Whoa, there goes the wagon!

Yesterday was a rough day. I made a quart of fruit/greens juice and left the house at 9, but didn't return until 10pm. I had a quarter cup of soup, same of apple crisp for lunch. What? I MADE it, had to taste it. And it was delicious. But the sugar rush afterwards was intense, and painful. That night, sitting in foster parenting training, I was absolutely starving, tired and light-headed. By the time I was home, I wasn't hungry, but I was tired, and then I couldn't get to sleep, for hours. Lame. I woke up hungry, made a veggie juice, tried to make it delicious like the avocado-infused one I made the other day, and it was UNdrinkable. So, I dumped it, and turned to some bean and rice chips and one of my small home-made energy bars. To be honest, I think I'm just thirsty. But, I made a bad decision and gorged on chips instead. Now I'm sipping my spearmint sun tea and feeling...a little better???

Okay, weird effect I have noticed while juicing...my teeth are absolutely COVERED in nastiness by late afternoon. I'm not sure why, it's definitely not something I notice on a normal day, and I have little ideas as to what causes it. I did lots of Google searches on the "juice fasting fuzzy teeth" phenomenon, and it turns out, I am not alone in this experience. Who knows what causes it, I hypothesize the fact that solid food is not rubbing against my teeth may have a small impact, and also they "say" that film on your tongue is a sign of detoxing. I hope my breath isn't atrocious as well, as they say this is also a common side-effect. Note to self, carry a toothbrush and toothpaste with you if you won't be home for 12+ hours. Here's a great video blog I found while searching: Day 7, Skinny Jeans, Brushing teeth and Elimination

Because I couldn't sleep last night, I slept in this morning, which was kind of a bummer. I feel like I lost hours today, and THEN all that work to juice and I definitely poured it down the drain and ate solid food. But after all the Google searches and reading the experiences of others, I am once again committed to sticking with this, albeit with my occasional solid food bouts. Besides, tomorrow being Saturday, I am picking up two Bountiful Baskets, one organic and one conventional. Plus, Joseph is really wanting to do it with me, he is just struggling with the addiction to munching, and fearing he won't be able to cut it. For me, I have one reached for the cashews, or eaten an avocado with a spoon, just to push through the urge to eat. And I don't beat myself up for it, because I'm still doing a good job overall. Today with the chips, yeah, not as cool, but since I know I was really just thirsty, I'm hydrating and much better. 

In other good news, I'm down to 141.6. I'm mortified to be posting my weight for the world to read, but I am proud to say that that's at least 3 lbs down from pre-fast weight. For 4 days, I'd say not too shabby! It definitely helps to encourage me to keep going. And, since there is some less tasteful details of juicing they speak of, aka gas, diarrhea, etc., for me things have continued on their normal routine, normal elimination, not particularly gassy. I wonder if that's because my normal diet is high in fresh fruits and veggies already, so it's not a particularly shocking experience for my system.

Back to the sleep thing, which I found particularly frustrating last night, the books and blogs talk about feeling energized and needing less sleep while on the juice fast. I didn't feel particularly rested this morning, and I've felt kind of lazy and low energy today, but this is new. The last two days or so have felt awesome. I'm thinking because I was gone so long yesterday and really only made one quart of juice, which I didn't finish, this is primarily why I felt so poorly last night and today. I will make better efforts to make more juices throughout the day and keep my  body nourished. 

Going forward, I am excited for more produce tomorrow and to gain a partner in my journey! Cheers!

So far, so good...with a little chocolate, of course!

Day...3 it is now, and I'd say this is going pretty well. I've been drinking about 3-4 drinks a day, about 16-24 oz each. And it's kind of exciting! I've learned that I can satisfy sweet and savory cravings, just by switching things up. I've had to be careful and not make my fruit ones TOO sweet, and I've started putting the spinach and other softer things, like blueberries, in the blender with the juice. I feel like I'm getting more nutrients by keeping those things whole. My scale is telling me I'm doing things right (142.4 this morning), and I am thinking more clearly, I seem to be more motivated, and I'm getting more done. It's like I've shaken the lazy feeling. For the most part, I'm not hungry most of the time. Yesterday afternoon I felt a little light-headed, so I stole 2 or 3 handfuls of cashews. And today I made lunch for the volunteers at the storehouse, so I "tasted" the cranberry pork roast I made. It was pretty good, I had two bites, and a potato wedge, to see if they were done yet. I'd say for not snatching cheese every chance, I did pretty well! Listen, I'm NOT going to serve something I haven't tasted, so a few bites was all I had. But when I got home, I was semi-hungry, so I made a DELICIOUS juice, but then munched on a hazelnut chocolate bar while I drank it. Enough of my transgresses, overall...I'm proud at how well I've done. I add in tofu, about 2.5 oz, an egg, and a tablespoon of ground flax to my morning drink, and just added some tofu, and an avocado to my afternoon drink, and the added protein/fat is quite satisfying! I almost want to eat my veggie avocado drink with a corn chip! But none of that! I'd say if I cheat a few oz of solid food a day, I'm still doing pretty well! Also, I've allowed myself to eat bananas (which I haven't had to yet) and avocados, since those go in the blender anyway. When I need to actually eat food, I just bust open an avocado, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper, and spoon away! Deeelicious! I love the feeling of enjoying whole healthy foods! And it's amazing what a little garlic salt and cayenne pepper can do! So my lunch veggie juice, which was delicious, was as follows:

2 large carrots
3 kale leaves (smaller size)
1 tomato
1/3 large bell pepper
3 lime wedges
3 radishes
large handful of cilantro
1 inch jalapeno

blend with:
1/2 avocado
3 oz tofu
shake of garlic salt
shake of cayenne pepper

It was delicious, did I mention that???

Givin' this a whirl...more like a juice!

Okay, last night I started a juice fast. It may be drastic, may be crazy, but I wanted to give it a shot! It comes highly recommended by people, and professionals, I trust. I watched the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and got a juicer from my in-laws, and now I'm in business! My initial reasons for doing the fast were to feel better, sleep better, and to help me curb my cravings for white refined carbs. Of course, let's be honest, there's a big hope that I'll lose weight, but it won't be sustainable weight loss, it will just be motivation to work hard and keep it off. I want to do the fast for at least 10 days, 14 if I can. My game-plan is 80% vegetable, 20% fruit. Last night I did 100% vegetable, and it was pretty tasty! Here's the first drink!

2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 handful of spinach
1 lime section
1 clove garlic
1 green onion stalk
2 tomatoes
1/3 bell pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
handful of cilantro

It was very yummy! I was going for a V-8 meets salsa feel. Other than burping celery a few times that night, I'd consider this a win! I drank this at 5:30 and I was slightly hungry through the evening, but nothing terrible, nothing that drove me crazy.

This morning I wanted a more fruity drink, and this is what I tried.

2 medium carrots
1 orange, peeled
2 apples, cored and sliced
1 " chunk ginger
2-3 cups spinach

Blended with:
1/2 banana
2.6 oz mango silken tofu

First taste, this was WAY too sweet! I was hoping by adding some tofu that I could get a little added protein to help me through the day, and keep my body from eating any muscle I have instead of fat. After doing this juice recipe, I am realizing that fruit is very sweet! I need to be much more careful when juicing and keep the vegetable ratio much closer to 80%. Otherwise, this juice fast is not going to be helpful, and I was feeling hungry at around 10:30 (I think I ate breakfast around 9:30). When I got hungry, I drank the quart of spearmint sun tea, and felt fine.

So far, I'm doing okay. I am catching myself wanting to munch all the time, but that I think is more out of habit and not hunger. It is hard when I dream of new recipes, new creations, new things to make with all the LOADS of food I do have in the house. It was refreshing to go to Costco and the grocery store and only buy fresh produce. And I didn't think it was very expensive at all. I usually spend much more when I just grocery shop normal.

Here's to lunch, and whatever I dream up for that juice mix! (PS: for my own tracking, weigh in this afternoon, 143.6 or so)