Reflecting on my juice feast.

Well I haven't posted in a while, I've been trying to process all that I went through with the juice feast. I had a lot of trouble drinking the recommended 16 cups of juice. I had my ups and downs some days I wanted to quit and others I enjoyed the process. It was difficult to get used to making so many juices all day. I was really getting sick of ALL juices. I stopped my fast after 8 days, my body just could not go to 10 days.

When I broke my fast I had a green smoothies and some Italian prune plums. After that my body just craved fats. I ate nuts and seeds, which I was not supposed to do until at least day 3. I even ate some chicken. I was craving foods that I had given up and stopped thinking about until after my fast. It was because my body wanted fats, it just wanted to feel full.

Perhaps if I drank enough juice on my fast I would not have felt this way. There is no way to tell, it was a new experience for me. I am so glad I did it.The group support was amazing! Enough time has past since the fast that I'm actually thinking of doing another one this spring. I never thought I would feel that way or ever want to juice again. For a few days after the fast I could not go near my juicer. But about 3 days later I did juice again and I have been ever since.

After the juice fast I let myself eat whatever I wanted and feel how ever I wanted without judgement. I knew I would be back on track in no time. Giving myself this permission made that period of feeling off balance last only a few days. I did stick to a mostly raw diet, but I was not eating as clean as I was before the fast.

I am so glad that I am back on track now and feeling good.

My fast continues

I am the type of person who forgets to eat, if I'm really happy or really sad I don't eat. This is OK on a diet with solid foods but it is dangerous on a juice fast. First thing in the morning I was drinking a liter of water,my stomach felt so full that I was fooled into thinking I wasn't hungry, great if you are on a diet and want to lose weight. Not great if you are on a juice fast and your calories are greatly reduced anyway. Because of this I had an extremely difficult day yesterday. I'm trying to process everything that is going on right now. It has not been easy.

Getting to know myself better

Today is day number 6 of my juice feast I woke up feeling good. Last night was difficult I was not feeling very well, but after a good nights rest things are better. I have to say it's actually been positive for me that I had such a hard time yesterday. This juice fast is a journey, I'm learning a lot about myself some good some bad.

In some areas of my life I give up too quickly when things start to get difficult. For example on the first day of fast I thought I broke my juicer while I was making my first juice of the day. In my mind I thought to myself that I could not do the juice fast. I was relieved then I realized I needed to forge ahead and not quit. I pushed the reset button and it worked again. But sometimes in my life I'll put things off for another time when I'm faced with difficulty. Instead of addressing the problem and finding a solution right away even if it takes a few days to implement.

This juice fast helped me to see that I have to stop doing this. It is very counterproductive. I feel so clear right now and I can finally analyze my life and stop some of my bad habits. I can't explain why I feel so clear. My diet before the fast was pretty clean I ate pretty much all fruits and vegetables. I didn't eat sugar, caffeine or any processed foods. I felt pretty great on my diet, but this fast takes it to another level. I am really glad I am doing this, it is much easier doing it with a group. It's nice to connect on our forum and discuss ideas and any difficulties we are having. The support helps a lot. My husband and son have also been so great during my fast without their love and support it would be much more difficult.

Day 5 of my juice feast,I'm half way there!

Well today I'm feeling some detox symptoms. I'm nauseous , my skin is breaking out and I have a rash. I'm feeling pretty cranky! Plus my new juicer is really taking a long time to get here. My old one is starting to overheat, it's driving me crazy. I really need my new one hopefully it will come tomorrow.

It's funny because last night I felt really great. We even had family over for our usual Sunday night dinner and smelling the food didn't bother me at all. I was content with my delicious carrot, kale, celery juice. It was a very nice evening. My family didn't think it was strange that I was doing a juice fast. I was really happy that they were just accepting of it and that they didn't make a big deal out of it.

I'm hoping I'll feel better tomorrow, I'm proud of myself for doing this fast and I will not give up no matter how tough things get. This has been a good experience for me even the tough parts, I've learned a lot about myself.

Day 4 of my juice feast

Things are going really well today, I've finally settled into a routine. Juicing is feeling more natural to me now. I have juiced in the past but never for every meal. I have lots of energy, despite the fact that I was up most of the night. We had a really loud thunderstorm and my son was too scared to sleep alone, he spent most of the night kicking me. The joys of motherhood!

My juices have been tasting better as well, so I'm feeling positive today. I have been trying out new vegetables to juice instead of sticking to my usual carrot based juices. They just taste too sweet to me right now. So I've been using cucumber, bok choy and red pepper as a base instead, and mixing that with my greens.

Saturday night was a little bit difficult we didn't go out , but I had to cook for the family. I was so hungry that I left the kitchen while my husband and son ate. I made myself a really nice savory tomato juice with garlic, red pepper and bok choy, but I was still feeling a bit off. When I woke up I felt much better.

It's funny how each day is so different from the next. I am feeling great clarity today, I wish I could go into work and get some things done! My son wouldn't like that too much so I'll wait until Monday. Hopefully I'll feel this good tomorrow as well.

I made a really awesome fruit juice this afternoon for a snack. Here is a picture of my watermelon, cucumber, celery and strawberry ready to be juiced.




It was so delicious. I squeezed some fresh lemon juice on top.



I just loved the beautiful deep pink color of it. Hopefully the rest of my day will be as good as it is now!

It's time for a juice feast!

Photo taken by color line

I have decided to go on a juice feast! Starting tomorrow morning I will drink nothing but freshly juiced fruits or vegetables for 10 days. With a juice feast you can drink as much as you want to. As apposed to a juice fast where you are limited to the amount you drink. I should have enough energy to exercise, work and function like a normal person.
I'm a little nervous about it because I really like to eat and I don't like to get too hungry. Actually my stomach is growling already just thinking about it.

I am not doing this alone I am part of a group that Natasha at Raw Radiant Health started. She will help us along on our journey. She has created an online forum so we can interact with each other. This will make the feast much easier than if I were doing it alone.

The great part about feasting/fasting is that it gives the body a rest so it can heal itself. According to other people who have gone on these juice feasts, I should have some sort of breakthrough and mental clarity. Hopefully I'll make it through all 10 days, why does that sound like a really long time to me now.

Well I'm off to bed now, I am supposed to eat dinner early and go to bed early. More on my progress tomorrow.