So here I am, morning of Day 5 of my 10-day cleanse. Wow! I can’t believe after today I’ll be halfway done.
If you’re just joining me now:
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Day 4 recap: I had a tough time waking up on Day 4 after not sleeping well the night before. I noticed how hungry I had been throughout the night, and had a realization – I might want to incorporate a little bit of almond milk.
So here’s the deal. I know almond milk isn’t fruit or vegetable juice. BUT, I’ve had delicious nut milks on other cleanses before (Blueprint, Cooler Cleanse, Organic Avenue) – so I figured a little homemade almond milk wouldn’t hurt as long as I didn’t overdo it. So I made some fresh homemade almond milk. Recipe is below! In the morning I put some raw organic almonds into water to soak so I could make the milk in the evening.
So, anyway, I started Day 4 with a huge coconut water to get some potassium and hydration, and I felt a little better after that.
Then I made 32oz of the green juice I drank on Day 1, drank about half of it, and I all of a sudden felt a lot more awake and energized. I got some work done in the morning and then went to a yoga class at 12pm, which felt awesome. The class included a long meditation, which felt super trippy since I’m on a cleanse. I walked out feeling amazing.
I came home, drank the rest of the green juice and did some more work for a couple of hours, and then felt an energy slump. I really wanted to get some toxins out of my system, so I went to the Russian/Turkish baths, which has a bunch of steam rooms and saunas. I probably spent an hour going from sauna to cold shower to steam room to cold shower and just rotating, sweating buckets and drinking tons of water. I left feeling like I was walking on air!! It was so necessary.
Before the saunas, since I was out in the city, I got a 17oz green juice from the Juice Press. It was called “Mother Earth” – celery, cucumber, parsley, kale, dandelion, swiss chard, lemon and ginger.
I really wasn’t feeling that hungry.
In the evening, I drank about 1/2 a cup of the almond milk, which was really satisfying. The rest is in the fridge for me to drink over the next couple of evenings.
Oh. So I also got a skin brush to get rid of more toxins….and I have to figure out how to use it. My skin is super sensitive so I got a gentle one.
I also drank a yogi tea “get regular” tea at night just to make sure things were flowing correctly, and I woke up today, Day 5, with a massive stomach ache. Eek. Probably because I used 2 teabags. It did work though, aside from giving me a stomach ache.
Day 4 stats:
Energy level: Low in the morning until I got some juice into my system. In the evening, my energy was the highest it’s been for the entire cleanse! Bye toxins!
Exercise: 90 minute open-level vinyasa yoga class – felt great
Sleep: I didn’t have trouble sleeping due to hunger (thank you almond milk!) but my dreams were SO extremely vivid that I woke up feeling sort of exhausted – like I had just done a ton of crazy stuff and seen tons of people from my past and had bizarre experiences, rather than waking up feeling rested. So weird. I’ve had vivid dreams on cleanses before, and I know it’s a common cleanse “symptom.” I wonder why?? I’m going to have to look that up.
Weight difference since Day 1: 6.2 lbs
$ spent today on juice ingredients: $34.22 (included organic almonds and juice stuff for Day 5 too)
Feeling: Emotions were low & cranky in the morning, but after the yoga and steam room/sauna trip I felt happy throughout the afternoon and evening. Food really wasn’t even a thought. Mentally still feeling a little spacey as far as concentration goes.
Get my juice recipes in one easy, printable PDF!
Almond Milk Recipe
makes about 2 cups of almond milk
- 1 cup almonds
- 3 cups water
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 dates
Soak almonds for 8 hours. Add almonds, water, vanilla, cinnamon and dates to blender (I used a Vitamix) and blend until smooth.
Strain through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth until all the liquid is out. Do what you want with the leftover pulp. I didn’t save it, since I’m not gonna be eating for awhile.
I doubled the recipe and it ended up making about a full 32-oz jar of almond milk! It ended up being very yummy (not too sweet). It made me feel more full and really helped me to get to sleep without feeling hungry. Win!
Now it’s the morning of Day 5 and I finally feel really confident that I can get through the 10 days. Food is like so whatever to me now. Ha. No, but seriously, I am excited about making new juices and feeling cleaner and better every day.
Today’s agenda is a spicy juice, so expect that recipe tomorrow morning. I was gonna make it on Day 4, but I ended up doing the almond milk instead.
How’s everyone doing? Cleanse updates? I know there are a lot of ups and downs.
It’s a crazy challenging learning experience. Sending everyone else out there on a cleanse lots of love and support. xo
Ali says
Hi Jenny! Day 3 I felt like the fog finally cleared and I had pretty good energy. I made the mistake of spending too much time in the house which makes the day feel so long. But, I went to bikram in the evening which felt really wonderful. After class, I had a kombucha and decided to break the fast with a slice of tomato and peanut butter. It was maybe the best thing I have ever eaten. This morning I went for a 5.5 mile run and had a smaller portion of my normal breakfast. Probably not the best move as my stomach was not happy but it was so delicious. Do you have any recommendations for breaking the fast? Good luck on half-way through the cleanse!
jenny sansouci says
Hey Ali! Congrats on finishing your cleanse!!! I would recommend doing a day or 2 on just fruits and veggies after a cleanse. That will help ease your system back into eating. I plan to do just fruits and veggies, raw and cooked, for a few days after mine is over. Soups, smoothies and juices are great too! Thanks so much for checking in and letting me know how it went. I loved hearing about it!
Hannah says
Hey Jenny! So I’m now on Day 4 and feel AH-mazing! The interesting part is I actually came down with a cold on the 2nd day (I haven’t had a cold in over a year!) What has been going around has lasted most people over a week and the virus had been going respitory. After two days of juicing since my symptoms started my sinuses are almost completely clear and my sore throat is completely gone. My roommate is still sufferering however. So she is going to make her first juice tomorrow:) Can’t wait to hear what you think about Foodmatters when you get a chance to watch it!
shanna says
jenny, sounds like you are doing great and the almond milk sounds delicious! May I suggest enemas as part of your detox? It will help tremendously and make you feel better quickly.
Also, here’s an article my Mom wrote on skin brushing, Hope it helps!
http://www.squidoo.com/dry-skin-brushing
Ellen says
Hi Jenny,
I’ve really enjoyed following you on your cleanse! I’ve tried cleansing myself a couple of times but have not done as well as you seem to be doing. Any tips for beginner cleansers? I think one of my main problems is jumping in too quickly without a few days of veggies-only to prepare myself. I also work a 9-5 job at an office and I find that my hunger level during the first day or two of the cleanse always makes it difficult to concentrate. Any advice?
jenny sansouci says
Hannah – thanks for the update & congrats on inspiring your roommate:)
Shanna – that article is SUPER helpful – thank you!!
Ellen- The first couple of days are the worst! I’d suggest picking a weekend where you can relax and start your cleanse on a Friday or Saturday. That way, by Monday at work, the worst will hopefully be over. Good luck! Also, check out this link for lots of different beginning cleanse options.
Amber says
Congrats on your cleanse, you did AMAZING!!! Your almond milk looked so delicious I tried to make it today. I had a really tough time getting the milk through the cheese cloth. I ended up using a small mesh strainer and forcing the milk through and rinsing the pulp out every time. There must be a magic way to get the milk out that is much easier that I am not aware of, right?? =)
jenny sansouci says
Amber, yes, there is a better way. :) I’ll tell you my secret as long as you don’t judge…
a sock.
seriously! a new, clean sock. works 10x better than a cheesecloth!
Judi says
Very creative!! Havent thought of using a sock! I use a hemp bag I picked up from the health food store…works great!!
Amber says
No judgement here! I am definitely buying a pack of socks and will give that a try! Thanks!!
jenna says
I LOVE the sock thing, but what type of sock?? Thanks!
jenny sansouci says
any type, really!
Jenna says
I’m doing Joe’s Reboot right now and I’m just finishing my 4th day. Thanks for documenting your journey! This is very helpful.
cal says
why dates?