BluePrint Cleanse Review

Hey, all! I'm back with my next set of reviews of a different cleanse. This one is much less time consuming, but it makes up for this in cost ($$$). It's called BluePrint Cleanse.

I've had these drinks constantly for the past year, but more so as a snack or meal filler on days I was trying to eat lightly. So I thought it was time to take it to the next step and try the 3-day "excavation" cleanse program the company offered.

Of course, coming home from college, my parents were skeptical of me trying this cleanse. Even to the point of bringing it up to my doctor. But I assured them with the main point I want to make to whoever is reading this: this is not for weight loss!!! Doing this cleanse is about cleansing the toxins out of your body, gaining mental clarity, clearer skin and most importantly, tap into your inner self. Cleanses are a ver personal process, one that is not always the most enjoyable. But by the last day, you feel more in touch with your mind and soul.

Okay...and the super flat stomach for a couple days doesn't hurt.

Day One

On this cleanse, I truly find that the drinks keep we very fulfilled the entire day. I don't have to worry about being in the kitchen because they are all pre-made drinks.

My 6-drink menu went as follows:

Before my first drink - green tea with no sweetener
10 a.m. - Green Juice (kale has never tasted so good)
12 p.m. - Green Juice
2 p.m. - Green Juice (yeah, you start not caring for the taste at this point)
4 p.m. - Yellow Juice  (spicy lemonade)
5 p.m. - Green Juice (oh hey, you)
7 p.m. - White Juice (come here you!!! Best for last)

(In between these drinks I made sure to drink lots of water and tea because your body is trying to get rid of all these toxins)

How did I feel?
Honestly? Fatigued. I took a nap between the yellow juice and the next green juice in order to get through the rest of the evening. I felt like I couldn't even walk up the stairs and I had a headache. I always feel this way on the second day of a cleanse, but never the first day. Perhaps the detox effects were hitting sooner than usual.

Day Two

I swear I sleep so well when I cleanse. My mom apologized for the ringing phone at 7 a.m., but I did not even hear it. My menu was the exact same as the day before.

How did I feel?
Still weak, but less fatigued. I find that I do get irritable in-between the juices, but I just try to take it easy and use these times as a reflection. No, I'm not hungry for food or anything, but I definitely miss the concept of cooking. I think I may bake something tomorrow just to satisfy my culinary cravings. Additionally, I took a bath, which really helped to relax me even more. If you have epsom salts, I'd definitely recommend putting those into your bath to help clear out the toxins. I'm definitely looking forward to the end of day 3 though!

Stay tuned to the blog if you want to see day 3 and the conclusion!!!

Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse Day 3

8am-My alarm was set of 10:45a.m., yet my body naturally woke me up after around nine hours of sleep. My stomach was definitely uncomfortable when rising out of bed, but after my morning restroom routine, I began to feel the positive effects of the cleanse. Yes, I'm still a little fatigued, but I feel light and refreshed. Of course I had to weight myself too. I had to reweigh myself five times because it kept saying I lost 2.5 pounds since yesterday. Nah...can't be right...just water weight. But I looked in the mirror and my abs were definitely on show and everything seems tighter. While the actual weight loss may only be water weight, I won't complain with the way I look or feel! I actually feel like I could extend this detox for days-I can't fathom consuming solids now and the shakes aren't a disgusting thought to me anymore (besides the kale). I'm starting to research how to break this liquid detox come tomorrow morning.

10:30am-Time for the morning shake! My body accepted the shake, as usual, since the breakfast one never gave me any problems. I felt no immediate surge of energy, but my head never felt clearer. My hair feels so soft and has an attractive sheen.

12:45pm-I wasn't too worried going into my bootcamp workout, but quickly realized that activities like high-knees were making me extremely dizzy. Regardless, I pushed through and I realized that I actually was moving very efficiently. I was running suicides faster than anyone else, which was a side effect of how light and nimble I was feeling.

2pm-My lunch shake was filling, but I accidentally forgot to add kale (thank the lord). The kale upsets my stomach anyway. I noticed my rate of production increased and I was able to participate in the lecture and discussion unlike ever before. Still tired, but definitely loving these positive symptoms.

Slurp, slurp, slurp.

6:30pm-Okay. So about this situation...watching all of my friends eating my favorite meal right now. I live in a sorority and my chef made veggie burgers, an amazing broccoli cole slaw side dish and a tempting pasta salad. My dinner? A mango, kale and blueberry smoothie with stupid lemon seeds in it because they fell into the blender-YUCK! I couldn't even finish it. I'm so done. DONE! I WANT OUT!!!!

My main concern is that tomorrow I will begin breaking the cleanse. Through extensive research, I've been told to return to normal eating habits very slowly. Day one should be very similar to day three, but adding fruit solids (uh oh...how am I supposed to drink?! #Collegestudentproblems). Day two allows for vegetable solids (a salad will never taste this good). Finally, day three finally invites the fats and grains that were absent for nearly a week. And for those who are meat eaters, meat can be consumed day four and seafood on day five (seafood is harder for the body to digest because it makes your body very acidic).

I plan on blogging the next few days for the reason I think cleanse recovery is equally as important to the cleanse itself and that not enough people blog about it.

Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse Day 1

After two weeks of nonstop stress, no sleep, eating crap due to greek sorority recruitment, I thought it was time to reset my body with this three day wholesome detox. It's not so much for losing weight as it is to feel better about my body, mind and soul (not to detract from the fact spring break is 5 weeks away!!).  I have intolerances to avocados and bananas, so I've eliminated them from the shakes. Additionally, I am a gluten free vegan, so my body may be more used to this type of plant based diet than others. 

At 10 a.m. yesterday morning, I ran to the grocery store with my roommate and spent $52 on all the necessities. The next few days I will write about how I feel throughout the detox in hopes it helps others deciding between trying it or not. 

3 days worth of juices.

Day 1
11am-I had my first shake (here is the link to all the recipes). It tasted good and I finished it under 10 minutes with all of my vitamins. I was incredibly full afterwards, which didn't surprise me. I felt strong and energetic, which masked the original grogginess I felt when waking up after eating poorly the day before. For some reason I was very giggly as well. 

12:45pm-Bootcamp class. I wasn't too worried about working out this early on in the cleanse, but I didn't want to push myself too hard. Overall, it was a fine workout, but I definitely was working up an appetite for shake number 2

2pm-After a quick shower, I blended up all the ingredients and quickly slurped down the second shake. It tasted good at first, but I am no beginner to green smoothie shakes. The kale is very overpowering so I recommend adding less than a cup at first. My body is very sensitive to foods, which is why one hour later I developed severe stomach cramps.They were so bad that when I was sitting in class and in my meetings, I seriously believed I was going to faint. I've experienced this feeling before when eating avocados and bananas, so I knew all I could do was to sit it out. The pain passed in an hour. Mentally, this had drained me to the point all I wanted was to sleep. I felt full still after my 5 pm class ended. So I skipped the snack smoothie recommended. I found my roommate passed out in bed. Fatigue definitely hit her hard, which is a side effect of detoxing. She found the green shake much harder to swallow than I did. 

6:30pm-Time for the dinner smoothie. Overall, this was my least favorite tasting smoothie. Perhaps it was due to the unbalanced flavors because I had to omit avocados. Additionally, I may have put too much cayenne pepper in the mixture. It was so spicy that all my sinuses were cleared within seconds. I started to feel energized and giddy again. My roommate on the other hand was miserable. She couldn't get her mind off of food and was on the verge of tears. I went off to a group meeting and she went to the Syracuse vs. Notre Dame basketball game (Cuse won!!). When we met back up a couple hours later, she had given up. My other friend doing the BluePrint cleanse also gave up as well (BluePrint is much more expensive than the Dr. Oz cleanse). Although I definitely was starting to get mentally slower, I still felt clear enough to pick up my friend, drive her to get froyo and watch her eat it without any misery. 

Dinner Shake...meh.

8pm-Ok, here is where I struggled the most. I always end up binge eating around this time of the day. No matter how well I eat during the morning to dinner, I always crash and burn before bed. So I made a cup of roobios tea and prepared myself for bed.

I had the deepest sleep I've had in a while. With constant insomnia, nightmares and restless sleep, this meant a lot to me. Overall, a successful first day! Not too hard!

Tune in tomorrow for day 2!!!

Best Finds

Since I tend to discover some crazy, random awesome things throughout my weekly ventures into the dense Internet forest, I compiled a list of MUST SEE sites for you. 

Hilarious:

Five Sex Moves Every 20-Something Should Know About

This article will literally have you ROFLing. You'll never expect what you're about to read.

Coolest:

Free Jewelry with Every Candle? COOL!

Diamond Candles just came up with the most girly (aka most amazing) idea ever. Room smell good, fingers look better.

Yummy:

How to Make Your Food Taste Unreal!!!

You put what on your what?!?! Oh, actually that is the most brilliant idea ever. 

Weird.:

Nobody Here...Just Me

Pretty much the most peculiar site I've ever spent over an hour on. Literally. Words can't explain.

Healthy:

Snacks Under 50 Calories

Ok, ok, I get it. I binge eat after dinner. Those leftovers and sweets just taste so much better after I stuff my face with dinner. Now you can be good, with all those bad intentions with these nomnoms.