Food Fog

Five Day Juice Feast - Day 6 (Breaking the Fast)

Friday, 03 December 2010

Papaya was the highlight of the menu today. I started with another green juice this morning, then broke the fast with a papaya and dandelion green smoothie, followed by another yummy papaya (not blended) and a couple cups of peppermint tea with homemade hemp milk in the evening. I'm feeling pretty good. It's been an interesting week. I've learned a few new things about myself. Juice feasting has a way of doing that; making you reflect on yourself. Now, I'll just work to keep it simple and will continue to be mindful of my choices and how I feel.

Thanks to my friend, Tracy, for the moral support this week. It was very helpful! And, thanks to the YouTubers that took the time out of their day to watch and comment on my experience. What a great forum for community and self-exploration! See you soon!

Five Day Juice Feast - Day 5!

Today was a busy day, with homeschool activities, Joe's hockey and my yoga class and workshop in the evening. I'm really glad I did all my juicing yesterday, because it was nice to not have to run home to make another juice.

Darren juice fasted along with me today. I forgot to get him on video, because we hardly saw one another today. But, being that it was his first day and I was on my last, he experienced a little more of a challenge, though he stuck with it. He just said by the late afternoon, he kind of felt like he was "jonesing" and felt like he should eat something. But, knowing we're done tomorrow, he wanted to just finish out the day. We'll both have one more juice in the morning, and then when we get back from Joe's hockey game in the afternoon, we'll break the fast with some fruit or something simple.

I finished off the week with a gentle yoga class, and a very well-timed juicing demo workshop at the YMCA. I really enjoyed both the yoga class and the juicing demo. It was nice to have somebody else make the juice for a change! I did notice, though, that since the fiber wasn't strained out of the juice, I felt a little different shortly after. I guess that fiber is powerful stuff!

So, it's been an interesting experience, once again. I'm thankful for my friend, Tracy, who joined me this week. It was nice to have someone going through the same thing, and I really appreciated the support. Now, I'm more interested in how the next few days will go. It's been nice not feeling bloated for five days. But, one cannot juice forever, so I'll continue to work on finding that balance with food and examining all areas of my life to maximize my health and well-being. The journey continues...

Five Day Juice Feast - Day 4

Thursday, 02 December 2010

Our fridge is now bare. I juiced everything that was juicable into eight jars of juice for tomorrow. Four for me, and four for Darren, who is going to join me for the final day of my fast. This has not been an inexpensive venture. I bought all organic produce, mostly from retail stores. Last time we did a fast, we planned ahead and ordered a ton of stuff from our wholesale produce co-op, and we spent at least a third less to do fast for twice as long for two people. So, I'll be sure to plan ahead better next time!

Overall, four days in, I'm feeling pretty good. My stomach is making weird gurgling noises and it feels like things are shifting around in my intestines. It's an interesting experience. Today when I was juicing, I felt like just eating all the produce I was shoving in the juicer. I'm glad we're finishing up tomorrow. I feel like I've gone as far as I can go with this experience. I would definitely fast longer, in the future, in a more relaxed setting, but it will be awhile before I attempt to squeeze in anything much longer than this into my normal routine.

My main focus with fasting now is not weight loss, but improved digestion, which has been something I've struggled with since losing weight. I probably struggled with it before I lost weight, but I probably just wasn't in touch enough with my body to notice or realize there was anything I could do. So, I'm glad I've experimented with fasting, and I know it will always be a tool I can reference if needed.

Five Day Juice Feast - Day 3

Wednesday, 01 December 2010

Day three finds me with much more energy. This is surprising, because I got very little sleep and was up and down all night with sick kids. Because of the lack of sleep, I decided to go easy on myself today, and worked out a little at home, met up to my juice-feasting friend for a pep-talk, and just hung out at home with the kids. Of course, even with no real agenda for the day, I still felt plenty busy with all the "domestic duties" of a mom, but it was a fairly relaxing day.

The juicing routine is going fine. I'm finding coconut water to be a good filler in this fast. I've been using two a day to add to my juices, which adds a little natural sugar and more liquid. I've also been getting in a ton of greens; mostly kale, dandelion greens, spinach, bok choy and lettuce. Today, I went and bought another $50 or so of organic produce from the grocery store to get me through the rest of the week; a couple pears, another eight cucumbers, three stalks of celery, some more greens and a couple papayas and avocados for Darren, who is being a great support to me this week.

So, today left me confident that I'll finish out the week without any problems. It's just a matter of juicing a few more times and then carefully breaking the fast on Saturday. But, there's still two more days to get through, with all the challenges of parenthood and life, so I'm sure a few more adventures and/or challenges await!