Yesterday Gav and I decided to try a La Juiceria one-day juice detox. La Juiceria is a fancy schmancy juice chain in Malaysia, although I get the feeling the concept has definitely been copied from Melbourne or somewhere equally hip. Quite possibly Singapore (although I haven’t been back since a brief layover in 1996, so it’s difficult to tell). It’s the sort of place where everything is so perfect: the bottles are laid out symmetrically, they have acai bowls, and they also provide you with two options for a juice cleanse so you don’t need to think about it (I tried, and it was hard). Win-win.
So, in an effort to get healthy and/or lose weight, we decided to give this a whirl. I’ve recently gotten into the habit of snacking on chocolate late at night, which is not good for my blood sugar, my teeth, or my waistline (despite what my tastebuds will tell you). Having previously lost vast amounts of weight in a short time, I know what it takes to shift the pounds — I just haven’t been willing to do it.
Until now.
So we started with La Juiceria’s Original cleanse. This contains 6 juices, geared more towards vegetables than their Alternative cleanse (which is more fruit-based). I woke in the morning with the cold, hard realisation that the day would be filled with nothing but liquid calories… and I was sort of okay with that. I mean, I paid for it, after all. I’m just a bit of a monster in the morning and generally eat a bowl of muesli asap (or pay the consequences), so this was the hardest part for me.
But afterwards… it wasn’t so hard. In fact, I think I got to the point where I was so hungry, that I just wasn’t hungry anymore. It doesn’t seem to make sense, but it does work. Of course, I end up getting distracted with work which makes it easier, but I also find these juices really filling. After a point, I just don’t want to consume any more liquid!
I will say this: I definitely had a more energy, felt lighter, and I think the next day I was a bit slimmer, too. I find that my body adjusts really quickly — this can be a good or bad thing, depending on how I’m feeling — so it is possible for me to shed weight this quickly. But this doesn’t mean it’s a consistent thing, and I don’t know how I’d feel about always “juicing”. But as a starter… it’s a good way to pattern interrupt and lighten the load on your digestive system.
Another thing I learned: La Juiceria juices are awesome. Yes, they’re not the cheapest things out there, but goshdarnit they’re good quality. A few of my personal favourites are the two in the picture: Mint Lemonade, and Chocolate Almond Mylk (yes, that’s Mylk with a y). The crazy thing is that some of these juices don’t even have that many ingredients in them, and yet they’re so filling, and blended really well. Delish.
All in all, I found this one-day detox a new way to kickstart my eating habits (which haven’t been great recently) and get some more nutrients in a convenient way. Again, while these bottles aren’t the largest bottles you’ll ever see, the 6 juices in the cleanse are more than enough to last the day. You may just find, like me, that your hunger starts to wane and that you feel more than satiated. It’s a bizarre thing, and sort of leads me to question my current 3-meals-a-day-plus-snacks pattern… but I’ll leave that analysis for another day!
Have you tried a juice cleanse before? What are your thoughts on juicing?
Steph x