Day 3 juice fast

I'm doing well! I'm more clear-headed and have more energy than the previous days combined.

I did some research. Come to find out, beets are great for detoxing because they stimulate the liver and gall bladder. Because of this, though, if you start with too much, too fast, you can get nauseous. That explains it! The beet juice today went down a little better, but still made me nauseous. I was able to finish this one, though. The best advice is to start with a small amount, maybe one beet, and mix the juice with other juices, particularly carrot and ginger. From there, slowly increase, the same way you would with probiotics. I found this site helpful. http://health-care.eu/raw-beet-juice-a-great-cleanser-of-the-body

Also, I cut the peel off the lemons this time around and pulled the center membrane out of them. The lemon juices were not nearly as bad as yesterday.

I'm still having strange bowels and peeing frequently. I had to go shopping today because I apparently didn't get everything on the list or the premade grocery list is wrong. While there, there was the old habit of grabbing a candy bar. However, I turned that off real fast. A candy bar didn't even sound good; there was no temptation. :)

So, all in all, I'm doing well. I still plan on stopping after five days. That means I need to plan my menu so I don't backfire the first day after the cleanse! After the cleanse, I am going to take psyllium husks and bentonite clay to do some extra cleansing while I get back on track.

Day 2 juice fast

Today was not too bad either. I know I'm not super toxic, but I expected a little more than this. Not complaining, though! Green citrus juice was good in a weird way--it tasted like sweet grass. Again, it was good, so it was weird. :P Sporty Spice was.... let me just say that I dumped 1/3 of it down the drain. The Vitamix is not a fan of beets, so I had to dig through the mush, pull out the chunk of beet, and dice them. Now, the taste was not bad; it was not bitter like the the Mean Green juice. But something about it just did not sit well with me. Also, I had to add 1.5 c of water to it just to blend up the beets, so there was a LOT of juice. It took me 45 minutes to drink 1/3 of the juice. I forced down the second third of it. But by that point, I had a lump in my throat like I was about to throw up. I took that as a sign and dumped the rest. Considering it started out being 32 ounces and the recommended "meal" is 20 oz max, I don't feel bad. Instead of repeating Sporty Spice for dinner, I switched it out for Green Lemonade. A friend had a hypothesis that it was the lemon pith in the last drink that made it nasty. Since this one also called for lemon, I cut off the peel instead of just peeling it like an orange, so I actually cut into the flesh and removed most of the pith. The strange flavor from the last drink was still there, but it was not nearly so strong. I was able to drink this one just fine. Purple Passion for dessert was delicious! Grapes, blackberries, and mint, oh my!

I'm feeling about the same as yesterday. I did some cleaning today, though, and I'm not about to pass out from lack of energy. I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning. I am sleepy, though, so I'm glad it is bed time. I have also been cold all day. I thought my boys had fevers until I realized it was me that was cold, not them being hot. Also, my stomach acid is low, which is good to know. If you eat beets and your urine turns pink, it is a sign your stomach acid is low. My pee was definitely pink. Still having the lots of pee and more than normal poos. Intestinal rumbles were less today, though still there.

Now all I have to do is drink my herbal tea, get my boys to sleep, and conk out for the night. Yay, sleep!

Day 1 of the Juice Fast

The first day went well. I had fully prepared myself for how my body might feel, so I lounged and watched tv most of the day so I wouldn't push myself too far. Carrot Apple Ginger juice (breakfast and snack) was yummy and easily drinkable, but it had a LOT of fruit, and was almost too sweet. Joe's Mean Green juice (lunch and dinner) was nasty. At first it wasn't too bad, but with each drink, my tongue revolted to the bitterness of it. The only sweetness it has is one green apple. I had Pear Pie Delight for dessert, and that was a good combination of sweet and yummy, though there were no greens in it (who knew I would like sweet potato juice, though!). 

I should mention how I am doing the juicing. I have a Vitamix blender, not a juicer. This means, of course, that I have to peel (not organic, and there is wax all over the produce) and chop everything, put it in the blender, add water, blend, and then strain it through a nut milk bag. So, when you look at that the first recipe required six carrots, four apples, and a bit of ginger, it can take a while. Also, performing that whole process five times per day is not optimal. I would definitely recommend a juicer. Now, it can be done, but if you do not have the drive to do all that work, you'll probably give up. I am thinking about only doing a five-day fast because of this reason--use up the produce I have and then stop. We'll see how I'm doing with the process come day five.

As far as how I felt? Breakfast filled me up easily. As the day went, though, I felt increasingly empty, and I went to bed with my tummy a-rumble. I wasn't necessarily hungry (well, I was hungry when I went to bed, but I went to bed late), but I felt empty. I was a little grumpy with the boys, but that could be because I have been sleep deprived for a week or so, or it could be detox. My back hurts a little and has been popping a LOT. Also, to tell all truths here, I have been peeing every 20 minutes! Seriously! I went pee, made a juice, and by the time I was done making the juice, I had to pee again! Also, there is a lot of gas...stinky gas....combination of the juice you drank and skunk gas. I now know for certain the rumbling of intestinal workings and how they differ from hungry tummy rumbles. The only time it has been this obvious before was when I took ex-lax when I was little. It's not having the same effect as ex-lax, but I did go more than normal. 

I did not do well in dedicating this first day to God. Praying I do better with that for the rest of it.

Juice Fast

Tonight I went shopping for my first chunk of my juice fast. $60 for five days' worth of produce, totally $12 per day. Not bad if you compare to eating out, but definitely more than home cooking. Still, my health is worth it. I should also mention that it is autumn, and most of the produce called for is in season: kale, apples, pears, oranges, other leafy greens, some berries, etc. Here are my current measurements.

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 140
Neck: 13"
Waist: 30"
Hips: 37"
BMI: 24 (healthy)
Body-fat percentage: 28% (18-30 is considered healthy, so I would like to change this some)

I did feel ridiculous buying that much produce. It seriously fill up my entire cart!

Anyway, I have been paying more attention to how my body feels, particularly after I eat. Tonight, I was comfortably full after one bowl of chili. ONE BOWL! That never happens! I am also learning to distinguish between the feeling of thirst and the feeling of hunger. Most Americans are constantly at some level of dehydration, and because of that, most Americans think that their thirst is actually hunger, which can lead to excess eating instead of proper hydration. So, I am happy about that.

I feel like I will succeed in this cleanse for a few reasons. 1) It feels like the right time, and I really want to do it. 2) There is a set menu, with set recipes, and that means I don't have to make decisions or wonder what I am going to "cook." And the most important, 3) This time and this fast is being dedicated to God. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it's time I start taking care of that temple. I am going to do the Bible study titled "Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst and have lots of prayer time. Between the physical reset of my cravings via the juicing, I will be resetting my drive, refocusing my longings on God, learning to run to Him when I am sad, desperate, or otherwise want to run to food to fix how I feel, and so on. I had started this study before, but I was pregnant at the time and was not into it at all. I have already done one day of study, and I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame!

So, needless to say, I am completely excited about this time in my life. My goal, as far as the blog is concerned, is to keep track of how I feel throughout the fast so any followers can compare should they do a juice fast also. Onward!

New Journey - New Challenge

     While I was pregnant with my second babe, I saw a film called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." It is about a man who transformed his life and his health by doing a juice fast for 60 days. It was awesome! Granted, I could have done without the fat belly shots, but he made those parts comical. The film has a lot of great information in it about health and juicing, and the website (rebootwithjoe.com) has a whole lot more great information! 

     Now that my babe is finally done nursing (woo for making it 22 months, but woo for being done!), I am going to do a juice fast. JC had to go on a business trip, so I had planned on doing my cleanse while he was gone; I figured it would be easier to control myself if I was not tempted by his preferred dinners, and it would be easier to switch to a healthier diet if I had the chance to experiment with the meals and make them tasty when he wasn't here to veto them because they tasted funny from my not knowing what I'm doing! 

     Right before he left, though, I off-handedly asked if he would be interested in doing a cleanse. He looked at me in joking shock and said, "You want me to be miserable for days?!" I jabbed back at him, then explained a few facts--how the cleanse would remove toxins from his body, how how miserable you are and how long the misery lasts is dependent on how toxic you are, and how fat's purpose, aside from being essential for natural body processes, is to store toxins to protect the body from them, and that when those toxins are gone, the fat no longer has a purpose and comes off. Suddenly, earnestly, and without hesitation, he agreed. *gasp* I thought it would take a lot more coaxing! To be sure about it, I gave him some information (the website and movie listed above) and told him some basics to the cleanse. He agreed to a 5-day cleanse. While he is away, he is going to look over the information and let me know if he is truly going to do it. In the meantime, he said we can do it when he gets back from his business trip. 

     In the meantime, I am preparing for the cleanse. I am going to do a minor detox, which includes taking diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay, detox baths, oil pulling, water water water, a green smoothie once a day, and switching to a cleaner diet. I am also going to line up clean-eating meals so that after the cleanse I (hopefully) won't get frustrated and overwhelmed and end up reverting to our old habits. *ahem*PASTA!*ahem* I would love to switch to a paleo diet. It seems that every time I try, though, there are too many "weird" ingredients that I would have to hunt down, pay a fortune for, and then only use for that one recipe. So, here's to making a list of meals that I CAN do, substitutions that are EASY and common, and to HEALTH! 

     Current health stats and body measurements to come!

Dental appointment

      Yesterday was my first dental appointment in more than six years. (It took them almost an hour just to scrape all the tartar build-up off my teeth. I am never waiting that long to get a cleaning again simply so I don't have to sit there so long. My gums still feel tender from all the work.) Despite that, I only had one cavity. Ha. Listen to me talk as if I expect cavities. *sigh* I do not expect cavities. I do not want cavities. I do not want to get my teeth drilled into because of a cavity. Yet here I am.
      The irony with my cavity is that it is not my fault. Six years and poor diet later and it is not my fault. Not initially, anyway. When I was little, the dentist put a sealant on all of my molars to prevent cavities, with the idea that kids don't brush well enough to get all the food out of the crevices. Twenty years later, a sealant apparently came loose enough for food to get trapped underneath, but not loose enough for proper cleaning. The sealant fell out and what do you know, a cavity. The dentist said it is only the size of a pinpoint, which is good. The other good part is that I don't have any pain from it. Yesterday it was tender from his poking at it, but that has subsided. Biting, eating, chewing...it does not hurt.
      The dentist said that it is "sticky," meaning it has progressed beyond the enamel. He also said this means it is too far gone for it to remineralize and heal itself. He said I could try to let it heal, but it wouldn't matter. When I learned that they do not use amalgam fillings, I agreed to get it filled. I thought maybe I had misunderstood the cavity healing process and how far it can reach. After coming home and doing research (mainly via the book "Cure Tooth Decay"), though, I have relearned what I knew before--this cavity CAN be healed.
     Needless to say, I cancelled my appointment. The only bad things I ingested today was chocolate milk after dinner (a treat, partly to reward for not caving all day despite my extreme urge to jump on the ice cream), a smidge of brown sugar that was in a sauce on the leftover chicken, and possibly quinoa. Some people count quinoa as a grain, others do not. I am not sure where it falls in the span of healing teeth. Considering the recommended protein intake is very high, though, and quinoa is the only non-meat complete protein, I am not going to worry about it too much. Tomorrow, I am going to order some fermented cod liver oil and butter oil and start supplementing with those. Here's to healthy teeth! *clink! chug a glass of water*

Healthy life changes

     Oh so many things have happened in the last year, in which I have done lots of thinking, lots of researching, and lots of trial and error.

Dental
     An oral irrigator has been purchased. I used it regularly for a while, but our trans-Atlantic move halted all sorts of habits I was in the middle of forming. I started up again recently, and it hurt! Granted, it didn't hurt as much as floss slicing into my gums, but it wasn't all cozy. After some regular uses, it no longer hurt in the slightest. Good move, I'd say. I also noticed that I have to use it at a lower pressure setting than in the past. Hmm.
     For toothpaste, I make my own now. Even the more natural or organic store-bought ones have glycerin, which creates a barrier on your teeth and stops your teeth from being able to heal themselves. So, I make a toothpaste out of coconut oil, baking soda, sea salt, and peppermint oil. Hubs likes it, Babylove loves it, and Bubba hates it. But hey, it works. I recently started rotating between my homemade toothpaste and an herbal tooth powder. I won't lie--the tooth powder tastes like tea. It is not bad tasting; it is just not what I expect when I brush my teeth.
     Dentist appointments for Bubba, Babylove, and myself have been made. Neither of them have been yet, but I don't feel bad about that since neither has any issues. I, on the other hand, have been bad. It has been over six years since my last appointment. That appointment consisted of my crown getting put on. Yep, I have had a crown for over six years and have not had one cleaning or check up to assess my crown. Oops! I grew up without dental insurance, so I remember going to the dentist to fix my broken tooth while in early elementary school, and then I remember getting a cleaning when I was in middle school.  Nothing after that until college when I got married and was covered by Hub's insurance. I'm fully expecting to be scolded.

Exercise
     I recently discovered, since our move, that I have everything I need to get my massage license! Yay! Then I realized I am not in any kind of shape to be able to do massages on a regular basis. This inspired me to restart my Tai Cheng, which was also disrupted by the move. With the exception of yesterday, in which I cleaned the whole house (or fairly close to it), I have kept up with the program.
     I have also started doing a squat program. It consists not of endless squats, but of stretches and small movements that help the body get to where it can do a squat in the proper form. I noticed a big difference in my tai chi stances within a few days simply because my hips were more loose than they were last time I did tai chi. Not often do results show in a matter of days. I like it. :D
     I have also added a fitness goal of being able to swing on the monkey bars. Massage requires upper body strength, of which I have little. I could not even do monkey bars when I was little, though I could climb trees with ease. My kids will love that we will be going to the park regularly now. Little do they know it is so mommy can work out, not simply so they can play. ;) On to the bars!

Water
     The water here is nasty. I am not picky about tap water, but I can barely drink this stuff. I try to get reverse osmosis water from my food co-op, but I don't always make it there before I run out. In the mean time, I have done what I see as the lesser of a few evils to "replace" the water yet still get it--I'm drinking slightly sweetened tea. Half a cup of minimally refined sugar per gallon of strong, black tea isn't so bad, and that's when I'm splurging on myself. Usually it's about 1/3-1/4 cup of sugar. Hopefully a household filter is in our future...

Diet
    Hehehe.... *ahem* I have slacked tremendously on diet, which is horrible since diet has the biggest affect on our health. Ice cream daily, almost nothing organic, candy bars as treats.....yeah. But getting my teeth healthy has lit a new fire in me. I want to eat healthy because I want to keep my teeth. I don't want dentists to drill into my teeth. I don't want fillings or crowns or root canals or extractions. I want healthy teeth, and the biggest factor in tooth health is diet! When I broke my tooth as a child, they only put a temporary cap on it because the teeth continue to grow until 18 years or so. I remember how horrible it felt to not be able to eat two of my favorite foods. My drive is to be able to eat whatever I want for the rest of my life...and to have whatever I want be whole, natural, nutritious foods.
     So, ice cream is now a special treat....once a week or less. If I want a snack at the store, I'll grab an extra piece of fruit. Chocolate milk has been a great weakness for me lately, but even more recently I have discovered that I am slightly lactose intolerant--within an hour after every glass, I have digestive upset and usually require a toilet. :\ More grab-n-go veggies in my fridge. More greens in general. I have plans in motion to encapsulate liver so we'll get the health benefits without having to shove it down our gagging throats. When I get a job and have some steady extra income, one of the first things I will do is get all of us on fermented cod liver oil. I had it before, and I loved it (you know, besides the taste and fish burps...), but it's expensive! At least, the truly good stuff is. I also recently found out that a couple local stores carry pastured butter! Yes, I'm overjoyed about butter. But, ooohhh, real, pastured butter! Yum (and healthy)!