When the opportunity arose to take part in the Plenish Beginner 3 Day juice cleanse, I could not have been more excited. The past year has been very intense for all of us, but it was that last lockdown that really took a toll on me mentally and physically and although we are not quite out of it yet, it does seem like we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have started to dip our toes into a bit of normality, and it feels great. However, many of us want to step back into the world feeling like our best selves and right now I feel a million miles away from that. I have been feeling sluggish and tired constantly and generally in a bit of a rut. One thing I am more aware of over the last few months is a change in my skin, darker under eyes, duller tone and more breakouts. So, when I saw that the benefits of this cleanse can include increased energy and glowing skin I was completely on board. Plenish state that the Beginner 3 Day juice cleanse helps to detox and reset your diet, this was the fresh start I had been looking for.
Things to note about me before I get into how it all went. I am 25 years old, with on and off problem skin ever since I was a young teen. I struggle with bloating on a daily basis, and I could definitely be more active. I am also a massive foodie, I love cooking and planning nice dinners and I have been dying to get back into restaurants. So, starting a juice cleanse the week that we could all eat out was going to be a challenge.
Before you start the cleanse, it is recommended that you adjust your diet to prepare your body for what’s to come. I reduced the amount of sugar and processed food I ate as well as caffeinated drinks. I already have a plant-based diet, so nothing changed too much for me in the dairy and meat department. One thing I could not resist was a cheeky cocktail the night before I started but it didn’t seem to affect anything.
The cleanse itself requires you to drink 6 juices a day, all a variety of flavours made up of a lot of beneficial ingredients. The taste was very fresh and refreshing but nothing like the juices you would buy from the shop. My favourite was the last drink of the day, The Savour made up of dairy-free cashew milk, organic cacao, maca, cinnamon & pink himalayan salt, which almost tasted a bit chocolatey.
So now for all the juicy gossip (literally), how did the 3 days of cleansing go? Overall, it went very well. The first day was the hardest as you would expect. By the afternoon I was very hungry but after the fourth juice of the day that settled. I did experience bit of brain fog at times, but this quickly cleared after I went for my daily walk, not something that I normally do in the working week but the spike in energy I felt every afternoon demanded that I got moving. I really didn’t expect to have so much energy, I thought that without any food I would be completely depleted, but this was the opposite of what happened… during the day. By the night-time I was very tired. On the first night I was asleep by 9pm and I had one of the best night sleeps of my life, I even slept through my multiple alarms. The strangest part of all, I was never really that hungry. Yes, on the first day I had my moments, and I had brief periods throughout where I did fancy a snack. Although most of these times were when I could smell food or see my desk mate opposite me munching on some tasty treats. Overall, I felt sustained and fairly energetic, don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t be running any marathons, but it was much better than I predicted beforehand.
What about the results? Well in terms of my skin there has been a real improvement. It’s nowhere near as dull and I woke up every day with it being much less puffy, maybe even the slightest hint of a glow. The bloating I normally get has almost vanished, which has massively improved my confidence. I have lost some weight, which is to be expected but that was not my main goal. My energy levels seem to be more balanced now, more intense in the day and less at night. My sleep schedule has been reset which is incredible. Overall, I see such a great improvement, I feel so much more positive about tackling the world now and I would absolutely do the Plenish 3 Day juice cleanse again at times where I need that extra boost.
For more information visit www.plenishdrinks.com
By Jessica Bragg
