I did a three day juice cleanse and lived to tell about it.

It all started with my health nut boyfriend who woke up one morning and decided he wanted to buy a juicer. If you’ve ever looked into purchasing a juicer, you would know these things will you put you back around $600 – $1,200.

Instead of jumping head first into the juicing lifestyle, I suggested we dip our toes in by trying a three day juice cleanse. After some research, we went with a popular and well reviewed company in the Toronto area called Total Cleanse.

My Experience With Total Cleanse

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Purify Cleanse from Total Cleanse

Before I get started reviewing the good, bad and ugly about my three day juicing experience, I want to give you the low down on Total Cleanse.

There were a few reasons we went with Total Cleanse over other juicing companies. First of all, they deliver the juices for your 1, 2 or 3 day cleanse right to to your door in cooler bags which could not be more convenient.

Secondly, they offer several different affordable cleansing options, as well as the ability to customize your cleanse with their fresh cold pressed juices. We chose the Purify Cleanse, which is the most extreme of their cleanses.

From the start, Total Cleanse’s customer service was excellent, and their juices arrived on our door step right in time for the start of our cleanse. There were three varieties of juices, all of which tasted fresh, not too sweet (which is something you want to avoid during a juice cleanse), and pretty tasty (especially their Creamy Cashew).

Bottom line, if you are considering a juice cleanse, I would definitely recommend Total Cleanse.

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Now for the fun part! Here’s seven “truths” about my juice cleanse experience, separated into “the good”, “the bad”, & “the ugly”.

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Pin This And Save It For Your Next Juice Cleanse

THE GOOD 

1. You’ll Be Able to Exercise Better Portion Control (After Your Juice Cleanse)

One of the big benefits I have experienced following the juice cleanse is that I have a better handle on portion control. Total Cleanse’s Purify Cleanse gives you around 1,200 calories a day, which is just enough to keep you going. It put into perspective how many calories I actually need to operate effectively. Now I find when I’m eating a meal I’m more mindful of how much I’m consuming.

2. The Juices Cleanse Your Palette

If you are looking to start a new diet or lifestyle, juice cleansing might be for you. That’s because “juicing” can cleanse your palette, helping you to rid your cravings of salty, savoury or extremely sweet foods. Because of this, I think juicing could be extremely beneficial for someone wanting to jump right into a “whole foods plant-based” diet as a virtual ‘reset’ for the type of food they crave. For example, following my juice cleanse the typical vegetable broth I use as bases for my soups tasted SO salty. I’ve now switched to no added sodium broth and season it myself.

3. It Can Help You Identify Dietary Sensitivities

Most juice cleanses, including Total Cleanse, eliminate dairy, wheat and gluten from your diet. This can give those who suspect they might have a sensitivity or allergy new insight on whether any of these foods don’t agree with their body. Following the cleanse, you can slowly reintroduce these foods to help identify which ones your body takes issue with.

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Juice Cleanse From Total Cleanse

THE BAD

4. Juice Cleanses Are Hard As Hell 

I consider myself a fairly healthy person. I eat a plant-based diet, stay away from most added sugar and workout regularly. However, nothing could have prepared me for three days of JUST JUICE. Maybe it’s because I knew I was in it for the long haul, but I was starving from the minute I put the first juice up to my mouth. The hunger wore off a bit after day one, but I still found myself craving any type of solid food.

5. You Might Lose Weight… But Not For Long

I don’t own a scale, so I can’t tell you for certain whether I lost or gained weight during my juice cleanse. However, by day two my pants were sliding on better and I definitely felt lean throughout the cleanse and the days following. Part of this could be your body letting go of the water weight it holds onto when consuming sodium. If your main incentive for doing a juice cleanse is to lose weight you’re in it for the wrong reasons. After returning to your normal diet following the cleanse, you’ll more than likely gain the weight back.

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THE UGLY 

6. Your Breath Will Smell 

This was a big shocker for me. About halfway through the first day of the cleanse, I couldn’t believe the bad taste I had in my mouth and thick furry coating on my tongue (EW)! With a quick google search, I determined this was a common problem with juice cleanses and fasting in general because your body starts conserving saliva. Saliva is only omitted when food is eaten, and when saliva production is slow, it allows bacteria to build up.

7. You’ll Be Hangry!

Any suppression of calories can make someone irritable, and knowing you have to survive off of only juice for three days makes matters worse. Needless to say when the cleanse was over my boyfriend and coworkers breathed a sigh of relief.

THE TAKEAWAY

If you’re looking for a “reset”, wanting to dive into a new, healthy lifestyle, or are working on identifying food sensitivities, a juice cleanse may very well be the answer for you.