Most reviews that I read from people on the BPC said that the first day was hard, the second was the hardest, but the third was a breeze. Definitely not what I am feeling. I have been hungry since I woke up this morning…and unlike the past two days my stomach has actually been growling. Audibly. The sound of my co-worker crunching away on pretzels in the cubicle next to me is driving me nuts. I am not feeling the “euphoric sense of enlightenment” that others report feeling by the third day of juicing. I do feel lighter (and, side note, weigh less, although this is of course all water weight) but I wouldn’t say I have increased energy right now.
On the bright side, all of the juices, including the green juices, are going down just fine. I am actually finding myself looking forward to the green juice – not because I enjoy the taste but in hopes of it filling me up more than the fruit based ones.
BluePrint claims the main point of this cleanse is to “rid your body of impurities, regain an alkaline balance and normalize digestion and metabolism.” I hope this is/has happened….but who knows? The easier measurement for success is to see if the cleanse motivates and helps me reset healthy eating habits. To that end, I am planning my approach to coming off the cleanse tomorrow. BPC recommends a raw vegan diet to help you ease your way back into solid food after a juice cleanse. This is the “sample menu” they provide:
Day 1 – A few pieces of fruit spread out through the day, or some fresh squeezed non-pasteurized juice (green/citrus/or fruit). If you wish to drink some freshly squeezed juice, be sure to dilute it with some water.
Day 2 - Raw or lightly steamed vegetables, e.g. spinach, broccoli; try and avoid the more starchy veggies like carrots, beets, squash etc. You may also have a raw green leafy salad with some vegetables.
Day 3 – Green salads should be your staple at this point. If you’re craving some more sustenance, you may choose plain brown rice (a small portion), or a yam or sweet potato.
http://blueprintcleanse.com/breaking-the-cleanse.html
Wait, what? Coming off of three days of juicing I think I want to treat myself to a little bit more to eat than just fruit tomorrow. Of course I do not want to undo all of the "progress" I have made but I can’t imagine fruit is going to satisfy me…nor does that sound all that healthy.
I am planning on enjoying fruit for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and a vegetable based soup + a salad for dinner. All healthy and vegan, of course, but nowhere near as drastic as BPC recommends.
To continue a healthier lifestyle moving forward, my goal is to continue eating vegan as much as possible. A few slip ups where cheese is concerned is inevitable, a fact I have come to accept. I am also going to try to replace at least one meal a day with a soup or salad. The hope is that this will help me continue a healthy diet while giving me energy to start on a running schedule.
Showing posts with label Blue Print Cleanse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue Print Cleanse. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Blue Print Cleanse - Day 2
My subconscious, however, has not forgotten about my lack of food intake. I had various dreams last night regarding food – food which I remember eating and then feeling guilty about afterwards. But I am happy to report, no actual cheating has occurred. Still 100% on track.
To pick up where I left off:
Juice #5 yesterday was my last green juice of the day. I held my nose and sipped it down as quickly as possible through a straw. Still unpleasant. I headed off to a great Forrest Yoga class and got home around 7.45pm. After a quick shower I sat down to enjoy Juice #6.
Juice #6 is “Cashew Milk” – a blend of water, cashews, vanilla, cinnamon, agave nectar. Most reviews of this juice were quite positive – it was even called “delicious” by many BPC reviewers…a term not applied to many of the other juices. I quite enjoyed the juice – it was a creamy, sweet, and filling end to the day. My sister, on the other hand, did not have a positive reaction to the juice. We think it may be due to the juice’s unique texture. There is a grittiness to the drink, presumably from the cashews, that is a bit unusual. For me, however, it is the best drink of the six and something to look forward to tonight!
I woke up this morning feeling relieved that I was still on track and convinced that I would not let my dreams become reality – no cheating. I was not extremely hungry when I woke up. I was hoping to notice some difference in how I felt in terms of energy level but it was a pretty normal morning.
I opened my first green juice when I arrived at work, around 8.15AM. Yesterday I approached most juices via a cup and straw. Today I decided to (for lack of a more refined word) chug the green juice straight from the bottle. I figured the quicker I got it down the better, as I was feeling a bit of dread based on my memories of yesterday.
The green juice was much easier to get down in this fashion; however I did feel the need for two cups of herbal tea to “cleanse” my palette afterwards. But after that I was well on my way to getting through the morning.
Juice #2, PAM (pineapple, apple, mint) was a breeze. Still not my favorite, but I think this is due to the fact I am not a big fan of mint. I approached green juice #3 with the same mindset as this morning….chugging straight from the bottle. Not too difficult to get through, although still not a “pleasant” experience.
I was able to enjoy Juice #4 a bit more today – I like the spiciness of the lemonade, although it is by no means overpowering.
I am taking my last green juice of the day with me to my last meeting of the day. I am still trying to decide how to hide the green color (all of the cups in my office are clear plastic) so as not to disturb any of my coworkers. Wish me luck, and let’s hope this meeting does not run over and I can make it to yoga tonight – I definitely think it helps to stay active in the evening.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Blue Print Cleanse - Day 1
I woke up this morning, threw my juices in a bag, and went to work. The basic rule is that there are six juices to drink each day, at least an hour apart and the last one no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
I enjoyed my first juice of the day around 8.15AM at the office – a “Green Juice”. The ingredient list is: Romaine, Celery, Cucumber, Apple, Spinach, Kale, Parsley, and Lemon. Exactly what I want first thing in the morning!
I had already had a call from my sister telling me “it isn’t THAT bad." This was really based on the fact that we had read some reviews saying the green juice was barely tolerable if not downright disgusting. Turns out she is more tolerant than me…I had to struggle quite a bit to get it down. I think it was the “parsley” that threw me….or maybe the celery…. A cup of green tea afterwards helped wash down the taste, and perhaps gave me a bit of a caffeine boost. Despite having already suffered through caffeine withdrawal over the weekend for this, I really miss my morning coffee.
Anyhow, I got it down and surprisingly felt OK throughout the morning. Not too hungry, although I did drink a lot of water and herbal tea (both of which are allowed on the diet). Since I knew lunch time would be a weak spot for me, I spaced my next two drinks around it, one at 11AM and one at 1PM.
Juice #2 consisted of Pineapple, Apple, and Mint. Not at all offensive but not really what I would call great.
I had to get out of the office around noon when the smell of sandwiches, soups, and bread started drifting past my cubicle. I went for a stroll (OK, a stroll around Marshalls which is just far too close to my office building) and got back to the office a bit after one. My third juice was another green juice and I was not looking forward to it at this point.
Juice #3, my second green juice of the day, was worse than #1. I got it down and then had waves of nausea for the next thirty minutes or so. Not sure if it was from the juice, the lack of eating, or just mental. Luckily the nausea passed without any unpleasant incident in the office.
Juice #4 was “Spicy Lemonade” – a mix of lemons, water, agave nector, and cayenne pepper. I thought I would really enjoy this one…but I have to say, all the juices are kind of blending together right now and tasting the same. I could really use a breath mint too…Note to self to bring my toothbrush into the office tomorrow.
On the bright side, I am not too hungry...in fact, no more hungry than I usually am at 4pm on a work day when I eat normally. Suprising.
I have two more juices to go today. I plan on taking a yoga class after work to keep my mind off eating tonight. This cleanse is supposed to provide energy, not drain it, so working out is actually encouraged. Not sure I feel like running right now but I think yoga should be pretty doable. More on how the rest of my night goes in my next post.
I enjoyed my first juice of the day around 8.15AM at the office – a “Green Juice”. The ingredient list is: Romaine, Celery, Cucumber, Apple, Spinach, Kale, Parsley, and Lemon. Exactly what I want first thing in the morning!
I had already had a call from my sister telling me “it isn’t THAT bad." This was really based on the fact that we had read some reviews saying the green juice was barely tolerable if not downright disgusting. Turns out she is more tolerant than me…I had to struggle quite a bit to get it down. I think it was the “parsley” that threw me….or maybe the celery…. A cup of green tea afterwards helped wash down the taste, and perhaps gave me a bit of a caffeine boost. Despite having already suffered through caffeine withdrawal over the weekend for this, I really miss my morning coffee.
Anyhow, I got it down and surprisingly felt OK throughout the morning. Not too hungry, although I did drink a lot of water and herbal tea (both of which are allowed on the diet). Since I knew lunch time would be a weak spot for me, I spaced my next two drinks around it, one at 11AM and one at 1PM.
Juice #2 consisted of Pineapple, Apple, and Mint. Not at all offensive but not really what I would call great.
I had to get out of the office around noon when the smell of sandwiches, soups, and bread started drifting past my cubicle. I went for a stroll (OK, a stroll around Marshalls which is just far too close to my office building) and got back to the office a bit after one. My third juice was another green juice and I was not looking forward to it at this point.
Juice #3, my second green juice of the day, was worse than #1. I got it down and then had waves of nausea for the next thirty minutes or so. Not sure if it was from the juice, the lack of eating, or just mental. Luckily the nausea passed without any unpleasant incident in the office.
Juice #4 was “Spicy Lemonade” – a mix of lemons, water, agave nector, and cayenne pepper. I thought I would really enjoy this one…but I have to say, all the juices are kind of blending together right now and tasting the same. I could really use a breath mint too…Note to self to bring my toothbrush into the office tomorrow.
On the bright side, I am not too hungry...in fact, no more hungry than I usually am at 4pm on a work day when I eat normally. Suprising.
I have two more juices to go today. I plan on taking a yoga class after work to keep my mind off eating tonight. This cleanse is supposed to provide energy, not drain it, so working out is actually encouraged. Not sure I feel like running right now but I think yoga should be pretty doable. More on how the rest of my night goes in my next post.
BluePrint Cleanse - Pre-Cleanse Weekend
Why, hello. I guess it has been a while. Oops. Between work travel, summer vacation, and then the holidays I, err, went a bit off the vegan path.
And by a bit I mean COMPELTELY. But that’s OK. I’m back, at least for a little while.
As usual, January brings with it a time for reflection and re-evaluation. Did I really need to eat all that beef brisket over Christmas? Was being in Spain for vacation really an excuse to have cava with every meal? (To which the answer is still yes, but you get the point)
I also start feeling the pressure to train for my annual 10mile race at the end of March. Due to a sprained ankle last fall I took some time off running….and now I have my work cut out for me getting back in shape.
So to kick-start my healthy new year I signed up for the BluePrint Cleanse. Outrageously expensive and with mixed reviews from other bloggers and friends, the BluePrint Cleanse is a pre-packaged, easy-to-follow vegan juice diet. My sister and I both signed up for the three day cleanse. We picked different levels, she went for the Renovation Level and I for the Foundation level. The only real difference between the two is one juice swap – while I get three “green” juices each day she gets two “greens” and a beet/carrot/apple juice. More on the juices later though….
The cleanse recommends a “pre-cleanse” diet for the days leading up to your juice cleanse consisting of raw vegetables and fruit. Basically a raw vegan diet for three days pre-cleanse….which is a cleanse in itself to me. Pretty intense. My pre-cleanse phase started last Friday. I stuck to vegan choices on Friday and Saturday but I still ate my fair share of cooked vegetables, grains, tofu, and even a glass of (gasp) wine on Friday night with dinner. Sunday I did eat more strictly according to the BPC guidelines – I had fruit for breakfast, raw veggies and hummus for lunch (I doubt the hummus was allowed…but good enough for me), and then raw veggies on a salad for dinner. My sister and I chose the option to pick up our juices rather than have them delivered, as the timing worked out better for us. We got the juices together Sunday afternoon, loading them into my sister’s car since they were too heavy to walk home. “There is 450$ worth of juice in the trunk right now”…. a comment you don’t hear that often.
Anyhow, I did miss my Sunday night tradition of cooking a large meal…but my salad was pretty satisfying. I ended my night with a cup of herbal tea and a very early bedtime. And I woke up this morning starving…but ready to start the BPC.
And by a bit I mean COMPELTELY. But that’s OK. I’m back, at least for a little while.
As usual, January brings with it a time for reflection and re-evaluation. Did I really need to eat all that beef brisket over Christmas? Was being in Spain for vacation really an excuse to have cava with every meal? (To which the answer is still yes, but you get the point)
I also start feeling the pressure to train for my annual 10mile race at the end of March. Due to a sprained ankle last fall I took some time off running….and now I have my work cut out for me getting back in shape.
So to kick-start my healthy new year I signed up for the BluePrint Cleanse. Outrageously expensive and with mixed reviews from other bloggers and friends, the BluePrint Cleanse is a pre-packaged, easy-to-follow vegan juice diet. My sister and I both signed up for the three day cleanse. We picked different levels, she went for the Renovation Level and I for the Foundation level. The only real difference between the two is one juice swap – while I get three “green” juices each day she gets two “greens” and a beet/carrot/apple juice. More on the juices later though….
The cleanse recommends a “pre-cleanse” diet for the days leading up to your juice cleanse consisting of raw vegetables and fruit. Basically a raw vegan diet for three days pre-cleanse….which is a cleanse in itself to me. Pretty intense. My pre-cleanse phase started last Friday. I stuck to vegan choices on Friday and Saturday but I still ate my fair share of cooked vegetables, grains, tofu, and even a glass of (gasp) wine on Friday night with dinner. Sunday I did eat more strictly according to the BPC guidelines – I had fruit for breakfast, raw veggies and hummus for lunch (I doubt the hummus was allowed…but good enough for me), and then raw veggies on a salad for dinner. My sister and I chose the option to pick up our juices rather than have them delivered, as the timing worked out better for us. We got the juices together Sunday afternoon, loading them into my sister’s car since they were too heavy to walk home. “There is 450$ worth of juice in the trunk right now”…. a comment you don’t hear that often.
Anyhow, I did miss my Sunday night tradition of cooking a large meal…but my salad was pretty satisfying. I ended my night with a cup of herbal tea and a very early bedtime. And I woke up this morning starving…but ready to start the BPC.
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