I know I’ve been pretty MIA recently, but I have a fabulous excuse! I got married! Yay! Now, I’ll be honest here- I’ve been married now for a month. It’s been great, but it has completely taken a hit on my body! Between going out to eat and celebrating, not to mention being maid of honor in one of my best friend’s wedding last week, I haven’t been eating well at all. I’m pretty sure there has been a constant gluten exposure as well, but I haven’t quite figured out what the source has been. One of my friends recommended trying a juice cleanse for a few days and after researching a few, I decided to try the Raw Generation Skinny Cleanse. I honestly wasn’t planning on doing a cleanse after talking to my friend, but then suddenly came across a coupon code online. I figured this was a sign and, after all, it couldn’t hurt to try it. I have to admit though that I’m not very good with these diets. I’m from the Midwest and LOVE my meat and potatoes (and wine). Yeah, I use my nutribullet at home to make some yummy smoothies and “juice”, but not every day and certainly not for every meal.
Here’s the details on how this works! I decided to do a 5 day cleanse. They offer a 3 day one as well, but I decided if I was going to do this, I could make it for 5 days to get more benefit out of it. Now, there is also a 7, 10, and 14 day options as well for those more ambitious than I am. Could I make it 7 days? Probably, but I like to enjoy my weekends and having to keep the juice with me while running around with my friends does not sound fun and would probably not be worth it in the end for me. I know I would end up “cheating”and it would be a waste of money. I can behave Monday- Friday! 10 and 14 days? No way. Not gonna happen.
The plan requires you to drink 6 bottles of juice throughout the day and allows for you to eat fruit if you are hungry. The juices are named Jessica (which you drink 3 times/day), and Cecelia, Carolyn, and Elizabeth. It’s kinda cheesy but it’s better than reminding me what I’m drinking. The drinks are shipped to your house frozen so make sure you have room in the freezer to store them. I left mine in the freezer and took enough out for 1 day and put them in my “lunch box” for work. It says to eat them when they are very cold and after a few sips, I understand the biggest reason why. The can taste pretty nasty warm. Horrible. Eww. But when they are super cold they aren’t so bad!
- Jessica: kale, spinach, colllards, apple, lemon
- Cecelia: orange, carrot, ginger
- Carolyn: carrot, apple, beet root, ginger
- Elizabeth: cucumber, pineapple, & aloe vera
Day one:
Okay I will admit it was hard to drink them the first day. It took a bit to get used to the taste because I’m not a huge fan of all of the ingredients, but that comes with premade juices. By the time I got to the second serving of Jessica, though, it had started to grow on me. I did pretty good with Cecelia, but Carolyn and I are not friends. We never will be. I absolutely hate beet root. That being said, I pushed through it and managed to finish it. I usually had a glass of water along with the juice because it helped rinse the taste from my mouth (moreso with Carolyn than the others). I was hungry by the end of the day, but by no means was I starving. The six juices and extra water I had between servings had held me over until I got home from work. I did salivate a bit while my husband was making his own dinner, but I decided to take a hot shower and give myself a facial to distract myself. After a handful of grapes I was ready for bed.
Day two:
It was MUCH easier to make it through the day. Today Jessica didn’t seem so challenging and I was able to get through Cecelia and Elizabeth with no problems. Carolyn? Well, I finished most of it. I brought some fresh fruit to work to snack on since I was working late and when I finally went home I felt great. Not hungry at all and definitely still had some energy to do laundry. I should note that since the end of day one though I have been going to the bathroom like crazy. I swear I have to pee every 2 hours and today was no exception.
Day three:
Piece of cake! (Okay I wish there was cake, but at least the day is getting easier to get through). I didn’t feel hungry at all today and I managed to finish all of Carolyn today. It is important to remember when you are juicing or doing a cleanse, they are meant to have a nutritional benefit. They are NOT meant to fulfill your pleasure eating side of life. I will NEVER crave one of these drinks. Nope. I’ll save that for a vanilla milkshake. However, I could easily do these again. Today I haven’t had any sugar/salt cravings which I usually have after my midafternoon slump. I haven’t felt the highs/lows with my sugar during the day either. You don’t have to be diabetic for variations in sugar to start affecting your focus and energy level! It happens to everyone with their sugar highs! The higher you go, the harder you crash.
Day four:
I had the day off of work today which actually made the day go by faster because I had some errands to do. I’m not sure if it was the constant distraction of chores/grocery shopping/etc., but I didn’t feel hungry at all today. I some grapes for a snack after taking my dog for a walk, but otherwise the juices were pretty easy to get through (I’m even finishing all of Carolyn now, but I’m still on the fence about Elizabeth). I have to admit that I have noticed my pants are a little more comfortable lately (yeah the wedding celebrations may have made them a little more snug than they should have been!). I refuse to get on the scale though until I’m finished with all 5 days. I’d rather be driven by how I feel than by a number on the scale!
Day five:
Made it! Finally! Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. I definitely had more energy throughout the day and did not experience my midafternoon slump after day one. I’ve tried juicing on my own for a few days and given up due to the hassle of having to clean my juicer/nutribullet/whichevergadgetisclean, not to mention the hassle of picking up fresh fruits/veggies , etc. The juices are decent. Again, like I said, I’d prefer a vanilla shake, but these weren’t so bad. They are a little “gritty” but I didn’t mind it after the first day. I prefer my juices to be strained, but you do lose some of the nutrients that way (I’m not a fan of pulp in my OJ either so it is just a personal preference). That being said, I would absolutely do this cleanse again. In fact, I’m probably going to order another round after my honeymoon!
XOXO
Fit Fabulous and Gluten Free 
thank you for this. I just bought a groupon for the 3day skinny cleanse and I was wondering what I was getting into. this was very helpful and I am now excited to try it!
I just got the cleanse yesterday, and I’m starting it tomorrow. Your experience is helpful.
Hopefully you made it through the cleanse!
Woke up day 1 on 2/5 nervous but excited. At least it’s SNOWING!!
5:30a: Drank coffee with almond milk. I’m sorry, but black coffee is too gross.
6:30a: Here we go!! Drank #1 – was pleased how yummy it was. Mostly it tasted like apple juice. It took almost an hour to drink because it was so cold, but it was tasty the entire time. There is a lot of juice, so it is somewhat filling but not entirely. It did turn my tongue green though!!
7:45a: Cold and a little hungry, having a hot fruit decaf tea to warm me up. Drinking lots of water too. Have a little headache – not sure if it’s hunger or just mental.
8:30a: I’m pretty hungry. #2 is orange but has a very strong ginger flavor, not my favorite root. But I’m drinking it. This one is more thawed so luckily it’s going down faster. Finished it in ten minutes but my mouth tastes like ginger. Maybe I’ll try adding more lemon juice to it tomorrow. My head is pounding with a headache too. I am normally really focused on protein intake & I wonder if that is the problem.
10:00a: Another tea, my hunger and headache seem to be dissipating a little – maybe I just had to get used to no actual food. I do feel a little draggy and maybe a tad cranky?? 😉
10:30a: At least #3 is back to greens & apple based with NO ginger. It tastes really good and I finished it really quickly. Time to shovel snow.
1:00p: It’s 1pm and I’m not that hungry?? And my headache is reduced a little? Wow! I am amazed. I am nibbling on a salad of mixed greens, ½ apple, ½ orange pepper, and a few carrots and drinking #4. Not being a huge beet fan, it’s not awesome but I like it more than ginger-power #2… Choked it down but didn’t love it.
4:00p: Between snow blowers and trips to the airport I never even finished my salad! Nibbling on it now.
6:30p: Finished #5. It was a little pasty towards the end but good flavor.
7:30p: I’m a little hungry, but fortunately we are early to bed early to rise people, so I’m going to sleep soon. I guess I did skip #6, but I ate a salad so I didn’t think I should drink it.
DAY 2
6:30a: I feel refreshed and pretty good. Wow, I can’t believe I survived a day with no protein. But about 20 minutes later I started really dragging. I’m going to drink shake #1 and my coffee and see how it goes.
8:00a: After #1 and coffee, and an hour on the couch, I feel good again. Making breakfast for my daughter was a little painful – not being able to eat any of it! Oh well, some things require perseverance.
Mid-morning – perseverance is needed as my tummy is NOT happy. A few episodes of diarrhea are announcing this!!
9:00a: Drinking #2 – oh that ginger is so overwhelming still…. But it’s alright and it’s giving me some stamina.
11:30a: Drank #3 and it takes so good still. Each of them are making me so very cold though. The snow on the streets has melted and we are heading out to run some errands. Hopefully I won’t be impatient and hangry.
2:30p: With going to various stores, I’m a bit late on this one. Even the 10 baby carrots I brought didn’t help me out. The beet juice in #4 is certainly not a mixture I’m going to create in my own smoothies. I’m really hungry and getting a little cranky. Sorry daughter!
4:30p: We are done shopping, my daughter has had an early dinner, and we are playing a game. I’m drinking #5 and glad it has good flavor.
6:30p: I’m eating a huge salad with just lettuce, carrots, peppers, and apple. It’s helping….
7:30p: My stomach is growling. I don’t have a shake thawed so I’m just going to bed hungry!
DAY 3
6:00a: I think I can, I think I can….. I have energy and feel refreshed. But after a shower and starting a load of laundry, I am totally out of energy again. I’m so glad I didn’t try to do this when I was going into the office. Definitely best to do over a long weekend.
6:30a: #1 and coffee are doing the trick. Starting to feel better almost within minutes. Maybe it’s just mental! I’m going to have ½ a grapefruit with my daughter as well.
8:30a: I’m going to stay totally on schedule today. I’m choking down #2 ginger-fest and glad it’s my last one!
10:30a: Driving to the airport to pick up my husband and son – drinking #3 right on schedule. I’m pretty hungry but still impressed my body can survive on juice and veggies alone!
12:30p: Driving back from some more errands. Drinking (choking down) #4 beet juice. Also sad this is the last one of these. If I do this again, I’m going to try to order #1, 3, 5, 6….
2:30p: Like I said, I’m not deviating from a strict schedule today. We are having friends over for dinner and I don’t want to be hangry mad. I can have a big salad while they are eating, it will just be the wine I will have to miss out on! So, I’m drinking #5 and looking forward to tomorrow. I’m not sure what food I’m going to add back, but I think I’m going to try to go Paleo: fruits, veggies, meat, eggs for the week. The following week is winter break and we are meeting friends for skiing – not holding back on the wine then, so I need to do my best between now and then!!
ps – I really didn’t tell my husband I am doing this. He has seen me drinking the juices, but since he was gone most of the weekend, he hasn’t seen me “skip”meals yet. Hopefully I can just get through the salad tonight and he will be none the wiser all through!
3:30p: I started making my own shakes/smoothies/whatever they are called. I totally don’t know what I’m doing, but I put apples and carrots through the food processor and then the blender with lemon juice. I kept about half of the solids and strained the rest into a big bowl. I used that juice to blend spinach, and man that doesn’t smell too good…. If you use Kale or Collards, cut out the center stem as it really puts a hurt on a regular blender. (I don’t have a fancy juicer!) After two rounds of everything and adding two pears as well, I ended up keeping the fruit and carrot solids and straining the greens through a really fine strainer. The solids of the greens seemed so stringy I wasn’t sure I could drink them. I used A LOT of lemon juice to get everything through the blender and kept using the strained juice as well to get the greens to blend. But in the end it tasted just like #3!!! How cool is that?? Mine is a little chunkier – I guess if I had a juicer it might be finer, but maybe it will feel like more of a meal this way. I even washed out the bottles from RawGen, so I’m using that to freeze my own juice. We’ll see what it tastes like tomorrow.
4:30p: I had already gotten #6 out, so I drank that even though I had made a bucket load of my own juice. The cucumber is ok and the pineapple makes it tolerable. I’ve almost made it.
6:30p: We have friends over for superbowl and I’m not eating the food I cooked or drinking wine! I’m just a lot proud of myself. Ok, I did add grilled zucchini and pepper to my salad, but those are veggies and I didn’t put any oil on them – just grilled with salt & pepper! Ate a lot of salad. No bread, no cookies, no wine!!!
I MADE IT!!! It’s 8:30p and I’m going to bed. Decided to add grilled chicken to my salads for dinner for the week and have eggs with veggies for breakfast. Going to try to stick to shakes and fruit/veggies for lunch and snacks. No alcohol either. Next week is winter break….
MONDAY AM – the proof is in the scale! Down 6 pounds!!!