My 3 Day Juice Cleanse Results: How to Master Your Cleanse

Have you been on the fence about trying a juice cleanse?

Maybe you’ve been stuck in a rut and need a way to re-focus on your health and wellness routine. Or maybe a friend of yours has tried it and now you want to see what a juice cleanse can do for you.

There are so many health claims made on the Internet about these juice cleanses that I was intrigued enough to try one myself. Also, being a naturally curious health coach, sometimes I like experimenting just for the sake of experimenting.

My 3 day juice cleanse results might not be the same as your results. But hopefully some of the tips and tricks I learned will help you get through your own juice cleanse. Here you’ll find out how to complete a juice cleanse and reap as many health benefits as possible (mentally, physically or otherwise).

What is a 3 Day Juice Cleanse?

Juice cleanses (sometimes called a juice fast or a juice detox) have been popular for a while. When I first heard about them, I dismissed them as just another health fad. After all, there are other healthy ways to lose weight, if that’s what you’re after.

And yes, you will lose weight on a juice cleanse because your caloric intake will be very low. But keep in mind that once you start back to eating solid foods again, you’ll probably gain that weight back.

I think one of the main potential benefits of juice cleanses isn’t the weight loss. A lot of people try them for improved focus. You might want to re-focus on your health and wellness journey. Or you might use a juice cleanse as a way to take a step back and re-examine your eating habits.

You’ll hear a lot of buzzwords used when you read stuff online about juice “detox diets.” You’ll hear claims about:

Most of those claims are B.S. The real benefits come from juicing AND eating a relatively healthy diet. You most likely won’t see any of these benefits in a short-term juice cleanse.

Especially when you hear claims about “flushing out toxins.” That magical, mystical word is so over-used. “Gotta flush out the toxins!” If you have a functioning liver, you don’t need to worry about flushing out any toxins with a juice.

I also find it fascinating that when companies talk about these toxins, no one can say exactly what they’re referring to.

Anyway, sorry for the rant! Let’s get back to talking about juicing.

The “rules” of a juice cleanse vary. Some companies advise that you have nothing else but their juices. Other companies encourage you to eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as you’d like. One thing they all have in common is that they all talk about improved energy and focus.

I did a ton of research before deciding to do a 3 day juice cleanse. I ended up choosing Raw Generation’s 3 day lower sugar juice cleanse.

I decided to go with this company for a few reasons.

Why I Chose Raw Generation

Juice cleanses are not cheap. You might be able to catch a great sale but on average, you’re going to be spending around $100 or more for a 3 day juice cleanse.

So with that price tag, you want a juice cleanse from a company that stands by their product (a rarity these days).

You Can Eat Solid Food (Even Potatoes!)

Unlike other juice cleanses, Raw Generation actually advocates for eating solid food while on the cleanse.

Of course, they don’t tell you to eat anything and everything. Processed foods obviously aren’t on the menu. But whole fruits and vegetables (mostly raw) are okay to eat.

What sold it to me was when I saw steamed sweet potatoes and white potatoes on their list of solid foods.

Finally! A health and wellness company that wasn’t demonizing potatoes. Potatoes get such a bad rap from people who are afraid of carbs in all forms.

Potatoes can be part of a healthy diet as long as you’re not loading them up with cheese, sour cream, and bacon on a daily basis.

Give me some roasted gold potatoes with a little olive oil and salt and I’m in heaven.

One little caveat though is that while you’re on the cleanse all you can add to your potato is salt. Kind of sad but when you’re hungry, that potato will taste amazing.

You’ll Have More Calories Per Day

Raw Generation’s 3 day lower sugar juice cleanse has more calories than most other cleanses on the market. If you decide to go with this cleanse, you’ll be consuming a total of 1,030 calories.

That’s way lower than the calories you should be eating on a daily basis. But for a juice cleanse that only lasts 3 days, that’s a decent amount.

I came across some juice cleanses that were only about 800 calories per day. If you’re like me and don’t like restricting calories at all, alarm bells would have started ringing. I wanted to mostly stick to juicing. So a cleanse with calories that low would leave me ridiculously hungry and in need of a full meal.

The calories are higher with Raw Generation’s lower sugar cleanse because 2 of the drinks included are actually smoothies. The smoothies have nuts and seeds in them for a healthy source of fat. My favorite one was the Vanilla Greens. That smoothie was so good, I was tempted to order a pack of them.

There’s also 47 grams of protein per day in the Raw Generation lower sugar cleanse. I wasn’t concerned about losing muscle mass in just 3 days. But at the same time, I didn’t want to consume little to no protein 3 days in a row.

Raw Generation Uses Simple Ingredients

The most significant thing that made me choose Raw Generation is the fact that all of their ingredients are simple. They use ingredients like apple, celery, lemon, spinach, and dates instead of added sugar. You know, fruits and vegetables that you’d include in a regular diet.

I wanted to be able to re-create the flavors of the juices at home if I wanted to, without having to go out of my way to any special “health food” stores. Also, I’m a firm believer that your health and wellness shouldn’t involve hunting down any pricey or hard-to-find ingredients.

A lot of other juice cleanses had things like sea buckthorn, maca root powder, and all these other specialty products. You don’t need any pricey “superfoods” to be healthy. Besides, I like sticking to ingredients that I know my body knows how to handle.

What to Do Before Your Juice Cleanse

Before you start your juice cleanse, there are a few general guidelines that you should follow.

Basically, you want to keep your diet as healthy as possible about 3-5 days before starting the cleanse.

I’ve read a lot of horror stories online (and I’m sure you have too). These horror stories described in detail the terrible side effects that some people experienced while on a cleanse. Explosive diarrhea, headaches, cramping, and any other gastrointestinal issue out there.

If you want to make it less likely that you’ll have any issues, make sure you’re eating a fiber-rich, healthy diet beforehand.

You’re probably looking to drop a few pounds while on your juice cleanse. If you want sustainable weight loss that lasts beyond a few days, you’re going to have to make some healthy changes to your eating habits anyway.

So you might as well start now.

What I Ate Before My Juice Cleanse

Full disclosure: Before starting my cleanse, I didn’t eat as strictly as Raw Generation suggested. They suggested that you stay away from gluten, alcohol and animal products.

I didn’t drink alcohol. But I didn’t bother avoiding gluten since gluten doesn’t bother me anyway. Also, I normally eat mostly plant-based. When I do eat meat, it’s usually in small amounts. (Unless I’m in the mood for one of my husband’s burgers).

Since I don’t count calories or portion out my food, I just recorded an estimate of the amount I ate. I also kept track of my water and coffee intake.

If you love coffee like me, it’s easy to go overboard. If that’s the case, you can use a smaller mug. That way you can have multiple cups throughout the day without your consumption getting out of hand.

Monday Before the Cleanse

Tuesday Before the Cleanse

Wednesday (The Day Before the Cleanse)

What I Ate During My Juice Cleanse

Raw Generation’s lower sugar juice cleanse comes with 4 juices and 2 smoothies. I drank all 6 drinks each day. You can drink them in any order that you want.

Thursday (Day 1 of the Cleanse)

Here is everything I ate or drank in addition to the 6 drinks included in the cleanse.

Friday (Day 2 of the Cleanse)

Here is everything I ate or drank in addition to the 6 drinks included in the cleanse.

Saturday (Day 3 of the Cleanse)

Here is everything I ate or drank in addition to the 6 drinks included in the cleanse.

Results of My 3 Day Juice Cleanse

I didn’t go on this cleanse just to see how much weight I could lose. Of course, when you’re eating such a small amount of food, you’re going to experience rapid weight loss.

But my primary goal was to investigate how it would make me feel. I read a lot of different accounts online about other people’s experiences.

The bottom line? Everyone is different so the symptoms/side effects will be different.

Since rapid weight loss is what typically occurs, I was curious to know how my body would react.

I weighed myself on an empty stomach the first day of the cleanse. I weighed 173.2 pounds.

On the morning after the final day of the juice cleanse I weighed 169. So I lost a total of 4.2 pounds.

The only side effects I experienced was fatigue. I was very tired for the entirety of my 3 day cleanse. That fatigue was definitely from my lack of food.

I didn’t get any headaches, nausea, diarrhea or anything of the sort. I was expecting to feel hungry so I was prepared going into it. The potatoes really helped.

I didn’t notice any changes in my sleep or anything like that. I was too tired to do any of my regular physical activity so anything other than a leisurely walk was out of the question.

Tips & Tricks for Mastering Your Cleanse

I wanted to try out a juice cleanse so I could gain some insight and hopefully help some of you who are thinking about trying one.

A few more thoughts…

Would I do Raw Generation’s 3 day juice cleanse again? Yes, yes I would. If anything, that 3 day break from cooking was fantastic!

Next time though, I would do things a little differently. I would have been able to avoid that level of fatigue if I had prepared a few salads the day before.

Also, that week was super busy for me (I know-I didn’t even follow my own advice). If I had done the cleanse on a week where I could actually make it to the grocery store, I would have been able to re-stock my usual fruits and veggies. Snacking on fruit throughout the day would have been a life-saver.

Is juicing the answer to long-term weight loss? No, not at all. It’s not sustainable which is why most companies only offer 3, 5, or 7 day cleanses.

Being on a cleanse did make me take a closer look at my own nutrition though. It reminded me of how I used to juice a lot more. And now I’m excited to get back into it.

You should do a juice cleanse if you’re looking for a way to regroup along your health and wellness journey.

If you’ve been eating and drinking relatively healthy things but you’re still dealing with gastrointestinal issues, juicing might be able to help with that.

Of course, if your issues are severe you should go talk to your doctor. But for symptoms such as bloating, it’s a good idea to take a step back and think about what your nutrition has been like lately.

So when it really comes down to it, the benefits of a juice cleanse is mostly mental to me.

Juicing in addition to your normal healthy diet though is a totally different story. It’s a great way to get in a lot more nutrients from fruits and vegetables that you might have a tough time getting otherwise.

Juicing (plus salads for the fiber) is the holy grail of good nutrition in my humble opinion.