I didn’t agree with juice cleanses in the same way that I don’t like sea urchin, ie. I’d never tried it.

So rather than getting high and mighty about something I didn’t know a huge amount about, when Press London offered me the chance to trial my own juice cleanse, I jumped at the chance. How could I form an honest opinion about something I hadn’t given a go?

Late on Sunday night the buzzer went. I indignantly thought, who on earth is dropping round at 9.30pm on a Sunday evening while we are trying to watch ‘I’m a Celeb’! Tom told me it was a parcel for me, which jogged my memory and I sheepishly went to sign for my enormous box of juices.

I signed up for a three day juice cleanse (what I was thinking, I don’t know), and opted for Tier 1, the most juices/highest number of calories at 1100 a day. This included 8 juices to enjoy throughout the day.

First up was the Chlorophyll water, meant to hydrate you first thing. Honestly it tasted a little like pond scum, and drinking it on the tube before 7am I felt a little sick. It did mean that I was really looking forward to my breakfast juice at 9am, and was pleasantly surprised by the delicious sweet savoury taste of Greenhouse 1, a mixture of Kale, Spinach, Celery, Romaine, Cucumber, Apple and Lemon. It hit the spot and I felt satisfied and full for about an hour. Whilst counting down the minutes to my next juice, I drank plenty of cold water and hot water with lemon.

My 11.30 juice was my favourite of the day, a Cacao Leche that tasted of chocolate milk, featuring almonds, dates, cacao, water and sea salt. Lunch was a sweet Watermelon and Lime juice named Grove 1. I did feel incredibly envious as I sat down to lunch with my colleagues and watched them tuck into large salads, soups and sandwiches. I actually had to leave the table after I finished my juice.

The afternoon was spent drinking more water, including a treat of fizzy water (not sure if that’s actually allowed) and counting down to the next juice- called Orchard 1. It had a very strong ginger flavour, that I didn’t love but it did warm me up!

I couldn’t wait for my 6pm Leche drink, this time a Vanilla flavoured juice that I enjoyed during my Chemistry lesson. It was a lot easier just having drinks rather than tucking into my usual large salad (that the teacher’s always comment on how exciting it looks- not sure when everyone else in class eats dinner as it’s usually only me and another girl eating!).

My ‘dinner’ juice was basically a blended salad, and after the sweetness of the other juices, was a little bitter in my opinion. I drank this alongside a fresh mint tea that I hoped didn’t count as cheating. When I got home around 10pm, I drank the aloe water and wondered how many times I would need to pee during the night.

In bed I commented to Tom how hungry I was, and immediately my stomach started growling. I did sleep surprisingly well, only visiting the bathroom once in the night.

Day 2 began with such good intentions, until I went to Pret with Abi and couldn’t stop myself from buying a 5 grain porridge. I had been to the gym that morning for a 30min workout, and was just so hungry. I ate it alongside one of the Leches, and although I felt disappointed for breaking my cleanse, I knew that even getting through one full day without cheating was a big achievement for me.

I drank the juices I enjoyed over the next few days, swapping them for snacks or enjoying them with breakfast, however after the first taste of the holy grain, I knew I couldn’t continue with the cleanse in its entirety.

It wasn’t a complete failure though- here are the pro’s and con’s of the juice cleanse in my opinion.

Pros

• I was working on a photoshoot on Monday, and I can’t tell you the number of times that I went to pick at food throughout the day. It highlighted to me how much I mindlessly eat even when I’m not really hungry. If it’s infront of me then it’s hard to say no. I need to plan my meals plus snacks to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.
• I drank more water and felt better for it.
• It showcased how many teas and coffees I consume and don’t need. Hot water with lemon and fresh mint/green tea do the same job and are better for me. I’ve realised that I shouldn’t drink tea and coffee because I’m cold, bored, or hungry, they should be limited to only one or two cups a day.

Cons

• I don’t know if it was a particularly chilly day, but I was cold all the time. Even the hot water and lemon only warmed me for a short time. I think a juice cleanse would be far easier in summer!
• I was so so hungry for most of the day, and although my job revolves around food more than most, I couldn’t stop dreaming of what I was going to eat. This is probably due in part to the limited protein in the cleanse.
• It’s heavy to carry around all the juices with you, plus they need to be refrigerated.
• It’s expensive, unless I’m going out for a very fancy dinner, there’s no way I spend £132 on three days worth of food.
• I peed a lot.

I probably wouldn’t do another juice cleanse in the near future, however I wouldn’t rule out a 1 day cleanse in a year or so. It definitely made me think about what I am consuming on a daily basis, and in the following days I am making a concerted effort to eat more mindfully. However, I do stand by my original thoughts that a three day juice cleanse is not for me- despite easily consuming your 5 a day, I think the lack of protein and fibre didn’t agree with my body and I would prefer to continue making smoothies to up my nutrient intake each morning!However I would love to swap out my morning coffee and snack for one of the Leche’s at Press London- they were delicious.

Thank you so much to Press London for giving me the opportunity to test out a Juice Cleanse!