Fitness Agenda: Juju Cleanse - The First Time

Juice love!

Back in March, I decided to try doing a juice cleanse. It was a few weeks before my wedding, I was feeling a bit stressed, and I was right in the middle of personal training at the gym. I wanted to detox -- clean out my insides, give my body a nutrient boost, and to just be a bit healthier on the whole. After checking various options online, I went for Juju Cleanse. It's a juice fast program that delivers fresh, raw, cold-pressed juice kits right at your doorstep. 

GETTING IT

My friend Cielo and I ordered at around the same time, though we tried different things. She wasn't a veggie eater so she just got a few solo juice bottles that aren't part of the cleanse programs to try them out. On the other hand, I began eating veggies when I first started working out and seeing a nutritionist a couple of years back, so I opted for the one-day Level One Cleanse. It's designed to ease one into the program gently, and isn't so green. That is perfect for me, because while I may be able to eat quite a bit of veggies now, I can't do veggies for prolonged periods of time.

Pretty drinks all in a row! [Pic from the Juju Cleanse website.]

Ordering was really easy, since everything was done online. I was lucky that I live in a city where Juju Cleanse delivers. Those who aren't as lucky have to go to designated pick-up points all over Manila. So I ordered, paid, set my cleanse date, and my juice kit was delivered promptly the night before my cleanse day. 

THE JUICE KIT

The juice kit came in a very convenient thermal bag. It's insulated to keep the juice bottles cold, and the bag makes it easy to tote the juices around with me in case I had to go somewhere. However, I purposely did my cleanse on a day when I had nothing scheduled and was just staying at home, because it was my first time and I didn't know how my body was going to react to the cleanse.

All the info about the cleanse was also included in the kit. I got cleansing guidelines, the cleanse schedule, and the specifics on the various juices. 

See how well-insulated the juices are? The bag even came with a reusable ice pack to ensure that the juice bottles were always cold.

The juice bottles had convenient numbers on the caps so it was easy to follow the schedule. Each juice was to be taken at a specific time. The general schedule was one juice bottle every two and a half hours over the course of one day. 

THE DRINKS

Left to right, according to schedule order: Green Bomb, Spicy Limonada, Red Giant, Alkazest, Green Bomb, Salaba't Lemon

• Green Bomb
• Ingredients: celery, cucumber, coconut water, malunggay, pineapple, romaine lettuce, spinach.
• What it does: Promotes alkilinity and provides important nutrients and enzymes that the body needs to keep going.
• Spicy Limonada
• Ingredients: cayenne pepper, honey, lemon
• What it does: Speeds up metabolism and puts the body in a more alkaline state
• Red Giant
• Ingredients: beets, carrots, ginger, pineapple
• What it does: Helps in cleansing and elimination, increases stamina, and does good things to your liver 
• Alkazest
• Ingredients: coconut water, grapefruit/orange, pineapple
• What it does: Replenishes electrolytes, boosts energy levels, and gives a shot of vitamins and anti-oxidants
• Salaba't Lemon
• Ingredients: ginger, honey, lemon
• What it does: Helps improve circulation, stimulates the digestive system, and acts as an expectorant for respiratory problems

PREPARATION

I woke up early the day of the cleanse because I decided to follow the schedule to the letter. The first juice was at 7:30am so I woke up at 6:30am. I used my iPod's alarm function to alert me every time I needed to down a drink. 

The instructions told me to have a cup of hot mint tea before I started the cleanse. Its purpose is to warm the stomach and prepare it for a day of cold juice. They were supposed to provide the mint leaves, but there was a note telling me that they couldn't get mint leaves that day. I had Twinings Lemon Twist tea instead. 

I also put the guide up on the fridge so that I don't forget the schedule and I could glance at it for quick info on what I was drinking.  

MY JUJU JOURNAL

I live-tweeted the entire thing, so here goes my Juju Cleanse diary.

7:30am. The Green Bomb.

Smells like celery with a bit of cucumber. Not bad, but way too green for me. It's like drinking veggie sticks without dip.

I thought I could handle it during the first few sips, but once I downed half the bottle, I found myself shuddering. It almost made me gag. Yep, I'm still not that big of a veggie person. I finished the bottle like a good girl though. 

10:00am. Spicy Limonada.

Lemon juice with honey and cayenne pepper! This is more like it. Citrusy goodness with a kick! Yum! 

Fruits > veggies. I've learned to eat some veggies in recent years but I don't think I can ever be vegetarian. Now fruits, I love.

I loved this drink. I'm partial to citrus fruits and spicy food, so it was perfect for me. I really enjoyed the sweetness of the lemon with honey mixed with the edginess of the pepper.

12:30pm. The Red Giant.

Beets. Bleah. Can't figure out what it tastes like. Soil with a pineapple aftertaste? Pretty gross.

I'm sorry for the graphic tweet but this juice really threw me for a loop. I felt my insides heaving while drinking it. It was like hell in a bottle for me. I took little gulps to keep the gag reflex in check. I finished the bottle but it was a challenge.

3:00pm. Alkazest.

Coconut, grapefruit, pineapple. This has a bitterness to it, but it's a fruity juice so I'm all good.

This juice was a good break after the experience that was the Red Giant. I wished it was sweeter, but it was okay. 

5:45pm. The Green Bomb.

Again. I can deal with this so much better after dealing with the Red Giant. Energy = zilch though. I keep falling asleep.

I was a lot slower in finishing this green juice compared to the first time, but I did way better at it than I did with the red juice. I was 15 minutes behind schedule because I fell asleep. I found that I didn't have the energy to do anything. 

8:15pm. Salaba't Lemon.

When they said this was a potent ginger tonic, they weren't kidding! It's very strong and herbal, but I like it. 

This drink reminds me of bilo-bilo with luya that my mom used to cook when I was a kid! Now I miss my mom. 

This became my second favorite after Spicy Limonada. It was very herbal, but it had a comforting taste, which was perfect for bedtime because it was the last drink of the day. 

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Done! So happy I survived the Juju Cleanse. Hope my digestive system enjoyed the break. Looking forward to going back to normal food tomorrow!

Going into it, I never expected the Juju Cleanse to be easy. It's called a juice fast after all -- it's supposed to be hard somehow. It turned out to be exactly what I expected. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard that it wasn't doable either. 

I really didn't have a problem with hunger. Taking one bottle every 2.5 hours kept me from feeling ravenous. Besides, the bottles were huge! Each juice took a while for me to finish, and they were all very filling. What I had to battle were the cravings. I found myself yearning for the taste of meat and chocolate, but thankfully, I found the cravings easy to ignore. 

I had to go to the bathroom a lot, but not in a bad way, just a more frequent way. I didn't have a problem with it, but if I wasn't at home, it would have been a bit of a hassle. 

I was also glad I stayed home for the cleanse because I didn't have energy at all. I guess my body simply wasn't used to just taking in fluids and no solids. I found myself falling asleep in between drinks. I thought my body deserved that break though. It got some much needed rest, along with a good detox. The next morning when I woke up, I amazingly didn't feel hungry at all. I took it to mean that my body did get its full load of nutrients even if I didn't eat anything the day before.

BMO's happy I survived.

After the Juju Cleanse, my body felt a lot lighter and cleaner in a way. It even kind of felt like it forgot what food was. My hunger pangs were less frequent and I found myself wanting to eat better and healthier. 

Before doing the cleanse, I also had a problem with bloating especially during that time of the month. There was something off with me inside and I felt like I had to do something to fix it. After the cleanse, I actually didn't experience it for a few months, which was a huge relief, especially during my wedding -- yay for no-bloat pictures! I didn't expect weight loss though. One day isn't going to count for anything, weight-wise, but I did feel lighter after because my body got rid of all the dirt clogging it.

I do think now that doing a cleanse once in a while is a good thing for the body. Some of the drinks may be difficult to take (taste varies from one person to another), but your system will thank you for it. It's sort of like hitting the reset button on your insides, giving it a fresh start. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing this cleanse again in the future.