Three days, 18 bottles of juice, and two pounds lighter

My internship in Hong Kong, a foodie’s paradise, this summer left me with a line-longer resume and an extra ten pounds. I was getting stressed about not fitting into old clothes and my body’s horizontal growth I could see in the mirror. I knew action had to be taken before my newly added layers of fat became locked in within the loop of my vicious overeating habits.

The idea of any kind of fast was initially repelling. Born and raised in Korea, where creative and often destructive slimming ideas bloom to social obsessions, I have seen first-hand the paralyzing effects of straight-down fasting.

While sounding distant and ominous, fasting dates back to antiquity. Most common fasting practices are usually in connection with religious rituals—there are over 30 references to fasting in the Bible alone. Many cultures place restriction on certain types of food and advocate moderation in eating.

Among the fasting options in society, from extreme and dangerous to religious and vegetarian, a juice fast seemed to be the golden mean. I tried the Blueprint Cleanse (Blueprintcleanse.com), which supplies detox juices to any Manhattan location for $75/day and $65/day for three days or more, including tax and delivery. I chose excavation level, the hardest-core of the three available cleanse levels.

A smart faster knows the when and with whom are just as important as the what. I decided to fast with my roommate, a juice fast veteran, and that the best time was during the first weekend of school, before assignments and stress pile up but after catching up with old friends (which undoubtedly involved eating, and lots of it).

And so began my three-day excavation detox journey.

Each day consists of six bottles of juices and as much water and herbal tea as you can drink. My very first juice of the day was Green Lemon Juice, made of filtered water, romaine, celery, cucumber, green apple, spinach, kale, parsley, and lemon. The others were Green Ginger Juice (same ingredients except ginger replacing lemon), Green Apple Juice (same logic), Tart and Spicy Lemonade (filtered water, lemon, and cayenne), Green Parsley, and Cashew Nut Milk (filtered water, raw cashews, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and agave nectar).

To my surprise, they were fairly tasty. The spicy lemonade was an especially refreshing change from three consecutive bottles of greens. The Cashew Nut Milk was so good that my roommate and I relished every last drop.

After fasting I was $195 short, two pounds lighter and one inch smaller. I was also more appreciative of all the efforts associated with bringing food to my plate and more conscious of my diet. But the greatest gain was the sense of control. After all, we live in the era of excess and over-indulgences, and being able to control one’s most basic desires is an essential part of a healthy and happy life.