Two-Day Zula Juice Cleanse

February kicked my ass. Between my trip to Vegas, getting a three week long cold and being super stressed out about the whole job situation, I have felt like absolute crap. So when Renee from Zula emailed me and said "I'm dropping off a two-day cleanse tonight, get ready", I knew it was the perfect opportunity to get my body {and mind} back in gear and finally attempt a juice cleanse which I've been wanting to do for a long time.

Before I rehash the details of the cleanse, I need to tell you about Renee. This amazing lady is a mama to FIVE {yes 5} kiddos ranging in age from 3 -12! After her 4th little one was born she was looking for a way to maintain her weight and also get all the nutrients she needed to feel her best. She discovered juicing, fell in love, had friends asking for her juices and late last year Zula was born! As a busy mom, Renee understands that juicing needs to be convenient which is why all of their juices are individually bottled and delivered (for free if you're in the Twin Cities)! She snuck up like a little elf and left my juice on the doorstep because she gets not wanting to open the door in your PJs or waking a sleeping baby with a doorbell ring. 
Pretty frickin awesome, huh?

I asked Renee to tell me more about Zula and the juicing lifestyle and her words are much better than mine, so here's what she had to say:

"I've always been passionate about people and health and I pour my heart into trying to make our brand communicate what we're all about.  Most people are becoming aware that the definition of "food" is debatable.  Personally, I feel like it's a physical and mental workout to go grocery shopping these days.  Is the food safe? Is it processed (and what does that mean)? Have the nutrients been cooked out of the product? How long has this been sitting on the shelf? Is it organic (and does it matter)? Is it gluten-free (and if it is, what are the other ingredients)? At Zula, we're not judgmental or snooty about what people eat – we're just trying to make real food convenient and to be a place where you can be assured that the food you're eating is going to feed your body (and taste good!).  Real food - without the marketing hype.  So why the juicing lifestyle… and what is it?   The idea of drinking fresh juice for the benefits isn't a new concept, we're just trying to make it more convenient while using the finest ingredients.  When juicing becomes a part of your life, you'll find yourself choosing healthier foods and having an energy level that makes you sound like an infomercial.  Fresh juice is a very concentrated source of nutrients – phytonutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and enzymes and juice cleansing is a way to flood your cells with this nutrition while giving your digestive system a break."

And now on to the juicy (get it) details....my experience with the cleanse. Like I said, I did a two day cleanse and I it was much harder than I anticipated. Going in I thought "it's just two days, how hard can it be?"

 

Halfway done with juice #1 and thinking "yeah I got this!"

For two full days I "ate" nothing but juice. I had 6 pre-bottled and fresh pressed juices each day:

 

Lemon Skinny, Beet Retreat, Carrot Plunge, Green Drench, Pineapple Passion & Cashew Dream

The juices were DELICIOUS! Unlike the juices you buy in the grocery store (which are REQUIRED to be processed), Zula juices are not pasteurized so the naturally-occurring phytonutrients, vitamins and enzymes remain intact. The juice is fresh pressed right here in St. Paul using 100% organic ingredients which are completely raw, kosher certified, vegan, gluten free, diary free -AND- HPP free. Which, in fancy talk, means the juice actually tastes like the ingredients {and is super good for you}. The Carrot Plunge, for example, is made with organic carrot and organic apple and it literally tastes like you are drinking a carrot! To some that may seem gross but to me it's reassuring, it's unnatural for carrot juice NOT to taste like carrots. The only one I wasn't crazy about was the Beet Retreat, but I don't like beets and I don't like ginger so that wasn't a huge surprise. The Cashew Dream was my favorite {with Pineapple Passion as a close second} because it seriously was a DREAM! After a day without protein this filled me up AND tasted sweet so it was like having dessert. I drank this one last to sustain me through the night. 

The first half of day 1 wasn't bad. Sure I was hungry and I missed my morning coffee, but I mixed my Lemon Skinny with hot water and drank it from a coffee mug to give the sensation of  a hot cup of coffee, so really it was no big deal. 

 By late afternoon, I felt sick. This is going to sound crazy, but I seriously felt like I could feel the toxins coming out of my body. I was sweaty and almost felt flu-like. I also had a killer headache. One of the Cleanse Tips from the Zula website suggests resting - and I totally get why. I had very little energy both days and just felt like lounging, which felt so AMAZING, I got SO MUCH SLEEP! Day 2 was much easier, I was definitely hungry and was craving ANYTHING I could chew on but I didn't feel sick and wasn't so focused on what I couldn't have but more on how this was affecting my body {in a good way}. I spent pretty much the whole day doing nothing, laying on the couch and sleeping. Again, amazing and much needed.

When I woke up the morning after the cleanse was over I didn't run for the coffee pot or the refrigerator, but instead felt rested, energized and accomplished. Mentally I felt so clear headed and proud that I had finished. Physically I felt light and clean. We had brunch plans that morning and I ordered a veggie and egg white omelet which is definitely not something I would have ordered before. The cleanse made me really conscious of what I was putting in my body and made me want to make better choices to maintain that amazing feeling. I did lose 3 pounds while cleansing, but this was not a weight loss motivated cleanse; I just wanted to know if I could do it, see what it was like, and get my body back on track after taking pretty poor care of it for a month. I'd love to say that a couple weeks later I'm still making the best possible food choices {not always} but I now know that I can turn to Zula Juice when I need to get back on track or want to supplement some wonderfully healthy and nutrient filled liquid meals in to my diet. 

My advice for anyone looking to try a cleanse would be this...

*Do it on a weekend. I started mine on a Friday and it was tough trying to get through the work day. Next time {yes I plan on doing this again} I think I'll go for a Saturday & Sunday {maybe even try a 3-day cleanse} so that I can really take the time to relax, rest and get the most out of cleansing both body & mind. 

*Schedule it around that time of the month, if possible. I got my period the first night of the cleanse and I think that is what made me feel so sick. The juice definitely kept me from eating an entire bag of Rolos like I normally would and my cramps were actually less painful than normal, but overall I physically felt pretty crappy.

*Find a cleanse buddy. A girlfriend of mine had done the Zula cleanse before so she was an amazing resource. While she didn't do it with me {this time} it was awesome to be able to text her for advice and encouragement.

*Just do it. I am a huge planner and truthfully probably never would have found a "good" time to try this. Renee kind of forced me in to it which was perfect! I had no time to plan or think, I just jumped right in and totally DID IT!

For more information on Zula Fresh Pressed Juices check out www.zulajuice.com

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