Today I finally get to eat solid foods! Yea! I just completed 3 days of the Blueprint Level 1 Renovation Cleanse for beginners. As they say on their website, this Level 1 cleanse is for the following types of people:
“I know what whole foods are, and I’ve seen people buying them. I would too, but I’m too busy to be choosy – my vegetable intake comes in the form of: Ketchup – “tomatoes” and French Fries – “potatoes.” Salad is found in EVERY cheeseburger I eat: it’s that green-ish color in the middle of the burger. Fruit? Easy, it’s the garnish on my cocktail!”
I can’t say that I’m much of a drinker, but my intake of fruits and vegetables is pathetic and due to laziness and sheer convenience, I’d say that Adam and I have taken to eating McDonalds once a week. I always get my Fish Fillet Combo and call it a day. For fries to become part of my staple diet is saying something though – that used to be a once a month treat – urgh!
But I really didn’t feel any effects for a long time – no weight gain (thank God), no zits (never really had those), nada. Little by little though, I just felt a huge lack of energy. I am always so tired when I come home that all I do is lay on the couch and watch T.V.. I felt bloated and even walking up my stairs was, well…draining. Then in November I started getting these red spots on my cheeks and underneath my eyebrow – wtf? All of a sudden I had to put on concealer everyday. It wasn’t acne and I was just hoping it would go away. Well, it took me three months to go to the doctor and he diagnosed me with Rosacea! NOOO!!! His advice wasn’t exactly helpful – cut back on spicy foods and put this gel on my face. Uhhh…I wanted to talk to him about toxins, about my food intake, about what I could do to reverse the damage I felt I had done by eating so poorly. Not so much.
So I decided it was time to cleanse. I had heard of the Blueprint Cleanse and the only reason I hadn’t done it was because it was pricey, but I decided to take the plunge and just do it – and I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did.
So you don’t just start drinking 6 juices a day without prepping. You MUST cut out the meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine and increase veggies and fruits before you start. I increased the veggies & fruits a week before and did all the tougher stuff 3 days before (coffee, sugar, meat). Shockingly not that hard if you do it in stages.
Day 1:Was not as hard as I thought to get used to the Green Juice that everyone had talked about. The green juice has Romaine, Kale, Cucumber, Parsley, Lemon, Green Apple & Celery. I was never hungry throughout the day, but I had the WORST headache! Good lord…but I just kept telling myself that all my toxins were coming out and to press on. By the evening I was kinda dizzy, but the Cashew Milk at the end of the day that tastes like the best Horchata you’ve ever tasted, made it kinda worth it! I passed out really early, totally exhausted.
Day 2: Are you kidding me? Still the headache? FML. But strangely enough, halfway through Juice 1 the headache was magically gone and I felt fantastic!! Full of energy, happy, again not hungry and really looking forward to Juice 2 which is PAM – Pineapple, Green Apple and Mint. Juice 3 is a repeat of Juice 1, Juice 4 is a Spicy Lemonade (think Master Cleanse), and Juice 5 is a Beet Juice, which honestly for me was a little too sweet.
Day 3: Still good. Adam makes a comment that he loves how happy I am in the mornings now as opposed to my old grumpy till caffeine self (sorry boo!). It’s true though, I wake up with energy, happy, kind of a feeling that I can’t explain. I am a bit concerned about my lack of…um…”passing,” if you know what I mean. Blueprint has warned me that due to lack of fiber I should drink Yogi tea, get a massage, exfoliate or get a colonic, and the tea and exfoliating is just not cutting it so I take the plunge and schedule an appointment at Holistic Life for a gravitation colon hydrotherapy. I am worried that if I release all these toxins while juicing and don’t get them “out,” I will have juiced for nothing! Best move I could have ever made – Fatima at Holistic Lifein Hollywood is amazing. She makes a potentially uncomfortable situation very soothing and also counseled me on healthy food combining, better eating, and good probiotics & enzymes I could look into.
Moral of the Story:I did not do this for weight-loss and you shouldn’t either. This is a cleanse for people who are looking to press the “reset” button and/or start eating differently. Once you’ve worked so hard (and paid so much $$) to do this cleanse, you don’t exactly want to go get a Big Mac (plus you can’t or you will regret it! I will be eating vegetable broth, cucumbers, avocados and fruit for a couple of days to get back in the swing of things anyway!). I am happy I fought through the uncomfortable feelings I had on Day 1 to stick through this. It was SO worth it. I hope this will be a permanent change in my life, but I am realistic – I will still enjoy my arroz y frijoles, but not on the daily. I also think we all need to think about our colonic health as well. Did you know Elvis Presley died with 25 pounds of fecal matter inside of him? And John Wayne had 65 pounds! Don’t let the subject matter gross you out to the point where you don’t address it – because it’s vital for cleansing toxins or else we are stuck with them! And I know I could do without that!
xx
