It seems like every A lister in Hollywood is on a juice cleanse and they look great, right? But do juice cleanses really work? Well if its good enough for Miranda, its good enough for me. Find out what happened when I did a 3 day juice cleanse *insert scream emoji here*.

What is a juice cleanse?

Basically you replace all meals and snacks with fruit and vegetable juices for about 3 to 7 days in an attempt to detox the body.

So why would I do that?

I know sounds as thrilling as sand in a bikini…not my bikini…just in case you were trying to visualise that, but I digress…

So what’s the deal? The short answer is that a juice cleanse is meant to give your digestive system a rest, so your body can focus on clearing out the toxins and nasties that build up from processed foods, chemicals, alcohol and that perpetual bad guy life saver caffeine.

But just like the home shopping channel…there’s more. Juice cleanse devotees say that flooding your body with extra nutrients and hydration during a cleanse has other A-mazing benefits, including:

• Improving your digestive health,
• Giving you glowing skin,
• Increasing your energy levels,
• Boosting your immune system, and
• Helping you release excess weight.

So how does a juice cleanse work?

Ummmm you drink juice, lots of it! I don’t own a juicer so unluckily for me you can actually buy juice cleanses these days…the wonders of the modern world.

I settled on a cleanse from the peeps at Pressed Juices who offer 3 signature cleanses that vary in length and difficulty. I opted for the ‘Basic’ 3 day cleanse, which shock horror, was the shortest and gentlest cleanse on offer. It included an almond mylk drink at dinner time, which is as close as it gets to food in the juice cleanse world – sold!

When you sign up for a cleanse at Pressed Juices you choose 6 juices from various categories. Once you start your cleanse, you drink the same 6 juices plus 2 tonics each day in a pre-designed order about 2-3 hours apart. So basically my day on the cleanse went like this:

• Black Lemonade Tonic– alkaline water, lemon, activated coconut charcoal, and cayenne pepper,
• Smooth Vitality – coconut water, strawberry, mesclun, banana, raspberry, blueberry, mint and chia seeds.
• Earth 1 – beetroot, spinach, carrot, celery, cucumber , lettuce, kale and parsley.
• Greens 3 – apple, cucumber, lettuce, celery, spinach, kale, lemon parsley and ginger.
• Earth 2 – carrot spinach, cucumber and parsley.
• Zest 3 – grapefruit and mint.
• Strawberry Mylk – strawberry, almond mylk, cashew cream and vanilla bean.
• Slippery Elm Tonic – alkaline water, liquorice root, chia seeds, marshmallow root, cinnamon, and slippery elm.

Oh and just a tip, all that juice is heavy…if your picking them up in store bring a friend or have them home delivered.

How much did this cost?

Good question, funny my husband asked the same thing.

The 3 day cleanse at Pressed Juices is $198…I know shut the front door! They are expensive, but these are cold pressed juices made from mostly organic, locally sourced product – in terms of juices they are top notch. Also keep in mind that the cleanses at Pressed Juices are designed by qualified nutritionists who are on hand to answer any questions and support you throughout your cleanse.

Was I hungry during the cleanse?

I honestly didn’t feel hungry during the cleanse….but boy did I miss food and coffee! For the first time in ages I thought about food all the time. I knew something wasn’t quite right when I caught myself giving crazy eyes to a colleague heating up her lunch in the microwave. And Instagram…forget about it! Curry Laksa looks appetizing at 7 in the morning when your on a juice cleanse…I had to lock that shit down for a couple of days!

How did I feel during the cleanse?

All in all my body responded really well to the cleanse…no headaches or nausea, but I did spend the whole time feeling foggy and in desperate need of coffee.

The other thing worth mentioning is that drowning feeling. Say what? After drinking 4 litres of liquid every day for 3 days, I pretty much felt like my insides were going under…you know that feeling when your stomach is so full of liquid that it has you reaching for a dry piece of toast? I pushed through though…helped along in the knowledge that if I blew a $198 juice cleanse on a piece of toast my husband would never let me forget it!

Did it work?

By the end I felt refreshed, healthier and was 3.3 kg lighter! Just in case you think I was delusional from hunger at that point …no word of a lie… my sis PM’d me after seeing a photo on Facebook to ask what health kick I had been on that week because she thought I ‘looked amazing’ – yep someone’s getting a good birthday present this year!

The cleanse also had a rather unexpected result…my mood. It was good…so good in fact that by the end of day 2 I found myself happily snuggled into hubby on the couch…on a weeknight…never happens! Granted I had banned myself from Instagram so didn’t have much else to do…but I did feel my mood was better during the cleanse…my husband’s explanation…I was just really hungry!

Oh and special mention have to go to the juices, they were delicious….hello strawberry almond mylk where have you been all my life?

Is it a keeper?

If you have read this post you will know that I think a diet of whole foods minus the sugar is the best way to keep your body healthy and strong. But I gotta say, I felt pretty awesome after the cleanse. So if your looking to kick start a healthier lifestyle or just happen to over indulge over the silly season… or any other season for that matter… a juice cleanse may be just the thing you need to get your health back on track. So while I am not planning on getting off the healthy train anytime soon, I would definitely go another round with Pressed Juices if I felt like I needed a wellness recharge.

Now if you are thinking about doing a juice cleanse here’s some extra tips to keep in mind:

• Do drink lots of water and herbal teas during the cleanse. The peeps at Pressed Juices say that this helps stave off any hunger and I found that I needed a hot chamomile tea to warm my bones after all those chilled juices.
• Do be prepared for a few more visits to the loo…I was up twice a night during the cleanse, and lost count during the day!
• Do ease back into eating just like the peeps at Pressed Juices tell you to…in other words don’t eat poached eggs, toast and crispy skinned smoked trout the morning after a cleanse…in the interests of not over sharing, let’s just say my breakfast was digested very quickly that morning!
• Do your research and make sure whatever juice cleanse you choose has all the good stuff you need to keep your body functioning at its best. If you do happen to choose Pressed Juices, try and get into a store so you can try the juices before you commit…it will be love at first sip.

 Have you done a juice cleanse, or do you think it is phoney baloney? I would love to here about your experiences.

FYI this is not a sponsored post- I shelled out the $198 for the cleanse, and don’t you worry my husband won’t let me forget it!