Cooler Cleanse

I recently purchased a three-day cleanse from Cooler Cleanse and have been really excited to write about my three day experience. I picked up the juices on Friday night and decided to start on Saturday morning (after my very indulgent meal at Bar Jamon). There are six juices to drink each day:

Saturday: Day One of Cooler Cleanse
I woke up very excited to start the juices – the first juice of the day is the green juice (essential green includes lots of different types of vegetables). The juice isn’t bad; I’ve had experience of drinking green juices because my mom loves to make juices and I used to make green juices with celery, apples, cucumbers, and other green vegetables. After a few sips, I realize that it’s going to be a long day because I can barely finish the juice (the ginger is a little too much for me). I finish and realize…that’s all I get for the next couple of hours.

Juice two is definitely my favorite: grapefruit and mint. It’s very refreshing and I could definitely continue drinking it even if I wasn’t on a cleanse. I didn’t have a lot of energy after the two juices but decided to go for a run anyway. I made it about a mile before I felt like I really couldn’t handle it anymore and ended up walking the rest (my only exercise of the day). I was so exhausted after the run that I came home and took a nap (thank goodness I started the cleanse on a weekend) and woke up with a lot more energy.

Drink three is another green juice, juice four is young coconut water (which tastes better than Zico), juice five is essential red (beets, carrots and apples) and my favorite, juice six, is almond milk with dates, vanilla beans and filtered water. I was surprised I didn’t feel the need to snack throughout the day but I was drinking a lot of water in between each juice. I ended up going out for a bit (and not drinking at all) and I had a lot of energy. We drove to the 53rd and 6th halal cart with Ken’s friends and ended up buying delicious chicken and rice (I swear it has never smelled so good) but Ken ate in the living room so I wouldn’t have to smell the food.

Sunday: Day Two of Cooler Cleanse
I woke up a bit later than usual (the cleanse suggests you get at least 8 hours of rest a night) but I was definitely ready to take on the day. We ran errands and then ended up going to the gym and I did my two mile run and had enough energy to lift weights afterwards. The cleanse suggests you do yoga and pilates (and sit in the sauna) but I think I did too much bikram during my fight diet that I’m yoga-ed out.

Luckily, this weekend was really light on social activities and we didn’t have to run around the city too much (although we did have to make multiple trips to shops in the city because I am looking for a birthday gift for Ken to buy me and I can’t seem to find anything!)

Monday: Day Three of the Cooler Cleanse
Going to work and drinking the juices all day is difficult, especially because I have to focus on work. It’s difficult, but manageable (some girls in my office have done this cleanse multiple times without any problems!) I’m really glad I didn’t start the cleanse during the week and although I’m more tempted to cheat on the last day with all of the snacks in our office, I refrain because I’m so close to the finish line. On Tuesday, I ease back into eating regular foods by eating Fight diet-friendly foods (to prep for the cleanse, I stopped eating eggs but I reward myself with a little omelet for breakfast).

The cleanse has definitely helped me focus on the whole foods that I should be eating instead of the processed foods that I’m tempted to eat a lot. I know my eating habits aren’t going to be dramatically changed (especially since I love pasta and bread) but I will definitely focus on eating better the majority of the week with a few fun meals sprinkled into the week.