My Juice Cleanse Journal

The reason I wanted to do a juice cleanse wasn’t to lose weight, much as that’s probably the reason most people would imagine. I’m very happy with the way that I look - but not so much with the way that I feel. I eat far too much processed food and sugar and clearly willpower alone was not enough for me to eat a mostly whole food diet. I had initially wanted a colonic irrigation but because I have a historical anal fissure (basically a tear in my asshole) they couldn’t give me one… so I thought a cleanse would be the next best option to clear me out and hopefully reset my gut.

I’d heard SO many good things about Vanessa’s juices at The Juicing Co but I’d never even tried one. She is based in Chapleton, Aberdeenshire which is super local to me and supporting small, local business is something I always try my best to do - but she does also deliver for people further away. I’d toyed with the idea for a good few months but when I saw that she was doing a group cleanse at the start of December I jumped at the chance because I thought it would be great to have the moral support of other people doing it too! Since it was my first ever cleanse, I opted for the Signature one but there is an Advanced option too - both three days but with slightly different juice options.

This is my journal account of how it went for me:

Day 1

Woke up hungry but spent the last two days moving away from processed foods and cutting out all refined sugar so feeling ready and excited. Not a massive fan of the taste of the Symprove shot (which we got as an added bonus for this cleanse) but got that out of the way as soon as I woke up before moving on to the juices. The first juice was a little bit tangy but tasted good and I really enjoyed the apple and ginger shot. The hardest part, to start with, was making sure to also drink enough water - needing between 2-3L on top of the juices I was drinking. I was drinking almost constantly. Luckily herbal tea also counts towards your water intake so I had my daily ginger tea after my morning juice. I was feeling surprisingly good all morning and LOVED the green machine juice for morning snack.

We went out for a walk and I felt slightly weaker but otherwise no weird feelings or symptoms at all. The worst thing was that I just felt absolutely FREEZING cold - I just could not get warm and a frosty December day did not help matters. The lunch juice - ginger snap - was my favourite of the day so far because it was slightly sweeter and gave me a good little boost. It wasn’t long after that though that I had my first horrendous poo…

It came on out of nowhere with no belly pain or bloating, just the urge to go to the toilet and it was just a very watery poo. The next time I went for a pee, poo came out without me even realising - so that’s the stage we’re at… I guess the cleanse is working.

I’m finding it hard to consume so much liquid. I had another herbal tea to try and warm myself up but it was a thought knowing that I still had 2x500ml juices left to drink. The hunger cravings were starting to kick in. Earlier in the day, I had wanted food but more out of habit than because I was actually hungry. I LOVE eating and I LOVE food so I can’t even remember the last time I went without eating anything solid… maybe never.

I really struggled to get the fourth juice down and even took it into my detox bath (1 cup bicarb, 1 cup Epsom salts, essential oil) with me because drinking over 5-5.5L fluid a day is no joke - you really can’t stop drinking. There was no extra jacuzzi bubbles because, at this point, a cheeky bath fart is far too risky and I didn’t particularly fancy soaking with my own shit. I’m not usually a bath person but soaking in the hot water did really seem to help relax me and switch off a little bit from the hunger cravings while Garry cooked his dinner that I really didn’t want to watch or smell…

The best thing about eating no food? No dishes!!!

The last juice was a struggle to get down, I’m not going to lie. It was probably my least favourite to drink - even though it didn’t taste bad - but after having already drank over 4L liquid, it really wasn’t the easiest to keep drinking when my belly was craving a solid meal. Everyone said that evening would be the hardest and they weren’t kidding. By 615pm I was crying because I wanted some food (first world problems, I know) and by 830pm my tummy was rumbling so loud I’m sure half the street could probably hear it.

At the end of Day 1, I am proud of myself for even managing the whole of the first day but I am genuinely concerned for still not eating any food at all for at least another 2 full days… I brushed my teeth before I went to bed and the crap that came off my tongue was unbelievable. I was exhausted and struggled to keep my eyes open so it was an early night for me.

Day 2

Woke up feeling tired but that isn’t unusual for me. The thought of eating nothing again all day today was making me feel sad but I was determined to stick with it. When I got out of bed, my first pee was dark orange which felt very concerning and I started feeling dizzy when I stood up - worried about how I’m going to manage 6.5 hours on my feet at work all day.

I definitely don’t enjoy the Symprove shot (it’s good for your gut bacteria) but my first juice was good and I got a ginger tea straight down after that as well so I was keeping myself hydrated before going for a 20 minute sauna at the gym. I drank a whole litre of water in the sauna and felt brand new afterwards. I’m really enjoying doing the cleanse as part of a group, I think I’d be struggling a lot more by now if I didn’t have the group chat for support.

Freezing cold again finding it harder and harder to drink the cold juices when I’ve already drank so much. It’s not even 10am and I’ve already drank almost 2L water on top of my morning juice. Work is keeping me distracted today but definitely feeling the hunger. I can’t even drink water on the shop floor so nothing to even pretend to be consuming to satiate the hunger pangs. It was extra tough because the break room smelled so good from everyone else’s lunch but the lunch juice is my favourite one so that at least made it a teeny bit easier.

Poops are not really happening today. I had a teeny tiny one mid morning which was relatively solid (compared to yesterday’s escapade) but very oddly coloured thanks to Juice 5 from yesterday which was very beetroot heavy. Being on my feet for 6 hours has been hard with very little energy and I feel very tired. I’m really, really starting to crave food now but I still feel considerably better than I expected to weirdly. Physically anyway.

Emotionally I’ve hit an absolute wall. I had a massive cry because I was just wanting food so much. First world problems, I know I know, but I’ve always been a bit of an emotional eater so it’s really starting to take its toll on me emotionally more than physically which I absolutely was not expecting.

I came straight to bed as soon as I got home from work because I was grouchy and thought it was best if I stayed out of Garry’s way if I wanted our relationship to survive… I downed my last juice and went to sleep.

One more day.

Day 3

Did not want to wake up this morning. Feeling dizzy, weak and a little bit sick. The thought of doing another day of juice is not filling me with joy right now. The Symprove has got to be the worst. It doesn’t taste horrendous but it doesn’t exactly taste nice either, I’m glad that shot is over and done with first.

I downed my first juice and had my ginger tea before having a very explosive beetroot coloured shit. Went to the sea sauna this morning for an hour with my friend and feel incredible after that. I drank another 1L water while I was there and then came back and had my ginger shot and my second juice.

Feeling a lot clearer, way less bloated and generally just a lot calmer interestingly. Also very sleepy and the tummy is grumbling and rumbling more than ever. Still really struggling to get warm so had a hot shower and then got back into bed with my electric blanket to try and warm up a bit since I’m not at work until later on today.

Everyone else in the group is saying they feel great but to be honest I don’t feel that much different - all I feel is emotional and hungry! Tolerance level is zero. I don’t know how everyone feels so energised, my energy is non existent to the extent that even taking the dog for a walk was a struggle. I just want to stay in bed all day and have no idea how I’m going to manage another 6.5 hour shift…

If I could describe today in one word, it would be: HANGER!

The temptation to have just one firm raspberry from the fridge or to scoop peanut butter straight out of the jar with my bare hands in the work break room is becoming overwhelming. Trying to drink more water and ginger tea to take away the hunger so by 1pm I’d already had 2.5L liquid on top of my juice. I’ve never peed so much in all my life.

I think I’m realising how emotionally dependent on food I have been… Vanessa (who makes the juices) has been absolutely incredible with the support and reassurance she has given me though, especially since she is juicing herself at the same time.

Arrived at work with my game face on but it has actually been really busy with customers which has kept me distracted from thinking about food. I had another juice on my work break and so have only ONE MORE JUICE left to drink on my way home and then I am DONE! I honestly can’t wait for that first mouthful of food tomorrow…

I already have my whole day planned out with porridge, soup and stew. It’s important to ease back into the food and Garry is very kindly prepping all of the food for me tonight while I’m at work so that I don’t need to cook (or even smell it) while I’m not able to eat it. He’s been super supportive and deliberately trying not to eat in front of me or even talk about food which has helped a LOT! (You don’t realise how many people speak about food or how many references to food there are literally everywhere until you can’t eat it…)

I can definitely feel my irritability heightened though even with colleagues at work but I’m trying to stay positive knowing that I am on the home stretch now. Work got SO busy in the afternoon and I suddenly got a wee burst of energy out of absolutely nowhere. I was fitting three people with bras at the same time and I hoovered the floor so vigorously at the end of my shift that my watch thought I was doing a workout.

I did get a wee dizzy spell at one point (while I was standing doing nothing) but otherwise still feeling physically way better than I ever thought I would be. Even the hunger cravings seem to have stopped. By the time I was drinking my last juice in the car on my way home, I honestly got to the point where I wasn’t even sure I wanted food. It has really changed my mindset more than I ever thought it would.

I’ve realised so much about my relationship to food and I just hope that I can stick at it with eating more of a whole food diet from now on.

The Day After

I woke up still tired but surprisingly energised and weirdly my first thought was not about food. Although once I was actually up and out of bed, I started to feel really quite dizzy and sick.

Hilariously, now that I can finally eat food, the smell of food is making me feel sick - but I persevered to make my perfect porridge anyway. It was so weird eating food again. I got full so quickly but I’ve never been able to leave food even when I’m full so I ate the whole bowl (even though I had made a smaller than usual portion) and afterwards felt really full and bloated again.

After managing to not shit my pants through the whole cleanse, this morning I made three big mistakes. One - wearing brand new cream joggers. Two - not wearing pants with said joggers. Three - thinking it was safe to fart again. It wasn’t.

The poo that followed this (in the toilet, might I add) was a horrendous purple colour - which I’m putting down to the beetroot juice - but after 2 days of barely shitting, it’s back with a vengeance. Here’s me thinking the 3 days was the end of it but it seems like the rollercoaster ride is just keep giving…

Considering my porridge bowl was full of whole foods and nutrition, the pain in my tummy now is worse than anything I’ve felt through the whole 3 day cleanse. I’m back to Day 1 vibes where every time I go for a pee, poo comes out without me even realising.

I had Garry’s homemade tomato and lentil soup for lunch before I started work and the spice level in it was giving me the fear after what plain porridge did to me in the morning. I struggled to finish it all and I honestly think I feel way worse eating food than I did drinking all of the juice. Bodies are so weird.

I survived work without needing a change of pants - at least, working in a lingerie store, there would be no shortage of pants for me to change into… What I realised on my way home is that I’m just not hungry anymore. All I’ve had is soup and porridge and I don’t feel hungry. I’m not craving food - not even chocolate or sugar! I’m not planning my entire existence around it like I would have used to. My whole mindset has already changed and I can’t wait to start feeling the full benefits from it.

So… what’s next?

My whole reason for doing the cleanse was to cut out processed food and sugar. I’m hoping to eat more of a whole food diet (with a lot less crap) with the overall goal being to FEEL better! Because, in the words of Dr Rangan Chatterjee - if you feel better, you live more.

I am honestly so proud of myself for getting through this whole cleanse. There were definitely times when I thought I was going to give up and didn’t think I’d be able to complete it - but I DID! It hasn’t been easy but I never expected it to be. As much as my journal might not be the most enticing account of what a cleanse could be like, it is an honest one and I am still so glad I did it - regardless of all the ups and downs.

If you’re new to juice cleansing, I would definitely recommend doing at least your first one as part of a group - I can’t tell you how much that helped through the 3 days just knowing that other people were feeling the same and that we were all in it together. I have been reassured that it gets easier the more you do but I think it will be a while before I do another one…

If you have any questions about my experience, please do just reach out to me. If you want to know more about the specific benefits of cleansing and the cleanse I did, you’re better going directly to Vanessa at The Juicing Co who will be able to answer your questions much better than I can.

The juices are absolutely delicious and you can obviously drink them as part of a balanced diet as well - ginger snap is my favourite.

Finally - you’ll all be pleased to know I survived the rest of the day without any further incidents that involved a change of pants.

Happy Juicing!