On the 1st of April, I started Dr. Alejandro Junger’s Clean Program. In a nutshell, The Clean Program is an elimination diet which puts your body’s detoxification system in high gear. Here’s what it looks like:
- smoothies for breakfast and dinner every day
- supplements after each meal
- no coffee
- no eggs
- no peanut butter
- no beef
- no fast food (duh)
- no dairy (not even butter or ghee)
- no gluten
- no nightshades (tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants)
- no sugar (including honey and maple syrup)
Despite having a really clean diet to begin with, I was nervous. Basically, it meant not really having dinners out with friends for 21 days. It would mean there would be tons of substitutions every time I did go out to eat. But all of that paled in comparison to the coffee restriction.
Here’s the thing: I’m not dependent on caffeine, but I LOVE the taste and ritualistic feel of my morning bulletproof coffee. Saying bye to it for 21 days seemed outright depressing. But in the name of health (and an experience to share with you guys), I was in.
Because The Clean Program has so many rules, I had to pick a time when I wasn’t traveling. This was the most difficult part because I’m rarely home for 3 weeks at a stretch. But I found time in April and made it happen.
Even though I had fears and doubts, I knew that my body needed a reset. I’d just gotten back from Italy, and was bloated beyond belief. My stomach was in constant agony, even though I’d begun eating normally. My skin looked dull, and I felt tired. I wanted to give my body a clean slate. So on the 1st of April, I embarked on a 3 week journey to getting my body back to peak condition.
Week 1
Not gonna lie, day 1 was ROUGH. I woke up with no idea what to do with myself. I hadn’t gotten the best sleep the night before, and all I wanted was coffee. I ended up having 2 matchas, which on The Clean Program blog is said to be fine, but in the fine-print, there’s a no caffeine rule. Oh well. I felt tired, groggy, and disoriented all day long.
None of the other eliminations phased me. And aside from taking the first 2 days to adjust to having smoothies for dinner, I was more than happy to make this change. I personally love smoothies, and I’m guilty of forgetting to eat sometimes because of how busy I get. So this was a great solution – I didn’t have to think about food as much. I only had to prep for one meal during the day, it made my life so easy, it was fantastic.
The challenge was ensuring I ate enough while doing the cleanse. I didn’t want to compromise on my workouts, even though you’re technically not supposed to work out as hard as you normally do while on the cleanse. However, it didn’t really make sense to me. In my mind, if my caloric intake remained the same, there was no reason to not work out. So this did take some work to figure out.
My trainer had put me on a 1600 calories plan. Now this is no big deal when you’re eating your meals, but when you’re having 2 smoothies a day, it takes a bit of tweaking. I had to make sure I packed my smoothies with calorie-heavy ingredients like hemp seeds, nut butters, and pour a generous amount of olive oil into my salad.
It took me 2-3 days to figure it out, but once I did, I was back to my regular workout schedule of boxing once a week, pilates/spin once a week, and weight training 3 times a week.
Another issue I had was ensuring my protein intake didn’t drop majorly. So I had to have either fish or chicken at lunchtime every day, and while initially, I was having The Clean Program protein powder at breakfast and dinner, I decided to switch it out for two scoops of my regular vegan protein for breakfast. The reason I chose to do this is because The Clean Program protein powder also has carbs, and I was getting enough carbs from other sources.
So by the end of week 1, I felt great. My digestive system was running like clockwork, I had a ton of energy, and my skin looked great. And after the first 2-3 days of tweaking, it was super easy to follow the plan. I didn’t miss any of the foods I wasn’t allowed to eat (except coffee), and my smoothies kept me full and satisfied so I was never hungry.
Week 2
From here on out, I was on cruise control. And I started to see even better results:
- My stomach was CONSTANTLY flat and I never experienced bloat any more – it was insane
- TMI, but I was going to the bathroom twice a day, which made me feel so light and energetic
- I’ve always had a ton of energy while waking up, so this is something that remained the same, but now without any caffeine whatsoever
- I also found something to replace my morning coffee ritual – Rooibos Tea Lattes!
- Sugar cravings were non-existent
K so everything was all fine and good, until I had to go to a friend’s birthday dinner. Yes, I could have had a smoothie before going and sat there and just chatted, but honestly, I didn’t want to. So I ended up going to dinner, and speaking to my server ahead of time, letting her know my list of dietary restrictions. The restaurant was super accommodating, and I had a delicious meal which was cleanse compliant. The one thing I will note is that after this meal, I did feel heavier than after my usual dinner smoothie. This was proof that smoothies are way easier to digest since all the ingredients are blended, and it takes a step out of the digestive process.
Week 3
I continued to see results, and by now, had lost about 4 pounds. People have varied results while on The Clean Program – some lose 10 pounds, but I would think that happens if you’re greatly altering the way you’re eating and have to lose a ton of weight. Personally, I eat very clean to begin with, so I wasn’t expecting to lose a whole bunch of weight while on the cleanse. The 4 pounds were a welcome bonus though!
On day 18, I had no food in the house for lunch, and decided to switch out my dinner smoothie for a lunch smoothie instead. I was slammed with work and did not want to bother going grocery shopping and prepping food. I ended up having a light salad for dinner, and still felt really great the following day.
Before I knew it, day 21 had arrived. I could not believe I’d officially done 21 days without coffee lol! I felt fantastic, like truly in peak physical condition.
Post-Cleanse
Technically, you’re supposed to take about 1 – 2 weeks to start integrating the eliminated foods into your diet to see if you’re allergic to something. To be honest, I had no such plans. I’ve done an elimination diet in the past, and know what works for me. For example, I know I react poorly to gluten, dairy, and sugar, but that I can handle butter and ghee.
My plan was to continue eating super clean while adding back in the foods I knew worked for my body. After the cleanse ended, the first thing I did was have a bulletproof coffee. It was glorious, and I felt great after.
However, that night, my boyfriend begged me to go out for Mexican food with him (he was more excited about the cleanse ending, since we could finally start doing date nights again), and I agreed. Saying we feasted would be a bit of an understatement. We got tacos, tortilla chips, and cheesecake after.
My first meal out was incredible, I mean tacos after 3 weeks? I was THRILLED. But I noticed after the meal that I felt WAY heavier than I had in the last 3 weeks. Also, the cheesecake felt REALLY sweet since I wasn’t used to eating sugar.
So would I do it again? Hell yes. I loved the program so much, that I’ve decided to have one day a week where I do a smoothie for breakfast and dinner.
If you want to try The Clean Program for yourself, you can use the code ‘GLITTER’ for $60 off at check out. I should point out that while The Clean Program kit comes with all the probiotics, supplements and smoothie packs you need to really make it effective, you don’t have to buy the kit in order to do the cleanse. You just have to follow the elimination guidelines, and Dr. Alejandro Junger recommends which supplements to consume during the cleanse in his book. So if you can’t afford the kit or live in a region where it doesn’t ship, don’t use that as an excuse to not try it.
PS – if you enjoyed this post, check out 3 easy snacks for the girl on-the-go, and how I broke my dessert habit.