We survived the three-day Pure Love Juice cleanses

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. Tucson Foodie paid for the cleanses and chose to share a personal experience with our readers to shed light on the body detox known as ‘cleansing.’

Three Tucson Foodie representatives (all female) each took on a Pure Love Juice three-day cleanse to debunk any cleanse myths and bring to light the struggles in an attempt to ease you into the cleansing process, should you wish to try it.

Pure Love Juice, located at 1980 E. River Rd. in St. Phillip’s Plaza, is a health and wellness bar that offers a variety of wholesome to-go menu options from wellness shots and smoothies to medicinal elixirs and veggie-packed bowls.

Lesser known fact: their juice cleanses are popular.

But why?

It’s all about the benefits. Juice cleanse benefits include hydration, a glowing complexion, increased mental clarity, and kick start healthy habits.

Our team of three chose to focus on three Pure Love Juice cleanses for this article (we each tried a different one to report back to you).

Pure Love Juice Cleanse options — Pure Love Juice Cleanses (Credit: Jackie Tran)

Tucson Foodie cleanses of choice

Kate Severino, our editor, took on the Raw Food Cleanse. This features five small ‘meals’ spread out throughout the day, including wholeness bowls and juices.

According to Marisol Casal, owner and founder of Pure Love Juice, “juice cleanse customers usually start with the raw food and then transition to a juice cleanse.” In other words, Severino took the “easiest” route.

Melissa Stihl, our content creator and Instagrammer, took on the Rainbow Cleanse. This cleanse is recommended for beginners as it has the highest number of calories of the juice cleanses, combines multiple fruits and vegetables over several days, and is an easier transition for those of us with a “normal active life,” as stated on the website.

Of the three, Jenn Teufel, our self-proclaimed catalyst, has had the most experience with juice cleanses, so it comes as no surprise that she braved the flames of the Fire Cleanse. This intermediate cleanse is designed for someone more experienced seeking out a challenge.

Equipped with our PLJ coolers, instruction guides, and more juices than we imagined drinking, we were ready to tackle the challenge. It’s highly likely that the guys in the office were making bets as to whether one (or all) of us would cave and sneak in a treat.

How it all works

Six mealtimes are allocated a juice, snack or meal (depending on your cleanse). You can spread them throughout the day; spacing them out by two to three hours is the norm.

The juices are prepared daily and “the plans are designed for the freshness of the food so you can play around with the order in which you eat [or drink] them,” said Casal.

Each juice cleanse has six juices in various colors, all labeled in the order in which they can be consumed. However, there’s flexibility in choosing which juice you start with and which comes next.

The Raw Food Cleanse begins with a smoothie followed by a juice, a wholeness bowl, a juice, and then a raw food meal and a juice. Chia seeds and nuts are sprinkled in there, too.

Tea and water should be consumed throughout the day — stay hydrated — and there are snack options should you need them.

First-hand experiences

Without further ado, here are our first experiences with the Pure Love Juice cleanses, the moments that challenged us, and our top tips to surviving a cleanse (plus bonus tips from the Pure Love Juice founder herself).

Kate

Blindly walking into a cleanse was not the smoothest move. I had never done one and wanted to learn from the ground up. I didn’t ask for help or what to expect — I wish that I had.

Day one, no problem. I drink smoothies for breakfast and I like vegetable-based meals. This is going to be a breeze.

Day two, however, was rough. I felt drained of energy and wanted to take a nap (at 11 a.m.). Editing content on the Tucson Foodie site with beautiful images of local meals, restaurant openings, and watching other coworkers bring in tacos with creamy slices of avocado and fresh pico de gallo was torture. We all (the cleansing buddies) sat there, juices in hand, glaring. I had never had so many cayenne-sprinkled drinks in such a small space of time.

Get past day two. That’s my advice; make a mental note.

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Day three will make you realize why you started — think rejuvenated. I even summoned the strength to workout post work. Super-charged, juice cleansing cape flying and all.

Post cleanse, when I mentioned that on day two I was weak with what I felt was a calorie deficiency, Casal promptly answered with, “well that’s common on the second day; your body has let go of what you ate before the cleanse and it has been flushed out.”

Oh, of course. I wish I had had a handy guide to walk me through all this beforehand. 😉

Cayenne and spicy things

Oh, and about the cayenne, Casal informed me that, “Cayenne is hot, which makes you sweat and accelerates your metabolism; it gets toxins out and is a natural cleanse in itself.”

Looks up from the computer and sprinkles cayenne on everything.

“Cayenne also lowers blood pressure and is a natural blood thinner,” Casal said. “My dad used it a lot when he was sick to assist with his blood pressure.”

Turmeric also makes a prominent appearance due to its anti-inflammatory properties. So, if you have any issues with these two superfoods (looks at Jenn and her turmeric allergy), let them know before picking up your juices/meals on day one.

Improve your experience

Something worthwhile to note: you can customize your plan. I opted for a dairy-free plan and Jenn is allergic to turmeric, so it was excluded.

If you read their menu and want to make meal suggestions, do it! If you need to drink your juice out of a wine glass or with a straw, there’s no judgment here. Better yet, do a cleanse with a friend — only they will be able to relate to you for those three days (only half-joking here).

Melissa

“First reaction to a Rainbow Cleanse from Pure Love Juice: excitement!

My juices were all brightly colored and opening my cooler bag was like opening a present on Christmas morning. Throughout day one, I was so excited to try each new juice – I even experimented by adding in chia seeds to change the texture. By the end of the first day, I was hungry but my excitement overruled it.”

Roughing it

“Day two was my most challenging day. I was hungry and although I felt good, I missed eating real food.

Each day of the Rainbow Cleanse has the same six juices (one Pure Green, two Pure Whites, one Pure Yellow, one Pure Orange, and one Pure Red), so the novelty of the different flavors and tastes had worn off at that point. I had strong opinions of which ones I liked (and was dreading). It’s a large volume of liquid to drink every day, and as someone who only really drinks water, coffee, and wine (most of the time), I found it was a lot to drink throughout the day.

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Having said that, it was a nice reset. It made me more conscious of what I was eating in the next few days following the cleanse.”

Top tips

“Invest in a reusable metal straw!

Having a straw to drink out of really helped me, especially with the chia seed juices.

Also, read the fine print.

One of the things that was “allowed” on my cleanse was half an avocado and half a cucumber per day. By day three, I wanted to chew on something with texture. It was so helpful to have that avocado and cucumber. But I had to plan ahead; I had to buy an avocado that was ripe in time for me to eat it. So, read what you’re allowed to have on your cleanse and plan ahead.”

Jenn

“I’m 52 and an experienced ‘cleanser.’ I also tend to eat a very small amount during the day, consuming the majority of my calories between 4 and 8 p.m.

My digestive tract had been feeling uneasy for about a week and I thought a true liquid cleanse with minimal sugars might help. Keeping that in mind, I chose the Fire Cleanse (three Pure Green juices, two Pure White juices, and one Pure Orange juice).”

It’s a mental challenge

“The first day was a bit of a challenge mentally. Because I was thinking about cleansing, I was thinking about the fact that I couldn’t eat. By the time late afternoon hit, my brain settled down, and I began to enjoy the feeling of lightness and energy. I carried that feeling with me for the next three days.

All three of the juices included were good. I enjoyed them on ice, especially the Pure White. The slightly sweet lemonade with a hit of cayenne invigorated me.

By the middle of the second day, my tummy troubles evaporated and I felt great for the rest of the cleanse.”

Do what works for you

“I started each day with a tall glass of water and some black tea. Technically, adding the black tea took me outside of the prescribed cleanse. I’ve learned over the years to listen to my body and my body wants some Earl Grey tea first thing in the morning. I’m doing the cleanse for me, and I know that I can always alter it to support my own needs. That mentality helps me move through the days happily without feeling deprived.

Mindset matters

The mental approach and consciousness make all the difference for me. I can convince myself that I am in food prison and am being deprived or I can decide that this is a gift I am giving to myself. When I make that shift, hunger becomes ephemeral and unimportant. Then the hunger and habit is lifted. Besides, I don’t dislike a feeling of mild hunger.

The lasting thought I walked away from this cleanse was this: be conscious of what you are consuming. That stayed with me for a while. It was a successful, well-balanced cleanse and I felt better for doing it.”

Summer Refreshing GIF by Jonathan L Reyes - Find & Share on GIPHY

There you have it — we survived, felt fantastic (physically and mentally) after three full days (not a lie), and after eating Sonoran Dogs for a week last week, we might just have to do another cleanse.

Four top juice cleanse tips from the master

I met with Casal post-cleanse to discuss the experience, low points, and triumphs. Our goal was to shed light on how to make this experience an easier transition. Her tips, from years of experience, were simple, helpful, and helped us to refocus (for round two, of course).

Eat clean

“You should eat clean the day before and after the cleanse because your body will feel it,” Casal emphasized.

This advice came from a post-cleanse bagel-eating experience that ended badly for her. Why bagels? Well, to celebrate the success of the cleanse, she laughed. That sick, heavy feeling after a body detox is not what the doctor ordered.

Remember why you are doing it

“The purpose of cleansing is to reboot your system and the point is to help you to eat healthily,” she said. “Maintaining healthy habits is your goal.”

Everyone reacts differently

“It’s different for everyone; some people have a ton of energy and others need to rest,” she said. “It’s up to your body to decide how you’re going to take it.”

Push through

“Juice cleanses need three days to flush out everything but at five days, you’ll feel a total body change,” said Casal. “The second day is the hardest. On the third day, it clicks mentally. You can then go on to do five.”

There you have it, folks, why stop at three when you can go for five?