When CEDAR Juice initially reached out to ask me if I was interested in trying a juice cleanse a few weeks back, my first instinct was to immediately say no, the same way I immediately scoff at the suggestion I order a salad when dining out. “I’m not a juice cleanse girl”, I thought to myself, “why would I ever put myself and my body through that?”

But then doubt crept in. What if I was really missing out? I mean, I do love fresh juice, so what’s to say I wouldn’t love a juice cleanse? Plus, CEDAR seemed like a really great local, all-organic company, and I couldn’t help but feel tempted by their product descriptions and ingredient lists (especially Pineapple Head, a blend of pineapple, pear, and mint!)

So, I decided to try out the three-day plan, but not without making a few alterations to the program first. I decided I would continue to eat, but only the cleanest food I could find (mostly raw vegetables… and sushi). For someone who likes to eat as much as I do, it didn’t really make much sense to ingest nothing but liquids, and as soon as I gave myself permission to bend the juice cleanse rules I instantly felt less intimidated by the whole thing.

Though I can’t say I in any way excelled at cleansing, here are some of my favourite takeaways from the whole experience:

1 // I’m REALLY addicted to sugar. Within the first few hours I was having insane cravings for cookies, ice cream, Easter cream eggs… basically if it was awful for me, I wanted it. While I’m totally happy to indulge once and awhile, I definitely think my sweets habit has gotten a bit out of hand, and the cleanse really helped me see just how much I needed to work on it.

2 // I don’t get nearly enough nutrients in my daily diet. This is something I’ve worried about for awhile now, but it was actually shocking to feel the difference when I was throwing back juices packed with healthy nutritional ingredients all day every day. Though I wasn’t consuming any caffeine or sugar I felt more energetic than I have in months, and it was a really nice.

3 // I really don’t like beet juice. At all. But I’m working on it!

4 // Drinking more liquids is never a bad thing. I used to drink a ton of water everyday, and my skin was always so clear, but lately I’ve been majorly slacking. The cleanse really helped me remember how great it felt to be hyper-hydrated.

5 // I need to give my body a lot more care and attention. When I was fully vegan, I was so careful about everything I ate, always checking labels and googling ingredients, but these days all of my old tricks have been slipping thanks so a combination of being way too busy all the time, and not prioritizing my health. Moving forward, I’m going to give my body and mind what it needs: more sleep. less sugar, daily vitamins, early morning dog walks, and extra doses of fun whenever possible!

What do you think about juice cleansing? Let me know in the comments!

Interested in trying your own CEDAR juice cleanse? Enter the promo code “randomactsofpastel” at the checkout to receive 10% off on 3 or 5-day cleanses until March 14th (after which it will drop to 5%)

*Note: Some or all of the items featured in this post were given to me as a gift from the maker, but I only write about products I genuinely adore, I promise!*