the Juice, the whole Juice, and nothing but the Juice so help me Hungry

Ever since the moratorium on iodine in my diet was lifted a few weeks ago I have to be honest in admitting that I've been going a LITTLE crazy with my dairy + all bad food intake. I'm sure I'm not unlike most normal humans in that my diet greatly affects how I feel. I've just felt kind of bleh - and to try to distract the bleh-ness I would throw back another mindless handful or three of chocolate chips and wonder why I felt slumpy the rest of the afternoon. I needed to hit some sort of reset button but didn't want to do the 21 day sugar detox because 21 days sounds like an eternity.

So! The awesome people at Skinny Limits in Austin, Texas sent me their three day juice cleanse to try. I really enjoyed the one day cleanse I did several weeks ago and was curious to try and see if I could make it for three whole days. Here's how it went down ...

The cooler of juice arrived on Tuesday morning and each bottle lists the ingredients in each juice ...

They included a detailed sheet of tips for success that I was able to read before my 18-month-old Mr. Clean promptly threw it away. I was so happy I read the the sheet because I think it helped me to (mostly! I'll get to that) not cheat.

DO:
- drink each juice within 5 minutes of opening and don't nurse it until it's time to drink the next one (true!! So true ... could tell a huge difference if I accidentally went the nursing route)
- drink the last juice 2-3 hours before going to bed (did! and wasn't hungry before bed or when I woke up - awesome)
- drink a cup of hot water and lemon in the morning (drank tea instead - no lemon juice in this house - what kind of kitchen runner am I?)
- drink them in order
- drink a juice every 2.5-3 hours 

DON'T:
- binge eat the night before (um, I did have some cookies -- I didn't die the first day but I didn't feel awesome)
- binge eat the day after (!!!!!!!!!!! seriously, you'll feel like death if you do)
- eat at all during the 3 days, if possible (I did have some bites of avocado when feeding the kids - totally on accident - promise)
- listen to your husband when he tells you no one will know if you cheat
- work out like a crazy person (which I took to not work out at all because I'm a real go getter)


the Nit and Grit:
Okay ... Simon thought I was out of my mind when he found out that there is no eating involved in juice cleansing. I was really surprised that I didn't mind the no eating because I'm a big grazer/snacker/eat all the timer. I think the big difference from the one day cleanse I did was that I genuinely liked the taste of all of these juices. They all tasted good (although the Scorpion Lemonade wasn't my favorite only because I don't like cayenne pepper at ALL) and I didn't have to psyche myself up to choke them down. They were sweet enough to satisfy my (super) sweet tooth but didn't give me that sugar high that I'd grown so accustomed to. The last drink of the day was REALLY good and I will consider my life to be a great success if I can figure out a way to make that bad boy with my own two hands.   

I was a little more irritable than I normally am but I can't blame the juices 100% because I'm always a pleasure to be around in the week leading up to a call weekend. I didn't get any crazy headaches but I did feel a little loopy occasionally. I did have a few weird energy bursts and did some out of character things like clean some mirrors, clean the bathroom, and fold a bunch of laundry. I get really bad insomnia and Sebastian always wakes up around 5 every morning and I usually can't get back to sleep after he goes back down but I actually fell back to sleep this week which made a huge difference in my energy level and level of tolerance for toddler squabbles throughout the day.

Drinking the last juice ...

(just for kicks I also went on shower strike during the cleanse - hence my appearance here. forgive a Grace)

Would I do it again? Yes! I felt great the last two days especially. I didn't love watch Simon eat when he was home and it was REALLY hard to pass up the Kettle Corn samples at Costco. I had a weird hankering for a Dorito the first day but after that most junky food sounded repulsive. They really recommend easing back into food on the first day with fruits and vegetables. I made a salad (ahem - mango salsa on spinach - I know, I know, I know - yum), and ate mostly fruit and veggies the rest of the day up until I made some lethal mistakes. I pre-gamed before Simon's work dinner and had a mini bottle of wine and then I had another glass of wine at the dinner along with an entire steak.

DUMB.

I spent almost the entire night cursing myself and my stupid decisions. I felt fine the next day and wasn't even tempted by the cherry frosted Pop-Tarts (my FAVORITE) that Simon brought home from work. I was shocked when I especially missed the juice (apple, kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, and lemon) that I drank three times a day. My idea of a healthy juice drink is a sugary Naked juice so this was pretty crazy. Everything tasted so fresh (um, duh) and even a smoothie didn't quite satiate my craving for something sort of similar. It's been so nice not experiencing the all too familiar sugar highs, crashes, and lows of the old Grace. I'm hopeful that I can steer mostly clear of junk, junk, and, junk from here on out. Oh! And my skin felt really soft - a first since birth.

Now ... I'm tempted to get crazy and try a six day cleanse. Has anyone done one? Am I woman enough? 

A big thank you to Skinny Limits for sending the goods - my blood sugar is forever grateful.