Happy Wednesday, my loves! I couldn’t possibly be happier that it’s the middle of the week, and I think I have some darn good reasons. Shall I explain myself?

1. My mom and sister fly into NYC tomorrow morning to visit me for the weekend, and I am so excited! My mom has officially been to NYC six times since our first flight out here last April to tour The New School (holy cow, right?) but it’s my sista’s first time coming out and seeing my place and my new hood! I am in desperate need of a girls’ weekend, and I can’t imagine two ladies I would rather spend it with. Here they are, with the rest of my adorable little fam bam.

2. TBV Apparel launches THIS. FRIDAY. I am basically hyperventilating I am so thrilled about it. There have been some sleepless nights this month (and especially this week) setting up The Blonde Vegan Store and getting everything all squared away with the designs, sizes, styles, details… all culminating to the big reveal at the end of the week when I can finally share the tees with all of you! And yes, shipping will be international – TBV tees for all! Also, WorldLifestyle published an awesome article about the tees and a little Q&A with me… check it out! I can’t wait to take over their Instagram account on launch day.

3. Today marks Day 10 of my 10-day juice cleanse… wowee, it’s been an incredible, reflective, accomplishing, challenging yet enjoyable experience. I am certainly ready to get back to my main love in life come tomorrow morning – FOOD!

4. Today is my best friend in the whole wide world’s birthday. It makes me so sad that I can’t be there to celebrate with her, but I know she is living it up in LA today/tonight. Jilly Bean, I wanted to send you donuts to your door this morning to keep the tradition going… but I didn’t know how you’d feel about them waking you up at 8 a.m. buzzing into your apartment – so I’m sending you virtual donuts! (And real life presents/card…duh!!!) I’ll be NYC boss for you tonight.

SO, since I already dedicated last week’s What I Ate Wednesday to a day in the life of a juice cleanser, I thought I would use today’s post to quickly go over what I eat in a day on a cleanse and then share the deets of my 10 day experience with you all.

Day in the Life of a Juice Cleanser:

For details on which juices I was enjoying on my cleanse, check out last week’s WIAW. I won’t bore you with going over it all again.

Now, down to the reeeaal interesting stuff… how the heck was it going 10 days with no solid food?!?!

10 Day Cleanse Recap:

Days 1-6 were really not that difficult for me, with the exception of a little bit of hunger and tiredness on days 3 and 4, but nothing a few green juices didn’t fix. I went easy on my workouts, allowed myself to rest and sleep a bit more than usual, and I took the time to reflect on my experience and journal throughout. I found it incredibly liberating to free myself from the thoughts and worries that I have on a daily basis when it comes to food… or even just going to the grocery store and trying to decide what to get!

I saved a crapload of money (being the Whole Foods shopaholic that I am), and I found that a significant amount of time opened up in my day that is usually dedicated to preparing, cleaning up, consuming and planning meals. It was extremely nice to have a break from cleaning my Vitamix twice a day and sticking my whole body into the refrigerator to try to make room for all of my produce. And my roommate was certainly thrilled that for once in our lives my fresh fruits and veggies were not overflowing our kitchen.

My mental clarity totally remained in tact, which I was pleasantly surprised about. I have suffered on three-day cleanses in the past with fogginess and dizziness, but I think something about the 10-day mentality and also the amount of fruit juices I was adding in did the trick. The only times I found it hard to think were early in the morning before I’d had my first juice, since it sometimes took me over an hour between waking up and walking to Juice Press! (I’m a lazy bum in the mornings.)

Day 7 is when things started to get more difficult. Up until then, I was feeling pretty miraculous for transitioning from an all-food diet to an all-juice diet. I woke up that morning with a light headache and feeling exceptionally exhausted. I took that as a sign that my body was finally reaching the detox period, so I let myself rest. I cancelled my plans for the day and hung out at home… no working out, no yoga, no nothin’. Ummm, can we just take a second to realize how amazing that was? I never… I repeat, never, allow myself a full-on rest day with no plans. That in itself was so rejuvenating that it made the detox quite bearable.

Day 8 I woke up super starving. That’s the day that I added a smoothie with almond butter into my diet, and it was by far the best thing I have ever tasted in my life. I felt life coming back into my body… and it recharged me and fueled me through the day. Days 9 and 10 have been much easier, and I think it’s partially because I know I am nearing the end. Food is in sight, and I am excited about it.

Earlier on in the process I thought I was going to want to extend the cleanse. Now I feel as if 10 days was the perfect reset. I feel totally amazing and clean from all of the nutrients the juices have given me, and my digestive system got a real break. And it helps that Juice Press juices are ridiculously yummy.

And, ta-daaa, I lost about 7-8 pounds (I didn’t weigh myself beforehand so I am estimating), which definitely feels good. Everyone likes to feel lighter after an extended cleanse – it’s part of the body doing it’s detoxing job!

Overall, I am most thankful for the reflective aspects of the cleanse. Writing in my journal and working out some of my personal issues with food, digestion, and overall life stress has been exactly what I needed. I allowed myself to take out a whole lot more time for myself (weird sentence, but you get it)… and I feel very restored.

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much for supporting me throughout this journey. To anyone who is looking to do a cleanse, read my last several posts about deciding which type of cleanse is best for you before diving into one. If you’re looking for a good company, JPis the way to go, and they deliver throughout the US. Solid food cleanse? Check out TBV 5-day Plant-based Cleanse, of course!

What’s on your agenda of Wednesday Eats? What is exciting in your Wednesday today?!