juiced

I am very pleased to tell you that I have done my juice fast for 5 days. 

I'm also somewhat shocked to report that I am a little bit sad for it to end.  I wouldn't have thought I would say that on Saturday night (day 2) when all I wanted was to sink my teeth into a squishy piece of warm pizza crust.  Or when I was slicing a knife through a creamy cheesecake and I could imagine exactly how it would feel in my eager mouth. 

Come to think of it day two was probably the hardest. I thought about giving it up because I was missing the eating festivities.  But then I thought how can you end a fast to eat pizza and cheesecake and feel good about it? I was super proud of myself as I slid the half eaten pieces of pizza and cheesecake (the criminality!) into the trash and reminded myself that I DID NOT HAVE TO EAT THEM and the world wouldn't end. 

Once I got all the food put away and the girls were asleep, I got a text from my friend Jen: there are chocolate peanut butter cupcakes on your back doorstep.  Oh no!!!  I wanted to shake my fist at the sky.  How much temptation do you think I can withstand?! 

For the record I adore Jen and I so appreciate that she was thinking of us.  And I did come to really laugh at the irony of the situation.  Once she remembered we were on the fast she suggested we put them in the freezer which I promptly did (after handling each delicious looking wonder and trying not to inhale their chocolaty fumes).   I also realized that on any other Saturday night where I am not exercising any self-control, I would have eaten the pizza, the homemade french fries, the cheesecake AND a cupcake and been full of remorse, regret and a touch of desperation.

I believe rehabilitation happens in those moments where you have to be extra strong and extra brave and withstand a mountain of temptation in the form of refined sugar and saturated fat. 

By day three I was feeling truly amazing. especially since I was aware of all I did NOT eat the night before and I have felt great since.  There have been some moments of tired, but honestly less than I have in my normal, non-fasting life.  Tomorrow will be day 6 and I plan to break the fast at dinner tomorrow so that I can adjust my stomach to eating before I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. 

My blood sugars (I'm a type I diabetic) had been very erratic in the week prior to my fast and they have completely stabilized.  I am not due for a thyroid check for another few weeks and I plan to build in some days of juice fasting into the holiday season/pre-endocronologist appointment date.

Some people have asked questions so here are some answers plus some interesting observations:

-If I'm going to be away from the house (I went to my sister's for the day Sunday), I juice and take it with me in a cooler.  Juice is optimal when freshly made but, hey, later is better than never in my book.

- I've been drinking water like crazy and I don't pee as much as I would if I drank the same amount while eating. I have no idea how this works but it is kind of cool.

-I drink fresh lemon and cayenne with hot water instead of tea or coffee and it is strangely comforting and satisfying. 

-I am totally digging the not having to think about food or if I'm eating too much of this or too little of that.

-I am hungry sometimes, but it has lessened as the days have gone on and I find that I am more comfortable being hungry than I usually am.

-Fasting on Saturday, which was a stimulating and parentally-draining kind of day, I definitely felt edgy with no buffer between me and the world.  It was very enlightening to witness how many moments I had the urge to grab something to eat in a moment of stress or tension.

-The fast has gotten easier each day.  I guess it is just like any habit.

- Yes, cleaning all 6 individual parts of the juicer are kind of a pain in the ass but I'm not really exercising so I have more time than usual so no big deal.

-I have lost 7 pounds.

-I went to the YES on 1 celebration party (the official one put on by Equality Maine) and did not partake in the drinking or the appetizers. I drank water and focused instead on the really cool people there and guess what?  It was still fun plus I didn't have to come home and lament about the chips I'd eaten.

-I drink juice 4-6 times a day depending on how hungry I am or how many ounces each batch is.  Usually I drink about 16 oz of juice at a time.

-I went to the gym on Monday and definitely felt depleted and like I was kind of dragging myself around. Other than that my energy level is great.

-I am scared to start eating again.   There I've said it.  I worry a little that I still can't be trusted to be good to my body.

Here is a typical veggie juice we've been making: carrots, kale, tomato, fennel, Brussels sprouts, mini-peppers, a lemon, ginger and butternut squash.  A bowlful of nutrition. 

There are so many delicious fruit combos.  This morning I had pears, apples, oranges and lime for breakfast. 

Here's a great recipe from reboot your life.

1 cup cranberries

1 orange, peel removed

1 organic apple

1 cup butternut squash (Australian butternut pumpkin), cubed

4-6 leaves collard greens (Australian cabbage leaves) about 1 cup, packed

I used kale for the greens.  Juice push it all through a juicer, drink and listen for the faint sound of your cells singing the Hallelujah chorus.

I've tried to tally up how much the juice fast has cost us and I came up with about $12/day.  That is buying the bulk of the produce at Walmart (not my ideal) and largely not organic.  I bought all organic carrots, some of the apples and I bought a bunch of local squash from a farm stand.   That is really not that expensive considering the massive health benefits of juicing. 

I honestly feel so good right now that I am truly curious why I would ever let anything other than vitality-enhancing food cross my lips.  Why would I ever let my desire for taste override my natural wisdom of what feeds me?  I'm starting to understand that there are two facets of healthy eating:  what you eat and how you eat.  I was flunking at both.  I'm hoping that this fast is the start of a paradigm shift in me so I can release the push/pull with food and consistently want to make choices that support me, instead of shred me.  It is my hope that the scale has shifted and want for the good will overpower my lifelong craving for the bad.

Tomorrow we got to Beals Island and I work doing massage all day and then we stay for Thanksgiving.  I will juice in the morning for the day and then eat dinner.  Rumor has it that we are having lobster.  Ever heard of breaking a fast with lobster?  No, me either.