Day 16 of my Juice Fast

Well, it's Day 16, and I am over half way through with my Juice fast!

I am continuing to feel great, have loads of energy, lose weight (I'm down 18 pounds), and today I put on a dress that I wore for my graduation ceremony for undergrad school. I looked better in the dress today than I did 2 years ago. 

It blows my mind. In 16 days, I have undone the past 2 years. 

I can hear you asking, "But isn't it awful? Don't you miss chewing!?" And the answer is, "Eh, not really." Do I miss chewing? Not at all. I did eat a cracker while I took communion at church yesterday, and I'm not going to lie - it felt really weird to chew it. And the grape juice tasted like sugar on crack cocaine. But I'm still not hungry, and I still feel great. 

This weekend, I was exhausted and had zero motivation to do anything but see how many movies I could cram into 48 hours. I wanted sleep and rest. At first, I thought to myself, "Well, that's disappointing. I thought this detox would fix this." And then I realized... even though I was exhausted and unmotivated, I felt GREAT being exhausted and unmotivated. Prior to the fast, I would be exhausted, unmotivated, miserable and unhappy. But this weekend I was exhausted, unmotivated, content and felt good. Had I not had a blister the size of a steak you'd see on Diner's Drive-In's and Dive's (If you don't get the reference, my blister was huge, and a steak sounds great), then I would have been fine to go on a 4 mile walk. Prior to the detox, I would have known there was no way I could step a foot off my front porch and you couldn't have paid me in enough steak to take a 5 minute walk, let alone a 4 mile walk. 

Am I still craving food? Yes, but not in the sense you think. 

I'm craving variety. I want food, but I would be happy with healthy and non-processed food. I'm totally diggin' a cauliflower crusted, veggie pizza. Or a salmon patty and a nice kale salad with feta and almond slivers. 

Do I still want that "sunshine burger" from Buckhead Cafe, a deliciously tasty and juicy burger with a sunny-side up egg and a hefty dollop of guacamole, with greasy fries and ranch good enough to bathe in? 

Well, duh. Wouldn't you?

 Am I going to eat it? Every once in a while, yes. This is a juice detox, not the way I am living the rest of my life. I'm detoxing/fasting in order to lose addiction, not my taste buds. I expect to eat "clean" during the work week (because of my very long days at work and my level of business, it is easier for me to not focus on food treats) and then I plan on cooking more on the weekends, using meats, dairy and grains in moderation.

And yes, I still plan on eating out every once in a while. I still plan on eating chicken nacho's from Moe's, or a Reuben sandwich from Home and Market Cafe. Just not all the time, and it will be followed with clean eating and exercise. 

So there's my update. I still work at a psychiatric hospital and am surrounded by psychotic, homicidal, and suicidal patients 12 hours a day. I'm still exhausted on the weekends because of it. I still want food. But I'm still losing weight, still feeling great, and still planning on finishing this out for the full 30 days (you are going to eat your words, Jeremy Wagoner). 

Day 6!

I am proud to say that I have reached Day 6 of my 30 day juice fast!

Sunday, the first day, was probably the most difficult. I felt very weak, nauseous, and light headed. Day 2, I was at work and got a headache around 12:00... which turned into a migraine that night and I was in bed at 7:00 that night. Day 3 was a lot better. I felt really good, even though I had a small headache. And since Day 4 I have been doing GREAT!

I have noticed several exciting things:

1) I'm pretty excited about this one..... I've been waking up wonderfully. Normally, the most difficult time of the day for me is in the mornings. I am my most angry (yes, angry) the first 60 seconds after I wake up. It's been like that for years. I wake up angry, and it fades away after a couple minutes. I'm sluggish, miserable and exhausted. But even just after the first day, I have been waking up easily! I am not alert, and ready for the day after I wake up!

2) I am sleeping wonderfully. I sleep deep, and it feels good.

3) I have so much energy! I am not at all tired during the day. Usually I would tell you my "good" part of the day was between 11:00 - 2:00. However, I now last until around 8:00 before getting tired! Talking about improvement!

4) I'm not hungry. Am I craving? I'm craving bread and cheese, nachos, pizza, biscuits and gravy, and all that non-goodness (whatever, we know it's goodness) like a crazy mad woman. But no, I'm not actually hungry. I drink 64 ounces a day, sometimes more depending on if I get hungry or need to slap a craving in the face with a shot of pineapple juice. I'm also trying to drink 80+ ounces of water along with it. To answer the question that everyone at work has asked me daily, and I know you are wondering yourself, is no. I am not pooping my brains out. So there. That's all I have to say on that note.

5) I walked a mile this evening. And I did it quick, and I was never out of breath, and most importantly my feet and legs never started cramping. I really do believe that my health and physical wellness will change from this point on, so why not be honest. Walking anywhere previously killed me. But not now. Praise the Lord.

6) I'm losing weight. I think I might save this for later, and say how much when the fast is over. Or I might not share at all. I'm not sure yet. The point is, all these other things are more exciting to me. I'm doing this to feel good.

Did I mention how proud I am? I fully expected to quit after day 2. But I haven't. It's been so much easier than I though, I am reaping the rewards so much sooner than I could have ever dreamed of.
When I go into work with my beet, turnip green, apple, lime, and orange juice... I'm proud.
When I still get on Pinterest at night and can look at pictures of bacon without stars bursting in front of my eyes (trust me, that happened the first 3 days)... I'm proud.
When I realize that I'm almost done with my first week... I'm proud. And excited.

Be Filled With Joy... and Juice

Today I bought a new Bible, new journal, and $100 worth of fruits and veggies to begin what I hope will be a 30 day juice fast. Tomorrow I embark on a journey to rejuvinate my spiritual life, refresh my emotional health, and bring me to a new place spiritually. I need more Jesus, less stress, and more health.

Around a month ago, my aunt sent me a DVD called "Hungry for Change." I sighed a little when I recieved it in the mail, knowing it would add to my knowledge of how unhealthy I am living and eating, and that then the guilt would come. Usually, guilt turns into "Well, I might as well eat half this pizza and a whole thing of oreos. I'm fat anyways." But when I watched this DVD, which focuses on "eating clean" and having a plant-based diet, something in my mind changed. Instead of being guilt-ridden and looking for the nearest block of butter, I found myself intrigued by the idea of a diet creating more energy, shedding some pounds, and making me feel good. I know this is basic, and any healthy diet/lifestyle should do this... but the movie focuses on how unhealthy all processed foods are. I pretty much knew this due to the fact that a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries lasted four weeks outside in my backyard (neighbor tossed it in the yard) without changing shape or color. After watching Hungry for Change, I found a Joe Cross's documentary Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. I was immediately hooked. I wanted to do a juice fast.

I started adding a juice a day to my diet, without changing my diet. (Hungry for Change talks about adding things in, and as you get used to them then taking certain things out of your regular diet.) I loved it. And I craved a juice fast even more. So after much planning, I have arrived.

Tomorrow I am starting my juice fast. Again, I hope to last 30 days. I plan to post occasionally, with an update on how I'm doing. The following are my reasons for doing the fast.

- I need to end my cravings for bad food. I need to break habits of emotional eating and cycles of craving sweets, grease, and salt.
- I need to lose weight. Simply said, it's holding me back.
- I'm scared I have sleep apnea. I wake up at night with a gasp, and I am never (I repeat, NEVER) rested. The most difficult time of my day, when I am most tired and sluggish, is the first 2 hours after waking up.
- I want more energy. I'm tired all the time.
- I want to be healthy. I want to know that what I am putting in my body is healthy, not harmful. I want to not be filled with chemicals, and processed foods.

I am following the 15 day plan found on rebootwithjoe.com and using the recipes and grocery list provided. I went and purchased 100 dollars of groceries, and spent almost 3 hours prepping for the first 5 days. I washed the fruits and veggies, and portioned them out into gallon ziplock bags, labeling each bag for what day and meal they will be. The plan suggests waking up and immediately drinking a cup of warm water with the juice of half a lemon in it (it is an energizer and kick starts your metabolism). You then are to drink five different juices, each 16 ounce servings. Along with 16 ounces of coconut water, and LOTS of water.

So here I go. Prayers would be appreciated. This ain't goin' to be easy, folks.