Juice Fast, Day 3

I mentioned in my last blog that I'd somewhat unintentionally fallen into a juice fast. I really like the way this happened because I didn't build it up in my head and worry about "the last meal" and over think things. I just ended up on Tuesday evening not having eaten food all day and decided to just keep rolling. I'm really happy to say that things have been FANTASTIC on the juice fast. I've read a lot of blogs and websites relating to juice fasts, spoken to people who have done liquid or juice fasts, and of course watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Almost all of them recount tales of having a very hard time the first 3 days... feeling exhausted and having flu-like symptoms, headaches, mood swings, etc. I don't know if it's because I didn't build it up in my head that Day 1 of my fast was actually Day 1, or if I'd been on a plant-heavy diet for the better part of 2 weeks already, but honestly, I've felt great. No fatigue, no weakness, no grumpiness, and most shockingly, NO HUNGER!

I find that I am totally satisfied after a glass of fresh juice, and maintain hunger in between juices with lots of water. I'm putting 1 tablespoon of chia seeds in a glass of juice or water twice a day, usually in the morning and in the late afternoon, to help the full feeling last longer and help move the toxins out of my body. I've been averaging about 3 different juices each day. Following the recipes I posted on Tuesday, I cut those with about 1/3 water and get about 2.5 glasses of juice out of each "juicing". I carry an insulated 20oz glass that I will fill up to drink immediately, and put the rest in a mason jar with 1/3 water to bring with me wherever I go for refills. This method has worked really well and results in about 6-8 glasses of juice each day, and I typically drink another 8-12 glasses of water on top of that.

I've been drinking a "fruity" juice in the morning, since that gets some natural sugars in my body and helps give me energy throughout the day. The lunch juice has been all veggie and citrus based (maybe an apple to sweeten), and the evening has been whatever I feel like, based on my cravings. Every juice I'm making has greens of some sort in it. Yesterday I started the day with the Great Green Fruity Juice, lunch was Green Lemonade, and my dinner was Dracula's Dream Juice.

Dracula's juice wasn't on the list I made Tuesday, and I didn't shop specifically for it, but I did have everything I needed to make it. When I read the name of the juice and the ingredients it made me crack up, and really want to try it. For some reason it seemed like an indulgent juice! I will preface this by saying that I have NEVER liked beets, prepared any way. A handful of times I've had them in juices and haven't been able to drink the juice. It makes everything taste like dirt. Gross. However, I did read someone said it's best to peel the beets because the skin can give a nasty taste. So, I decided to give it a go last night. I peeled the beets and put them into the juicer with the strawberries, carrots, and kale. I also decided that I'd really treat myself and drink this one out of a wine glass, since it was so deep, dark, and beautiful, and could pass for red wine if someone just glanced.

Might sound silly, but I think the wine glass made a big impact on me mentally. I stretched out on the couch, relaxed with a book and a kitten on my lap, and sipped it like it WAS a beautiful glass of red wine. It tasted amazing. I LOVED this juice and will have a hard time not to drink it every day! The color is gorgeous and it's really cool to be reminded that such intense colors are found naturally occurring in food. Plus I loaded it up with squishy ice, which you know is my favorite!

I shared my shopping list with you last time and the total came to $92.98. That included a 25lb bag of juicing carrots that I split with Melanie, and a bar of soap, so the accurate total is more like $80. That comes out to about $2.85 per glass of juice, made from 100% organic (and about 25% local) fruits and veggies. If you went to a juice bar I promise you'd pay double that, at least. I'm happy with that cost breakdown, and interested to see if I can stretch what I have on hand out to 5 days rather than my originally anticipated 4. If that happens, the cost per juice goes down by another $.60!

Other than juicing be surprisingly affordable on the wallet, I am THOROUGHLY enjoying not having to *think* about what is going into my body next. There's no cooking. Cleanup is quick and easy. Preparing my meals take less than 5 minutes from the time I put my hand on the first veggie until I'm taking my first sip. I've gotten so much of my time back! (Which is good, considering all of my free time for the next week will be spent at car dealerships!). And this might sound silly, but some of these juices taste so good it literally puts a smile on my face when I take a sip. For example, breakfast this morning was Peachy Green Juice. I used the first of the crop peaches from here in Ft. Mill and seriously, every single sip put a smile on my face. It was involuntary!

On the morning of day 3 of the fast I stepped on the scale and it read 161.2. That is 7.6 pounds down from my starting weight 17 days ago, and 4.1 pounds down since I started the fast on Tuesday morning. I'm pretty happy with that progress in such a short time, and once again, I can tell the bloating and inflammation has continued moving out. I actually SAW my hip bones when I was laying down last night. I haven't seen those in a loooong time!

I hope my next post sees more progress and the fast continuing to be an enjoyable experience! At this point, unless anything major changes, I don't see any reason not to continue after my initial goal of 5 days. I'll probably tack on another 5 and try for 10 days!

For more information about juice fasting, why it's healthy for the body, and how to do it safely, check out this article on MindBodyGreen.com