juicing

After a few conversations about it with my boyfriend and a viewing of Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (on Netflix instant watch, check it out), we decided to try out a juice diet/fast. Our original plan was 3 days, but we went 46 hours before deciding we wanted dinner. On the one hand, it was challenging, but on the other hand, I felt pretty good and most of my hunger wasn't real hunger. More on that later. I'd definitely do it again.

In the documentary, he goes on a 60 day juice diet and encourages several people to try it out with a 10 day juice cleanse. We decided on 3 days because we weren't as unhealthy as most of the people in the film who were trying it out, and I wanted to make sure that I picked a really feasible amount of time so that my willpower would last. Not to throw him under the bus, but while I was definitely hungry and ready for food, my boyfriend was the one who was really ready to eat. I felt hunger, but once I had a glass of juice, I was pretty full and could last a few hours before the next dose. I think some of the impact on our slightly different responses can be a result of

• gender (he needs more calories and we were drinking about the same amount)
• activity level (we both workout, but since I don't have a job, I'm not as out and about as much)
• muscle mass (going back to calorie needs)
• mental need for food

Don't get me wrong, I love food. I think about it, I almost exclusively watch the Food Network, the highlight of my day is usually cooking or going out to eat for dinner, and I spend a good amount of time with recipes thinking about what to make next. Like many people, a lot of my best moments have involved food and friends together. That said, it wasn't so hard for me not to eat it because I knew that 3 days would end relatively quickly and then it would be back in my life. It wasn't a radical lifestyle change, just an experiment. I would like to stress that I am a pretty healthy person in general, so it could inspire a significant life change and shift in eating habits for a lot of people who really need it. 

3 days of fruit and vegetable leftovers from my juicer

In the movie, everyone who tried it talked about how much better they felt, they quickly lost some junk pounds, their skin really improved (part of what inspired me to try it), and their systems got nicely cleaned out within a couple days (yes, I'm talking about poop - and not just any poop, but getting rid of things that have been clinging to your insides for a while). They say that the first few days are pretty brutal physically and emotionally. I can't really speak to that because I mostly felt fine, and other than obviously being aware that I was only ingesting juice and water, nothing really felt or seemed or behaved differently in my body. 

Was it worth it? Definitely. I liked getting to try something new and challenge myself a bit. I definitely felt healthy knowing that I was only putting good things in my body. I did feel awake and energized throughout the day, and I think hoping that it would make me and my skin better had a good positive thinking impact on how it went. 

Some important things to remember if you try it out:

• This isn't fasting - you can drink as much water as you want, and, as far as I understood it, as much juice as you want
• Store bought juice is NOT equal to the juice you should make for this. We bought a gallon of juice from a local juice bar (sort of a brutal flavor) that was made fresh for me and then used a juicer to make the rest of it. If you do this, drinking glass after glass of OJ and apple juice is not the correct thing.
• When we think of juice, we think fruits. This should be heavily vegetable based. Fruits are important for balancing the flavors and masking some of the vegetable taste (apples, citrus, and ginger are great for this), but they aren't the bulk of it. 
• Read up on it. We based ours mostly off the movie, some recipes for the Mean Green juice used in the film, and some basic internet searches. 

My fridge with our first batch of groceries for the juice fast:

oranges, green apples, lemons, strawberries, cucumber,

blueberries, blackberries, carrots, spinach, kale, ginger

 the juice we bought: the love cleanse

cucumber, celery, parsley, coconut water, spinach, kale

*it tasted very intensely like these veggies; we always mixed it with 

apple, citrus, and other items to help with the flavor so we could drink it

An example of one of our homemade juice meals (for two):

• 1/2 bunch kale
• 1/2 bunch spinach
• 2 oranges
• 2 green apples
• 1 lemon
• 1 banana
• 1-2 carrots
• handful blueberries/other berries