A few months ago, I was in L.A. and some friends of mine raved about this incredibly difficult, but incredibly rewarding cleanse that they had successfully done several times over the past few years. The cleanse cut out alcohol, caffeine, and specific foods and food groups. I immediately thought “Yeah right!”, but as they kept talking, the more intrigued I became. “I’ve never felt better!” “I dropped 15 pounds.” “I had the energy of a nine-year-old!” Once home, I looked it up, did plenty of research, and decided to give it a go. I pressured my husband and my assistant/life-saver Tiana into joining me. We all decided to start on the same day and work through it together and be a support system for one another. I highly recommend having a partner during a strict regimen like this. It’s a great way to stick with it and to help hold each other accountable.
The gist: It’s a 21-day cleanse that completely removes any and all foods that could potentially contain allergens, so no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, no soy, no eggs, no peanuts, no white rice, no nightshades (eggplant, tomatoes, goji berries, peppers), no oranges, strawberries, or bananas—there are literally so many noes! But, there are also so many yeses. You are replacing two meals a day with a smoothie. You have a smoothie for breakfast, a cleanse-compliant lunch, and a smoothie for dinner.
My experience: The first week was rough. Day 1, I felt motivated and ready to conquer! Truth is, I eat pretty clean most of the time, so I figured eating a little extra-clean for 21 days would be a challenge, but I could do it. By day 2 the migraines set in. I think mine were much less than my cleansing buddies because I stopped drinking coffee a week before we started, to help make the detox stage easier, but I still had headaches. Headaches for days. I was so tired. I had literally no energy, I was hungry and cranky. I craved all of the things. Scrolling through Instagram was rough because you realize just how many food posts there are when you are limiting yourself. Having kids in the house while you cleanse is also not easy. They still eat all of the things you can’t have. You still have to buy those things, while at the grocery store. You still have to cook those things and touch them and serve them to your offspring. It’s a mild form of torture.
Fast-forward to the one week mark. I felt better. Normal. I was getting the hang of this. I was in a rhythm. I was so sick of smoothies. But, I felt more energized. I was sleeping sound. And, I had zero anxiety. ZERO! I also had no bloating, no upset stomach, very regular bowels, and felt clean. During week two it was much of the same; feeling good, feeling confident, and minimal cravings. My oldest daughter baked cupcakes and cookies that week, which was rude, but I survived.
Week three: My husband Aubrey had lost ten pounds! That’s HUGE! I refuse to weigh myself because I tend to be one of those people who becomes fixated on a number, so I refrained from measuring my success based on weight and instead went off of how I felt and how my clothes fit. Some of my tight-fitting jeans were fitting quite nicely. I was hooked! We decided to add in some workouts during the third week. (The cleanse recommends refraining from strenuous workouts in the beginning.) We worked out every other day to build our stamina. We felt so good. We were almost done.
Then day 21 came. The day we had all been waiting for. It was finally here and I was feeling a mix of emotions. I was proud that I had made it, but I was not excited to be finished like I expected. Instead I was feeling a little sad and emotional. I didn’t want the cleanse to end. With my support system gone, how would I refrain from all of the temptations? How would I hold myself accountable? I do not want to go back to my old habits (I’m a late-night snacker), but I also really want a margarita. I realize that I needed to find a healthy balance between that cleanse life and real life. I needed to make some longterm changes in my diet and set some boundaries for myself. I’m still figuring that part out.
Something to note: My period started a week early. It came with no warning, no cramps, no fatigue, no nothing. The next couple of days, my cramps were bad and my period lasted for TWELVE DAYS! Yikes! Tiana started a week early, as well, but she mentioned that hers was much lighter than usual an lasted the normal length of time. Interesting!
Post cleanse: I have decided that this summer is my summer of wellness. I plan to continue to cut out many of the things eliminated on the cleanse, adding some back in moderation, having the occasional drink, staying active, and challenging myself all summer long. I love food. I love to eat at fancy restaurants and order everything. All the cheese, all the bread, all the pasta—I love it all. It’s going to be hard to turn those things down, but I think I can live without them most of the time and allow myself some slack in moderation. Today we start the reintroduction phase of the program, which is a very important step. I am supposed to eat gluten to see how my body reacts. I am hesitant to do so, but I also just received the most thoughtful package in the mail from Teri Turner over at No Crumbs Left (she’s my favorite on Instagram. Her Stories are the best!!!) filled with fresh baked English muffins from Napa. I think I’ll give one a try. Will keep you posted on the how the reintroduction goes.
I have had a ton of questions about my experience, what I ate, how I did it, and more over the past 21 days. I plan to address some more of those here, soon. Feel free to ask any questions below and I will do my best to shed some light.
I also plan on posting my cliff notes to the process soon, as I know not everyone can afford the steep price tag, so stay tuned! This is not sponsored! But, if you are able, I think it’s 100% worth it to do the real deal. You get the support of their highly-trained team every step of the way. They email you daily, they answer any and all questions you may have, and that is really nice to have because this ain’t easy.
