It’s fashionable to be late, so it was no surprise that my “New Year New You” plan got off to a late start, by late I mean three and a half weeks. Now I just can’t start the whole gym thing and healthy eating plan ‘cold turkey’, I have to gently ease myself into the mindset of getting back on track, so I thought that a juice detox would help me cleanse my system of the last 6 weeks of festive indulgence and set me on the right path for my lifestyle goals.
Enter Frujevu who claim to be the UK’s best cold-presed fruit and vegetable juice cleanse. After speaking on the phone at some length with Vanessa (the Fruveju founder) I was told that the EXPLORE Cleanse would be the best option for me, a few days later the courier knocks on the door with a rather large box and voila! upon opening there are 24 neatly organised chilled bottles in an array of colours and shades, I seem like a kid opening a box full of candy.
The cleanse/detox plan consists of drinking 1 bottle of juice approximately every two hours, the idea is that you are constantly fed with the 100% raw organic ingredients so you are full, watered and you have all those wonderful active ingredients working for you in the body. Each bottle is 500ml. The point of the cleanse is also to help you break bad food habits and think clearly about what you put in your body. The cleanse/detox lasted 5 days. Let me put it this way – it’s not for the faint hearted, that’s why you are advised to start a pre-cleanse a few days before actually starting the full monty. I did the pre-cleanse, it felt like I had climbed a mini mountain just doing that itself.
Day 1: I start with a lot of enthusiasm, when I drink my bottle number 1 – I am pleasantly surprised: the ‘pure greens’ that look scary, actually taste light, fresh and very nice, by the end of the detox/cleanse programme this is almost my favourite juice, who’d have thought!.
I do struggle with day 1, the idea of only drinking and not eating is bizarre to me, at times I am tempted to take a bite of bread, my body is craving carbohydrates. By 7.00pm I am a shaking wreck wanting a Jaffa Cake, but I stay with it. and just snack on fresh air. How do supermodels survive? this is my last thought before I crash into a deep and rarely early sleep on day 1.
Day 2: By day two the whole world and it’s grandmother know I am on a juice detox, why? well at this stage I am now aggressive, I swallow every bottle on the hour like clock work, I resemble Rocky Balboa all psyched up to beat that dude in the ring, I am focused and where I should be in my head, but I am also foggy and nauseous as the toxins start to wave goodbye from my body, by 4.00pm on day 2 I am ready to karate chop the first person I see in the street eating ANYTHING, my last bottle of the day is demolished in 30 seconds, it’s fascinating how animal-like you become when hungry.
Day 3/4: I handle the middle part of the detox now much better than the first two days, the crazed hungry ‘cave-woman’ look in my face has now started to subside, instead I’m rolling with it, people are now getting used to seeing my colourful little friends (bottles of juice) follow me everywhere I go, I knock each bottle back now with the confidence of a professional “detoxer”, people are now curious and asking ‘what is that you’re drinking?’ I feel slightly smug and superior as I explain and watch their faces of curiosity mixed with envy at my determination, sometimes it’s clear to see the look on their face is just plain sympathy, deep down I know they are thinking “I bet she’d kill right now for a croissant and a cappuccino”.
Final day, I have climbed my Mount “juice” Everest, I stand proudly next to my final empty bottle, my skin is looking awesome, I have lost 2 pounds in weight, I am no longer craving junk, infact I look at the biscuit tin and turn my nose up, I wonder how I will go back to ‘eating food’ when I have got so used to just ‘drinking’ it?
My final thoughts: The cleanse/detox is fabulous if you are time-pushed and serious about your health and well being, it’s a great kick start to getting you on the right track, however at £200 it may not be affordable to all and therefore you may want to consider investing in a good juicer and learning how to carry out juicing detox/cleanse plans at home. However if you consider the cost of organic fruit and veg and a juicer for 5 days the cost probably balances out the same as just having Fruveju take away the stress for you.
Truthfully, I would never do that because my career, kids, and life in general would not allow me the time as much as the idea is romantic it is not feasible to DIY, so I am grateful for the ease and simplicity of this service, the door-to-door delivery, the numbering of the bottles, the explanations included as to what each bottle of juice contains and what it will do for you in terms of nutrition is truly fantastic.
It does take dedication and determination to complete a cleanse/detox especially if you are a newbie, so try and surround yourself with people that will support what you are doing, you have no idea how hard it is to feed your young kids the most delicious lunches and dinners whilst you stand by and watch. So ensure your head and body are in the right place to embark on this programme. I enjoyed this despite my own physical and psychological hurdles and I will probably complete the EXTEND cleanse/detox in 3 months time. Just before the summer.
Conclusion: A great option for time pushed, busy people wishing to kick start a healthy lifestyle. This is not a sustainable long term plan, I believe that a balanced healthy diet and regular gym activity truly hold the key to a successful weight management programme and long and healthy life, having said that I truly enjoyed the juice cleanse/detox and the results were worth the hurdles.
As I sat with my fiends in Fumo Bar on the last evening of my juice they bought me a cocktail to celebrate my successful completion, I found myself slightly repulsed by the smell of the alcohol, after the last few days of cleaning out my digestive closet, liquor was the last thing I needed, although I didn’t refuse a few bites of delicious freshly made pizza.
For more information visit www.fruveju.com
