Famefit

This morning I jumped out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed, which is highly unusual for me since I am never that peppy in the morning, but I was actually excited to start the Blueprint Cleanse. What is wrong with me?

I quickly down a tall glass of lukewarm water like I do everyday and wait for my package to arrive. Next is a cup of hot water with lemon to invigorate my system. Considering I am a huge tea drinker, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

10 a.m. Yay, Blueprint Cleanse arrives on my doorstep in a makeshift cooler that kept the juice ice cold. Included in the package are carry-along bags, perfect for toting your juices to work.

I unpack my colorful juice bottles and quickly notice the graham crackers next to the stove. I rarely have food cravings this early in the morning, and typically nurse a few cups of coffee until afternoon, but as soon as you cannot have something you are certain to notice and want it. I decide to banish myself from the kitchen for the next three days other than quick trips to the fridge and the tea kettle.

11:30 a.m. Down the hatch!

Juice #1 contains romaine, celery, cucumber, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley and lemon. I forced myself not to smell it before I took my first sip because the thought of drinking a salad terrified me. To my surprise, Green Juice isn’t that bad. The strong leafy flavor, with a heavy hit of celery, is drinkable due to the lemon flavor.

12 p.m. I take it back.

Each gulp is very filling, but after 30 minutes I still have half the bottle to go. I am already sick of the green juice, so I am chasing each sip of juice with peppermint tea to rid that taste in my mouth. Finally after 50 minutes, I finish juice #1.

1:30 p.m. Juice #2 is a blessed mix of pineapple, apple, and mint.

Like a refreshing cocktail on a warm day, this fruity blend is much easier to consume with a hint of mint. I could drink this all day!

3 p.m. The thought of consuming Juice #3 (the same formula as Juice #1) makes me sick.

But I hold my nose tight and chug the liquid salad as fast as I can. Anything I said earlier about this juice being anything short of gross is completely untrue.

4 p.m. With ¼ of the Green juice left I want to throw up.

I can’t get this taste out of my mouth. YUCK! The good thing is I am not hungry nor am I craving food, but I find myself on edge. Either its the green juice making me sick or my body crashing under the pressure of no food. TBD…

4:45 p.m. I have never peed so much in my entire life.

I am not taking once an hour, I am going FOUR times an hour. I guess that’s a good sign – flushing away the toxins.

Still no hunger pains, but when I went to the kitchen to make another cup of herbal tea, I saw the dark chocolate covered caramels and cried. I quickly covered up everything on the countertops with towels and lit a calming candle.

5:30 p.m. Juice #4 gives my taste buds a wake up call: filtered water, lemon, agave nectar, and cayenne.

At first sip, a refreshing lemonade-like taste fills your body and you are grateful you don’t have to drink salad again. Then the cayenne hits you and BAM! Your body is jolted awake by the spicy sensation.

I still don’t have food cravings and I am still peeing like crazy. However, in the last hour I’ve developed a bit of a headache and cold-like symptoms so I am going to relax and read for a few hours.

6:15 p.m. I could kill my husband!

Sean has the nerve to cook a savory pizza in the kitchen. The scrumptious aroma  fills my office, where I am finishing my hearty lemon & cayenne juice. This could be the breaking point.

I can’t bear to walk downstairs, where the aroma will surely break me down, so I text Sean and ask him to stop. His response, “Didn’t you realize I’d still be eating during this time?” Point taken. But he takes pity on me and agrees to bring me the remaining juices so I can avoid the kitchen all-together.

8 p.m. Holy hell, what did I get myself into?

One sip of Juice #5 and I am ready to call it quits. The mixture of carrot, apple, beet and ginger is a tough one to drink and even tougher to hold down. I take a sip and gag. The only thing keeping me going right now is the thought of Juice #6, which is a tasty treat. So I plug my nose and down the juice in less than 4 minutes.

Afterwards, I go back to reading US Weekly’s Fitness Issue to see what I have to look forward to.

9:30 p.m. Finally, time for Juice #6 which I’ve been waiting for all day.

The cashew nut milk with vanilla bean, cinnamon and agave nectar is pure heaven. I drink the delicious dessert in record time, relieved that I have successfully completed my first day without breaking the cleanse.

Day 1 wasn’t brutal, but it wasn’t enjoyable either. Around dinner-time, I felt cold-like symptoms and was freezing, but a cup of hot tea and a warm blanket did the trick. The thing I am most surprised about is my lack of food cravings. Although food was on my mind all day, and appeared to be everywhere I looked, never did I feel the need to chew on something. The six juices were pretty filling, even if I didn’t like the taste of most of them, and constant hydration helped me stay alert. If I felt like I might fade, a cup of hot peppermint tea did the trick.

It’s rare that I tuck in before midnight, but tonight I am putting myself out of my misery and going to bed now. I’ll be dreaming of healthy skin, a lean body and waking up energetic.

To be continued…

My New Years resolutions often involves broken commitments, so I rarely bother making them. But taking better care of myself has been on my mind for some time, and ringing in a new decade gave me the swift kick in the ass I needed to commit to some sort of change.

Ushering in 2010, I studied my photo albums and reminisced over the past ten years. When Y2K arrived, I was on a boat off the Gulf of Mexico enjoying the sand and surf. Since then my life has been full of exciting adventures and fabulous times, however looking over the photos it’s clear that my girlish figure is not what it once was. I could stand to loose a few pounds, but my main priority is overall good health. I love yoga, long walks and meditation, and feeling strong is the most important thing to me. Determined to start 2010 on the right foot, I signed up for a 3-day BluePrint Cleanse, which will arrive on my doorstep Tuesday morning. This is where the fun begins.

Considering that I am half Italian and half Greek, it’s obvious that food is a major part of my life. I’ve never been one to turn down a cookie, pasta Bolognese, or steak, and nothing makes me happier than the enjoyment of a good meal with a fine bottle of wine. Part of my family life has been spent in the kitchen, where we’d gather in droves to chat while filling our bellies with Mom’s delicious delights. So the thought of not consuming an ounce of food for the next 72-hours is pure crazy for someone like me.

My friend Amy turned me on to juice cleanses last year after she tried BluePrint Cleanse to jump-start her fitness regimen. As a testament to her happiness with the product, she started her third BluePrint Cleanse on New Years Day (brave girl). I’d read about Blueprint in a number of my favorite magazines (Vogue, US Weekly, People, Star, Time Out NY, and W to name a few) and had always been impressed by their devoted celebrity clientele such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr. Amy’s enthusiasm and positive feedback was all I needed to ease my concerns as I forked over $85 per day to rid my body of toxins.

I selected a Level 1, three day Renovation Cleanse, referred to as “a gateway cleanse,” which is ideal for beginners like myself. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about cleanses with such severe side effects that friends would be locked in a bathroom for days, but the Renovation Cleanse is supposed to have just enough fat and calories to curb your side effects, while providing you with more energy, stable moods, increased productivity; normalized weight, clearer skin and fewer “detox” symptoms.

The daily menu consists of six juices that must be taken in this order:

1)      Green Juice (Not excited about this)

2)      Pineapple, Apple, Mint (Interesting)

3)      Green Juice (Again?)

4)      Spicy Lemonade (Hmmm)

5)      Carrot, Apple, Lemon, Ginger, Beet (I HATE beets)

6)      Cashew Nut Milk (Yummy)

Blueprint featured in US Weekly

The only suggestion made regarding when to consume the juice is to wait at least one hour between drinks and to finish the last beverage at least two hours before you sleep. Also recommended is a cup of room temperature or lukewarm filtered water, with fresh squeezed lemon to hydrate the body. In addition, I can as drink as much herbal tea and water as I like.

On Monday night I prepared myself for the cleanse, which meant cutting down on the delicious indulgences and phasing out the naughty things I eat daily. Preparation for me meant 2 large cups of coffee instead of my 1 regular cup, a BLT for lunch and a bowl of shredded wheat for dinner. As I savored each bite, it felt like the last supper and I had to keep reminding myself that it’s only three days. Three-long-days…

With my kitchen stocked with healthy food, and anything considered indulgent either hidden or thrown out, I settled into bed with a cup of herbal tea and a bottle of hibiscus juice. Just in case, I’ve cleared my calendar for the week if some type of unforeseen side effects do result, but the weird thing is I am actually excited.

I’ve heard great stories about individuals who complete a juice cleanse with a greater sense of energy, so I am hoping the end results will make it all worth it. I am not looking forward to the beet juice, but I am willing to suck it up in the name of fitness.

Check back everyday as I report on my experience with the BluePrint Cleanse. Be prepared for the good, bad, and ugly.