Persuaded, unknowingly, by my little sis, Fabs, and further provoked by Holiday party pounds, RTT and I embarked on a super trendy, 3-day pre-packaged juice cleanse from Blueprint Cleanse this past week. Promises of renewed 2009 energy, clear spirits and weight loss convinced us that the $65/day cleanse (I picked up the juices in NYC while visiting the fam) was worth it.The Renovation Cleanse consists of 6 juices per day and stricken all solid foods from the diet (the only non-Cleanse item permitted is herbal tea). Two of the juices were a green lettuce-y based concoction that tasted suspiciously like L'Occitane's Verbena soap smells and thus required me to quickly gulp them down to avoid my gag reflex. Another juice was a delightful pineapple-mint beverage that I thoroughly enjoyed and the Peppery Lemonade (with Cayenne) was actually quite refreshing as well. The juice menu was rounded out with a very ginger-y Beetroot juice (RTT hates beets, but I found it to be decent) and a well-received Cashew Nut Milk.
We were considerably hungry during day one and both experienced persistent but minor headaches, yet, to be honest, after the initial food withdrawal symptoms passed, we were good. No hunger, no headaches on days two and three.
Here's the thing, while I was not hungry, I was also not satiated. I was feeling not bad but not great either. I was expecting to feel rejuvenation yet I felt run-of-the-mill. And, I just got so sick of juice! It was too much liquid for one person to consume and I missed the ritual of getting up from my desk for lunch and chopping and cooking for dinner. It was so dull.
So, my lovely readers, I can happily disclose that indeed the money was well-spent because RTT and I learned a valuable lesson; cleanses are gimmicky and boring...for people like us. If you want to detox and need focus and a filter, Blueprint was a peachy option. But, next time, RTT and I are going to limit ourselves to fruits and veggies for a week instead. I expect that will Renovate us just as well.
