Recently (last week actually) I imparted on a mission to ‘reset’ by body by embarking on a 3-Day Juice Cleanse and Intense Plan diet plan with Dietox. This 3-day juice cleanse was also to be followed by an alkaline diet for 7 days. So the entire plan was for 10 days with the first three days of hard core juicing. The juices from Dietox are all cold-pressed and organic so that you are getting the maximum nutrition from each bottle. The juicing plan goes for 3 days with 6 juices per day – meant to be consumed at certain times during the day. The plan is also supported by tea infusions, simple workouts that you can do at home and also organic biocosmetics (firming oil, reducing cream, shampoo and conditioner). This programme is basically about resetting your body so that you can carry on and make healthier choices going forward.
I had never done a programme like this before so was really keen to try it out. My inspiration for giving it a go all started from Dry January – I gave up wine/prosecco and my beloved Mojitos for an entire month. It was hard but actually I felt so much better. I also took up meditation during Jan and watched my diet. And at the end of Jan I didn’t want to quit – I wanted to keep going. I can still enjoy an occasional glass of wine here or there but I’ve really cut down on the alcohol since January and I really do feel better for it. So when Dietox approached me to trial out their 10 Day Intense Plan I was keen. Here’s my juice cleanse experience!
Day 1
On day 1 I woke up really excited to start my 3 Day juicing cleanse. I had no idea of how I would feel or what it would be like so I woke up in really good spirits, excited about the next three days. I started the morning out with Juice #1 which was to be taking between 7am and 9am. This juice has both alkalising and energising properties with Apple, Spinach, Celery, Water, Pineapple, Lemon, Cucumber, Guarana, Matcha green tea. I really liked this juice and a tip is to drink it slowly – make it last for over 30 minutes or more. The first thing I noticed with juicing is how much extra time I had in the morning. Not having to prepare breakfast gave me another 30 minutes to tidy up my flat – win!
I arrived at work feeling pretty positive but became pretty hungry around 10am so I was happy when it was time to have another juice. Juice #2 was meant to be taken between 10am and 12pm so I was a little on the early side but couldn’t hold off any longer. One thing is to note that the juices are really delicious and refreshing. Juice #2 was full of Apple, Celery, Water, Beetroot, Lemon, Guarana and Reishi. Another thing about the Dietox programme is that in between juices you can supplement with organic tea infusions. I made myself a cup of Teatox black tea to keep my energy levels up until lunchtime. I didn’t realise how badly I would crave a cup of coffee which I have every morning and a headache set in around noon.
At 12 noon I couldn’t wait any longer so decided to savour juice #3 as long as I could. I think I made it last over an hour! Juice #3 was a delicious pumpkin juice with Apple, Carrots, Pumpkin, Lemon, Avocado, Ginger, Pea protein, Brown rice protein and Rosehip. I followed this in the afternoon with the digestive tea infusion.
I can’t lie – by juice #4 I realised how hard this was actually going to be to give up solid food for three days straight. I started thinking of grilled cheese sandwiches – something I never usually crave but the body works in mysterious ways. My headache had continued and I willed myself to continue! At 4pm I had juice #4 and this was probably my favourite juice out of all of them. It is delicious as it is a blend of bananas and berries with Apple, Beetroot, Banana, Water, Strawberry, Cucumber, Lemon, Pea protein, Brown rice protein and Acai. I followed it with a cup of teatox lemon green tea. I also started to wonder if I was going to be able to make it through to the last day.
I left work bang on at 5:30pm simply as I wanted to go home and have juice #5 but I knew I had to wait until 7pm to have it. I felt pretty proud of myself that I hadn’t caved yet but I stopped to browse at a shop to kill some time before going home and by the time I arrived home at 7:30pm I was starving! My headache had carried on and I considered caving for a moment – Five Guys was just so close. I decided to have a few bites of pureed organic tomato soup just to hold me over and I also had juice #5 at the same time. I felt much better after that and I liked the crunchy seeds in juice #5 which has Apple, Kiwi, Lime, CELERY, Cucumber, Ginger, Chlorella and Spirulina. In regards to my energy levels I actually felt fine throughout the day and didn’t feel they had suffered at all. The hardest part is not eating solid food which may result in a light headache. But otherwise I didn’t feel it affected me during the day – I was still able to focus and work really hard as usual.
Right before bed I had juice #6, the last juice of the day. This juice felt like a real treat at the end of the day because it is made from cashew milk and strawberries so it felt soothing after a hard day! I do have to say that I slept really well the first night and when I woke up the next morning my eyes felt brighter and my stomach felt flatter.
Day two was still hard and the cheeseburger hallucinations were perhaps strongest on this day but I didn’t ever feel weak on this cleanse. I did have a headache but never felt weak or that it was affecting my energy. On day 2 I have to say I used a lot of the Happy Elixir spray (below). This is an appetite-control spray that you can spray on your tongue in-between juices that helps reduce cravings. I do think it worked because it has a real peppermint, just brushed your teeth kind of feeling so it makes you not want to eat anything after.
On Day 2 and 3 I also indulged more in the Dietox tea infusions. And actually by Day 3 my cheeseburger cravings were gone and the juicing was a lot easier. I wasn’t craving coffee either. I would say if you are doing a juice cleanse that day 1 and 2 are the hardest and day 3 is a lot easier because some of the cravings really disappear. Also the hunger pains are not as bad as the first two days.
By the time I finished Day 3 I was really proud of myself. I had never thought that I would last but somehow I did! My stomach was a lot less bloated and my clothes also a bit looser and fitting better. I also noticed that by the end of Day 3 (which was on a Friday) I didn’t feel as tired as I normally do. All in all I think that the juice cleanses are great if you really do want to reset your body and start fresh on a new healthy lifestyle. It’s like going cold turkey – it’s pretty hard to do but you won’t want to eat crap after you finish either. So in that way, they are really good. Another reason to do them is if you want to look really good on a beach holiday – my stomach hadn’t looked that flat in years!
Once Day 3 was over I turned to a 7 Day Alkalising Diet. Dietox supplies a shopping list so you know exactly what to get which is really convenient. A sample menu below goes something like this:
Breakfast – 1 cup of oat drink, 1 serving of wholegrain cereals
Mid-morning – 1 pear, 6 walnuts
Lunch – Mushroom pasta, DIGESTIVE Infusion
Afternoon snack – 1 orange, 3 wholegrain biscuits
Dinner – Creamy carrot soup, 2 veggie skewers, 1 slice of brown bread, SACIANT Infusion
You also do a workout programme which is really good – all the exercises can be done at home and videos can be watched on the Dietox YouTube channel HERE.
Also with the intensive plan you get organic products throughout your programme to use. I really loved the Firming Oil (below) which contains 7 essential oils including; Sweet almonds, soy, olive and argan. The oil sinks in quickly and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling on the skin – it also smells amazing too!
The programme comes with Dietox Purifying Shampoo which smells really fresh and gently cleanses the hair with rosemary, sage and sea salt.
The Dietox Repair Rescue Conditioner takes some time to get used to as it’s a spray in conditioner – a time saver for sure in the shower but I liked using it as a leave-in treatment in addition to regular conditioning.
And last but not least there is a Dietox Reducing Cream which uses ingredients like seaweed, green coffee, centella to help reduce cellulite and make your skin firmer.
My final conclusion is that I was really glad I did this. I do feel it did ‘reset’ my body in a way that going ‘cold turkey’ can. I didn’t crave alchohol or coffee much after this cleanse as well and it really helps to get rid of bad habits like too much caffeine or oily foods.
And again, if you are going on a beach holiday – even a one-day juice cleanse might make you feel better about that bikini!
For more info on cleanses with Dietox see HERE.