Tonight marks the end my third day on my juice-fasting adventure.
And believe it or not, I feel pretty good. But it hasn’t been easy.
The night between the first and second day was rough. My sleep was punctuated by nightmares, dry heaves, and a killer headache. Somewhere around 3am I took my pillow and blanket into the air conditioned guest room, and slept like a baby in the cool air until morning.
Gladly, I woke up on day two without a headache. I began my day with a juice made from 1 cucumber, 1 bunch of red grapes, 1 peeled orange, and 1 apple. I also found that ginger is very soothing for an upset stomach, so as a midmorning snack, I juiced 1 apple with a tiny bit of ginger. It almost tastes like mulled cider, very yummy.
I realized at this point that the trick is to keep drinking tons of water to avoid headaches and stay fully hydrated in the hot weather.
For lunch, I was on the run, so I grabbed a “Bolthouse Farms” Green Goodness fruit smoothie. This company makes phenomenal all-natural products like beverages and salad dressings that are gluten free, have no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, and no genetically modified ingredients. One bottle of this 100% magic juice/fruit puree costs about $5 and it contains 8 servings of pureed natural fruit. This particular smoothie contains over 20 different ingredients but the top ones are 3 apples, ½ pineapple, 1 mango, 1 banana, 1 kiwi fruit, spirulina, spinach, broccoli, wheat grass, garlic, and blue green algae. I know, what your thinking. “Ew, algae.” But the smoothie is actually very tasty and mildly sweet.
I spent the day at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. For those of you who’ve never been there, I highly recommend taking a stroll through this living seaport village/museum and learning about all things maritime. You can check out the re-created 19th century maritime village, the historic ships (like the Amistad), the preservation shipyard, and the various gallery exhibits. Not to mention, the 20-something guy working iron in the old blacksmith shop looks like Fabio. What’s not to like?
Okay, so back to juice. Around dinnertime I really started to fantasize about food. I mentioned earlier that I was craving oysters and the cravings only got worse while I walked around the town of Mystic, the perfect place for fresh oysters, not to mention the home of Mystic Pizza. It was tough walking past the smell of fresh pizza, steaks houses, seafood restaurants boasting succulent lobsters, and the intoxicating perfume of freshly made waffle cones in the local ice cream shop. But I stuck to my guns. I dragged my hungry complaining self into the health food store and enjoyed a lovely pick me up of mango and pineapple blended with pure coconut water. I justified having coconut water because technically it is the juice of a plant, besides it’s loaded with electrolytes and potassium.
Three bottles of water and 4 hours later, I made it to bed feeling a little mentally foggy, but thankfully having a calm stomach.
Today, (day 3) has been the easiest so far.
For breakfast, I had juice made from 2 cucumbers (which are 95% water with a nice mild flavor) a small finger of ginger, and a large bunch of grapes. This juice was mild and subtly sweet. The ginger helped calm my grumbling stomach and all the water from the cucumbers was great to rehydrate after a full night’s sleep.
Lunch consisted of juice from 1 pear, and a quarter of a watermelon. Watermelon makes a delightfully sweet and satisfying juice and it’s packed with vitamin C.
Because my day consisted mostly of running occasional errands, reading, and cleaning the house, my boredom kept tugging at me with beautiful imaginary visuals of different foods. Today’s fantasy? A roast beef sandwich with creamy mayonnaise and thick slices of American cheese. At one point today, I was so distracted my by solid-food-dream that I actually locked my keys in my truck while pumping gas. Thank goodness for helpful gas station attendants and spare keys.
Today I encountered my first mental challenge. It’s becoming easier to resist the urge to cheat by eating junk food, but today someone who vehemently disagreed with the idea of juice fasting made his voice very clear…all…day…long. He simply would not agree to disagree. I’m not sure what made this young man so angry about my choice to follow through with this juice fast, but he took it upon himself to bully and harass me via Facebook and text message all day long finally signing off at about 8pm with a simple, “Krysta, you’re a f@#*ing idiot.”
Although the harassment stabbed a little trip in my step today, I didn’t falter and my goal was not compromised. Luckily, I’m surrounded by many lovely supportive people who believe that there are many different paths one can take to good health. So to all those who have offered their encouragement, kind words, and support, thank you a million times over!
So, now that I find myself wrapping up the third day, I’m excited to know that the hardest part is over, and I’m 6 pounds lighter than when I started out.
To those of you who had a few questions for me, I’m going to do my best to answer them.
1. How much does it cost?
The juicer I bought was about $100 from Bed Bath & Beyond. It is a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. Although it’s pricey, it got the best reviews for durability and extracts 30% more juice than cheaper ones. Not to mention an awesome investment for my health.
As far as veggies and fruits go, half of them I bought at a farmers market, the other half I bought at the grocery store. Enough fresh produce for about 7 days cost me $47. I decided to do a 10 day fast, but some people have chosen to go longer. The creator of the film “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead” drank nothing but fresh juice for 60 days and lost around 98 lbs. He has kept it off by sticking with a primarily plant based diet and incorporating a lot of exercise.
2. What are the health benefits?
The health benefits of a juice fast vary between people. But for the most part, throughout the fasting period you are essentially consuming a liquid vegetarian diet. Because all of your veggies and fruits are still raw, they still contain most of their vital nutrients, and in liquid form those essential vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed into your body. By fasting on juice only for a length of time, your body soaks up only what it needs and flushes the toxins that have settled in the muscle tissues, the blood stream, the liver, and the digestive system. This is a sure-fire way to reboot a sluggish immune system and banish chronic cravings for salty, fatty, sugary foods.
3. What did my doctor say?
Because I am a young, healthy individual at a normal body weight, I had very little to worry about. My doctor cleared me to do the fast as long as I promised to stay hydrated. The natural elements of fruits and vegetables will sustain the body throughout the day, and many people have said that towards the end of the fast, they actually have more energy and vitality than they did while eating their regular diet.
I do not have any outstanding health issues such as diabetes, epilepsy, or any autoimmune disorders; therefore I am taking very little risk.
When my grandmother decided to do the fast with me, I strongly recommended she be supervised by her doctor, just in case. The only thing he recommended differently for her is that she continue to take her daily vitamin supplements, otherwise she was free to continue with the fast.
If you would like to read more about preparing your body for a juice fast, what medications you can take, or how long you should reboot for: please go to http://jointhereboot.com/. This website will answer all of your questions.
If you haven’t yet seen the film “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” please stream it on Netflix, or check out the website http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/. The film and the story about the lives changed are truly inspirational. If Phil the Truck Driver can lose 202 lbs juicing and reboot his entire life, we can handle 10 days of veggies too.
