I survived the 3-Day BluePrint Cleanse!

Do I feel lighter? Yes, actually I do.  Was it worth it? Probably.  Would I do it again? Too soon to tell.  So what exactly is the BluePrint Cleanse and why did I do it? According to the website, the BluePrint Cleanse is “a user-friendly system of cleansing set up to be practical for all nutritional lifestyles, from the most austere of raw food acolytes to the burger-and-red-wine crowd looking to periodically offset the damages of their indulgence.” Right, let’s back up.  What exactly is a cleanse? You’ve heard of the Master Cleanse that folks like Beyonce have done, but what is it really?

According to wiseGeek, “[a] cleanse is a health regimen designed to remove toxins from the body. Some cleanses target the entire body, while other focus on specific organs such as the liver, kidneys, or skin. In most cases, a cleanse requires a temporary radical change of diet, although some cleanses are designed to help people transition to a healthier diet. Many proponents of natural health engage in regular body cleanses to improve their health and treat underlying medical issues. Cleanses are also used as a weight loss tool in some communities, while others engage in body cleanses as a spiritual activity.”

How It All Started

My friend Karla and her husband do a cleanse per quarter.  I know, some people just put us all to shame! We hung out with them this past Spring a few days after they’d completed their 2Q cleanse. They were happy, glowing and singing the virtues of the experience.  Did I mention, they do the BPC for 2 weeks!  Yes, two whole weeks with nothing but fruit  and vegetable juices . . . We were intrigued.  It’s been a wonderful year; we’ve eaten a lot of fantastic meals and have indulged in one too many cocktails. Plus, we were on our way to Italy where we knew we’d be eating lots and lots of really really good food that’s not necessairly really really good for you.  We expressed interest.  Joked that maybe we should do a cleanse when we get back from Italy. Lo and behold a few weeks later, our dear friends sent us a few BPC gift certificates.  We thanked them and went merrily to Italy where we ate and ate and ate some more. (I’m not even mentioning the amount of vino consumed on that trip!).

Upon our return, we decided to do the BPC.  I wanted to do the 1-Day cleanse to try it out.  My husband, TC, said if we’re going to do it, we should just do it.  So, we decided to up the ante and do the 3-Day cleanse. How to find 3 whole days with no travel or dinner plans to interrupt this tight juice regimen? Good question! Oh, and did I forget to mention that you have to prepare for about 4 days beforehand? Yup, the lovely ladies at BPC send you an email telling to it’s 4 days to BPC-Day and you should start to cut back on all the bad things you love — you know caffeine, sugar, meat and really try to maintain a raw diet consisting of fruits and vegetables.  Seriously??!? Come on.  Originally, we were going to do the cleanse over Fourth of July weekend and then better offers and common sense prevailed. From there, we took our gluttonus selves on to South Carolina where we did our best to eat our way through Charleston, Seabrook and Kiawah Islands.   Stomachs bulging and clothes not fitting quite right, we decided BPC was on and poppin’ in August.

The 4-Day prep beforehand?  We didn’t do so well. A good friend was visiting from LA and of course we had to go out to a really nice dinner to catch up!  And then the night before BPC-Day we had dinner plans with friends we truly enjoy, but rarely get to see.  We I tried to be good. I ate vegetarian that night and only had 1.5 cocktails and maybe a glass of wine (of course alcohol prior to the detox is a big NO-NO).  Well, I got violently ill and had to be spirited away from the restaurant. So, for the BPC start date was pushed back a day.

The Cleanse

My dear husband, while feeling a little wobbly, started the cleanse the next am.  He was chipper. “Juice number 1 is good!” he said.  I was up under the bed from a bad bout of food poisoning, so I smiled wanly and off he went to work with his BPC thermal pouch and Juices 2, 3 and 4.  Home he came grouchy, hungry and generally just out of sorts. I was vertical again (just barely) and was gingerly eating a salad.  He drank Juice number 5 and while it staved off the hunger, it wasn’t a satisfactory Friday night dinner.  One of his underlings told him he should’ve done the cleanse during the week so that he could keep his mind off of food while working. But we were following the guidelines on the BPC website which recommends that you do your first cleanse over a weekend.

I woke up feeling much better on Saturday, so I started the BPC that morning.  Juice number 1 was pretty good – it’s green, flavorful.  Not a latte and a bagel good, but I survived.  By Juice number 3 I didn’t care how good they were, I was HUNGRY!  I drank my juices like clockwork every 2 hours on Day 1. Suffice it to say, I was a HOT MESS on Day 1.  I don’t think it had so much to do with BPC as much as it had to do that I had not properly prepared (I basically had no food 2 days beforehand – violently ill on Thursday, remember?). Had to miss a dear friend’s dance performance and another friend’s karaoke birthday party Saturday night (I’m a ham, I love a good round of karaoke); I just took my pitiful hungry self to bed.  Sunday was better, I wasn’t as hungry but I was hungry.  I had visions of enchiladas, hamburgers and french fries dancing in my head! By Monday, I was just ready for the cleanse to be over. Especially since TC had finished on Sunday night.  I did workout on Monday and while I probably expelled more toxins than I ever have while working out, it was a good workout.  I didn’t feel weak from lack of sustenance. However, midnight couldn’t get here fast enough for me.

Post-Mortem?

I’m glad I did it.  I wanted to cheat, we were standing in the grocery store holding low sodium vegetable stock Sunday evening (BPC allows you to eat a few things if you absolutely must) but I felt like a wuss so I left it right on the shelf and went home and drank my good but unsatisfying juice.

I now know what everyone’s been raving about.  I honestly do feel lighter and I think I lost a few pounds which is never a bad thing for UFDCA. Just as you “ease” into the cleanse, you “ease” out of it. First day off of BCP, fruits.  Second day, veggies.  Third day, slowly add in those things you know you should do in moderation – caffeine, meat, spices, etc.  Interestingly, I wasn’t interested in eating all the foods I’d been craving once the cleanse was over.  Rather the opposite, the cleanse has inspired me to keep my cleaned out system somewhat clean.  Caffine was rotated back in immediately, but I have taken things slow and I’ve really been trying to think about what I eat and why.  I’ve been using a calorie counter, LoseIt, which forces me to pay attention to my daily caloric intake and keep myself honest.

So, what say you?  Would you do a 3-day cleanse?