Day#3 Feeling Better #juicefeast

I'm sitting at my desk drinking cilantro, pear,  red bell pepper and mustard greens and watching Marie Forleo talk to Mastin Kipp about living and finding your purpose.

I feel pretty good right now, but last night I ate a little food. Not a meal or anything, but I did feel better afterwards.  I just wanted to chew something.

I woke up this morning determined to finish this feast.  As much as I want to eat, I want to detox even more.  I refuse to give up.

I've decided that when this feast is over, I will eat mostly raw vegan for the rest of the month. Lots of HUGE fresh salads, smoothies, fresh juice, raw nuts and seeds.  I figure if I can survive on liquids for 5 days, eating unlimited fruits and vegetables should be a lot less difficult.

We're heading out in a bit to replenish our veggie stash. We're getting lots of kale, celery, cilantro, lemon and cucumbers. Eric is still going strong with fresh juice and water!

I hope you're having a great day.

We Bought A Juicer!

I talked so much trash about my previous juicer that I made sure to get one that would last longer than 6 months. I love my smoothies but my desire to get a juicer came after watching Hungry for Change (available on Netflix Instant) the other night. I mentioned to Eric that we should get a juicer and do a juice feast. He encouraged it and was instantly on board!

I went back and forth between this Breville juicer (used in the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead) and the Omega J8006. I decided on the Breville after reading reviews and for the less bulky design. I also wasn't a fan of the small opening on the Omega.  I felt it would take too long to chop pieces of fruit and vegetables to get through the chute.

I'm ready to get my socks rocked off with some juicing!

The juice feast will start on Friday, January 11th

Will you join us? If you don't own a juicer, I made a video showing how to make fresh juice using a blender and nut bag.

We plan to document our juice feast on my Youtube channel and here on the blog. Be sure to subscribe to stay up to date. :-)

Disclaimer: If you buy the juicer using the link above, I will get a couple of cents from Amazon. Of course, I would never recommend something that I wouldn't use myself. :-)

My First Juice Fast-The Ups and Mostly Downs

I watched Fat Sick & Nearly Deadabout 5 months ago, and even though I loved the message, I wasn't moved to juice fast myself until the other day.

I enjoy fresh juiced fruit and vegetables a few times each week, but the idea of not eating for several days was too daunting to imagine actually doing for myself.  

I was on Twitter minding my business (well not really but you know what I mean) when a lady I follow mentioned how great she was feeling after juicing for the last 3 days.  A few days later,  I saw she was still going strong and feeling better than ever. 

Day 1 Monday, Feb 28 - I didn't plan to fast when I woke up, so my day started off pretty normal.  I drank some lavender tea, got the kids ready for school and started working on a project.  Before I realized it, it was after 3 PM and I went the day without eating.  I was feeling okay and juiced apples, carrots, and ginger as a late lunch.

6 PM- I was feeling like crap because the family was eating dinner and I could smell it.  Thankfully, my hubby made Gardein "chicken" and tator tots for the kids, so I didn't actually have to see it.

9:30 PM-I made a pot of lemon grass tea, opened the refrigerator and stared at the contents. *Sigh*

I went to bed with a headache and had a hard time falling asleep because I kept thinking about bagels and fried rice.

Day 2-I woke up craving fish (I haven't had fish since 2008!) and french fries but started the day with a pot of lavender tea. 

I have to admit that I was feeling a little better even though I still had a slight headache. I made juice for lunch and made dinner that night.  I ate dinner too.

Day 3-I woke up with renewed energy.  I guess eating dinner does that to you. *shaking my head* I juiced grapes and carrots for breakfast and felt okay for most of the day.  Since my juicer doesn't extract green leafy vegetables very well, I decided to also incorporate smoothies into my fast. I hoped this would help me to also stay "fuller" longer.

3 PM- I made a smoothie out of cilantro, water, frozen peaches, and bananas. It wasn't the tastiest blend but it did a good job of making me feel full for a bit. 

I was good until dinner. I tasted a bit of the tofu, cabbage, and red onion stir-fry to make sure it had enough seasoning. Dumb move.  I ate dinner with my family again.

Did mention that I made corn muffins too? Sigh

Much respect to the people who can cook for their families and still keep up with their fast. 

Conclusion:

My lack of planning sabotaged me from the beginning. 

*I can't be around food at all if I do this again. I underestimated my willpower in that aspect-Meals would have to be planned in advance.

*Don't limit myself-be very active in getting plenty of water, herbal tea, and juice before the hungry pains & headaches start.

*Be active-I spent too much time thinking about food.  I need to make sure I have plans to keep myself as busy as possible.

Thinking about doing your own juice fast?