Hi, my name is Dennis. I work in a hospital where I conduct research on autoimmune diseases, run three businesses, and I’m someone who likes to try everything at least once. A juice cleanse had been on my list for a long time because I was curious and had never detoxed my body before. I know the body detoxes itself through the liver and kidneys, but still, I was curious about the feeling of doing a detox juice cleanse. When I found out about Juice Brothers and had already tried one of their juices at a restaurant, I decided to give it a shot. I ordered a 3-day “deep” juice cleanse and stored it in my brand-new American fridge because it took up a lot of space. And then, it was time to begin…
Day 1:
I had put off the juice cleanse for a while because there was always something fun, inconvenient, or important going on. Too much HelloFresh food in the fridge that needed to be eaten, long and exhausting workdays that made it impractical, or a social event that I really didn’t want to miss. But today was the day, and it was happening…
It started with the first hiccup in my ‘juice journal’—I didn’t have any lemons for lemon water to start the day. Luckily, I was already used to ginger shots from my random impulse buys at the supermarket. Skipping my usual breakfast wasn’t too hard. I packed the first four juices into a plastic bag and headed to work.
At work, I had to tell everyone that I wouldn’t be going to the cafeteria for three days. No croquette for me. People were often surprised that I was doing a juice cleanse, but they were also quite interested. They asked how it was going and how I felt about it.
When I arrived at work, I lined up the juices on my desk and kept an eye on the clock to drink the next one every two hours. The first Master Cleanse juice was nice and spicy, which I enjoyed. I drank it with pleasure because all the juices were new to me, so I was curious about the taste.
Later in the day, I started to look forward to dinner at home. However, of course, I wasn’t allowed to have dinner. Normally, I drink eight cups of coffee a day, so this was definitely an adjustment. I even fell asleep behind my laptop at one point, but it was also a boring workday, so whether the juices, withdrawal, or the work was the cause, we’ll never know.
Once I got home, I was quite hungry. My girlfriend wasn’t in the mood to cook, so she and my son had the simplest pasta with tomato sauce, but even that looked incredibly appetizing to me. I noticed that I was a bit more sluggish, and since there wasn’t going to be a tasty snack, I went to bed early, around 11:00 PM. I fell asleep immediately. I had finished all the juices by then!
Day 2:
Fortunately, I had more energy when I woke up. I didn’t have the intense hunger like last night and I had lemons to start with water. That was actually quite nice! Another workday, so I took four juices with me. I was less hungry than the day before, but still quite hungry. I noticed that my energy levels were more consistent, which was pleasant. I didn’t really drink water at work, but with a juice cleanse, you end up consuming about 7 x 400 mL, or 2.8 L, so that felt good, especially on such a sunny day.
This time, there were all sorts of Italian cookies at work, free to take. Unfortunately, I just took them home for my son. I work in a lab, so that kept me going through the day because I was busy. However, during a break, I could drink another juice. Since I had already finished them all, I started to drink them faster. My favorites were Dragons Breath and Skin Sister, the two purple ones. I followed the order on the form.
In the evening when I got home, I had another big dip and ended up falling asleep on the couch at 8:00 PM until 11:00 PM. However, I still had two juices left, so I drank the Vanilla Sky for a fuller feeling before sleeping. The Force of Nature was left untouched and will be added to tomorrow! I have to say that I really started craving things and that sleeping helped. I almost ordered a burger with fries, but maybe after two days of juicing, it would have given me a stomachache, so I’m glad and proud that I made it through to day 2. No quitting before the finish line, but I’m really looking forward to having some bread again on Friday morning.
Day 3:
The day began after I had slept for a long time. In terms of preparation, not much happened again. I woke up and, as always, put on my pants, shirt, had breakfast, showered, and went to work. This time, I started with the juice I hadn’t drunk the previous night, which made my morning hunger a bit less. I noticed that the hunger and cravings were less intense than on the previous two days, which was a relief.
This day went smoothly, and I noticed that I felt less bloated. My stomach was flatter, not because I lost weight—maybe just a few grams—but perhaps because it was only liquids going through me.
What did stand out to me after calculating the nutritional values of the juices was that it was only about 700 to 800 kcal, which is very little. I looked it up, and it turns out it’s fine as long as it’s only for a few days and that when you eat, the food should be nutrient-dense. Fortunately, it was. I haven’t consumed this many vegetables, fruits, and water in a long time, so I’m happy about that.
Conclusion:
After three days, I’m glad I made it through. It had its ups and downs, but now that it’s over, I feel it would be a waste to immediately go for a big greasy meal. In other words, I do feel like chewing something, but I’m also more inclined to eat something healthy, especially now that I’ve just detoxed. I found it an interesting experience, and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it. I hope the after-effects last for a good while and that I now have more motivation to eat healthier, but time will tell.
