My Juice Nashville Experience
While I was on maternity leave back in February, Netflix and I became very well acquainted. One of the best discoveries I made during that time was the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, the story of an overweight Australian man that went on a 60-day juice fast to take control of his life. The movie was fascinating, uplifting, inspiring. And it made me curious.
Was there something to this juicing thing?
Watch this extended trailer for Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead:
I will start by saying that prior to watching this documentary I had never given much thought to juicing. Sure, I’d heard of fad diets for weight loss (like the grapefruit juice diet my college roommate attempted to do) and cleanses (the master cleanse another friend swears by), but never once had I ever considered doing any of them myself. But thanks to Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, I started to view juicing not as a trendy thing, or just a quick road to weight loss, but instead a very smart way to fill your body with a massive dose of nutrients from fruits and vegetables.
Enter Juice Nashville. I knew people who had done the 3-day cleanse and loved it, others that did it and were miserable. Earlier this summer I finally had a chance to meet Stephanie, the owner, at the West Nashville Farmers’ Market, and I purchased my first juice. The “Oh Yeah”, a mixture of apple, kale, collards, and lemon, was not only delicious, but made me feel like a million bucks!
That first taste sealed the deal. I knew I wanted to attempt the 3-day cleanse. Unfortunately, between traveling for my job this summer and all of the food-related events I was committed to, it was a couple of months before I actually had a stretch of time that I could fit it in.
Finally, in early August, my calendar miraculously had 4 days straight with NOTHING on it! I hopped online and ordered my cleanse.
Now let me be clear- I am not suggesting that any of you do this. I’m simply going to share my experience for those of you that may be curious. I am by no means a medical professional, so please do your own research before embarking on a cleanse yourself!
Juice Nashville 3 Day Cleanse
Day 1
I started my cleanse on a Sunday, with what seemed the most breakfast-like of the juices, “C Ya”, which is made up of apple, orange, grapefruit, and ginger. By noon I still wasn’t even really hungry, but since I knew I had 4 more juices to get through for the day, I forced myself to do lunch, which was a “Whoa” and almond water. I should mention that before each of these, I also chugged down 8 oz of water, which I’m sure was part of the reason I felt so full.
On this afternoon I made dinner to deliver to our friends that just had a baby, plus cooked up some sausage to put in my husband’s egg muffins for the week. I will admit that even though I wasn’t really hungry, it still took every ounce of willpower I had to not take a few nibbles of that sausage!
To keep my mouth occupied and my mind off that sausage, I drank about half a bottle of “Snap” (apple, carrot, ginger).
Early that evening, we went over to our friends’ to see the baby and deliver the food, and towards the end of our visit, around 7 pm, I actually started feeling a bit light -headed and nauseous. I blame myself completely for this turn of events, because I’m confident that it was just because I hadn’t gotten enough juices in me at that point. When we got back home, I immediately downed the rest of the “Snap” and a little over half an “Oh Yeah”. After that, I felt completely fine and not at all hungry.
End of Day 1 = 3 + 2/3 juices + 1 almond milk
My “beet milkshake”
Day 2
Started the day with 8 oz of water and a “C Ya”. By 1 pm, I was starting to feel a little hungry, so I grabbed the “I Heart Carrots”, the juice I never got around to on Day 1. That plus 8 oz of water was lunch, and I was satisfied.
Mid-afternoon for a snack, I combined a little almond milk with the “Whoa”. Eureka! This was like drinking a milkshake. A beet milkshake! I was on to something. While I actually enjoyed most of the juices and didn’t really have trouble drinking any of them, I know some people might have a tough time with that beet juice.
Problem solved. Add a little almond milk and it becomes a smooth, creamy delight!
Dinner was the “Oh Yeah” and later in the evening I drank a little bit of the “Snap”, again mixing in some almond milk for another milkshake. You may think I’m crazy, but I swear this one tasted like a dreamsicle! So yummy!
End of Day 2 = 4 juices + 1 almond milk
Mommy and Baby’s green breakfast. Peas for him and an Oh Yeah juice for me!
Day 3
By Day 3 I was really in the groove and not missing food at all. Now that I’d discovered “milkshakes”, I started experimenting with mixing other juices with the almond milk. In fact, on this last day, I didn’t drink any of the almond milk completely on its own, instead putting a little bit in practically each juice I had that day.
I won’t bore you by going through the order of what I had all day long, but will tell you that this final day is the only day that I drank all 5 juices plus the almond milk. It wasn’t because I was hungrier than the other days, it was really more out of boredom. My mouth was starting to miss chewing.
End of Day 3 = 5 juices + 1 almond milk
This is no lie: When I woke up on the morning after the cleanse, I found myself craving another juice – not food!
I absolutely loved doing this. Besides that one moment late in the first day, I felt energized, alert, and focused the entire time. Now the big question that people keep asking – Did I lose weight? Yes, I lost 5 lbs. However, thanks to a series of food related activities, a week later I had gained back 4 of them. Luckily I wasn’t doing this to lose weight, so I didn’t care. I still felt better than I have in months!
In fact, I felt so great and loved it so much that just 3 weeks after doing my first one, I was back on Juice Nashville’s website ordering my 2nd 3-day cleanse that I just completed a few days ago! I don’t own a scale, instead I only weigh myself at the gym, and I didn’t do so right before or after doing this latest cleanse, so I can’t say for sure how much weight I lost, but I can definitely tell by the way my jeans fit that I did lose some.
Again, I want to stress that this is only my experience, and you may not have the same results or enjoy it as much as I did, but at the very least, check out what Juice Nashville has to offer by visiting their website, following them on Twitter or becoming a fan on Facebook. Go buy one or two juices to start. Maybe it’ll make you want to try the cleanse like it did to me. If you do, please be sure to let me know what you think!
Great post! I agree that when I juice, my body craves it. It’s like it’s saying “Thank you” as it absorbs all the yummy nutrients!
-Liza
I have wanted to order their juices so many times, but the website is confusing. I don’t understand how you tell them to deliver it. I have left messages for them but never get a call back. I will keep trying to figure it out, because I really want to try this!
Hi Regna, I can’t speak for the delivery aspect, because I picked mine up both times at the West Nashville Farmers’ Market. However, I’m pretty sure that once you go through the payment process it asks you for your delivery or pick up information. Have you gotten all the way through the payment screen?
Also, I’m surprised you didn’t hear back. I had one slight issue with one of my orders, and sent an email via their contact form and heard back pretty quickly. Maybe try that instead of calling? Good luck!
i’ll come forward as one of the ‘miserable’ folks you referred to! i attempted a three-day cleanse, and even included some raw veggies & fruits. i was hungry, cranky, tired & lightheaded. however, i’m determined to give it another try. it’s sheer coincidence that i started a one-day juice cleanse this morning! so far, so good. i think one day is much more my style. got the beets out of the way first. ;)
Hey Amanda, I know you mentioned that it wasn’t the Juice Nashville 3-day cleanse that you did, so I’m not sure if maybe that had something to do with it? I’ve heard that the cold-press process she uses is THE best way to extract the most nutrients. Perhaps the juices you were drinking weren’t the nutritional powerhouses mine were??? ;-)
Good luck with the 1-day cleanse today!
Beth – Thanks for such a fantastic write-up! I love the almond milk suggestion (very creative!)
Regna – I am so sorry that you have had a hard time reaching us! Two weeks ago, we switched over to a brand new website to help make the user experience easier. We are still working hard to make the site super user friendly.
Regarding the no call back – our phone lines were impacted by some issues with the local cable lines. Sounds like you may have been caught in the middle! Feel free to give me a call on my cell phone and I would be so happy to help :) (615) 714-7826
Stephanie – juice. Nashville
Thanks Beth for writing about this! I saw the trailer on Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead last week from another food blogger and it got me wanting to do a juice cleanse. I just ordered my cleanse kit from Juice Nashville and I’m super excited. I’ve been eating terrible this summer and my body is crying out to me to stop. This will be a good boost. Thanks again!!
I KNEW you’d like it. I’m so proud of you :) I loved it and can’t wait to do it again. I agree, by the end of day 3 I just wanted to freaking chew on something. Maybe for Round 2 I’ll e add carrots or celery sticks. I need to put something in my stomach since I have a low tolerance for acid in the citrus. The almond milk helped me out a lot too.
Steph rocks :)
This makes me want to buy a juicer. Are you going to get one?
Hmmm, You have me thinking :)
Beth you inspired me! I just started today, and am enjoying a C’Ya at this moment. Had a bit of a time with the carrot juice (and i”ll be honest, I did have 1/4th cup of black coffee this morning) but I am determined to give this a try. Especially before I blow it all at the Cheese Festival this weekend.
I loved reading this blog. I am on day 1 of the Nashville Juice 3 day fast and so far so good! I work out and eat healthy, no processed foods, etc, but have had a really hard time losing weight. I’m hoping this will give me the jump start I need! Love all the juices so far. I have a bit of an obsession with food, so hoping I can hold out for all 3 days! Love the milk idea and adding it into the juices. Thanks!