I’ve heard so many people talking about their experiences with juice fasting or juice cleansing, whatever you may call it, so I decided to give it a go.

Definitely not to lose weight because that’s not what fasting is about and even if you lose some weight, it’s not sustainable when you don’t eat a healthy diet for the rest of the year. I simply wanted to do this out of curiosity, I’ve never done anything like this before. As I said, I’ve heard a lot about it – good and bad things – so I wanted to try it myself to be able to talk about it from my own experience afterwards.

I’m really bad when it comes to not eating stuff like chocolate, peanut butter etc. even just for a few days, so I also felt like challenging myself a little. I knew that if I can do this, it will be like a little personal success afterwards which always feels good, right? Especially with the new year waiting just around the corner.

After all the amazing food this year which also included a lot of fatty and not too healthy treats, I felt like giving my body a deserved break from digesting.

For the cleanse I decided to use the juices from www.kaleandme.de because I read a lot of positive reviews about them. I don’t have a juicer at home (would also feel like wasting so much food when throwing the rest away..) and I didn’t want to use just some random juices from the supermarket but very high quality ones. These juices also guide you through the 3 days as they have numbers on them so that you know which one to drink next.. great for people like me with zero juicing experience.

So, what were those 3 juice days like?

Day 1

On the first day I was pretty busy until noon so that I didn’t really have the time to think so much about food and was actually thankful that I didn’t have to prepare anything to eat and could just grab a juice. The juices taste really delicious and I was always looking forward to having the next one. Fortunately, I liked all 6 of them. I read that some people don’t like the last juice of the day which is the richest one with almonds and dates but it actually was my favourite, tastes just like marzipian. Throughout the whole day I didn’t feel hungry at all which surprised me as I normally get crazy hungry if I don’t get my breakfast. In the evening I went to the cinema and was worrying that my tummy would rumble during the movie but it didn’t. I just got a light headache here and there in the evening and started to feel a little tired and cold but that’s it, nothing too bad. With the juices I also drank a lot of water and herbal tea, it’s really important to keep your body hydrated when fasting even if you might think that you’re drinking a lot of juice anyway. Drinking a lot besides the juices also makes you feel fuller which makes it easier to not get too hungry.

Day 2

The second day started fine and I went for a short 20 minute run in the morning and did a little yoga workout. At lunchtime I started to feel a little weak and tired so that I took a nap for one hour. Luckily, I didn’t have to go to work these 3 days. First I was thinking about doing the cleanse while working so that I’m busy and have no time to think about food.. I’m happy now I didn’t do it that way but chose the calm and relaxed time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. In the evening I got really tired again and went to bed at 9pm. I woke up again at 3am, fully awake but soo hungry! Fortunately I was able to sleep again an hour later.

Day 3

After being so hungry the night before, I felt pretty good again in the morning of the third day. My tummy was rumbling again at lunchtime but I didn’t feel as tired as I did the day before. I didn’t workout anyway because I didn’t want to risk to get that hungry again and I thought it’s probably better to give my body some rest. The rest of the day I felt fine except for a light headache here and there. I was so looking forward to eating the next day anyway and already went for some food shopping that day.

Day 4 – Breaking The Fast

All I bought the day before was fresh fruits and veggies because – as weird as it may seem – I didn’t crave any unhealthy fatty stuff such as chocolate or peanut butter but fresh healthy foods like a good big salad or a smoothie bowl. I had a plate of fruit and a little smoothie for breakfast and it took me almost an hour to finish it as it filled me up so quickly. It seems the body adjust pretty quickly to a smaller amount of food (or better said no food) and a lower calorie intake. For lunch I had a smoothie bowl with some toppings such as oats and amaranth and for dinner a big salad with avocado. I didn’t want to overwhelm my body with too much heavy food right after my juice cleanse and I think this was a good decision because I didn’t have any problems like stomach pain or digestive issues.

Conclusion?

I’m definitely happy I did this juice cleanse because it was a special experience. And while 3 days might not be that long, believe me.. they are long for huge foodies like me who enjoy munching on something way too much and who always look forward to the next meal, haha. I’m actually a little proud of myself and also surprised about what I’m capable of when I really want to achieve something. This experience makes it a little easier to believe in myself when it comes to other parts of life as well.

These 3 days also made me realize again how grateful I should be about all the food I get to eat daily, to not have to starve as so many other people in this world. I really saw my food with different eyes the day after my cleanse and appreciated the taste, the sensation of chewing and feeling full and satisfied afterwards a lot more.

As I was curious if I’d lose any weight, I weighted myself before and after the cleanse and I lost 2kg. But as I said in the beginning: The meaning of fasting is not to lose weight and I believe I’ll gain it back in no time as I probably just lost water anyway.

Other than that I didn’t notice any physical changes like clearer skin for example but I really enjoyed the feeling of my body being so empty and having nothing to digest, there wasn’t the slightest feeling of bloating. Strangely enough, my digestion over the three days was pretty good despite not eating any food which also means no fiber.

It was also nice to not have to think about what meal to prepare next and to not waste time on cooking so that I had more left for other things. Eating and cooking can sometimes be such a big distraction. When it’s gone, you have to actually think about other topics which can lead to a higher productivity.

One last thing I noticed: The day I started eating again was also the day I felt the happiest I had felt that whole week. Just after finishing my cleanse, I realized that my mood during the cleanse had been kinda gloomy but I didn’t really notice it until I started eating again. I believe it’s true that food and fueling your body with enough energy makes you happy. In the past when I was restricting my calories, I noticed the same: In times when I didn’t eat enough, I always got into that depressed and negative state in which I find myself very rarely now that I eat enough – enough of the right foods.

To anyone who is interested in going on a juice cleanse, I would definitely recommend to try it out anyway. 🙂