to the time I fell back asleep. Work was fantastic as well, which made my final day that much better! I spent the day organizing my desk and files, then running some errands for our fundraiser this weekend. Before heading back I swung by Starbucks to pick up a couple gift cards and decided to treat myself to a yummy venti iced unsweetened green tea. It was 95 degrees after all! I am the director of youth ministry at my church and our youth group meets every Wednesday night. Let me tell you....working with 9-12th grade teens is quite possibly one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I have ever done in my life and I love it! This week's plan was a parish clean up project so I treated them to pizza for dinner (which I sat there and watched them eat...happily and completely content I might add). Around 7 pm we headed out to start picking up trash! After an hour of cleaning, laughing, and "family bonding", we headed back inside to hydrate and cool off. I wasn't joking when I said it was 95 degrees outside. Oh...and the humidity...ridiculous. As they snacked I opened up my Island Coconut (which I was DYING to try the whole time) and sadly....it wasn't so fresh : / I had it chilled all day, but I think the heat got the best of it. So luckily I had planned ahead. Since I wasn't heading home until 10 pm, I packed my sweet spin as well. That one was just fine so I drank that instead. I didn't mind...I was on cloud 9! It was crazy!!! So...in short....this cleanse was the best thing I could have done and exactly what I needed to help get my life back on track! Thank you Jus by Julie!!! You guys are the best!!
DAY 6.....Back to the new normal
As I woke up this morning I'm not gonna lie......as excited as I am to eat, I was sad that the cleanse was over. I feel fantastic! Everything just feels right. I feel happier, more focused, more driven, in control, and lighter....a nice "side effect" of the cleanse was a 5 pound weight loss. I went from 114.5 to 109.5. Like I said....its nice, but it wasn't the goal. Growing up, health was always a major part and huge priority in my life. It's a no brainier really considering my dad owns a health food store that is attached to the house I grew up in!! They are celebrating 40 years in business this year! I'm a proud daughter!!! You can check them out on facebook.... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Down-To-Earth/122294234451326
I can officially say...I am back on track and ready to take on the world! Cheers to life!
If anyone has any questions feel free to drop me a comment!!
