Last month, I was diagnosed with eczema. I cannot begin to tell you guys how itchy, dry and at times flaky it is. It usually gets worse if it gets a bit hotter outside, if I feel stressed or if I do vigorous exercise. It’s controllable, but annoying. It started out as red bumps that were between the size of a pimple and mosquito bite. It literally looked like I had chicken pox all over my body, with my stomach and back areas taking it the worst. The only place it didn’t spread was to my face and feet. The photos below were taken a couple days after the initial outbreak back in February, more later spread.
It’s also frustrating to lift at the gym. Even though I don’t sweat much, my body does get hot. One month after I was told to do no vigorous exercise, I broke out in a very small crop of welts on my left lower back. Again, it gets frustrating and I am trying to stay positive.
After 2 weeks of using steroid cream, the bumps are mostly gone and there is still some discoloration on my skin. My friend suggested to try doing/using natural remedies such as a juice cleanse to flush out any unwanted toxins in my body and to make my skin feel soft and glowing again.
I know so many people that do cleanses, so I thought I’d give it a try and decided on Pressed Juicery. Their 3 different cleanses came in 1, 3 or 5 days with 6 juices per day and cost $49 – $229, excluding cleanse waters. I decided to do their Cleanse 1 for 3 days with the two cleanse waters since I am a beginner. It is also the only cleanse that contains two of the almond signature blends which are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates. I figured I could tough it out for 3 days would no solid foods.
The closest store is located up the grade from me in Westlake Village, which is about 30 minutes south of me, so I saved myself the $25 shipping fee + taxes, plus it is cheaper if you actually live near a Pressed Juicery and can pick it up in the store, so I ended up paying a flat fee of $119. Yay!
The juices were numbered 1 – 6 and I have to drink them in 2 hour increments. I also had substitute waters that I drank in between my juices.
1. Vanilla Almond: with almonds, dates, sea salt and vanilla. Raw almonds and vanilla provide protein, healthy fats, minerals and B-complex vitamins.
- Time: 8 a.m.
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 8g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Carbs: 13g
- Sugars: 9g
- Protein: 4g
- Notes: start your day with protein to help you feel fuller longer and keep your mind clear.
2. Greens 2: with apple, celery, cucumber, kale, lemon, parsley, romaine, spinach and leafy greens. Refreshing citrus. A touch of sweet apple. Greens 2 is a staple when you want all the goodness of a greens juice, but are still easing into the pressed juice habit.
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 70
- Sodium: 10mg
- Carbs: 17g
- Sugars: 11g
- Protein: 2g
- Notes: all the goodness of leafy greens and a chock full of vitamins.
3. Roots 2: with apple, carrot, ginger, kale, lemon, parsley, romaine and spinach. Carrots, parsley and spinach are three veggie superstars. They provide beta-carotene, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and an immune boost.
- Time: 12 p.m.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 80
- Sodium: 35mg
- Carbs: 18g
- Sugars: 12g
- Protein: 2g
- Notes: midday roots with a nutritious boost to keep you going.
4. Citrus 2: with apple, lemon, mint and pineapple. This enzyme rich juice is filled with phytonutrients and bromelin which helps to reduce inflammation. Drink it before a meal to get digestive juices flowing.
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 120
- Sodium: 10mg
- Carbs: 29g
- Sugars: 24g
- Protein: 1g
- Notes: this refreshing juice is loaded with antioxidants and wakes you from your afternoon slump.
5. Greens 3: with apple, celery, cucumber, ginger, kale, lemon, parsley, romaine and spinach. Craving some zip in your green juice? Enjoy the kick of ginger in this delicious blend of leafy greens and sweet apple.
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 70
- Sodium: 10mg
- Carbs: 18g
- Sugars: 12g
- Protein: 1g
- Notes: the ginger is great for your stomach and helps both soothe and warm your body.
6. Chocolate Almond: with almonds, cacao, dates, filtered water and sea salt. Raw cacao is a super food with high levels of antioxidants and compounds that can make you feel uplifted. Raw almonds have a multitude of benefits and are linked to a reduction in the risk of heart disease and have been shown to be beneficial in helping you maintain a healthy weight.
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Fat: 14g
- Calories: 210
- Sodium: 140mg
- Carbs: 19g
- Sugars: 12g
- Protein: 6g
- Notes: end your day sweet and satisfied with a creamy blend of cacao and almonds.
Aloe Vera H2O: with filtered water and aloe vera.
- Time: at the end of the day and right before bedtime to keep things moving.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 0
- Sodium: 10mg
- Carbs: 0g
- Sugars: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Chlorophyll H2O: with filtered water and chlorophyll.
- Time: throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
- Fat: 0g
- Calories: 0
- Sodium: 10mg
- Carbs: 0g
- Sugars: 0g
- Protein: 0g
Totals Per Day/3 Days For All Juices/Waters:
- Fat: 22g (66g for 3 days)
- Calories: 690 (2,070 for 3 days)
- Sodium: 295mg (885mg for 3 days)
- Carbs: 114g (342mg for 3 days)
- Sugars: 79g (237g for 3 days)
- Protein: 16g (48g for 3 days)
A few days before my cleanse, I had to cut down on caffeine, processed foods, added sugars and alcohol. During my cleanse, I have to try and do 30 minutes worth of exercise, even is if it was just a walk, to keep my circulatory and lymphatic systems moving. I also have to drink 8 glasses of water a day. If I feel like I am getting hungry and need solid foods, it was recommended I have healthy snacks such as raw almonds, carrots or cucumbers.
Now that you know the background and nutritional benefits, let’s cleanse! Follow me on my day-by-day journey below:
Day 1 – Sunday, March 11: I didn’t sleep too well last night, but I woke up feeling excited to start my cleanse! I’m starting the cleanse a bit later today as I was thrown off by the whole Spring Forward time change.
9:45 a.m.: The Pressed Juicery website says that the Vanilla Almond juice “tastes like ice cream in a bottle” and it couldn’t be more true! It definitely was the right way to wake up this morning. I also had a glass of water afterwards.
Okay I am not going to lie, I gave up on the Chlorophyll water trying to drink in between juices. It tastes like a toilet and is so disgusting, I just can’t take it anymore!! I need to drink 8 glasses of plain water anyway, so I will just do that. I will still do the Aloe Vera water at night.
11:45 a.m.: Greens 2 tasted pretty leafy as it was described above. It was a great mid-morning juice. I also had another glass of water.
1:45 p.m.: Roots 2 for lunch – OMG I am in love with this juice. Out of the 3 juices so far, this is the one that really perked me up (or maybe it was a combo of all 3 going through my system?)! Another glass of water.
So maybe 30 minutes after I drank this one I started feeling lightheaded, I do not know why? Maybe I needed food, so again, I am allowed to snack, so I had some raw almonds.
3:45 p.m.: Time for Citrus 2 – the sugar in this definitely helped me lightheaded feeling.
5:45 p.m.: Greens 3 to the rescue! I like the Greens 2 a bit better, but it is a great dinner! I also am getting a bad headache, I don’t know why? Maybe, again, it’s the time change? I am off to take a 30 minute walk to feel a bit more energized. I also peed a lot!
7:45 p.m.: The Chocolate Almond tastes like chocolate ice cream, yummy! It was the perfect dessert to end the day with. My headache is still lingering and I think I am going to go to bed early after I drink my Aloe Vera water. The Aloe Vera is also disgusting but not as bad as the Chlorophyll!
Overall, Day 1 was a success!
Day 2 – Monday, March 12:
8:30 a.m.: I slept about 12 hours last night, I was tired! My headache is also gone. Back to drinking the Vanilla Almond for breakfast. I am craving no solid foods this morning either!
10:30 a.m.: Back to Greens 2. I am starting to feel a bit tired again. I am going to have some more raw almonds and see if that helps.
12:30 p.m.: Roots 2, my favorite lunch! I don’t know what it is about this juice but it is the only one that perks me up!
2:30 p.m.: It’s Citrus 2 time! I really like having this one after Roots 2 because it perks up my sugar level a bit.
4:30 p.m.: It was around this same time that I started craving solid foods last night. I drank my Greens 3 but also had some carrots/cucumbers. I can’t do almonds anymore. It’s also starting to rain so I might do some brief cardio in my apartment instead of taking a walk. I am also starting to feel very “cleansed” if that makes sense.
7:30 p.m.: I’m drinking the Chocolate Almond 3 hours later instead of 2 hours because I just need a break from sipping liquid!
Another successful day! I also started noticing that my skin isn’t itching as much. However, I did notice a couple more small bumps on my stomach this morning. So in terms of my skin, the cleanse is half working?
I also only had 4 glasses of water today instead of 8. Again, I am just tired of sipping liquids and need a break! I’ll start up again tomorrow, my last day.
Day 3 – Tuesday, March 13:
Okay guys I am not going to lie: I caved in this afternoon.
After drinking the Vanilla Almond, Greens 2 and Roots 2 throughout the morning/early afternoon, I just needed solid food. I made myself some fresh tomato-spinach-tortellini soup. It wasn’t because I was overly starving or giving up, but because I was starting to get slightly annoyed just drinking fluids over the past 2 1/2 days and I wanted something more to chew on than just munching on carrots, raw almonds and cucumbers. I was sick of it.
All I can say is this: I am proud of myself for almost making it to 3 full days of juicing, but 2 1/2 days was enough for me. As far as my eczema, I noticed a few more very small bumps on my stomach and sides last night, but I think it’s because the humidity has been slightly warmer.
I don’t think doing a juice cleanse was a waste of time because it really did cleanse my internal organs. I envy people that can cleanse for weeks on end, hats off to you. I highly recommend trying it at least once in your life to release to toxins from the body and most importantly see if it is right for you. 🙂
