Juice fasting for 3-days with Greenroots Juicery

I had dismissed juice cleanses as silly fad diets and an unsuccessful way to try and lose weight but recently my Mum tried a juice fast while she was in Bali and she had a really great experience doing it. Mum reported that she felt great, energised and really light after 3 days of fasting and that it got better and better each day. After Mum’s raving review I was feeling a really curious so I thought I would give it a go myself.

Coming into spring felt like a great time to reset for the season with a cleanse. I also thought of the juice cleanse as a way of trying fasting. I have been trying to eat in a mostly “paleo” way lately and there is a lot of research about how the body needs to fast sometimes. Our ancestors would have gone through periods of both fasting and feasting and these days we are always in feast mode. I wanted to try giving my system a break and having the juices for my first fast seemed like a great way to do it in a controlled and planned way. So, I signed up for a 3 day cleanse and committed to it for Friday-Sunday.

Disclaimer! – I am no medic or scientists – to read on the benefits of juice fasting and fasting in general check out these great articles:

Juicing with Greenroots

I did the juice cleanse through Greenroots Juicery. Greenroots are an amazing company based in Christchurch offering planned cleanses sent straight to your door, packaged and ready to go with a schedule included. For me, this was the perfect way to try my first fast as I wouldn’t have to think, plan or make anything and I could just focus on chilling out and having a healthy relaxed weekend. I went for the Spring Cleans and Greenroots provided everything I needed including tips for how to prepare for the cleanse and what to do afterwards.

The juices (some are nut milk) come in beautifully labelled glass bottles and are all organic and cold-pressed. There were 7 juices per day and a different one at every interval so it didn’t get boring or repetitive.

My juicing schedule:

Rise + Shine (Upon Rising): WELLNESS SHOT – Tumeric, Ginger, Lemon, Lime, Wild Orange, Black Pepper
Breakfast (8-9 am) MINT CHOC CHIP – Smoothie, Raw Cacao, Banana, Activated Cashews, Cacao Powder, Mint, Peppermint Essential Oil, Dates
Late Morning (10-12 pm) SUN RISING – Carrot, Tangelo, Tumeric Root, Green Apple, Ginger Root
Early Afternoon (1-2 pm) CELERY – Celery, Lemon, Alkalising
Late Afternoon (4-5 pm) CABALA – Carrot, Green Apple, Beetroot, Red Apple, Lemon
Evening (6-7 pm) VANILLA DREAM – Cashew Mylk, Cashews, Vanilla Bean, Alkaline, Dates, Cinnamon, Pink Himalayan Salt
Relax & Unwind (8-9 pm) CHLOROPHYLL-ADE – Chlorophyll, Mint, Lemon, Pure Maple, Alkaline Filtered Water

Greenroots offer delivery on a Tuesday or a Thursday so I decided to start my 3 days cleanse on a Friday morning so that I could have the first day at work and the last two spent with a chilled weekend off. The recommended way to do it is to do it over a long weekend by taking the Monday off, but I quite liked having my first cleanse day at work as being busy really took my mind off it and I still had loads of energy.

So…What was it like?

I recorded a diary during the cleanse which I have shared below but in a word – it was great! It was surprisingly not really difficult at all, I was worried that I would be desperate to eat the whole time and feel weak and tired but this wasn’t the case. Because the schedule includes a drink every two hours, there was always a juice coming up which filled me up and took my mind off hunger almost all of the time.

I filled my weekend with lovely light activities. I went to the Tory Urban Retreat Sauna twice and had two massages and went to two yoga classes. This probably sounds a bit excessive but I really wanted to get into the zone of zen and it worked – it enabled me to associate the fasting with doing lovely things and not thinking about doing anything difficult.

It was interesting – you can read my diary below for some in the moment thoughts and feelings but on the whole, I didn’t particularly feel any different to usual. I definitely didn’t feel worse, I felt a little sleepy sometimes but I also felt light and in a good mood. It was also really fun taking part in a challenge and testing myself, my body and what I am capable of.

After the fast

On Monday morning after the 3 days, I felt so positive and as though I just didn’t want to eat to ruin all my hard work! I was proud of my achievement and impressed with the control and commitment I can have. It felt good – it felt right not to be full of food for a while and like my body had really needed it. It showed me that it is possible to resist desires for a period of time and everything will go on as normal.

I will definitely do a fast again, my plan is to add a fast day once a month into my schedule working up to longer amounts of time.

It is 5 days later now as I am writing this and I still feel good from the fast, I feel brighter and more positive and I’m putting it all down to the fast.

A Juice Cleanse with Greenroots was such a great way to start my fasting journey and I would encourage anyone who wants to start fasting to give it a go.

My top tips for your first fast:

Don’t do much – you want to take your mind off it but you don’t want to be really busy, stressed or irritable, so take it easy on your fasting days.
Do lots of Yoga – Yoga is a nice light activity to keep you connected mind and body while fasting. I recommend hot yoga too to sweat out some of those toxins.
Sauna – sweat it out in the sauna, you feel amazing after plus you can sweat out all the bad stuff.
Try not to be around food and eating – if people are eating around you all the time it will only feel tempting, try to avoid this if you can.
Spend time reading or doing things you love – make the time about you, save some funds for doing lovely things that you like so that the time feels pleasurable and enjoyable.
Go for a massage or two – As above!
Make sure the people around you know you are fasting – keep people informed so they know to be courteous around you. And don’t make too many plans as you might just want to chill and be introspective.
Don’t do a juice fast mid-winter – my personal feeling is that because the juice is cold, it is not gonna be a lovely experience in the middle of winter.
Don’t do it to lose weight – you will feel thinner at the end but it is not a long term solution – it is about the cleanse and the break for your body.

My Fasting Diary

Friday – Day 1

8:30 am – Got to work and my box of juices had arrived – this was great but refrigeration not ideal, so I took the box home at lunchtime so squeeze it all into my fridge.

9 am – Drank my shot and then my first Mint Choc. The Mint Choc was heavy enough to be really filling and I try not to eat breakfast usually so I felt really full.

5 pm – The rest of the day went well – I had no food cravings and felt really good. I had a remedial massage with Phil at Achilles Massage which was amazing. I felt even more relaxed due to not eating I think and not sleepy or anxious.

6 pm – Headed home feeling good, I was running a bit late with my juices because I was finding them so filling and due to being so busy throughout the day.

8 pm – Lucas and I went to the sauna at Tory Urban Retreat and it was perfect. We spent an hour in there chilling, no food cravings.

Saturday – Day 2

9:30 am – Slept like a baby, woke up and Lucas cooked some bacon which smelt amazing! I wanted to eat but it was a beautiful day out and I was committed so I had my smoothie and felt satisfied. We went for a morning walk through the gardens and I had a chamomile tea.

11 am – feeling light and easy after our walk. Enjoyed finishing reading my book out in the garden. Almost helped myself to a handful of nuts and had to stop myself!

1 pm – Was on track with my juices but I had a bone broth for something warm and savoury.

3 pm – For the first time, I really felt like eating.

5 pm – Went to a Hot Yoga yin class I felt a bit flushed in the face but otherwise great and in the zone.

6 pm – Went straight from yoga to the cinema to see Hustlers. It was hard to find a park which was really frustrating. I felt like having not eaten exacerbated my frustration but it may have just been general annoyance of it. The movie was great – I got a little fidgety by my friend eating a giant box of popcorn next to me but as soon as she stopped it was ok. I drank my Cashew Milk in the movies – this was my favourite of all the drinks.

8:30 pm – After the movie we had a late night camomile tea – I was feeling fine by then, not hungry at all and not too sleepy either. Finished with my alkaline drink when I got home.

Sunday – Day 3

7 am – Woke up feeling a bit strange as I didn’t sleep very well. Belly was rumbling a little so I had a lemon water followed by the morning shot and it subsided.

10 am – Went back to Tory Urban Retreat for a massage and another sauna session. This was amazing, I was still feeling light and proud of myself!

12pm – came home but feeling really sleepy due to a bad night of sleep and the zen sauna. Drank the sun rising juice, this was the juice I enjoyed the least as it made me feel a little queasy. Spent the afternoon chilling out in bed and reading, letting myself just be relaxed.

4 pm – Woke with hunger and decided I needed to take my mind off it so I went back to Hot Yoga to a Yin Yang Class. This was amazing! It was so sweaty and the perfect amount of work so I was really glad that I went.

6pm – came home and was craving warmth so had another bone broth. I couldn’t finish the last beetroot juice.

7 pm – Enjoyed a cosy night in with Lucas and savoured my last juices, feeling proud of myself but also ready for breakfast the next morning – I had bought some avocados ready for the big moment!

10 pm – Went to bed. Done. Love.