What Is a Juice Fast Like?

Today, I’m very happy to bring you an interview with a friend of mine named Claudia Peralta.

Claudia recently conducted a 12-day juice fast.

I kept in touch with her as she went through the ups and downs of her recent cleanse, and I thought it’d be a fantastic thing to interview her about her experience and share her answers with you here.

Claudia is a world traveler, successful entrepreneur and health aficionado. You can find her blogging about natural beauty at her site Natural Makeup Look.

If you’ve ever wondered if a juice diet is for you, maybe some of Claudia’s answers will answer your questions and give you a little extra courage to dive in and do a juice cleanse of your own!

Juice Diet HQ: So Claudia, why did you decide to do your recent juice diet?

Claudia: I wanted to feel healthier and clean my system out. It’s spring where I live, so I also wanted to conduct a little spring cleaning for my body. And I also wanted to welcome the new year in a healthy way.

Juice Diet HQ: Nice. What kind of juice diet did you do?

Claudia: I did a mostly green juice diet with added apple and pear as the only two fruits I used. The greens I used were primarily kale, chard, parsley, Romaine lettuce, celery, carrot and beet.

I would have used cucumber too, but I’m unfortunately allergic to it!

Juice Diet HQ: What kind of juice did you use to make your juice?

Claudia: At home I have the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer Pro, so that’s what I used. It’s a pretty loud juice, but it’s easy to use. The pulp left over from the juice isn’t quite as dry as I’d like it to be, which means there’s some juice left in the pulp. So I’m saving up to get a Green Star juicer at some point in the future.

I’ve had the Jack Lalanne juicer for over a year, and it has done a solid job at juicing everything I throw at it. The parsley is the only thing that it really doesn’t seem to juice particularly well.

Juice Diet HQ: Interesting. So what kind of plan did you follow? How did you know what to do on your juice fast?

Claudia: Actually, I just kind of went solo on the plan.

I knew that I wanted to get good nutritious vitamins, so every day I just juiced up whatever greens I had and then added a little fruit to make the juice more palatable. I listened to my body and drank a lot of water as well.

Some days, I drank one to two glasses of fresh juice, and other days I drank three to four glasses of fresh juice. I just listened to my body.

I drank lots of water in between my daily green juices, and every day two to three times a day, I also drank apple cider vinegar with water. About two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a few ounces of water.

Juice Diet HQ: What was the apple cider vinegar for?

Claudia: I’ve read up that people have been using apple cider vinegar for hundreds if not thousands of years as a medical tonic for many things. It’s been cited to break down any calcification residues in the body. It helps prevent diseases and takes out the sludge in your body.

I recently also read a little book by Paul Bragg where he talks about all the benefits and uses of apple cider vinegar, which include using it to wash your hair and skin. It beautifies the skin, helps create shiny hair.

It’s basically useful for beautifying yourself inside and out. Paul Bragg cites it as a miracle drink, so I was curious about it and decided to try it out during my fast. I’ve continued to drink it at least once or twice a day (the two tablespoons with a little water).

I was also taking Chinese Jing herbs that I usually take. The herbs I take target boosting the immune system. Everyone is different, and the herbs that I take won’t necessarily be the herbs that someone else should take. But I’ve found Chinese tonic herbs to be really amazing for helping me build and maintain my health.

Dragon Herbs is a fantastic company, and you can call their toll-free number to speak directly with a trained Chinese herbalist who will give you guidance on herbs that would be good for you to take given your particular health situation.

Juice Diet HQ: What challenges came up for you during your fast?

Claudia: I mean, I experienced the obvious challenges of doing a fast. I felt hunger. I felt food cravings. I tend to gravitate towards healthy cookbooks during fasts, which is a very strange and tempting thing to do because it makes me want to eat those foods and make those recipes.

I went through some of the symptoms of fasting like having a headache at times, feeling physically drained some of the time, sleeping more, feeling emotionally sensitive.

Juice Diet HQ: What were you doing to make sure the toxins being released into your bloodstream left your body?

Claudia: I was primarily drinking lots of water. I also did dry body brushing every day. I did a liver flush.

Juice Diet HQ: Tell me about the liver flush.

Claudia: I did a liver flush one week into my 12-day juice fast. This was my third liver flush, and it’s supposed to help you get a lot of toxins out.

You basically drink Epsom salts with water twice in an evening. There are very precise directions you have to follow with precise timing between the Epsom salt drinks.

The Epsom salt is quite vile. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever tasted. It’s really hard to keep down. It’s very strong. And when you drink it, it flushes your entire system.

The last drink of the night is a strange concoction of olive oil and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. When you drink that, you have to lie down straight away. It’s a very unusual sensation to be drinking oil.

And then, in the morning, you basically take two more rounds of the Epsom salts and go to the bathroom. And all these little stones flush out of you.

Juice Diet HQ: How did you feel after the flush?

Claudia: I felt kind of tired. Physically drained.

Juice Diet HQ: How did the liver flush work with your fast?

Claudia: I think it was good to do in conjunction just to get the full flushing going on.

Juice Diet HQ: Why did you choose 12 days for your fast?

Claudia: I didn’t choose how long. I gave myself anywhere from a week to 10 days when I started. After a week, I decided to go on for more. After 10 days, I again chose to go on with more.

I think it’s really important to listen to your body instead of your mind.

Listening in to the body doesn’t mean giving in to cravings (that would be listening to your mind). It just means listening to how your body feels physically and giving it the nourishment it needs through fruit juices and water. And at the same time getting as many toxins out as possible through going as many days as you can safely do.

Juice Diet HQ: What effects did you notice from your juice diet?

Claudia: I noticed the white of my eyes were a lot whiter. I noticed that my tongue displayed the detox symptoms of having a lot of white on it at times.

My skin looked clearer and shinier and healthier. My energy level was incredibly high and very clean even though I would have bouts of feeling physical tired. But my actual energy was always high.

Juice Diet HQ: Did you lose any weight?

Claudia: I don’t know how much, but yes, I definitely lost weight.

Juice Diet HQ: Is there anything you would want someone else to know before they start a juice fast?

Claudia: I would say to read up before you do the juice fast. Everybody’s body is different. Everybody’s health is different. Read up and have some information before you start. That is the most important thing I’d recommend.

You can read up on the internet, and there are bunches of great books you can read to learn more about cleansing safely.

I recommend that anyone interested in learning more about juice fasting read up on juicing, juice fasting, the liver flush as well as apple cider vinegar and its benefits for the body.

My second most important tip is for you to really listen to your body. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t push through and do more days out of stubbornness. Listen to your body’s wisdom. Also, it’s important to take breaks and lie down when you feel tired. This is super important—nap if you feel like you need a rest during your cleanse.

I would say that during your cleanse, it’s a good time to read inspiring books. You’re taking the time to do something good for yourself mentally and physically, so you should be feeding your body and soul good and uplifting things.

I listened to the Hay House radio a lot during my cleanse and received a lot of good information and inspiration. I also listened to Wayne Dyer a lot. I love his program How to Be a No Limit Person.

The first fast I ever did was five days. I don’t think anybody should feel bad if they can only go one day or three days. If it’s your first time doing it, it’s good to be gentle with yourself and your body. So whatever you can do is good and it’s giving your system a break.

If you’ve had a successful experience with a juice fast, then I’d highly recommend doing it on a regular basis whether that’s once a year, twice a year, three times a year. This year, I’m going to experiment with doing it once a season, so four times during each of the seasons. And I’ll follow the same basic guideline of listening to my body whenever I cleanse and not being hard, harsh or stubborn with my body or myself.

Juice Diet HQ: Thanks so much, Claudia!

If you’re interested in conducting your own juice fast, here are some of the resources we have found most helpful here at Juice Diet HQ. Check them out!

Cleansing and Fasting, Interviews