If you follow my Instagram stories, you’ll know that I just recently went through a 10-day detox/juice cleanse. Over the past years, there have been plenty of different views on the practice of juicing after the trend has exploded in 2011-2012.
Just to make it clear, juicing is not primarily for weight loss. It isn’t a crash diet. The weight you lose in the duration of the cleanse is merely water weight and you’ll most likely gain it back after. What it is though, is a natural means of healing, allowing your body to focus its energy on flushing toxins out on its own with the support of nutrients of, you know it– cold-pressed juice. Is it a diet? It’s not. You can’t live off of cold-pressed juice for a long period of time because of the absence of fiber, protein and fat to name a few. However, juices are rich in a ton of micronutrients and are so potent that your body will actually thrive in them during your cleanse.
I’ve gone through cycles of cleansing before but always with the headache and hunger pangs. What’s different this round is the absence of any feeling of lightheadedness, of moodiness or lack of energy. I was drinking more juice care of Juju Eats (a total of 3L a day + lemon water) versus the 1.5-2L I would have in my previous cycles. I also feel like the cleanse was deeper with 4 sessions of colon cleanse (coffee enema) c/o Centro Holistico in a week!
I know many of you are curious about how it went, and if it’s something you can do yourself so I wanted to share exactly how it was like for me. Here’s my diary from the Centro Holistico x Juju Eats 10-Day Cleanse:
Day 1: Friday
What I had: 1L of juice in the morning, 2 huge-ass but light vegan meals and a snack, which, by the way all tasted SO GOOD.
What I did: Took a high intensity class (core, lifts, sprints–the works). No problems with an intense workout yet.
How I felt: I wasn’t planning to do anything intense the whole week but friends went to class and I couldn’t pass up the chance to bond with them, so I did. Ideally, only gentle movements such as yoga, pilates, walk or a light run should be done during a cleanse. However, I’ve been working to enhance Life Force Energy prior to this detox which means I should have enough energy to recover from this without feeling tired or hungry in the 10-day period. I was so happy it worked and it didn’t affect me at all.
Days 2-3: Saturday & Sunday
What I had: 1L of juice in the morning, and 2 meals + a bottle of nut milk for snack on Saturday, 2L of juice and 1 meal on Sunday
What I did: A super light workout on Saturday. That afternoon, my closest friends came over and on Sunday, my nephews and niece paid us a visit. Obviously there was food. I ended up eating my meals with them which was fortunate so I didn’t have to stare at them eat.
How it felt: Days 1-3 are part of the preparation phase, it was a breeze because the food were all nutrient-dense. No reason to get cravings.
Day 4: Monday
What I had: 3L (12 bottles) of cold-pressed juices
What I did: 40mins of meditation, a super light run and a quick afternoon nap, got a colon cleanse at Centro Holistico and then taught a huge yoga class in the evening. Whew!
How it felt: Super energizing. It was like my body was happy I didn’t eat anything solid that day. But the juices provided everything I needed to keep operating the way I would on a normal day.
Day 5: Tuesday
What I had: 3L (12 bottles) of cold-pressed juices
What I did: No workout. A longer afternoon nap.
How it felt: Out of all the juice-only days, the afternoon of Day 5 was the toughest. My stomach was constantly rumbling and for a while, I felt like I had no energy. Felt SO MUCH better after taking a nap.
Doctor’s Note: Dr. Candy Drilon-Dalman, co-founding doctor at Centro Holistico who was also monitoring me during the cleanse, says the second day of pure juice is the toughest. At this point, your body is adjusting to getting its nutrients from just juice versus the solid food that we usually eat.
Day 6: Wednesday
What I had: 3L (12 bottles) of cold-pressed juices
What I did: Still no workout. A colon cleanse and acupuncture at Centro Holistico, taught a yoga class in the afternoon and did a talk on the entrepreneur life in the fitness and wellness industry. Still pretty busy.
How it felt: Totally fine. No crashes, no lightheadedness nor hunger. In the evening, I found I wasn’t “hungry” and could have done without the last two bottles of juice but went ahead and had it anyway. You’ll never know when those nutrients will come in handy especially when there’s two days of pure juicing left.
Day 7: Thursday
What I had: 3L (12 bottles) of cold-pressed juices. If you haven’t caught this pattern yet, girl, get with the program! Haha
What I did: Ah, I took a Trapeze Yoga class for in an event that morning. How lucky was I to get my period when I woke up too? There were pulls and floating inversions which I didn’t really mind. No issues with the backflow of blood. It was more of my paralyzing cramps. Fortunately, that eased up a bit and I was just fine. The rest of the day, I stayed home and rested.
How it felt: My attention wasn’t at all on my cleanse but the discomfort of my period. Sigh. If anything, I think I felt weak coz of that.
Day 8: Friday
What I had: 3L (12 bottles) of cold-pressed juices.
What I did: An indoor cycling class in an event, my third colon cleanse and acupuncture session for the week.
How it felt: I didn’t intend to go hard in class, but play any upbeat music on and I flip. I felt completely fine after. But wait til Days 9 and 10.
Days 9-10: Saturday & Sunday
What I had: Ahh, 1L of juices, two meals and 1 snack. We’re back to solids.
What I did: Nothing but errands.
How it felt: The cardio from the Spinning Class on Friday took a lot of energy. Of course, I didn’t feel it then but I knew I needed FOOD for recovery. Although back to eating solids, the perfectionist in me wanted to stick to what the Juju Eats team prepared for me BUT I ended up snacking on fruits and nuts in between meals instead.
*To cap off the cleanse, I did one more colon cleanse/coffee enema and acupuncture plus an IV Therapy at Centro Holistico on Monday. It was the BEST feeling.
So, how did it go? If you ask me, it went so amazingly well. One thing I wish I did differently though, was skipping that indoor cycling class. When I guide my clients through gentle detoxifications, I usually don’t recommend doing it when work is stressful (I even ask them if they can take a leave on the most critical days of the cleanse). I also don’t encourage intense exercise because YOU. GET. HUNGRY. Our bodies are naturally inclined to signal hunger when it has burned off a lot of energy and used up its reserves just so you could pull through that workout and recover from it after. You want all of the energy to go to healing and drawing out toxins.
Watch my YT video below, where I answer your Q’s on this detox. Follow me on Insta if you haven’t yet, it’s @nkitorres. <3
Special shoutout to Kat Azanza of Juju Eats and Dr. Candy Drilon-Dalman of Centro Holistico for the amazing programming, guidance and encouragement. The 10-day package designed by Juju Eats and Centro Holistico will be available soon. Visit centroholisticoph.com and jujueats.com to learn more.
