I have been experiencing heaviness and water retention in my body off late. I have a tendency for water retention and my lifestyle has not been very healthy in the last few weeks. Too many cocktail brunches late night bar hopping and socializing sort of had taken its toll. Also, we had somehow moved away from our sort of healthy diet to eating greasy food, outside almost everyday. So, I decided to go for cleansing. I had tried Master Cleanse couple of times after being highly recommended by a friend, but I figured that its not for me. I had one lime/maple/cayenne drink in the morning and couldn't do any more. So you can practically call me a neuvo in that territory! But then as I wanted to do it anyways and kept researching for the right program for me and came across BluePrint's Invigorating Cleanse.
My experience has been that of a beginner and I wanted to share my experience starting from the first to the 6th bottle. I have also put down the time as I tried to have them at an interval of 2/2.30 hours
Bottle#1 @ 09:00
A healthy green bottle of Romaine/Celery/Apple/Spinach/Lemon. We do eat salads, but its usually spinach, provided its at home. When we are out we never order salad. So thats something I am going to change now. The drink tasted quite good, though M wasn't a fan but I really liked it. My body felt energized. I am a total caffeine addict. I need my morning and evening cups of strong tea and to an extent that I get a headache if I don't get my evening cup and the absence of morning cup make some cranky. But surprisingly I had passed my usual morning tea time, and I was fine! May be it was the excitement, or genuinely working but something clicked.
Bottle#2 @ 11:00
This one was more fruity with Pineapple/Apple/Mint. Tasted really good. Though food craving had set in by then. I would suddenly come across food channels on youtube or find the cheese in the fridge and had to be really strong to not have it. But then I decided to not be too harsh on myself, so I referred to their cheat sheet and had quarter of an avocado and it felt much better. I kept myself busy with work, but my energy seemed to be dipping. I decided that next time I should do it over a weekend when I don't have such a busy schedule and its much more relaxed or probably a Friday.
Bottle#3 @ 13:00
Again a repeat bottle of Romaine/Celery/Cucumber/Apple/Spinach/Kale/Parsley/Lemon and it didn't taste as well as the first time. It wasn't bad but my food craving was higher. I usually try to stand when I am working, as it keeps lethargy down but I was sitting on a chair by now. I was feeling quite full though. It wasn't that I was hungry, but it was more psychological. I kept looking around for solids.
Bottle#4 @ 15:30
I was feeling quite low by then and this gave me a kick. It was Lemonade/Agave/Cayenne and I suddenly the the surge of energy. It lasted for about an hour, but I had to step out to walk Margo then and I utilized that time to do that. He is an energetic and social puppy and can be quite trying on one's energy level. Once I got back I again gave in to my craving for caffeine and referred to their cheat sheet. It allowed half a cup of coffee, so I boiled water in an espresso cup and added little instant coffee and drank it slowly. Though it didn't make me feel great or very different as I had expected from my trusted cup, but then I satisfied my quench for caffeine.
Bottle#5 @ 18:00
Well, this was the worst. My craving for food was pretty high and the drink had beet! I hate beet! I rallied through it with forced enthusiasm and sat down to sip it slowly but the moment I opened the bottle the liquid spilled over me slightly. So considering it has beet which is a strong coloring agent and the bottle of this particular juice comes so filled I would advice you to open it in a sink. So I started sipping through it and went down the drink with a couple of sips remaining. I put it away and kept staring at the last bit of it. And finally just before I had to drink the last bottle I sipped it all down.
Bottle#6 @ 20:30
This was Cashew Milk/Cashew/Cinnamon/Vanilla and tasted good. Though what would had mentally satisfied it by then would had been a thigh chocolate milkshake with whipped cream and ice cream (extra scoop) but after the long day it felt like a treat! I sipped it up slowly and thought of the taste to be rather nice.
My mind did play tricks with me all throughout. I felt a bit more chillier than I usually do. I was feeling cold! I did feel a bit weak. But today I don't really feel that way, after having had a nice sleep. I had no problem waking up, whereas I usually feel lethargic. No caffeine kick at all. Its a big deal for me. I eventually ended up having tea but much, much later than I usually do. I started my morning quite early feel very fresh. I have no urge to over eating or even eating unhealthy things for that matter. I don't feel bloated as I did earlier and considering I have lost 2lbs today I am assuming it was 2lbs of water retention. So my final verdict is that I really like it and I don't know how frequently I would like to do it, but once a month is for sure if not more.
