I know most people might freak out at the thought of consuming nothing but vegetable and fruit juices for an entire day, or 3, or even 7. I on the other hand had been so anxious to try a juice cleanse. I wanted the opportunity to allow my gut to heal and to break away from some food addictions. I have been dairy free and wheat free for 2.5 years for medical reasons, but I’d begun letting some processed foods and sugar creep their way back into my diet and my body was not having it! I literally jumped up and down with excitement at the prospect of doing a 5 day juice cleanse with Total Cleanse. And I am happy to report I loved it even more than I could possibly have imagined!
I started the first 3 days of my cleanse with a bit gentler of plan to allow my body some time to adjust. 3 Green Energy juices a day, 1 Lemon Rush, 1 Cashew drink, and 1 of 3 different flavours of a fruit based juice. When doing the cleanse you only consume the 6 Total Cleanse juices each day and water (or herbal tea). No other foods. I was so pleased to experience no hunger at all until day 4. I was totally satisfied with the juices. More satiated than on my usual diet as I think my body had been craving the nutrients. When I started experiencing a bit of fleeting hunger on day 4 and 5 I think it had more to do with feeling like eating something than actually being hungry.
The Green Energy juice is what I consider to be the fundamental, and most important, juice that Total Cleanse offers. It is a mix of Kale, Celery, Cucumber, Lettuce, Apple, Parsley, and Lemon. Almost an identical recipe to a green smoothie I make at home. The taste was familiar and delicious. I really enjoyed it. Yes, green drinks can be delicious. I swear! If you haven’t tried one before please give it a shot!
Lemon Rush is another important juice. I had heard of this type of recipe before but in all these years I’d never actually tried it. When I read the ingredients on the bottle I admit I got pretty nervous. Lemon, Cayenne, Maple Syrup, Filtered Water. I imagined it must taste terrible. Well I was wrong. I absolutely loved how this tasted and I found as the days went on I was actually getting a little addicted to it.
Another daily staple are the Cashew juices. There is a regular version Creamy Cashew that includes Cashew, Vanilla Bean, Dates, Filtered Water and a Cacao Cashew version that contains Cashew, Cacao, Vanilla Bean, Dates, Maca, Filtered Water, Himalayan Sea Salt. Obviously the Cacao version was my favorite. This drink gives you some important healthy fats and protein.
The fruit juices are, of course, absolutely delicious! The ones I tried were Citrus Splash (Grapefruit, Apple, Lemon, Ginger, Mint), Pear Magic (Pear, E3 Live, Lemon, Filtered Water, Pink Salt), and Perfect Pineapple (Pineapple, Coconut, Ginger).
For the last 2 days of my cleanse I dropped the fruit juice and replaced it with another Lemon Rush. This is the Total Cleanse Revitalize Cleanse.
So the reasons I absolutely loved this cleanse went beyond just the wonderful flavours. I felt really good while on the cleanse. I suppose since I was already off of dairy and wheat, and limited in my sugar consumption, that I didn’t experience some of the withdrawal type detox symptoms that some people might experience. I did also reduce my coffee intake prior to the cleanse to avoid any caffeine withdrawal. I felt alert and energized throughout the experience.
I also loved the fact that I didn’t have to worry about, or even think about, what I was going to eat for 5 days. It was so refreshing! I would just reach in my fridge, grab a bottle, and I was good to go! I thought it was pretty freaking amazing! Honestly, I would love to be able to do a cleanse like this on a monthly basis. I think giving our body that time to detox, improve digestion, and increase energy is so vital.
I know a lot of you are probably wondering if I lost any weight on the cleanse. While losing weight isn’t the real purpose behind doing a juice cleanse, a lot of people are certainly looking for those kind of results when cleansing. Well I lost 6 pounds in 5 days so I’m pretty darn pleased with that!
Total Cleanse delivers their juices Canada wide. You can also pick it up at their locations in Toronto or their retail partners. Delivery prices increase depending on how far from Toronto you are. I did a 5 day cleanse so my cleanse was delivered in 2 separate deliveries for optimal freshness. The juices are 100% fresh and unpasteurized with no added chemicals or additives so they are good for about 4 days. I received the first 3 days, then a second shipment with my last 2 days. Picking up at their locations is $50 per day (6 juices) and starts at $60 per day for delivery.
Now you might be thinking, “why would I pay for juices when I can just make them myself at home?”. Well that’s true, you could. But first of all the juices you get from Total Cleanse are made with a hydraulic press. Home juicers are usually a centrifugal juicer. The benefit of using a hydraulic juice press is that the juice is extracted with a much high concentration of vitamins and minerals. A centrifugal juicer juices at a high heat which introduces air, reducing shelf life and killing a lot of key nutrients. A hydraulic press cuts and grinds the produce before putting it through the press to extract the juice. This means less oxygen is entered into the juice and it’s much more nutritionally dense.
Also the Total Cleanse juices each contain over 2 pounds of fruits and vegetables! That would mean buying, cleaning, prepping, and cleaning up after juicing, over 12 pounds of fruits and vegetables a day. No thanks! I like having it arrive in a cooler bag with ice packs at my doorstep, thank you very much! Total Cleanse has been in business for over 8 years, and was Toronto’s very first juice delivery service, so you know you can trust the quality and customer service.
I honestly can’t recommend this highly enough! I’m officially a Total Cleanse juice junkie!
Save 15% OFF your order at TotalCleanse.ca with promo code realizingbeauty!
Andreanne // A Certain Romance says
Wow that sounds amazing, but I KNOW I don’t have the willpower to do it. I’d be so down for a 1-day cleanse though, I’ll have to give that a try for sure!
Christa @PerilouslyPale says
Starting with a one day cleanse and working your way up from there is actually a great way to do it! I just happen to be an all or nothing kind of gal! 😀