Back when I did my first cleanse, I remember looking for reviews online and not finding a whole lot of information on the “Love your Liver” cleanse by Arden Gardens. So I thought I would pay it forward for all of the people that did provide me the information I needed to get started 🙂
I am so excited to be doing the Arden Gardens 3 Day “Love your Liver” cleanse! Not only for the renewed energy a cleanse provides, or the great waistline benefits, but because I finally got Charles to join me 🙂 We stopped by our local Arden Grdens to pick up everything needed for the next three days and chatted up the sales girl about how this was Charles’ first ever cleans. She promptly wished him luck!
Now the benefits are the exciting part – the process is a little less exciting: 3 days, no food, juice and distilled water only. But these are not just ANY juices. These are some of the best darned fresh, cold pressed juices you have ever come across. For example, the one I am snacking on right now is called “Green Energy Machine” and it is made up of cucumbers, celery, apples, spinach, kale, and ginger. This is by far my favorite Arden Gardens juice and I LOVE that it is included in this cleanse. The energy it provides makes coffee look like a wimpy little punk in comparison. Anyway – I digress from my explanation of the cleanse. Perhaps I should just break it down for you:
- Upon Rising: 2tbsp Pure Lemon in 16 oz of water (exactly what it sounds like)
- Breakfast: Paradise (carrots, apple, beets, cucumber, celery, spinach, kale, ginger, and lemons)
- Mid Morning: Green Energy Machine (cucumbers, celery, apples, spinach, kale, and ginger)
- Lunch: Red Apple (apple)
- Mid-Afternoon: Multi-Max (Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery) + 2tbsp Pure Lemon in 16 oz of water
- Dinner: Beet it Better (Beets, Apple, Ginger)
- Aperitif: pH solution (cucumbers, celery, distilled water, kale, lemons)
- Before Bed: 2tbsp Pure Lemon in 16 oz of water
Simple as that! However, after 3 days of cleansing rather than chewing, reentry to foods is very important! The first time I did a cleanse, I thought I could just go back to normal foods and had a big breakfast of coffee with cream, eggs and hash. MISTAKE! 30 min later I was laying on the floor crying and praying for help.
That day I learned that you should always spend a few days “flirting” with foods before you all them all back in. Stick to fresh fruits and veggies initially. Then you can work your way up to nuts and dehydrated/processed fruits and veggies. Remember that you can toss some of your favorite Arden Gardens juice in there. You will be so in love with the “high” feeling that you will want to keep it going as long as you can! Finally – add meats, dairy, and grains (if you eat them) back to your routine. I typically do this on day 3.
Day ONE Diary
9:30 – Day one is always the worst. And I got started late. The number one piece of advice I can give for day one is get started on time, and have a plan for when you will drink each meal. This Pure Lemon in water is not tasty to me – but I never like lemon in my water. If you are the kind of person that does, then you should be okay with it. Nothing fancy – tastes like lemonade with out sugar.
12:40 – Have finished paradise and green energy machine. I drink both of these when I am not doing a cleanse, but just need a snack or a pick me up. They are both very delicious.
I think one of the ways this cleanse differs so much from the “2-Day Detox” is that you actually LIKE the taste of the juice and are looking forward to your next serving. Where with the “2-Day Detox” most people I know are struggling to choke down the gallon of juice by the end of the day. While I am a big fan of the tasty flavors in “Love your Liver” – I think its more mentally challenging to be anticipating your next meal. With the “2-Day /Detox” you get a steady stream of calories every hour, sure you are not excited about them, but in some ways I feel like thats helpful?
1:33 – Just started Red Apple, and I am loving it. I was also counting down the min until I could crack this one open. Getting Pretty Hungry!
7:30 – Already ready for bed. I don’t know if these things ever get easy – but for me they have not started to yet. Things really started to fall down hill after lunch. I got really tired, took a nap, but never really rebounded with energy. Going to try and make it up until 9. Will provide more detail on afternoon juices tomorrow.
If you are looking for results in a purely numerical fashion – I weighed 106.8 before starting “Love your Liver”
Day TWO Diary
7:00AM – woke up feeling great – lots of energy, no headache. Day two has always been better for me, so I am hoping that is the case this time! I just choked down my morning lemon water…. I still don’t like that.
Numerical Results: I got on the scale this morning, and have lost 1.2 lbs. Is it what people refer to water weight – yes I am sure some of it is. But who wants to be carrying around 1.2 lbs of extra bloating anyway? In most cases, 80% of weight I lose after a cleanse stays off for about 4-6 weeks.
5:17 – Sorry for the lack of updates – but it has been a really busy day! I have been moving around, running errands, and having fun all afternoon. No headaches, lethargy, or hunger pains to report – Gatta LOVE day 2!
8:15 – Just finished my Beet it Better juice. This one is really tasty, but I would rank it below Paradise, Green Energy Machine, and Red Apple. If you don’t like the taste of ginger you will hate this juice – and pretty much the entire Love your Liver Cleanse!
My LEAST favorite juices are the Multi Max and the pH solution. There is nothing wrong with them – they don’t taste bad. But they are nothing to look forward to either. Must stop typing and start drinking – I still have to drink my pH solution and another Pure Lemon before bed!
OH and in case you were wondering: I am not hungry, I don’t have a headache, and I have plenty of energy and focus! Still feeling Great on Day 2…. wonder what Day 3 will bring?
Day THREE Diary