After August long-weekend I decided to clean house with a fresh pressed juice cleanse from my pals at The Juice Truck. As promised, I documented my 3-day cleanse to share for those of you who’ve never done one, may have questions or looking for advice.

I do a juice cleanse every so often, usually twice a year – once around summer and once around Christmas holidays. I think it’s a good thing to take care of and pay attention to you gut health. The education of my own started from a visit to my dermatologist at Project Skin nearly two years ago. After taking a skin concern to my family doctor, she recommended that I see a specialist and that’s how I found them. I was dealing with malasma (which Project Skin was treating me for as well) but also learned about triggers in my diet/hormones that could be linked to breakouts I was having around my chin area. This was also when I really started paying attention to what I was putting into my body and cleaning up my eating habits. You can read more on that here.

Doing a juice cleanse is a great way to give your body a break from unhealthy food choices, dehydration and general excess. The Juice Truck’s premium cold press makes juice that contains more essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes than juice made any other way. The cold press preserves the natural flavours of the produce, which makes the juice tastier!

I did the 3-day cleanse, which is like a gentle flush to your system. It normalizes digestion and helps regulate hormones, remove impurities from your colon and supports your liver. They said I’d feel refreshed and revitalized after so I put them to the test.

Scroll down for my notes + advice:

DAY ONE

+ no coffee in the morning was too hard so I started the day with an espresso
+ no headache but had to pee often
+ was kind of overwhelmed about the amount of juice I was suppose to drink (7 bottles for the day)
+ did 30 minute boxing circuit-style workout & drank tons of extra water
+ bc of this I ate a small plant based dinner: Chickpea Shawarma Bowl (left the rice & ate the veggies)
+ so tired by the end of the day & went to bed early

DAY TWO

+ day two was easier to get the juices in sooner than day one
+ felt low energy & tired
+ too tired to box so instead I did 3 sets of resistance bands from home
+ felt hungry today but stuck to the cleanse
+ had some herbal tea before bed
+ got a massive headache at the end of day two and had to go to bed

DAY THREE

+ woke up feeling like I had way more energy on day three
+ enjoyed my juices so much on day three and craved certain flavours
+ let my body rest and skipped today’s workout

MY TIPS

+ have your first juice when you would normally have breakfast and then drink your juices every 2-2.5hrs
+ if you get snacky, be sure to have fresh fruits, veggies and nuts on hand to tie you over
+ instead of putting restrictions on everything, find ways you can compromise on your feeling ie; needing coffee in the morning, have an espresso instead of a full cup of coffee
+ drink lots of water whether you are working out or not. You may not feel like you need to because you’re already consuming so much liquid but water is still essential to avoid headaches etc.
+ be prepared to feel tired by the end of the day and allow yourself to get to bed early to help your body relish and repair

Juicing is not for everyone. If you are new to cleansing I would recommend starting with a one-day cleanse to see how you do. If it’s a success then you could progress to the 3 and 5-day cleanses. Listen to your body and be flexible in how you might feel, everyone has different experiences. Since doing a juice cleanse (even a one-day) can be quite expensive, I want to be sure that I’m getting the most out of mine so I try to set myself up to have a successful experience by doing some of the things I mentioned above (getting to bed early, drinking lots of water, listening to my body etc.). I view it as an investment and a way to give my body a break to reset. While I don’t always feel fantastic going through the cleanse one thing is forsure, afterwards I always feel great — fresh, energetic, revitalized, lighter, healthier, all good things.

MY FAVORITE JUICE TRUCK JUICES

+ The Red: carrot, apple, beet, lemon, chard, parsley
+ Skin Deep: apple, kiwi, strawberry, lemon
+ The Aloe Green: pineapple, coconut water, orange, aloe vera, spinach, mint

Images by: Melissa Skoda