Pure Glow Cleanse

Happy midweek to y'all! I've been busy organizing my life in Perth since I've been back. One of the major overhauls is my eating habits and everything that concerns it. A major resolution this year was to up my healthy habits. I started a couple of years ago but the changes I made are small steps leading up to a big one like hopefully this year will accomplish.

And one of the major decisions I made while I was eating my guts out in Singapore (and feeling pretty gross with myself) during Chinese New Year was to sign up for a juice cleanse in Perth for when I return. I chanced upon Pure Glow Cleanse (http://pureglowcleanse.com.au/) on instagram and looked it up on their website. I did not hesitate in paying $195 for the programme (+ $10 for delivery) and begun planning my preparation for the 3 days. 

Their dates sell out pretty fast, so despite it being early February, I only managed to get one for the first of March. On hindsight, it was a good move because I now had time to readjust and prep my body and mind between my holiday and the cleanse. Also, a good omen starting first of a month right?

It took me about 2 weeks to prep by having 2 homemade smoothies every Monday to Friday and a salad every day. Even if I ate out, I chose healthier options and kept everything fried (which I loved) to a bare minimum. I even stopped drinking coffee and alcohol. The night before the cleanse, I just had sashimi to give my body some needed protein fuel.

I woke up at 6am to make sure I don't miss the delivery which came just before 8am. It was a heavy heavy box of 18 juices. The programme is summarized as follows:

1. 18 juices for 3 days

2. 6 juices labelled 1 to 6 for each day

3. Recommended to have a juice every 2 hours which effectively covers breakfast to dinner time

4. You get daily supportive emails from before the cleanse to after with encouraging words, reminders and tips to keep motivated and healthy during the cleanse.

5. You are allowed only filtered water, nut milk and tea they provide you during the cleanse. I personally only had filtered water everyday and a cup of tea on the 3rd day, besides the juices.

(for more info: http://pureglowcleanse.com.au/how-a-juice-cleanse-works/)

I started at 8am on a Saturday with the Sunrise Elixir. I was hungry so it was nice and refreshing to have that in my system!

By 10am -ish, I was feeling peckish and it was just in time for my second juice Glowing Greens which is very thick and a spoon would be better to have it with. And slowly chewing it and savouring the juices were important during the process.

I had a birthday lunch for a colleague/friend after my usual busy weekly chores Saturday morning. I brought my juice along with me to Nandos and sat there inhaling the chicken and chips air but remained strong in drinking my juice. This 3rd juice was drank after 3 hours from the 2nd one.

I would say I made up my mind to really immersed myself into the whole process so I really took all their advice and instructions carefully.

The juices prove to keep me full for as long as 2 hours, so I had my fourth one. This one is quite yummy and sweet. Very different from the previous 3 which were lemony or just even green tasting.

My fifth one before I went home from the office. The Buddha Juice may not look appetizing but it is yummy.

Then, as the PGC calls it, ending the day with a dessert. This is indeed the best treat EVER. It was so yummy. Sort of milky but still refreshing and light. I felt like I was floating on cloud nine.

Slept early because I started getting hungry!

Good morning for Day 2! I love Sundays and I woke up feeling like I accmplished 3 days yesterday, alas 2 more to go and I loved how my instagram had supportive words from other cleansers and PGC and friends.

This juice is so lemony and acidic that it really isn't my favourite. However, it does wake me up.

I stayed home for most part of the day reading my book and having juices. Glowing Greens is the most filling one out of the lot. 

Green Guru wakes me up from my midday slump.

YAY! always a rewarding one... and then I prepped to head out for a sunday sesh and catching up with friends. I really wanted to live as normal a life as I could throughout this whole cleanse. It really helped me work on my mental strength and determination, something that could be useful in my future after the cleansing days.

At Amey's house while everyone else was drinking, I had my fifth juice...

Temptation is great but no thank you!

Cute little Indi with my juice :) Spent a couple of hours out at the pubs with friends before leaving early to go home to my last juice. I was getting hungry! You had to keep the juices cold and refrigerated.

Enough said, I love it.

HOME STRETCH!

It was a full day of tutorials. Five hours of teaching, first day too. It was definitely a challenge because I was getting hungry faster and still not being tempted by everything else. It was quite funny too as I had to do a juice during a class since the timing clashed and the students were quite fascinated by it.

And the day of teaching ended with my last juice on the horizon. I completed this cleanse on a high note. Was definitely very happy with myself, keeping to the strict programme.

I will miss Chai Vanilla Dream though...

Overall, my cleanse/detox has put me in a better frame of mind and motivated to stay healthy. I booked in a massage for Friday (I ended on a Monday), and spent Tuesday drinking 3 juices and having a light salad.

I will do this again sometime when I feel like I need to but for now, its time to treat my body better!

I have had so many people ask me about why I am doing this and how it was so I thought I would blog about it. The reason I did it was to kickstart my health resolution. I felt that the process was challenging but I was lucky to feel abit more at ease with it since I started prepping more than a week in advance. One day before would not have helped at all. The mind needed more time to adjust and stay strong. It wasn't about weight loss for me, it was just to rid my body of the toxins and to hopefully give me a cleaner slate to work with. I have partied and drank more than I should have over the years, and I really needed to start paying attention to my health because I thought about my future and how it would be good to be a role model for my kids too. The investment will be worth it, I am sure :)

If you think this is a quick weight loss solution gimmick, sorry to say it won't help you. But if it is a determined lifestyle change you have in mind, this can help you pave the way. 

Health is a lifelong journey right? PGC may be the start or a regular thing to keep my body in check but certainly not the be all and end all of anything. Enjoy life but balance is definitely key. I am still learning and I shall forever be learning. After all, I am a normal human being who can be greedy at times and loves good food too much.