The Cleanse Begins!

One of the most common questions I'm asked as a dietitian is about cleanses: "Should I cleanse?" "What happens on a cleanse?" "Who needs to cleanse?" My husband and I have done at home versions before, one was Registered Dietitian Cynthia Sass' 5 day eating regime of eggs, spinach, berries, almonds and yogurt in a variety of combinations. It is true that your body "detoxifies" itself in many ways every day. Sometimes after over-indulging, straying from healthy eating for a few days weeks or years, doing something like a cleanse can be a jump-start to put you back on the right track. There are many many types of cleanses out there, so whatever you decide to do, be sure that it fits into your lifestyle and comes from a reputable source. A great way to start is to eat only whole foods, nothing processed and drink only water or tea. I have heard many things about BluePrint and researched it a few times before ordering it. What sent me over the edge to decide to try this? A summer long of fertility treatments: medicines, shots, and side effects of lethargy, fatigue and just not eating as well as I usually do. The fatigue made me less active and the bloating made me feel overall just lousy. My husband and I went through our first IVF cycle which did not take. So before going into round two, I wanted to feel better and get rid of any possible negatives in my system and more over put only ORGANIC, RAW, UNPASTEURIZED PURE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES in!

BluePrint uses high pressure pascalization instead of pasteurization. This means they are not applying heat to their juice which can cause loss of live enzymes as well as vitamins, minerals. They have tested their juice before and after their high pressure process was applied and no enzymatic difference resulted.

I decided to do their Level 2 Foundation cleanse for just one day (today) and then move into Level 3 Excavation for three days. They help you decide which level is best suited to you and therefore help you to be more successful. So....my juices were delivered this morning but after I went to work so I had to wait until 11:30am before I started my first drink (there are six each day). I was ready to drink by the time I got home! My order for today is 1. Green Juice 2. Pineapple Apple Mint Juice 3. Green Juice 4. Spicy Lemonade 5. Green Juice 6. Cashew Milk.

I am having a hard time getting the green juice down. I LOVE all vegetables but maybe it's a combination of no solid food and starting late. I certainly do not feel hungry so that's a plus, but it's important to consume all of the juices each day to receive all the nutrients and calories. At this point (5:45pm) I still have 4,5 & 6 to go. Let's be honest, I would love to go straight to 6! The pineapple juice was excellent, easy going down and sweet, and I'm looking forward to the lemonade too. Bad news: the level 3 cleanse is mostly GREEN JUICE! I am hoping to love it very soon, but we'll see.

Blueprint gives lots of tips on their website and Facebook page so I might have to try putting the green juice over ice and adding some fresh lemon juice. The cleanse is low in protein, however for a healthy active female, going without a lot of protein for four days will be fine. I do believe I will miss it though! Typically I would consume at least 55 - 60 grams of protein per day.

Hydration is very important as well, 12 ounces of water or herbal tea between juices. Wish me luck for the rest of the day! It's becoming very apparent that when you do something like this, everything you put in your mouth matters, an important message for us all to think about whether we're cleansing or not. Stay tuned...