Clean Machine: My 10 day juice cleanse.

You may have read a few of my tweets or comments on my Facebook page about my latest adventure–a master body detox and cleansing experiment. So, let me fill you in how that all turned out and why it actually even started.

It all began my wife’s idea to get her body 100% back to health. So while I was still in Denmark working on my injury and seeing various specialists, she was already back in lovely St. Augustine, doing her thing. She started with the juice cleanse and that’s how I got the bug. When I returned I first enjoyed a few days of reward food since I was finally back home, and then got started pretty much cold turkey. My goal was to do a juice cleanse for 10 days, followed by a liver cleanse on the last day.

At first Alicia did all the juicing and later on I took over creating the nutrient rich concoctions. We used a slow juicer or masticating juice extractor, which thoroughly chews up plant fibers to fully extract vitamins, enzymes, and minerals from fruits and vegetables.

My goal was to have a fruity juice in the morning and the rest of the day some more veggie based juices, mostly kale as it has the most micro-nutrients. The goal was to drink around 8 oz of juice every 90 minutes, along with water, and as I later learned herbal non-caffeinated tea is allowed as well. I knew it would be tough for me, because I suffer so much during the season, and when I am not training in full force I have a harder time sticking with the discipline. I usually look forward to the off time because I get to indulge in all things that are normally off limits. During my time in Denmark I focused on writing my book and so I also gained a bit of weight which is normal for me in off season. That mandatory but involuntary break and early season finish allowed me to make time for other things like writing and launching my gourmet triathlon camp in Tuscany. So I was fortunately able to use my off time wisely and create something great.

Here is what I posted on my FB page about every day. It gives you an impression of what I went through during the past 11 days of the cleanse:

Day1: Well, I got that day in the bag. I survived day 1. It wasn’t too bad but of course I wanted to eat the entire day. I also had a headache due to lack of coffee I believe. Just before bedtime I started getting a bit cold. During the night I slept pretty well and long- with clear dreams. But all in all it seemed like an OK day. 9oz (=250ml) of slow pressed juice every 1.5h. I must have even missed one or two as I had some of them left by the end of the day. In the morning I had a fruit/veggie mix and the rest was red beet or kale juice.

Day 2: Day two of the juice cleanse is behind me and it wasn’t too bad. I still had a mild headache throughout the entire day and that was worse than being hungry. I wasn’t really hungry at all, and it seems like the juice every 1.5h really works for me. Mid day I joined the gang to get a colonic done as well. Boy that’s an experience, but supposedly helps a lot too. If I survive those 10 days with 2 colonics I will top it off with a liver cleanse at the end. I went to bed pretty early again and slept well and a lot. So far so good. Now comes the 3rd day, which is supposed to be the toughest. I will keep you in the loop.

Day 3: The 3rd day of my juice cleanse went well and I was headache free till the late afternoon. I had solid energy and did my exercises and stretches and went out and walked the dog. We made extra yummy fruit juice for the morning where I had 2 glasses to kick off my day. I am not hungry but I miss the habit of eating somehow. I am not struggling to keep it up though. Just to be safe I am restraining from going out and meeting people right now. It just makes it easier. Alicia is eating and cooking next to me and its not too hard, so that’s good.
I also had another good nights sleep with vivid dreams. I am starting to get used to my new way of life and living just off juice.

Day 4: Day 4 was a good one. I didn’t have much on my agenda that day, so we watched some movies and spent a lot of time just being and hanging out. Lots of time to think. Usually that’s the time when you just eat because you are bored. We stocked up and made lots of juice I focused on drinking it every 1.5 hours. The headache was gone during the day and I just had a light one towards the evening–which could have been the result of not drinking enough water. I am not a big water drinker; I always need to have some kind of flavor in it to drink more than I usually do. I didn’t meditate and it took some time to fall asleep. I had a normal to average night sleep.

Day 5: Halfway through my 10 day cleanse- Yes! That was a tricky one. I had a solid day planned and went out on the boat for 6 hours with just enough juice for 3 hours. I really wanted to get those big fish and I did towards the end. I did drink one bottle of water on the boat but was still pretty dehydrated. I had a juice right when I got back and made sure I had enough fluids and juice till I went to bed. Alicia obviously had a great fresh fish dinner (+ enough for the next days dinner too) thanks to the fishing champ husband. For a second I thought about juicing fish, but naaaah. Better wait a few more days till I get more and then do some real ceviche! It took some time to fall asleep, but my sleep was okay. So, now I am half way through my juicing journey. I measured my blood pressure and I had a significant drop in numbers.

Day 6 (toughest so far)! I went to swim and did some short acceleration work and felt okay during my session. Had my juices regularly throughout the day. Midday I had my 2nd ever colonic and got flushed (sorry if this is TMI–but it is also an integral part of this process). I started to get hungry in the late afternoon, but not too bad. It seems like I just missed the habit of eating something. I watched Alicia eat some fresh fish and sat with her–and that was tough for a short moment. I drank an additional juice and some more water which quickly stifled my feeling of hunger. After a longer evening walk, I meditated for a bit and then went to bed. It took some time to fall asleep again but the sleep quality was good till I woke up early. Hoping for easy days ahead, and I am trying to keep busy.

Day 7: was a great day of juicing–I am really starting to experience the positive effects. I felt good, and wasn’t hungry till the late afternoon and I held energy through a pretty productive day. I started dreaming of what food I’ll make when I am done. It was tough to come home to a great smelling dinner Alicia made… But we made a bunch of juice for the next few days, so I am stocked up. My favorite seems to be carrot – apple – ginger. It really is sooo good. In the evening I was hungry but most likely this is due to me sitting next to Alicia snacking during our movie. I slept well and got up early for an exciting trip on the water.

Day 8: Time is passing quickly and I am in my last few days of the juice cleanse. Today I spent most the day out on the boat. This time I took quite a bit of juice with me but still came home hungry. I had an amazing catch and wished I could have brought it home but that fella was too big. I was slightly hungry but just drank a bit more water and juice. I really want to eat some real food and miss my evening happy hour here at home. It’s just a few more days but the last day will be a tough one due to the liver cleanse where I can’t have anything after 2pm. Not happy about that. But my motivation to finish and to clean my body is way bigger than the urge to eat some food.
I am enjoying the clean feeling and feel like I am able to think more clearly during everyday tasks. I slept a lot and really well too.

Day 9: And on the 9th day, he juiced. I enjoyed great juice that we made the day before. I found out that I was allowed to drink herbal decaffeinated tee. So I had four cups of peppermint tea yesterday, just to spice it up (was nice to have something hot to drink during a coffee break with one of my athletes). Pretty uneventful nice day, I kept myself busy by writing my book and planing my Tuscany Gourmet Camp. These are both fun tasks but involve a lot of work. I realized that the day went by quickly, during our evening dog walk around the waterfront in St Augustine. During our movie I started to feel a bit hungry. It seems like it is harder when I am in my everyday environment, where others are enjoying food. I get the emotional need for it too. During the night I slept really long and well. And what better way to start my final day of juicing?

Day 10: This  is where I stopped drinking juice at 2pm and prepared for the liver cleanse process. That meant I didn’t have anything from 2-6pm. At 6pm I drank 3/4 of a cup of Epsom salt and water. (please see below, which is taken from a book by Andreas Moritz). At 8 pm I had another one and at 10pm I had to drink my mix of fresh grapefruit juice and olive oil.  At 10 I went straight to bed…I was supposed to lay down for 20 min without moving, with my head slightly up. I listened to my audio books for 40 min, then switched off lights off and tried to sleep. I had a crappy night’s sleep. I couldn’t fall asleep and I woke up really early. I had two bathroom stops during the night. When I got up in the morning I had another two portions of the Epsom salt mix and heard my stomach growl. Those drinks got worse each time I drank them. I went to the bathroom frequently and looked for some stones that might have come out and I saw quiet a few interesting looking things (I will not go into detail here, it’s bad enough that I am sharing as much info as I am about this topic). In the morning I felt okay and not really as crappy as expected, just tired from my lack of sleep. I was able to finally able to “eat” something again with my first fruit smoothy, and after 1pm I had my first taste of real food in 10 days. I eased into the solids again with mostly steamed vegetables at dinner but was able to eat normal the next day without any issues. Two days after the cleanse I did my third and final colonic and flushed out all remaining toxins and completed my cleanse and detox period. My blood pressure was down 15 points on the diastolic number and eight points on the systolic numbers. That is a good thing for me because I normally have high blood pressure.

How to mix the liver cleanse according to The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Cleanse, by Andreas Mortitz (this is the condensed version, so please see the book before attempting to do this at home):

Ingredients
Epsom salts
4 tablespoons (60 gr) Olive oil (for best results ozonate it for 30 minutes)
½ cup (120 ml) (light olive oil is easier to get down)
Fresh pink grapefruit
1 large or 2 small, enough to squeeze ½ cup
(120 ml) juice (you may substitute a lemon, adding water or sweetener
to make ½ cup liquid)
Pint jar with lid

2:00 P.M. Do not eat or drink after 2 o’clock.

Mix 4 Tbsp (60 gr). in three cups water (720 ml)  and pour this into a safe jar. This makes four servings, ¾ cup (180 ml)  each.

6:00 PM. Drink one serving (¾ cup – 180 ml) of the ice-cold Epsom salts.

8:00 P.M. Repeat by drinking another ¾ cup (180 ml) of Epsom salts.

9:45 P.M. Pour ½ cup (120 ml) olive oil into the pint jar. Squeeze the grapefruit by hand into the measuring cup. Remove pulp with fork. You should have at least ½ cup (120 ml). Add this to the olive oil. Close the jar tightly and shake hard until watery (only fresh citrus juice does this).

10:00 P.M. Drink the potion you have mixed.

Lie down immediately.

Next morning. Upon awakening take your third dose of Epsom salts.

2 Hours Later. Take your fourth (the last) dose of Epsom salts.

After 2 More Hours you may eat.

My summary of the whole thing is very positive. I would like to point out that we only used organic vegetables and fruits.  The juice cleanse really made me high on life and I was able to see life without the normal fog that I learned followed me around. I felt good a lot more of the time the time and was rarely hungry (just a bit towards the end–never to the point where I had any trouble maintaining the project). I lost quite a bit of weight and felt really good about it. The headache at the beginning was a bit annoying but the reason was because I was getting over the habits I have of drinking coffee and drinking alcohol at night, which was a good thing.

The colonic I did on the second day and in the middle of the cleanse was good to clear the colon. It all contributes of the total feeling of well being feeling and the overall goal. I have to admit, that my first visit was an interesting experience but really no big deal. Two days after the final cleanse I did my third and last colonic to get rid of everything that came out from the gall bladder and liver cleanse on my 10th day. This concludes my project and I feel really great and super healthy at the moment.

Thanks you all for following my on twitter and my Facebook fan page. I am glad you guys had fun reading and commenting about my experience.

Yours,
Dirk