Greene Street Juice Cleanse

* Before we start, I'd like to emphasise that I would not recommend any kind of juice cleanse or detox to anyone who has or has had any kind of eating disorder and would recommend anyone with any other medical issues to check in with their GP before deciding whether a juice cleanse is right for them.

So I thought I'd start my FebFast journey of no sugar, alcohol or dairy with an amazing Greene Street Juice 5 day juice cleanse. I've done 3 day ones previously so thought I'd amp it up to 5 this time to see how I got on. The juices are delicious and packed with goodness. They are all organic, sugar-free, dairy-free and come in the cutest glass bottles (for someone who hates drinking out of yucky plastic, this is a huge bonus!). So they were perfect for the first week of my challenge.

First thing is first though, a lot of juice detoxes are marketed in a way that promote 'weight' loss, to shed fat or to get skinny. Well I'd hope you'd all know, that's definitely not how I roll. In my opinion, starving yourself of solid food to make the number on the scale look lower, is not a healthy way of thinking, at all. So for me the cleanse was about mentally restarting and getting into the right headspace and habit of putting good things in my tummy.

Will power isn't something I'm very good at, at all. My eating habits can be very unhealthy at times, especially when I'm feeling run down, my CFS is draining all energy from the core of my bones or my mental health isn't in the greatest of places. That's when sugar and junk food becomes a crutch for me and I needed to reset that whole way of thinking. The cleanse was that reset button for me. 5 days of putting good things in my body to get me on the right track once again.

If you followed my Instagram story you would've seen all the ups and downs in the 5 days, but all in all I was very pleasantly surprised in how easy the cleanse was to do. Like really surprised! I seemed to get through most of it with only a few hangry moments! But here's some of my tips to sail through your next detox:

1. Do not, under any circumstances, go into a supermarket, shop, restaurant, bakery, anywhere that sells food. The hardest time I had throughout the whole cleanse was when I ventured to the supermarket on my last day to get food ready for the week ahead. It was horrific. Food I wanted to eat EVERYWHERE. Prior to that I'd be completely fine, only had a few passing moments where I felt hungry, hadn't craved sugar too much. But oh my god. Being in there made my stomach well and truly wake up and demand I eat all the food. I didn't, but I really, really wanted to.

2. If you are someone that gets periods, try not to do a cleanse around this time. I made the huge mistake of syncing my detox with when my PMS rears it's ugly head. Not a good combination.

3. Don't starve yourself! Greene Street Juice themselves encourage you to listen to what your body needs and suggests eating things like raw or steamed veg, soup or broth and fresh salad amongst other things. I made some pumpkin soup on my last day & felt great after having some.

4. Keep it going. You can't expect a 5 day cleanse to magically 'fix' your health or gut. You need to continue to put good things into your body afterwards too. There is no quick fix, being good to yourself is a lifelong thing!

If you would like to get in one some of Greene Street Juice's delicious elixirs, (seriously try West Village, it is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted. Think healthy but oh so yummy mint ice cream milkshake. YUM) I've got a little treat for you! Use the discount code 'ionabruce' when you're ordering your cleanse this month to get each day for $70 instead of $79. That's nearly $50 off a 5 day cleanse!

Let me know if you try it out and how you go or if you want any support along the way!