Juice Cleanse Day 2, Carrot Juice Recipe

This is my recap for Day 2 of my 10-Day Juice Cleanse!

For those of you just joining me now:

• Juice Cleanse Intro
• Juice Cleanse Day 1

Get my juice recipes in one easy, printable PDF!

Realization: Juicing kind of takes awhile – to prep the ingredients, make the juices and clean the juicer. The past couple of days I’ve just been walking to the store down the street in the morning, getting the produce and coming back home to make the juice, but I think I can start buying a couple of days worth of produce at a time so I reduce the time in the morning spent on getting this stuff prepared. The morning walk is nice, though.

So..Day 2 – I definitely had a headache for most of the day. I think it’s because of no caffeine. I really don’t drink a ton of caffeine anyway, but I usually start my day with a mug or 2 of yerba mate. So I think my headache is a withdrawal from cutting that out.

In the early part of the day I was able to get some work done productively, but by the afternoon I started to feel like it was hard to concentrate. I went to visit a friend at her apartment, brought some juice and coconut water, and hung out on her couch for a bit – that was great. I had a work phone call at 6pm, and I was feeling pretty drained – it was tough for me to contribute anything creative to the conversation. I planned to go to a yoga class in the evening, but I didn’t feel up to it — so I did some yoga at my apartment for about 20 mins, which was perfect.

I drank about 60 ounces of juice. I had about 36 oz of green juice and 24 oz of carrot juice (recipe below). Aside from that, LOTS of water, detox tea, and coconut water.

I was really hungry in the evening. I watched the Bachelor premiere (my guilty pleasure, what can I say) and there were a million food commercials (I don’t have DVR or anything to skip them). I don’t usually find fast food commercials appetizing, but get me on a cleanse and all of a sudden I find myself saying “mmmm!” out loud to a chicken nugget. Ha.

I have to admit, though, the thing I’m craving most is Brussels sprouts. Seriously. My friend Gabby made these amazing roasted Brussels sprouts on New Years Eve, and I can’t stop thinking about them. Once I get back on cooked foods, I’m making them immediately.

Day 2 stats:

Energy level: Pretty level in the morning. Head a headache for most of the afternoon. By 3pm started feeling a little spacey, hard to concentrate on computer stuff. Evening was pretty low energy, stayed in and relaxed.
Exercise: 20 mins yoga at my apartment, about 30 mins walking outside
Sleep: I actually slept pretty well last night! I was pretty hungry when I went to bed and it took me a little while to fall asleep, but once I was asleep I slept through the night.
Weight difference since Day 1: 4.2 lbs (I think this is due to the fact that I started this cleanse right after the holidays and a few days (err…weeks) of indulging in foods I don’t normally eat. if I had started this cleanse during a time when I was practicing my regular eating habits, the weight difference wouldn’t be so dramatic right away)
$ spent today on juice ingredients: $20.06
Feeling: Ok, but low energy . Questioning the whole 10 day thing, but I committed to it, so I’m gonna try to follow through!

Carrot Juice Recipe
Makes 16-20 oz juice, depending on juicer and produce size

• 3 organic carrots
• 2 organic apples
• 1/2 a lemon
• 1 small piece of ginger

I thought this juice was delicious! Again, I multiplied this recipe to make more juice.

Get my juice recipes in one easy, printable PDF!

Oh…by the way. A note on cleanses, if you’re considering one. A friend reminded me today that people should ease into juice cleanses and not do something spontaneous without doing any research or listening to their own bodies. And that it’s good to try eating whole, unprocessed foods with juice and smoothies for a few days before you jump into juicing. YES. I totally agree. I’m grateful to be able to share that reminder, especially since I know some of you out there are contemplating juicing for the first time. Going on a juice cleanse is totally a personal decision, and one you might want to talk to your doctor about, too… 

I recommend everyone out there listen to their own body and intuition – and if you are on a cleanse and you aren’t having fun with it and you feel terrible and can’t deal….EAT SOMETHING! :) It’s not the end of the world if you can’t get through a cleanse without eating. One time I tried to do a ONE DAY cleanse and I just couldn’t handle it, so I ate dinner. This was recently, too. I just wasn’t mentally or physically prepared for it and I didn’t feel good. So I ate. And I felt better. I always tell people that if they aren’t excited to commit to a cleanse, they shouldn’t do it. I actually get psyched on this crazy stuff. If you’re one of those people who says “I could NEVER do a cleanse! That would be so hard!” you probably shouldn’t. :)

So be gentle with yourself! And do your research. And listen to your body. And…thanks for following along on my journey!

So here I am on Day 3. Usually, Day 3 is where my cleanses end. So pushing through the next day or 2 will be crucial. From my experience, and from what most people tell me that once you get to day 4 or 5 you’re feeling pretty magical. The first couple of days are always the hardest. I know this.

I might try to go on a jog today. We’ll see how that goes. And I am going to try to make CILANTRO JUICE. Yep!!! If it works out, the recipe will be shared in tomorrow morning’s recap.

Comment below if you want to share any cleanse experiences. I love hearing them!