A PEEK AT MY 3 DAYS JUICE FAST

I am blogging this mainly to record the cleanse that I did  and  to share my  beneficial fasting experience.

 I embarked on a  cold pressed juice cleanse due to excessive indulgence of everything over the past few months resulting in food poisoning, food allergy and I was also carrying some extra pounds.

 Well, you must have heard of the cold pressed organic juicing which is all the rage now due to its many health benefits it provides our bodies. A cold pressed uses high pressure instead of heat to produce the juice.This helps to maintain the level of nutrients and enzymes which will speed up  our metabolism, detoxify our body and gives energy boost.

Having jumped on the bandwagon for cold pressed juicing, I travelled to Singapore to look for the amazing  Super Angel 8500 - stainless steel juicer ( thanks to a dear friend who had painstakingly sourced and recommended this superb juicer).

This is the Super Angel 8500 Juicer 

The yield pressed from this juicer is comparatively higher.

This juicer uses twin gears and it masticates practically every kind of produce such as veggies or fruits or nuts or seeds to a complete dry pulp, producing a comparatively higher yield and it retains all the important phytonutrients inside the juice. Take a look how dry the pulp is!

Cold pressed juicing are taking the juice market by storm lately and these juices are hitting store shelves faster than ever in London, New York, L.A and even back home in Kuala Lumpur.

In London I noticed there are many brands of cold pressed juices such as PRESS, PLENISH, CANYON, BOB'S COLD PRESS, JUICEMAN  and others.

With the days getting brighter and longer, I decided that Spring is an ideal time for me to do a cleanse to lighten up, to reassess my personal nutrition goals and to kick start a healthier diet.

I knew a 3 day detox programme with PRESS, a reputable Company founded in L.A in 2013 in West Hollywood,  producing cold pressed juices was the best way to give myself a complete rehaul and start from fresh again.  It is during this 3 days period I will typically consume only liquids, juices from veggies and fruits and herbal teas, no solid food at all.  I literally could not wait.

It was Monday 11th May my PRESS CLEANSE arrived delivered to my doorstep and I was feeling excited for the results.

In the box were 24 bottles of a variety of  vegetables and fruits juices for 3 days consumption.

The bottles were labeled to consume accordingly.

The juices in bottles of 500ml and 350ml do look beautiful stacked in my fridge and all colours of the juices are pleasing to the eye and I love them.

Prior to the cleanse, I was supposed to pretox ( a pre cleanse) by avoiding meat, carbs or sugar but Jing and Krys were out from school/Uni for the weekend and it means eating out for lunch/dinner.   So my diet went out of the window. Nevertheless this made me feel the more determined to go thru my detox juice diet and to clean up my system.

The following pictures are the juices I consumed in sequence for 3 days.

Cleanse water

Ingredients:Filtered water, Chlorophyll, Mint

 Greenhouse 1

Ingredients: Cucumber, Apple, Celery, Kale, Spinach, Romaine, Lemon, Ginger

It is ideal to take at least one to two litres of mostly green vegetable juice over a day.

A touch of fruit can be added to sweeten the juice to ensure it is delicious.

Be cautious not to overdo fresh fruit juices as they will send your sugar level out of balance.

 Orchard 2

Ingredients: Apple, Ginger, Lemon.

Use lemon and lime in everything is fine as they are brilliant alkalises and very low in sugar.

Greenhouse 3

Ingredients:Cucumber, celery,Kale, Spinach, Romaine, Lemon, Ginger

Grove 2

Ingredients: Watermelon, Lime

Vanilla Leche

Ingredients: Spring water, Almonds, Rice, Dates, Vanilla Bean, Sunflower Oil, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Greenhouse 2

Ingredients: Cucumber,Celery,Kale,Spinach,Romaine

Cleanse Water

Ingredients: Filtered Water, Aloe Vera, Lemon

For 3 days consecutively I was to drink 8 bottles of the above juices per day in the same sequence and the total intake is 950 cal/day.

I actually had to plan out the time schedule, every 2 hours a bottle of juice.

Keeping to my schedule is important otherwise I have to pack in several bottles within a few hours.  This is where setting the alarm on my mobile is helpful.

(Advice: Stick to schedule)

DAY 1

I contentedly drank my 1st bottle of juice followed by the others every 2 hourly. 

Midway through as forewarned,  I suffered a slight headache and felt cold (side effect of not having food). I needed the toilet many times and had bowel movements. For the fast to leave me cleaner and feeling better, I have to ensure that toxic matter actually leaves my body and the bowel is playing the biggest role in dumping that old toxic waste out! 

 The ordeal was fine for me when I think of the consolation, that toxins and unwanted waste will be flushed out.

The whole day I was full with liquids and practically no hunger pangs at all. Luckily I ended day 1 on a high with my 3rd last bottle of  a yummy Vanilla Leche.  Prior bedtime I had my last bottle of cleansing water.  Bring on Day 2.

DAY 2

Woke up fresh, no dreams of food.  I'm surprised to find not much starving but realised had a mouth ulcer,  a small one.  I supposed it must be the toxins that needed to be eliminated or due to excessive intake of fructose.  Whatever it is, that's what cleansing is all about.

Had my 1st bottle of juice while reading up on organic gardening of veggies and herbs. Why my sudden interest in organic?  To embrace change and mind reset perhaps?

 I decided to to walk out to the garden for some fresh air,  sipping a cup of lemon ginger tea. Towards late afternoon I was feeling hungry and I do think the 2nd day is worst in terms of cravings.  Frankly I find myself snooping around the kitchen staring at the cookie jars.  However, knowing I was already mid way thru my detox programme kept me from cheating.  I still have bowel movements, crazy huh?  This is likely old toxic waste that needs to be discharged.

It is also common for the 1st and 2nd day to have white coated tongue.  It went away on the 3rd day and I think it must be one of the detox symptoms and side effects.

DAY 3

Woke up easier than usual, felt good with flat tummy.  It's the FINAL day!!

I felt so great so light and energetic. 

Once I have opened each bottle of juice I will pour them into the Swell bottle that can keep the juice cold for 24 hours.

 Diligently I had my juices,  bottle after bottle.  I did however find my stomach rumbling rather loud but I calmed the 'music' with my next juice.

Towards late afternoon, I went for a walk which was a good enhancement to the detoxification process.  I ended up buying oats, bread and avocados for next day breakfast. To my surprise, I did not crave the food on the shelves at Little Waitrose.

RESULTS

Well after 3 days, I felt really good and there I stood on the scale with a lost of 3kg.

But that was not my goal.  I desired to kick start my way to a healthier attitude from now on.

What strikes me the most is how my cravings disappear after the 3rd day and rather waking up on 4th day for a big breakfast I found myself completely aware of my body and what I eat.   

I had veg juice and a bowl of oats sprinkled with cranberries, almonds, walnuts and chia seeds for breakfast instead.

 After doing a juice cleanse,  I'm motivated to eat healthier.  Cleansing is like meditation. It makes me stop, focus and think about what I put into my body.

I  realised how important it is to take care of  my body and how different it makes me feel inside and out.  I feel my body has reset and thus I've plans to have healthy meals to follow up. My juice cleansing has certainly helped and I would call this a success!

On day 4 I rushed out to purchase a cold press juicer from Selfridges.  Nothing beats own home juicing  of the organic veggies and fruits bought from the farmers' market.

This juicer, Kuvings,  operates with one gear.

Never have I seen purple kale and this came from the farmer's market.

If you have not tried kale, you must.  This super green is packed with lots of nutrition that puts it high on the list of the world's healthiest foods. In KL I bought them organic, only the green curly ones, imported from Australia.

I do hope with the kale seeds that I will be bringing home, can be grown in our climate.

 My own concoction of green juice comprising of kale, spinach, cucumber, apple, lemon, celery & ginger.

The juice is foamy due to the lemon as it is soft.

Just sieve to remove the foam.

This pulp is not completely dry compared to the pulp from the Super Angel stainless steel juicer.

Juice cleansing is fabulous and a great healing tool. They were amazing for my mind and body.  I felt like a different person at the end of the cleanse.  It may seem rather intimidating and scary ( that was how I felt prior cleansing) to think about having no solid food for 3 days in a stretch. It is actually normal but I won't be doing it so often. I can still use the concept of juice fasting by including in my daily life:

fast for one day or half a day or juicing into my daily routine along with other healthy meals. 

I will make the juice at home or pick up a cold pressed juice a couple of times in a week. It makes me feel amazing and I do like the taste.

Green juice is my morning coffee now. I will live with healthy fresh juice in limited amounts  to energise and nourish throughout the day but I will still continue with my smoothie intake which is full of goodness and fibre.