As an avid weightlifter, and someone who has obsessed over food and fitness over the past two decades, juicing has never been my "thing." I awaken each morning to get after my 4am workout with all its sweaty glory, all the while thinking about one thing; all of the possibilities for breakfast! If its leg day, show me the pancakes! Upper bod? I’m making a bacon and egg mcmuffin with jalapeno ketchup. The possibilities are endless. I often spend the evenings after the kids are in bed either finding new recipes for delicious creations, learning ways nutrition effects our health or working out to make room for more food. The obsession is real ya’all.

So despite my appreciation for the nutricious veggie juices, the thought of forgoing chewing my beloved food for an entire day to try out a 1-day juice cleanse has always seemed both unappealing and unnecessary – especially for someone like me who eats a lot of veggies anyway.

That is, until I was waiting in the doctors office for my annual physical two weeks ago. What does that have to do with juicing? Well, the nurse taking my vitals was probably in the best shape of anyone I have seen in “real life” since my last bikini competition (that’s another article…). She talked about how every couple months she does a juice cleanse with mostly veggies to “re-set” her not-so-healthy eating and get a boat load of vitamins in the process. Peer pressure ignited! After some research over the next week, I decided what better way to try it then to do it myself. Something had to be done. I needed an extra little kick in the keister to really up my game and get myself back on track. A little “reset” might be just what the doctor (or nurse in this case) ordered.

And that, my friends, is how I found myself here, preppin’ to pop some bottles all day long. And so it begins. Will I see it through or will I end up face first in pizza come noontime? Read on to find out.

7am: Drink 1 My stomach is grumbling and I’m starving. My first instinctive thought, not unlike a caveman: me want food. But today is my cleanse, so food is a no-go. None of my usual egg white and bacon mcmuffin or #fabfour smoothie today. Nope. Instead, my breakfast will be bottle no. 1 – a green blend of apple, celery, cukes, lime, kale, parsley, spinach and mint. It definitely tastes very green, but I think I feel healthier right out of the gate. Must be the parsley – I read it helps reduce fluid retention. I gotta be honest though: I miss chewing.

9am: Drink 2 Now, I’m workin’ on a light and actually pretty refreshing blend of filtered water, lemon, agave, turmeric and black pepper. I absolutely love turmeric for its gorgeous color and anti-inflammatory properties, and lemon is great for balancing your blood sugar and keeping your appetite in check, so I’m totally digging this one. The pepper gives this one an interesting finish, but I’m into it.

10am: Working, working, working… I want to chew on something, BAD! I read other reviews where they were told they can have a handful of raw nuts or some avocado wrapped in lettuce if you were desperate. I decide this feels like desperation, but I forget to bring any ‘B’ plan necessities. I need a little something so I start creeping to the snackluck table in the breakroom. Alas, it has already been picked clean. WHY?! The one time I decide to sneak in just a little something, there isn’t even a crumb to be found. I should have grabbed the free triscuits earlier :/ Holding strong, but not because I wanna be. I CAN DO THIS!

11am: Drink 3 This combo of apple, celery, beet, lemon, parsley, spinach and ginger is pretty strong. "It’s OK Rachel, just keep sipping," I say to myself not so quietly...

1pm: Drink 4 Still trying to figure out what was is the last drink I liked so much, Iwas VERY curious how my next drink would taste. Dry? Chalky? I wonder…. Oh how wrong I was. I’ve been wanting to try activated charcoal lemonade since I first heard about it last summer. It’s supposed to be super detoxifying and de-bloating but I could never find any in grocery stores, so I was super interested to crack this puppy open. Just water and lemon and agave and coconut charcoal. To my surprise, the best word to describe this is tart! I gulped this down within a couple minutes because is basically just tastes like tart lemonade. Yep, feeling pretty detoxified.

3pm: Workday, complete!

3:30pm: Drink 5 I’m gonna be real: by this point, I feel as though I’ve had my fill of juice for the day…but my tummy is flat, and my energy levels are actually crazy high on my way home from work, so I’m gonna knock it back anyway. An unoriginal, but delicious, blend of green - cucumber, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon, swiss chard and celery. Easy breezy lemon squeezy! Since I know cukes are really hydrating and green apples are really rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, I’m feeling pretty good about this bottle (and this body) right now.

4-6:30pm: Home Trying to learn more about this juicing game, I was completely preoccupied juicing my own mixes in my new juicer. How could I not think about dinner? I juiced 5 new recipes, 3 I would say were winners. Keeping these babies in the fridge until tomorrow.

6:30pm: Drink 6 Finally! I’ve been eyeing this bad boy all day long, day-dreaming about how amazing the almond milk would taste…and I was completely disappointed. To be fair, if you like dates, this is the drink for you! It tastes like date oatmeal cookies. It is a creamy blend of water, almonds, dates, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, surely something you could probably make into a cookie going to Christmas at the cousin’s. It works, but not for me. Just three more sips (don't breathe, just gulp!)

Results: After just coming off a 7-day Nourish Bowl challenge and still recovering from drinking too much wine (is there such a thing?) at a wedding last Saturday, I wasn’t sure how I’d fare with this. I thought I’d be starving all day long and therefore devoid of energy. Truthfully, I was actually ok. I felt dizzy a few times during the day, but it reminded me to keep drinking more water. Since I pretty much always had something I was sipping on, be it juice or the water, I really never had time to be starving. I really liked that I didn’t even have to think about my meals at all, while still taking in so many nutrients. No prep, no cooking, just grabbed a bottle, pounded I, and moved about my day. It was a total time saver.

By the end of a typical day, I’m usually exhausted, craving sweets and regretting at least one thing that I ate. Tonight, I feel none of those things. I have so much energy, wish I had time to work out, but alas, still working from home. I’m strangely devoid of any thoughts about chocolate and I’m feeling pretty stellar about every single thing I’ve consumed today. Not to mention, my stomach is definitely looking tighter. It’s a temporary fix, but just the motivation I need to get my @ss in gear!

NEKTER ADVANCED ONE DAY CLEANSE MACROS:

Calories - 1,210

Protein - 25 grams

Carbs - 243 grams

Fiber - 29 grams

Fat - 27.5 grams

Sugar - 164 grams

NEKTER ADVANCED ONE DAY CLEANSE INSTRUCTIONS:

#JUICECLEANSE #NEKTER #FRUITCLEANSE #VEGGIECLEANSE #VEGAN #HEALTHYLIFESTYLE #CLEANSE #MACROS #FITLIFESTYLE #HEALTH #IIFYM #HEALTHYSKIN