I am just going to say it, I love juicing. My first juice cleanse was 1 year ago and now I am addicted. Although I am not a nutritionist, I can tell you about my personal experience with a 3 day juice cleanse and how it made me feel. Before I did the cleanse, I was feeling bloated, a little overweight, and overall just kind of sluggish. I had just finished an extended vacation and had definitely indulged throughout the trip and abandoned my normal eating and workout routine. I wanted to use a juice cleanse to reset everything and kick off a new healthy eating plan.

Since it was my very first one, I went through a local juice company and spent a lot (too much!?!) on a 3 day juice cleanse. While the convenience was great, it wasn’t cost effective, especially since I wanted to incorporate a juice cleanse into my diet every couple of months. So I can begin to research how to do a cleanse at home and juice cleanse recipes. Since then I have been doing all my own at home and reaped the same great benefits.

Before diving into the recipes for the juice cleanse, let’s talk a little bit what results you can expect from a cleanse.

• Weight Loss: During most of the juice cleanses I have done, I have lost between 5-7 pounds. Some of this is bloat if I haven’t been eating clean, but in most cases I have been able to keep the weight off after juicing. In fact, the last juice cleanse I did, I actually lost 3 more pounds in the week after the cleanse.
• Loss of Unhealthy Cravings: As someone who is addicted to their morning coffee and nightly sweet, doing a juice cleanse can help rid your body of these cravings. I have found that with each cleanse my urges for coffee and sweets decreases. Coffee becomes a more occasional treat and I crave more natural sweets like fruits instead of processed sugar.
• Clearer Skin: One benefit of cleansing that I didn’t expect was improvements to my skin. Although I don’t suffer from many skin problems, my skin was definitely clearer at the end of the cleanse.
• Increased Energy: This is a pretty heavily debated topic when it comes to juice cleanses, but I found I had increased energy both during and after the cleanse. Although I did find myself going to bed a bit earlier than normal, I slept very soundly and had great energy throughout the day.

Preparing for the Juice Cleanse

It is best to prepare your body for a juice cleanse at least 2-3 days in advance. This means eliminating red meat, caffeine, alcohol, and processed sugar. The more you can focus your diet on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains – the better your body will be prepared for the cleanse and the better the results. The day before you start, try to eat fruits and vegetables exclusively as possible.

The 3 Day Juice Cleanse

Now that you are ready to start your juice cleanse, here are some basic guidelines to follow.

• Six Juices Daily: Each day you will drink six juices. Depending on what time you wake up and go to bed, you will want to space your juices out every 2-2.5 hours. For example, if you woke up at 8:00 am, you might have your juices at 8:30, 10:30, 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30.
• Unlimited Water and Herbal Tea: During the cleanse you can drink as much water and herbal tea as you like. Do not add sweeteners to the tea, but lemon is fine. Carbonated water isn’t recommended during most cleanses because it can cause bloating. I like to start and end everyday on the cleanse with herbal tea and try to drink a large glass of water about an hour after each juice.
• Working out: I try and keep up my normal exercise routine during the cleanse and find I have enough energy. However if you feel less energized, do an easier or shorter version of your workout or take a long walk instead.
• Preparing Juices: Depending on your preferences, you can make your juices ahead of time or right before consuming them. Personally I usually start my cleanse on a Sunday and will make all the juices Sunday morning. I label them and refrigerate them until it’s time to drink them. All the juices will last 3 days in the fridge. You could also prepare all your juice cleanse juices each morning.
• Pre/Post Juice Cleanse: Make sure to prepare your body before the cleanse by cutting out processed foods and sugars. Focus your eating primarily on fruits and vegetables. Similarly after the cleanse, focus on continuing your healthy eating with a focus on fruits and vegetables. Some people continue to replace 1-2 meals daily with a juice the first couple of days after the cleanse.

Juice Recipes

Here is the list of the six juices you will drink during your 3 Day Juice Cleanse. The juices are the same each day and each juice is approximately 16 ounces. Each recipe will yield 3 juices, around 16 oz. each. This can vary slightly depending on the yield of the fruits and vegetables.

• Juice 1: Kale, Spinach, Romaine, Cucumbers, Celery, Apples, and Parsley
• Juice 2: Apple, Pineapple, Mint, and Lemon
• Juice 3: Kale, Spinach, Green Grapes, Celery, Pear, and Cucumber
• Juice 4: Ginger Apple Limeade
• Juice 5: Beet, Broccoli, Kale, Celery, Apple, Grape, and Parsley
• Juice 6: Almond Date Milk with Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg

3 Day Juice Cleanse Shopping List

To make things easy, use this complete shopping list to prepare for your juice cleanse. This list is for 1 person for a 3 day cleanse. Adjust if you are doing this with another person or doing a longer or shorter cleanse.

• 4 bunches dinosaur kale
• 20 oz. fresh spinach
• 2 bunches Romaine
• 4 cucumbers
• 3 bunches celery
• 6 beets
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 14 green apples
• 4 pears
• 1.25 cups parsley (2-3 bunches)
• 2 pineapples
• 1 lb. green grapes
• 6 bunch sprigs mint
• 2 lemons
• 7 limes
• 2 inches ginger
• 1.5 cups raw almonds
• 6 dates
• Agave
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Optional: ground cloves, allspice, and/or ginger
• Filtered water

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