Detox programmes are not new, but I’ve noticed a latest detox trend – fresh cold-pressed juice cleanses. I don’t go on detoxes regularly, but I decided to give the three-day detox with Beauty Cleanse a try. I was feeling bloated from the ‘woman monthly’ and a week of Thai food in Bangkok anyway, so it was timely!

The night before my cleanse, 18 bottles of cold-pressed organic juices were delivered to my doorstep. These juices are made from 100% organic produce with the hydraulic press juice extractor Norwalk Juicer, to ensure that all vital nutrients, minerals and enzymes are retained. The plan was to take six bottles of juices (including one nut milk) a day with no solid food. There is also an option to add (100% vegan) supplements to your cleanse. A cooler bag is given as well, to help keep the juices cold if you need to bring them out.

Prior to the cleanse, I was sent pre-cleanse guidelines to help me ease into the detox so as to keep potential detox side effects to a minimum. I was told to cut out wheat, dairy products, coffee, sugar, high fat or bad fat foods, alcohol, and red meat at least two days before the start of your cleanse, as well as start drinking warm water with lemon. Instead, take more fresh fruits, raw greens and vegetables.

There is a daily routine to follow for the cleanse and to help you remember that easily, a little instruction booklet was provided. It was only the morning portion which I needed to be reminded of:

1) Warm water with lemon, colosan powder with half-bottle Morning Juice (either carrot- or rootbeet-based), lemon juice again

2) Wait 30 minutes then take the green superfoods (powder) with the other half-bottle Morning Juice with the supplements.

The rest of the day was easy – just take a bottle of any juice of your choice every two hours, except that dinner should be one of the celery-based juices. Stop drinking the juices two to three hours before bed, but take the bottle of nut milk before going to sleep.

Day 1

I was excited to try all of the juices so the first day went by quite smoothly, without any hunger pangs. I even went for Yoga Blaze (a 30-minute yoga-inspired HIIT) at lunch time. As the day wore on however, I started to get terribly sleepy around 3pm. I also started to get headaches and my farts were smellier than usual (do warn your partner!).

To help combat the headaches, I drank lots of water (at least two litres) with squeezed lemon. Beauty Cleanse also sent daily cleanse tips and I was advised to have herbal tea, water, lemon water, coconut water or ginger drink to help cope with any hunger. Boon, co-founder of Beauty Cleanse, personally dropped me a call to check how I was doing too. I felt tired so by 10pm I was off to Dreamland.

Day 2

The colosan powder provided was to aid in clearing bowels and I was warned of its natural laxative effect. There was a separate email just on the colosan powder, stating that I should increase the dosage if I wasn’t experiencing three to five times of bowel movements a day. I only went once on the first day, so I increased it to two tablespoons for the second day and yes it worked. I went to the toilet about five times!

Day 2 was also when I started to feel hungry, despite drinking lots of water. I was so happy to find cheat sheets in the little instructional booklet, which said I could have a handful of raw almonds/cashews, half cup of black coffee, half an avocado, warm vegetable broth or a few celery sticks. Coincidentally, the cleanse tip emailed to be on the second day was the recipe for warm vegetable broth! But I was out and about, so I resorted to buying raw almonds. Confession – I had more than one handful, oops.

I was still having headaches but I went to Ritual to do my usual 20-minute HIIT workout. Whoa, I found myself struggling and I felt more out-of-breath than usual.

The cleanse tip emailed to me for Day 2 was: “Schedule your day accordingly, especially if this is your first time doing a cleanse. So make sure to take good care of yourself. Prioritise your day and plan ahead to ensure that you do not get too busy or overwhelmed with activities. Remember it is important not to overexert on your body with excessive exercise or stress while it is trying something new. Gentle exercises such as brisk walking, low intensity yoga are great for best results during your cleanse. Most importantly, don’t forget to get plenty of rest. It is important everyday but more so during a cleanse. Resting is the only time for your body to rebuild and restore. In fact not getting enough quality sleep can cause your fat cells to become “too tired” and become less efficient at using energy.”

Indeed, maybe I shouldn’t have gone for such an intense workout! The headaches got worse towards the end of the day so I retired early, going to bed at 8pm that night.

Day 3

I slept for nearly 12 hours and felt a lot better when I woke up. I still experienced headaches but it wasn’t as bad as Day 2’s. I went for a 20-minute HIIT workout at Ritual again and this time I felt fine. I didn’t feel as sleepy either and went to bed at midnight like I typically do. The body was probably getting used to the cleanse! Finishing up the remaining colosan powder, I had about five bowel movements for the day.

Done with the three-day detox, I found my stomach flatter (of course right!) and I lost about 1kg, but it’s not about the weight really. Beauty Cleanse gave me post-cleanse guidelines to follow, even providing a three-day post-cleanse diet plan to ease me back to normal food and avoid overloading the digestive system. Basically, the post‐cleanse diet should mainly consist of raw or steamed fruits and vegetables for the first few days.

After-thoughts

This is my first time doing a juice cleanse and I wasn’t entirely prepared. Looking back, I would have kept those three days as quiet as possible, so I could rest more. Instead, my schedule was packed with appointments, meetings and events so I was running around a lot. Trying to fight fatigue, low energy and the frequent bowel movements while on the move is not a good idea. Also, the cooler bag does help to keep the juices cool but if you are out the whole day like I was, by the end of nine hours, don’t expect the juices to be any cold.

Exercising is encouraged during the cleanse, as sweating will help to purge toxins out of the body as well, but a high-intense workout is probably not recommended (at least not until your body adjusts to the cleanse). Go for walks, easy jogging or yoga. I was doing the usual kettlebell swings and burpees and mountain climbers as fast as I could!

Lastly, the mindset is really important during the cleanse so make sure you are prepared to abstain from food for three days. Don’t give up and cave – which I nearly did. Ok fine, I did eat nuts. Also, after the cleanse, practise some restraint and don’t jump right into processed food – it will upset your stomach.

You’re not alone during the process though – you can call or text them anytime you want, otherwise they will give you a daily call to check on your progress.

Prices for a three- and five- day cleanse (incl. supplements) with Beauty Cleanse are $320 and $490 respectively.