The 5-Day Juice Fast, My Summary

So, having gone through 6.7 days of juice fasting, I thought I would share a little summary of my pros and cons.  You can read about my actual experiences here and here.

Cons:

- Obviously the hunger.  Made even worse by the fact that I still had to feed my kids and then sit there and watch them eat.  Torture at times.

- The mess.  Juicing is messsssssyyyyyy.  Aside from all the prep you need to do for the produce, the juicer itself constantly needs cleaning.  And it is kind of a pain.  Not to mention the tiny bits of veggie pulp that go flying everywhere that I am still finding.  

- Those days when you feel like absolute hell....tired, weak, grumpy, exhausted.  Ugh.  Combined with hunger?  Kill me now, please.

- The cost.  You need a ton of produce.  Which can get really expensive.  Plus a juicer, which isn't exactly cheap.

- Not conducive to a social life.  I mean, you can't really go out for dinner and bring your juice...you know?

Pros:

- The weight loss factor.  For me (because I am vain), this is the biggest pro.  My starting weight was 147.  My ending weight was 141.8. However, I think a good portion of this was water weight....I definitely have added some back.  And I would not consider this a permanent or sustainable method of weight loss, unless you are prepared to make some serious lifestyle changes when you are done.

- The health factor.  I mean, you are getting super doses of all those veggie and fruit vitamins and nutrients.  All while avoiding the crap food you normally consume.  

So...for the future....

My takeaways from this...I did like the idea of getting more fruit and veggie nutrients, so i do see myself adding in more vegetarian meals.  And it was nice to kind of re-set my eating and drinking habits.  There were several juices that I did like, so I do think I will sub one of those for a meal or snack, especially after a booze/sugar/processed food binge.

A new (to me) breakfast...apples and blueberries sautéed in coconut oil with a little cinnamon.

As to whether or not I would attempt another fast...I have no major health or weight issues, so I don't really need one.  And I am thinking I didn't experience the same benefits as people who actually needed one.  I guess I am not sure....maybe?  But definitely not any time soon.  I am enjoying masticating way too much to try it again now.

Another juicing-inspired meal...pineapple, tomatoes, and 1/2 a baked sweet potato with salt, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder.

The Five-Day Juice Fast, My Juicing Diary, continued...Days 4-5 (+6-7??)

Continuation from here....

Day 4:

Seriously.... I feel pretty good. Almost like I am buzzing with energy.  I even woke up this way, almost like...dare I say it...I had turned into a morning person.  I still had my morning cup of coffee, but only because I wanted it and I enjoy it...not because I needed it.  I now see what all the hooplah is about.  Also, I can tell my stomach bloat has definitely gone down.  My gut fat roll is no longer hanging over my shorts quite the way it was.

Yes, I am still a bit hungry.  And yes, those chips in the pantry do look good, but not as good as before.  Maybe it has something to do with how good I feel, maybe I really have flushed out the toxins (still skeptical on this part), but I think it more so has to do with how proud I feel. Like I can't believe I stuck with this crazy plan and actually haven't chewed anything for 4 whole days (well, except for that one moment of weakness with the taffy, but we won't count that).  Proud that I didn't give up, and proud that I no longer feel the need to ruin this accomplishment (or whatever you want to call it).

The makings of "lunch."  Look at all that vegetabley goodness.

It is weird to me to think that tomorrow is supposed to be the last day....I am contemplating going to a 7-day fast instead.  I think I will make it a last minute decision tomorrow, depending on how I feel and how much longer I want to avoid using my teeth.

Day 5:

I did it!!!  I made it to day 5, my goal date.  Woot!  Feeling decent.  I would be feeling a lot better if my day hadn't started off with an orange and red cabbage drink.  It is the equivalent of drinking liquified hot rotting garbage.  I couldn't finish it.  And now I feel like I am going to vom.  Not good at all.  On the bright side, my stomach looks so much better....much flatter, so I've got that going for me.  Oh, and B informed me that he lost 11 lbs.  What a dick.

We decided since we are starting to notice results weight-wise, and feeling pretty good, we are going to extend to a 7-day fast.  We hit the grocery last night and stocked up on produce.  Bring on 2 more days!

Day 6:

MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN!!  We have a man down!

The meal that did him in....

This morning, the 7-day fast and I lost B to the lure of eggs and toast.  Truthfully, I can't blame him.  After last nights torture of watching the kids eat tacos and garlic creamed corn, I almost broke myself.  And B didn't really need to lose any weight to begin with...I am sure he wasn't getting enough calories, and I know he was concerned about protein and muscle loss.  So I don't blame him too much.  

I plan on sticking with this today (the day is almost half over, I can do this!), but I am not sure I will be able to fully complete tomorrow.  I am tired of not eating, and I am bored with this juicing adventure.  We will see....

Day 7:

Breakfast, check.  Lunch...no problem.  Afternoon time...and I am done.  I am hungry.  And I can no longer resist those wasabi almonds.  And all I can think about is a baked sweet potato (wierd).  So....almost 7 days.  I might still have a juice for dinner and dessert, but I guess I am no longer juice-fasting.  The end.

Just kidding, I am going to follow up with a summary.

The 5-Day Juice Fast, My Juicing Diary, Days 1-3

Remember that one time you decided to watch the film Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and then ended up convinced that you too needed to purchase a juicer and do a juice cleanse?  No?  I do.

So...we have this habit where pretty much every single night, B and I put the kids to bed and then retire to the couch to watch t.v.  Lately, we have been on a documentary kick, and one of those was the above show (Warning: do not watch unless you want to end up convinced you need to purchase a juicer and do your own juice cleanse).

What can I say...I am very susceptible to the power of suggestion.  This is why I have to mute commercials.

Anyways, I bought this juicer from Kohls.com (on super mega sale, plus a 30% off coupon so I wasn't tooooo invested in this hair-brained scheme).  And B and I decided to do a 5-Day Reboot, where we consume nothing but juices for 5 straight days.  Oh, and coffee, because I am not giving up coffee.  Nor do I have any plans to EVER give up coffee.  Coffee is the life-blood of champions. But I drink it black...so no sugar or dairy, I mean....it is vegan so it can't be too unhealthy, right?

Before starting the official fast, I was supposed to start eliminating alcohol, grains, meat, dairy, and processed foods from my diet.  I did nothing of the sort.  In fact, leading up to starting this, I was even more unhealthy than usual.  Starting this totally cold-turkey and hoping my food detox isn't terrible.

Here is my captain's log of this crazy plan......days 1-3, cause this is getting loooonnnng.

Day 1:

Weight:  147 lbs...yikes!

So, first off...It was a big mistake not to get rid of all those salty and sweet processed foods in the pantry (helloooo salt water taffy and chili cheese fritos).  But I do need to feed the kids too.  And I need to learn to resist this junk better, so I plan on exercising some will-power.

Desperation mode....I just put a piece of taffy in my mouth.  But I chewed it a few times then spit it out....I am still good, right?  Also, I definitely stuck my face in that bag of fritos and just inhaled.  But I decided they smelled gross...so we're o.k.

Day 1 lunch...a mean green (kale, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger)

Overall, I felt decent, but by the end of the afternoon I did feel a little tired and cranky.  I also had some mild-medium headaches throughout the day.  I discovered that if my head was hurting, drinking a juice helped it go away.  I think I will just drink more juices on the upcoming days if my head starts hurting again.  My favorite part of the day was dessert/nighttime snack.  Holy crap was that delicious (grapes, blueberries, mint).  I think I can make it through another day with something like that to look forward to.

Day 2:

I woke up feeling ok, but still tired and groggy.  Perhaps it is the juice effects, or perhaps it is the getting woken up in the middle of the night by a screaming L who has decided she is afraid of sleeping (seriously, she is slowly killing me).  And this is why I refuse to give up coffee.

Here is where today totally sucked...I am huuuuunnngggry.  I mean the "my kids are starting to look tasty" kind of hungry.  Stomach growling licking the insides of my juice glasses hungry.  Tomorrow, more tea and hot lemon water is the plan.  Supposedly the first 3 days are the hardest, and then the magical juicing power kicks in and you feel all sorts of wonderful and energized. We will see.

Day 3:

According to some of the reading I did, this is supposedly the worst day.  I concur.  I woke up feeling like shiiiiit.  Queasy, shaky, headache, tired, like i am in a fog and can't think straight....blahhhhh.  The upside is I am feeling so gross that the thought of a cheeseburger (or food in general) makes my stomach turn.  Also, this mornings breakfast juice was a beet concoction, so that probably isn't helping. I don't like beets, and juicing them does not make them any better.  Yuck!

Mmmnnnnnnn.....beet-ey.  Like drinking a big glass of dirt.

As the afternoon went on, I felt a little better, but still definitely tired and a little cranky.  I am planning on taking the kids to the pool.  Thank god they have lifeguards there, because I don't think I have the energy to jump in and save them, if needed.  Another negative here is that i have this constant "scummy" feeling in my mouth...like no amount of toothbrush scrubbing will clean these teeth.

On the bright side, I do feel considerably less bloated, so I might just not automatically reach for my matronly one-piece....gasp! And dessert tonight is the blueberry-grape juice, woohoo!

To be continued for days 4-5, plus my final summary....