I'll be lying if I told you that I ordered JuJuCleanse to jumpstart a healthy lifestyle by flushing out the toxins and cleansing my palette. The first and foremost reason is: I want to lose weight. Looking at what I look like now, you'd probably scoff and say that I look fine for my height; or if you've known me for a while, you'd probably say that I look better with a little meat in me. But I know that if I do not control my weight gain NOW, my propensity for retaining water weight will come bite me in my (future) big ass someday.
In the past couple of years, I've noticed a big change in my metabolism, and I am not liking it one bit. I've gained around 12 lbs in 3 years, and it is showing no sign of slowing down. So before this all goes out of hand, I've decided to make a commitment to fitness:
- I've started running since August of 2011. Although I've had several stops and starts, I am happy to report that from being unable to run for more than 2 minutes straight, my longest running record has now been 31:31 minutes or 4.34 kilometers! From couch potato to 4.3k! Not bad, don't you think?
- I've signed up for a gym membership at 360 Fitness Club. I love this gym. It's quite a drive away from where I live, but I spend around 2 hours there anyway, so it's totally worth it. Aside from the circuit, I really enjoy the Power Yoga, Body Balance, Body Jam, Zumba and Suspension Training Classes.
However, I still haven't made a commitment to a healthy diet. It's just SO HARD to let go of good food! Masarap kumain! I always use my regular exercise as an excuse to eat whatever I want (especially on weekends). But I am slowly beginning to realize that exercise is only 40% of the battle. They say that your diet makes up 60% of the game; without eating the proper food, then your exercise will be for naught, and you are breaking sweat just to maintain your current weight.
I am a failure at dieting because I get tempted by food quite easily. It's easy to diet when I'm at the office; I can just bring tuna and crackers, or snack on a banana. But once the free food comes in (when there are birthdays, bonuses, etc.), how can I say no to that??? I needed a structured diet plan, and I need to practice my will-power. What kind of diet will help me achieve this?
I've been eyeing JuJuCleanse for a while now, but given its steep price (a 1-day cleanse costs PhP 2,500; a 3-day cleanse costs PhP 7,100), I've had second thoughts.
Last week, though, I finally decided that it's NOW OR NEVER. My weight has been fluctuating for around 2lbs for the past month, and I decided to stop making excuses for my diet and to just help jumpstart it with JuJuCleanse.
I ordered a 3-day Level 1 cleanse via JuJuCleanse.com (the level depends on how many "green" drinks are inside the 6-bottle package. The higher the level, the more "Green Bombs" you have to drink). I mean, I do want to lose weight, but I'm not a masochist. I am not a vegetable eater, so I know that these green drinks will be hard for me to gulp down.
My order came the day before my cleanse, and I was a bit surprised that I was handed 6 bottles inside a plastic bag. What happened to the nice insulation bag they promised in their website, with cooling packs? I texted Kat (the owner of JuJuCleanse) to ask about it (maybe they ran out of bags?), and she apologized for the mix-up. Apparently, she thought I was a repeat customer, and repeat customers are asked to reuse their insulation bags. She promised to have my bag delivered along with the bottles for Day 2.
I lined up the bottles along the bottom shelf of my refrigerator, and headed out to have a night cap with friends. It was a stressful Monday and I wanted to unwind with a few drinks. I know that JuJuCleanse recommends that I cut down my intake of the following:
- Animal protein and processed foods
- Salt, refined sugar and carbs
- Carbonated sodas, and other caffeinated drinks
- Alcohol and nicotine
So now, Day 1 of the cleanse begins. I take 5 of the bottles to the office with me, and I hope for the best.
Day 1
Bottle #1, the Green Bomb:
I know that it's the first bottle and I haven't tasted the others YET, but I could tell that this is going to be my least favorite drink. It's made of celery, cucumber, coconut water, malunggay, pineapple, Romaine lettuce and spinach. Bleuuuurgh.
When I got to the office, I noticed that my usual cup of 3-in-1 was already prepared for me. Resisting the urge for my regular caffeine fix, I turned away from the piping hot mug of lovely, delicious coffee, and I grudgingly grabbed bottle #1: the Green Bomb. I decided to skip the mint tea for now (free mint leaves come with every order of JuJuCleanse).
As I've mentioned earlier, I am not a vegetable eater. I've only started to eat salads this past year (especially after my Korea trip where every meal has greens), and even then, it's not the sort of food that I would take regularly. The Green Bomb has an overpowering cucumber taste, and out of all the vegetables, I hate cucumbers almost as much as I hate okra. I started to drink this bottle at 7:30 a.m. 2.5 hours later (time for me to drink the 2nd bottle), I am still not finished with it. I admit, I stopped attempting to drink it at around 9:30 a.m., upon reading the FAQ page at JuJuCleanse.com, wherein I saw this:
"Since you are not eating anything throughout the day we recommend that you drink as much of the cleanse juices as possible, as they are meant to be your nourishment for the day. However, if the volume is simply too much for you, it's absolutely nothing for you to worry about."
Since alkalinity is what you're after, this green juice is the way to go. This elixir of assorted green veggies loads you up with important nutrients and enzymes that our bodies desperately need to keep alive and well down to the cellular level. You've heard the term "life force"? This is all that and more!
But to be sure, I texted Kat, and she replied, saying that it is ideal for me to consume all 6 bottles within the day, and that it's ok to sip slowly until I finish the whole bottle. So I bucked up, transferred the bottle contents into a cup, and I see that I only have a little more of this green juice to go! Konti nalaaaaaang! Let's do this!
Doesn't look very appetizing out of its cute bottle, don't you think?
By this time also, I've been to the bathroom to pee for around 3x already. And each time I go, I get sad, because the kitchen is right next to the bathroom, and they're cooking Pork Sinigang today. :(
Start: 7:30 a.m.
Finish: 10:23 a.m.
Total time: almost 3 hours.
Bottle #2, the Spicy Limonada:
Since I finished the Green Bomb very VERY late, and since the aftertaste of the cucumbers was still there, and since I still felt very full, I decided to take the next drink during lunch break (11:30 a.m.) instead of the recommended 10:00 a.m. schedule.
To be honest, after my bad experience with the Green Bomb, I wasn't looking forward to drinking another bottle of juice. I had to stare down this yellow bottle for a couple of minutes before I got the courage to open it. I read reviews from various bloggers, and they say that the Spicy Limonada is their favorite drink, so it seemed promising.
Not just your ordinary lemonade. This version packs a little extra heat and health into every sip with cayenne pepper. This drink aims not only to swing your body pH into a more alkaline state, but to speed up your metabolism as well.
It's exactly what the name implies: spicy lemonade. It is made of the same stuff used by Beyonce in her Master Cleanse diet: cayenne pepper, honey and lemon! I was able to finish it in 4 goes. I had to keep myself from finishing the whole bottle all at once, as I remembered Kat saying that gulping it down is not recommended. Truth be told, I just wanted to get it over with! 500ml is too much liquid! I want to chew something!!!
Start: 11:43 a.m.
Finish: 12:03 p.m.
Total time: 20 minutes
Bottle #3, the Red Giant:
Another drink that I wasn't looking forward to, because I know that the main ingredient is beets. I hate beets. At around 2:00 p.m., I got bottle #3 from the ref. Its bold, red color is a bit intimidating, I must say. It's made of beets, carrots, ginger and pineapple...all 4 ingredients I'm not too fond of separately. All combined, though, it wasn't too bad! The ginger taste is what stood out, but I think the pineapple balances it all out. :) The ginger kind of gives it the same "hotness" factor that the cayenne pepper gave the Spicy Limonada.
Rich in alkaline elements that aid in cleansing and elimination, this potent potion of beets, pineapple, carrots, and ginger is as healthy as it is delicious. Beets are remarkably good for your liver, and beet juice has been shown to increase stamina and act as an athletic performance enhancer
I didn't have a problem with the taste, but it took me so long to finish it because I was already feeling so full from all the liquids I've been consuming all day (the juices plus water). It also didn't help that I was beginning to get a bit masungit from being food-deprived for the whole day. Printer ate my paper? Roar! An officemate offering me lanzones? Growl! It doesn't take much to irritate me today. I can't believe that I'll be food-deprived for another 2 days.
In the meantime, I am considering abstaining from Twitter altogether because people keep posting pictures of food. Roar!Growl!Hiss!!!!
Start: 2:22 p.m.
Finish: 2:57 p.m.
Total time: 35 minutes
Bottle #4, Alkazest:
Seeing that it has coconut water in its list of ingredients (the other 2 ingredients being grapefruit / orange and pineapple), I immediately imagined gulping down a whole bottle of virgin coconut oil. I hope this one is more like buko juice.
Taking the 1st sip, however, I was pleasantly surprised that it had a citrus taste. There's this weird, bitter aftertaste though, that I can't identify. I think I prefer the Red Giant over this. I discovered a new trick to enable myself to easily drink the juices: if you focus your eyes on a far-off point, and if you stop breathing while you swallow, you won't taste a thing (at least, not much. And at least, not until you start breathing again).
This vitamin and anti-oxidant rich mix of grapefruit, pineapple, and coconut juices is a refreshing mid-afternoon picker upper. It is designed to replenish your electrolytes and boost your energy levels to help get you through the rest of the day.
I still feel full from the last 3 full bottles I consumed, so I took my time finishing this one. And I think it's the thought of another Green Bomb coming up that has caused me to procrastinate finishing bottle #4. Halaaaaaa. :(
Start: 4:20 p.m.
Finish: 5:15 p.m.
Total time: 55 minutes
At this point, the delivery of bottles for my 2nd day has arrived, and with it, my free (and previously forgotten) insulation bag with cooler packs. It's so cute that I almost forget that it contains 6 more bottles of liquid torture.
At this point also, someone offered me a free slice of pizza. I think he was a bit shocked when I shouted "NO!" complete with a look of terror on my face. I don't think he saw the solitary tear that fell down my cheek when he stalked off (and with him, that delicious slice of pizza...).
Bottle #5, the Green Bomb:
I left the office at around 6:15 p.m., so I took bottle #5 back home with me. Since I finished bottle #4 at around 5 p.m., I decided to take the Green Bomb at 7 p.m. So. I am faced with this green monster once again. Just looking at it makes me want to puke. I have a stare-down contest with it for about 30 minutes or so, before I conquered my fear, and I opened the bottle. I wish I could turn off my taste buds for a few minutes while I drink this one. :(
I'm thinking that I should finish this in 30 minutes, or else I will be too full to take my last bottle: the Salaba't Lemon. But, already an hour and 1/2 has passed and I still can't get past half. :(
I think I will have to give up on this one. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.
Start: 7:34 p.m.
Give-up time: 9:10 p.m.
Total time: N.A.
Bottle #6, Salaba't and Lemon:
I had a movie date with Ton that night, so I took the unfinished bottle of Green Bomb, and the bottle of Salaba't Lemon with me. He took a sip of both drinks and he said he actually liked the Green Bomb. Hmp. I guess I'm just a picky (vegetable) eater. I've seen blog reviews about the Green Bomb, and a lot (not all) also like its taste. Guess I'm one of the few unlucky ones who can't stomach it.
Anyway, as I said earlier, I gave up on the Green Bomb halfway through. Ton kept giving me tips on how to drink it (he says it's the same technique he uses to gulp down Bacardi 151), but I kept giving him this "wawa" face that he soon gave up. And it also didn't help that he bought Wendy's french fries, iced tea, and Pan de Americana pandesal as a movie snack (I confess, I had a couple of nibbles of each...just to have something to chew on, I promise)!!!
This potent ginger tonic i an excellent expectorant, providing relief for those with respiratory problems.
It helps improve circulation and stimulates your digestive system as well.
This is a wonderful drink on ice and is also perfect warmed up as a pre-bedtime tea.
So, anyway, I started to drink the Salaba't Lemon, but being a non-salabat drinker, I found this drink too strong. It burned my throat, even more than the cayenne pepper, so I had to wash it down with a glass of water. It was too distracting to do while watching a movie, so I set it aside for before bed.
Hmmm. I think I conveniently forgot all about it come bed time. I didn't finish the drink at all. :( I promise to exert more effort tomorrow!
Start: 10:30 p.m.
Give-up time: 11:30 p.m.
Total time: N.A.
To my blog readers, please do not be discouraged by this blog post...remember, there's still Day 2 and 3! :)
The JuJu-Challenge: Day 2
The JuJu-Challenge: Day 3
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