As much as we love our food, after months on the road we knew we needed a change. A Nubio juice cleanse was the perfect way to kick-start a healthier diet
As anyone who follows this blog will know, we travel a lot! We spent much of the year visiting far flung corners of the earth and seeing what they have to offer. Food is a big a part of travel, and as regular readers will also know, it is a particular pleasure of ours. We seek out the best restaurants we can find at a destination, and attempt to try as many local flavors and dishes as we can…
It’s not all high quality and healthy however. Sometimes those local flavors are full of calories and oil – something which is especially true in South America where we recently spent several months. Sometimes you are pressed for time and have to grab whatever you can, and the options are often limited at airports (where we have spent many hours over the years). This, and all the delicious meals were starting to catch up with us, and our bodies were starting to feel a bit sluggish. We had both put on weight and felt we needed a change. We needed to give ourselves a reset, and clear some of the bad stuff out.
Paris may seem an odd place to practice some culinary restraint, being as it is one of the food capitals of the world, but it is was where we chose to settle for a while and to give ourselves a break from travelling. The city of course has much more to offer than just food, and we knew it would be the perfect place to spend some time relaxing. What’s more, the city is so beautiful and there is so much to see, that it is very easy to trick yourself into walking several kilometers and getting some much needed exercise. We decided to go all out and try a juice cleanse program, in order to really give ourselves a kick start at living healthily.
Nubio Juices is a company which specializes in short, juice-based, cleanses which offer your digestive system a break by giving it only liquid goodness to process. They will deliver your juice to anywhere in Paris, with every new batch being made daily to ensure freshness. You are given five juices per day, each of which is made from a different combination of fruits and vegetables to ensure that your body gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs. There are a few different options available depending on what exactly you want to get out of the experience, and we decided to try them all. Our five day experiment would include all three regimes (two days of the essential cleanse, two days of the fresh start, and one day of the intense cleanse).
After placing our order online, we received confirmation that we would receive deliveries between 8-9AM twice during the week. Starting the next day, we would be living off liquid alone (for three out of five days at least – the essential cleanse includes a soup and a salad per day). I have to admit, the thought was a little daunting. The thought of no food worried me a little, and I actually started to miss the simple act of chewing! I would be lying if I said that I was wrong to be worried – it was difficult at times – however most of the challenge was overcoming the mental barriers rather than the physical ones.
The juice was delicious and left my stomach feeling surprisingly full considering the lack of solids it was getting. I did find myself missing cooking however, as well as the act of sitting down to eat. Over the week we would often drink as we were working at our desks or out exploring, meaning that despite being tasty, we didn’t really take the time to enjoy them as we would with a meal. It was the whole routine of planning, cooking, and eating which was disrupted, and when passing grocery shops my mind would wander over into planning imaginary recipes with the ingredients inside.
As I said though, the challenge was all mental. My mind was missing food and the structure that meals provide, but my stomach was feeling nourished, lighter, and not at all hungry. Perhaps this is why I liked the fresh start cleanse the most, as each drink tasted like a meal. The morning juice was fruity, the dinner juice was savory, and the last juice had coconut water, maple syrup, and lime in it which made it taste like dessert. The first half of the experience was the hardest and we spent the second day taking a long walk around the city to distract ourselves from thinking about food. The third day was the hump where I was at my crabbiest (although somehow Chris was fine), but after that it became easy! We had started to get used to it, and the positive effects were starting to kick in which gave us the motivation needed to keep going.
“We didn’t do this detox to lose weight – it was more about giving our bodies a bit of a rest – however it was nice to notice that we did lose a few pounds as well.”
Overall the experience was a positive one. Although I found it a bit of a battle at times, the changes I felt in my body and energy levels made it more that worth it. Chris really got into it and would have happily continued past the five days. He was constantly remarking on how good the juices were and considering he has a serious sweet tooth, I was surprised at how well he took to it.
We didn’t do this detox to lose weight – it was more about giving our bodies a bit of a rest – however it was nice to notice that we did lose a few pounds as well. Finally, after giving this a go we managed to make some serious changes to our our diets, and just over a month later we have stuck to them. One of these is a love of juices, and alongside experimenting with making them ourselves we have been seeking them out wherever we go.
“Overall the experience was a positive one. Although I found it a bit of a battle at times, the changes I felt in my body and energy levels made it more that worth it.”
For more information about Nubio Juices, please follow the link below