F4L 5 day cleanses x3

This is the third time I challenged myself and did Fit for Life's 5 day Juice Cleanse. Read below to see what it was like!

I originally learned about this juice cleanse by stumbling upon their Instagram. They've recently revamped their social media, so it looks totally different to what I was originally exposed to -- but, I was stuck infinitely scrolling on my phone. I kept seeing stories about how people did the 1, 3, or 5 day cleanse and lost anywhere between 6 and 20 pounds! At the time, I was struggling to lose weight since my workday oftentimes left me too tired to go to the gym and not having a real lunch break also prevented me from seeking the healthiest options. I decided to try this cleanse and opted for the longest amount of days, which some thought I was crazy for doing and I didn't really care!

The first time was not difficult at all as many would think. I would say that the first juice cleanse I did was actually my most successful. I didn't mind not eating since I needed to control my appetite and prevent myself from eating out of sheer boredom. Given that you have to drink a juice and 16oz of water afterward, the only thing that bothered me was how often I had to get up and pee! I was really getting up every half hour to release what felt like a fire hydrant in my pants. Other than that, things went great and I lost ten pounds! Definitely what I was looking for.

Before I even finished the first cleanse, I already knew I wanted to do it once more at least. I took a 2-3 week break while trying my best to meal prep and resist the urge to eat what my workplace bought us for the day such as bagels, pizza, spaghetti, and all the carbs that would lead to damnation basically. I followed my previous schedule of drinking a juice and water bottle every 2 hours starting at 8am and ending at 6pm. Most of the time, I actually omitted the final juice given that I was so full by the time I got home that it simply was not necessary. The second time I did the cleanse, I definitely tasted some food I was meal prepping for the first day after the cleanse, but is that cheating? Nonetheless, I lost 8 pounds. This isn't quite as much as the first time, but it was close enough.

Third time's the charm?

Following my first year working a big girl job post-college, I was really ready to let loose once school was over. I packed my bags prematurely and went to Vegas with one of my best friends, Natasha (I promise I'll tell you all about it in another post). That week was one of fun and "I don't give a fuck's" because we deserved everything and more! The month after finishing my first year of working involved a lot of self-care -- some forms that were actually detrimental to my health, such as not being mindful of what I was putting into my body. I always tried to pick the healthiest options, but sometimes a girl wants wings and lobster rolls! With that said, the pounds starting packing and I was soon on my way to losing all the progress I made in the beginning of the new 2018 year. It was time for a change.

I ordered my 5 day juice cleanse once more and it was especially clutch that they had a $10-15 off special. I made it in time for the second round of $10 off and right before I knew it, my two hefty bags of 30 juices was delivered right to my door. I was super excited because they exchanged the previously sold and nasty (in my opinion) carrot juice for a sweeter chia juice. I was switching out the carrot juice anyway, but I was excited to have a sweeter and lighter juice added to the cleanse. This time, I switched the Coco Bliss for Wow Chia since number 5 tastes too much like coquito for my liking. This was the perfect match for me!

Over the next 5 days, I drank exclusively juice and water. People at my new workplace were incredibly intrigued and asked about the side effects to which I responded, have I changed over the past week? I started my first juice between 7 and 8am, continuing to drink water and juice every two hours until 5 or 6pm. Sometimes, I didn't drink the last juice and that was okay. As the weekend rolled around, it became more difficult. I went to a mandatory happy hour with my workplace (yes, mandatory) and it was annoying to be required to attend something you couldn't participate in. Maybe that explains why I ended up going home and having a small 100 calorie snack (this is actually considered cheating).

Saturday was my last day and it was a huge bummer that two of my juices were spoiled. I brought this to the owner's attention and he was rightfully confused, as was I. After all, these juices are vegan and all-natural so I guess sometimes we need to expect that not everything will last our thought out shelf-life. I didn't blame the company, but I was also thinking about my coins. Regardless, some of the juices were leftover throughout the week and I was sleeping so much on Saturday -- I only got to consume 4 juices by the time 6pm hit. I used the excuse that my juices were spoiling and cheated, once again. I choose not to beat myself up over this because I've done this cleanse very successfully twice in the past and I was doing it more for a reboot rather than a start to a strict eating routine.

Despite all of this, I lost ten pounds and actually weigh less than I have all year! I can definitely tell as I fell less bloated and my digestive system seems to be working more effectively. I'm actually surprised at how much weight I lost even though Saturday was a complete train wreck in regards to not drinking enough juice or water and even having some fried food at 9pm! I used this as a perfect excuse to #TreatMyself and had Dallas BBQ's famous Stick Wings with one of my favorite people to engage in fat-assery with, Chris. If you're wondering what fat-assery means, just know we were waiting for Dallas BBQ to let us in since we arrived way before their opening time lmao.

So, would I do this again?

I definitely think that the third time was the charm and I'm looking to not spend my coins on this once again although it really does work! I'm moving forward by trying to apply to 80/20 rule (healthy/not so healthy) to my daily life and continue to try new recipes in my meal preps. Since I also have a Ninja, I want to do juicing on my own rather than always paying someone else to do it for me. So, we'll see what the future brings and I'll keep you all updated!

Thanks for reading!