Ok, I am at day 20 and going strong after a weak moment in a Mexican restaurant where I felt the need to smell the basket of chips! Haha
I recently posted an update on fb for my friends who have continued to be interested in my dietary and healing journey.
I've lost 16 pounds so far.
So I've released the weight I gained after my knee reconstruction and my winter fluff!
Lots of encouragement. I was a little taken aback by the amount of private messages I got warning me about what I was doing to my body and questioning the validity of juicing.
Not that I expect everyone to believe and feel the way I do, that's highly unrealistic ... It'd be nice, but it's not going to happen! ; )
It just made me wonder why it's ok to question and comment and question someone's decision to attempt a healthier lifestyle, but yet I have never seen a comment, say on someone's posting of a highly decadent desert or über fattening restaurant meal.
" gee Tom, that pasta carbonara looks extreme and I think it's unhealthy. Where are you getting your macro nutrients from?"
"Sally, you had better stop getting those gourmet cupcakes.... I see diabetes in your future"
"Wow....Edith , you giving your kids hot dogs and chips 4-5 x a week is considered endangering their health...."

In my opinion the above comments are much more constructive and accurate.
Yet most people would never dream of saying any of the above unless it was family or a close friend.
I am pretty much glowing with health right now. But how many people are pale, bloated, broken out, exhausted and weak yet no one would say to them
" ohh.... It's probably what you are putting in your body that's causing your issues"
Yet to someone who is gaing a healthy glow and balance with endless energy and no health issues many many pepe on finding out about either my raw vegan lifestyle or juicing experiment are very quick with
" ooh.... Be careful, you want to give your body what it needs"
(Like what? A double bacon cheeseburger ?)
"I'm worried about you"
(Why? Because the mere fact that my health is disproving your belief system and thus may cause you to have to examine your own beliefs and actions?)

I say it many many times, I am not the raw food nazi, however when people ask, I tend to go on and on because I am hooked. I am a pretty bright girl, I do my research, I experiment to see what works best for me, I know what works for one doesn't mean it's for everyone.
But I am learning what works for me.
I just ask for the respect I give others.

Well I would love to say that this juice fast has been a breeze.... But while it has been easier than I ever thought possible, it hasn't been without its hurdles.
Last weekend I was persuaded to go out to dinner with a group of good friends, I was a little hungry but ordered tonic water and a glass of orange/pineapple juice. It was actually easy being surrounded by huge bowls of pasta and pizza....
The next morning I woke up with a migraine. This has happened to me before, getting my body so clean that the littlest non clean item introduced causes a major reaction. I believe the commercial juice must have had perservative and added sugar.
Lesson learned.
A few days later I had this sudden and intense craving for the pasta I remembered from that night! Took me by surprise .
I was lucky, a friend helped talk me off the ledge... Just by telling me that I could stop the fast. I realized I didn't want to and I definitely didn't want to stop feeling this well.
Then I had some juice and the cravings went away, I had not had enough juice that day.
Another hurdle for me is I had promised my landlord that I would hang around this week to oversee some construction going on at our building. So I have ended up feeling like I am stuck here. I'm bored.
Which for me always propels me to stand in front of an open refrigerator looking.... Just looking.....
Then the obvious stress of everything going on...
Oh, and my car failed to start yesterday. I was planning on stocking up on produce but had no way to get some. I had to have my car towed to the mechanics ... So I broke out my bike and rode to a local market to get a bag of slightly old, incredibly over priced produce. But it's ok, I always forget how much I love riding my bike.
So the benefits I have noticed so far from this juice fast....
Lots of energy (caveat if I drink enough juice and drink enough water in other words , give my body what it needs)
Huge reduction in cravings
No hunger
Soft skin
Sleeping really well
Getting up early with no inclination to sleep in (that's huge for me)
Losing some weight
Happy
Clear headed,after my day 3 confusion
Been told I'm glowing

Still aiming for the end of the month

I have to admit I am pretty proud of myself. I have made it to day 10 of my juice fast! What I've learned so far....
1. Have to drink the juice! Kind of a 'duh' point, but there have been times when I felt too busy or too lazy to juice and I ended up with some hunger or lack of energy.
2.drink your water! I started to slack off with drinking my water... Not good.
Drink.
3. Even though I have tons of energy I have learned that I need to rest since at the end of the day this is a healing regimen . There have been times when I did too much either in the gym or just pushed through my body's signals to rest....
Don't
4. Enjoy the flavored and get creative!
5. Reach out for support or information. I have been looking at all the great websites out there with information on juice fasts and learning from people who have done this. Invaluable.

I also went through my moms birthday celebration and didn't have a bite of the Chinese food or wonderful looking cupcakes.... Wasn't even tempted!
Still planning to go to the end of the month.

Well I am here to eat crow ( can you juice crow?) I have always been dubious of juicing. I have changed my view on it.
Dramatically
A brief run down of my experience so far...
Day1
I had been doing just green smoothies the 2 days prior, so there was not as much of a shock going to juice only.
I had also watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and Forks over Knives. So I was on both an information overload and an enthusiastic high. A good place to be .
Day 1went well. Not hungry. Had a little irritation with the cleanup from juicing. I got over it.

Day 2
I was amazed that I was continuing into day two. Not due to how I felt (I felt great) but because this is something I thought i would never be able to do. Slight headache at the end of the day.also wanted to chew something.but realized I was not hungry at all. Continued with my daily elliptical and weight workout.

Day 3
Tons of energy! Woke up actually looking forward to my juice. Have to be honest and admit that I was a little spacey. How spacey? I got lost in my own neighborhood.
It was all good, I eventually found my way home.

Day4
Still very incredulous that I am still doing this. Tons of energy. I felt like I was on drugs. I've never done drugs, but this is how I imagine drugs would feel... Since on my flawed reasoning if drugs felt bad why would people do them?
I had a class on energy work and was literally buzzing around telling everyone how great I felt. Yes, I was that person.
Everyone wanted to try my juice. So I don't think I drank enough, by the time I got home I was a little hungry. But I was out of produce as I was planning to go grocery shopping the next morning. So, I just went to bed.

Day5
I was a bit hungry, but I gave away a lot of my juice yesterday. I was still buzzing but a little tired. I realize that this is a healing process and I need to really listen to my body. I wonder how much of this has to do with the energy work I did yesterday?
I found a treasure trove of produce at my grocery store ...watercress, peashoots(love them) red kale, beets , maroon carrots....... It's going to be a good week! I do not know how long I am going to continue this. I figure I'll know when it's time to stop.
Still not hungry and tons of energy.... Sleeping well and getting clearer.
Stay tuned

Like a commitment phobe college student I have been flirting with juicing. A little here...a little there. I enjoy the taste, I'm getting use to the cleanup... But something has held me back from committing. Recently I have re watched an excellent documentary Forks over Knives. I need to find away to recommit to a healthy life style every once in a while. Another documentary was also recommended Fat, Sick and nearly Dead.
If you haven't seen and and are interested or reluctant to juice, Pleas Please watch it. It inspired me and lessened my doubt as to being able to do it. While I don't have any major medical issues I am dealing with, I want to kick my health up a notch. So here I go! I am going to commit to a 7 -10 day juice fast. I won't put a longer one off the table.....lets just see!
This morning:
Red kale
Carrots
Maroon carrots
Apples
Celery
Ginger
Cucumber

Mmmmmmm