When I learned that my wife was planning to do a “juice cleanse” this month, I was excited to jump on board and go along to the ride. I didn’t know much about “cleansing” in general, but I liked the idea of starting fresh for 2012.
We turned to a company that came highly recommended: Total Cleanse, who offered a number of different cleansing options and offered home delivery of their products every 3 days.
They actually have 5 different juices and you can create your own cleanse, but we opted to go with a combination of two of their set packages: Three days of the “Refresh” cleanse and two days of the “Purify” cleanse.
Along with the cleanse, it came recommended that I also participate in Colon Hydrotherapy in order to get a strong start to the process. This was my largest source of anxiety as the ease approached but, in the end found to be both painless and very helpful.
Before starting the process I didn’t ask any questions, but rather relied on the experience of my wife. I assumed that some sort of “cleansing” would occur but really had no idea what that meant or how I would experience the process. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t know up front.
I began with the Colon Hydrotherapy in order to be as empty as possible going in to the cleanse. The folks at D’Avignon Digestive Health Centre use a traditional technique involving gravity fed water. During the process I learned that this type of therapy was actually in use at hospitals in the GTA as recently as the 1940s until laxatives were deemed to be cheaper and easier to administer.
I was informed by the technician that she had noticed a few hard spots in a deeper area of my colon that we would likely not get to in that session. Curiously, the area that she identified had been somewhat tender in recent months. I had just figured I had strained an abdominal muscle.
The next morning our juices were delivered to the house. The “Refresh” cleanse consists of six bottles of juice. Three bottles of the Green Energy, two bottles of the Lemonade, and a bottle of Very Berry for a pick-me-up in the middle of the day. It was quite a sight to see six individual cooler bags full of juice on our front step.
The cooler bags really came in handy. It goes to show that these folks really have thought of everything. We were tempted to taste test all of the juices but the instructions indicated that each bottle should be consumed within 20 minutes of opening.
We expected the first day to be challenging. We expected to feel hungry and cranky. Gladly, we were wrong. With about 1,200 calories per day, the Refresh cleanse is more than enough energy. The juices were all surprisingly tasty. I was expecting the Green Energy to be thick and hard to get down but it was no less viscous than the lemonade. If anything, the Very Berry was the thickest.
Those first few days, Susie had a rough time with the flavour of the Green Energy but, by the end, she had developed a taste for it and even missed it after we were done.
By the end of the third day I was imagining what life would be like living on juices exclusively, as Steve Jobs had done for long periods of time between stints as a vegetarian, fruitarian, an vegan and all I could think about was Walter Issacson’s description of what those around Steve in the 80s thought of his body odour.
For me, day four was a major turning point. Once again, we had awoke to a pile of individual coolers on our front steps. This time, the coolers were full of the combination of juices for the “Purify” part of our cleanse, which meant no more Very Berry … And the introduction of Cashew Milk. I was really looking forward to the Cashew Milk as a new flavour.
This the point in the process where Susie and I veered on very different paths. Her body is quite used to generally healthy eating with occasional cleansing. My system was shocked and unaccustomed to such things. I drank the juices as prescribed on the fourth day, but I also began to experience a true “cleansing” of my gastrointestinal system. It started that afternoon and the “purification” lasted all night long. I was convinced that I had contracted some sort of food borne illness so I had Susie contact the folks at Total Cleanse first thing in the morning of Day 5. They advised that my body’s response was not atypical considering that I had never cleansed before. I was to discontinue with the juices and ensure that I was hydrated until the “purification” was complete.
In retrospect, I’m not sure if what happened to me was really part of the cleanse or if, coincidentally, I simply caught some bug at the same time. Either way, I can most certainly say that I feel much better post cleanse. At no point did I feel low in energy. If anything, I felt energized during the first few days.
People have been asking me about the process and whether or not I thought it was worthwhile. Having complete the process I can honestly say that I would do it again, but not for a while. I can see this becoming part of a routine every two years. I’d like to think that I will be able to know when I need “cleansing” again just by how my body feels. Another question that seems to come up all the time is whether or not I lost any weight. The short answer is yes, I lost 12 lbs in the 4 days that I was on the juice and 4 days afterwards. However, there are a few things to keep in mind with that answer: I always lose weight when I significantly increase the amount that I drink on a daily basis; Much of the weight lost can be directly attributed to the stuff that was removed from my colon during the process. So really, I don’t think that the juice specifically helped me lose much fat or muscle … maybe a couple of pounds, but the process most certainly cleaned out a significant amount.
For anyone considering putting themselves through the same type of cleanse, I have a few recommendations. First, sign up for the three day cleanse and let your body adjust to a new way of eating. Assuming that goes well, you can always add on additional days. Second, have a plan for how you eat going in and coming back out of the cleanse. The folks at Total Cleanse actually offer a raw food diet that I would supplement with on either side when I go through this again.
