Juice Feast Days 4 and 5

Yesterday was not a hard day for the juice feasting at all.  I had to do several errands out of the house, had people stop by, cooked dinner for my family, packed orders, trained a puppy, and everything else there is to do in a normal day around here.  A few mental twinges of things I might like to eat on a cold, wintery day, but otherwise I've been absolutely fine.   I stayed up until midnight working, read some before I went to bed, and am up and enjoying the day at 9.  So, I'm now starting day 5 feeling good, plenty of energy, and so far no problematic detox symptoms.  The only weird thing I'm noticing is that maybe I now have a super Spidey sense of smell.  Smells are seeming really strong to me right now, which I have found out is not unusual for juice feasters.

End of day 5 report:
Today has been very easy.  I've been coughing some and having intermittent runny nose, both of which are mentioned as being common detox symptoms around this point in the juice feast. A little bit pesky, but nothing too bad.  On a scale of 1-10 (easy-hard) I would say today has been a 2 or 3.  Really not hard.  If it wasn't for the time I spend juicing each day it would be super duper easy!

Some random thoughts on weight loss and gain:

I have quite a few reasons for doing this juice feast.  Part of that is my desire to drop excess weight.  While I guess it would be obvious that a person would lose weight while only drinking juices for an extended period of time, the process goes farther than that because of the detoxing, and all of that toxins that are stored in fat, and how all of that works together to release both fat and toxins.

While I do not know how long I will continue the juice feast, right now what sounds really good to me is sticking with it until I reach a weight that would be considered healthy for me.  Happily, the scale tells me today that I have lost 7 pounds, so I am on my way!

Of course the question remains in my mind--what will happen when the juice-only stops, and eating regular food resumes?

Some things floating through my mind these days:

1.  When you are no longer addicted to sugar, grains, dairy, caffeine, MSG, or junk, there is nothing pushing, pulling, or controlling your food or eating choices.  Once you get a clean slate with food, you are free!  That is one of the reasons I wanted to do this.  While I already made pretty healthy food choices (and I'm thinking that may be one reason why I've enjoyed almost no detox symptoms thus far), there were some things I felt I needed an extended break from so I could get some clarity about whether or not they are good foods for me.  (Wheat and grains is one thing I want to check on.)

One nice thing about this is that my blood sugar is really stabilized, and I experience hunger differently.  I first noticed this a couple years ago when I was eating a high percentage of raw foods, and zero sugar or junk.  Whereas I used to experience hunger with a blood sugar drop and a sense of urgency that I HAD TO EAT SOMETHING right away or I was going to get super shaky or even faint.  When I was eating a healthy, high-raw diet, I experienced hunger as a feeling, but not one that commanded I do anything about it.  It was just like, "Oh, I guess I'm getting hungry.  I'll eat sometime pretty soon, I guess."  But if I was in the car or on my way to a meeting or in whatever situation where I wasn't going to be able to eat, it was no big deal.  Yes, I'm hungry.  No, there is no urgent need to do anything about it.  I'll be ok until I can sit down and eat.

I am imagining for those of you that have never experienced such a thing, you are probably thinking that sounds nuts.  All I can say is that it is interesting to experience, and I probably would not have thought it likely or possible if I hadn't experienced it myself.  I love it that I can do this now.  That hunger isn't really a driving force.  It's a signal, and I'll get to it when I can, and there is no race against the shakes!

During this juice feast, yes I am feeling a little bit hungry some of the time.  It is not hurting me.  It is not distracting me.  I can function all day, have my juice every hour or so, and keep on trucking without any ill effects whatsoever.  My hope is that when the juice feast ends, and I wean myself back onto solid food, that I will continue to eat a diet that continues to give me high nutrition and no issues that make me feel like I have to eat now or will fall apart.  I like to be the one in control of the eating, not feel like a slave to my blood sugar highs and lows.

2.  When you are eating a diet that is very high in fruits and veggies, your body gets satisfied faster and easier than if you're eating junk.  I know that a lot of people look at their regular diet and they look at something like a salad for lunch and they compare the two and think that no way could they survive on the salad for lunch without being super hungry. In my experience, your body is hungry for nutrition.  For fuel!  If you stuff your belly full of a bunch of stuff that has little or no nutrition, your body will continue to ask for more.  YES it knows you just had six slices of pizza, but it needs FUEL, and you've given it none.  (or little)  When you give your body a big salad full of minerals and vitamins and micronutrients, your body says THANK YOU!  Over time you will probably find that your body doesn't even need as large of a salad as it does to begin with.  Your ability to satisfy your body becomes easier as you consistently give it good things and not bad things.

When I end my juice feast I want to continue enjoying a very nutritious eating plan that gives my body the fuel it needs.

3.  Now that I am investing almost 2 hours per evening in juicing, I am thinking that I wonder if I would like to continue to make juices daily and share them with the entire family.  Other juicy ideas include replacing one meal a day with just juice, or having an ongoing habit of doing a 1 or 2 day juice feast each week.  Seems like it would be a good ongoing thing, especially if I am still in need of keeping inflammation down for the health of my back issues.  Plus, seems like it would help control weight as a side benefit.


It is too early for me to say for sure how any of this will go, so these are just ideas that I want to record for my own benefit as well as for anyone else that they can help.  I'm sure I will be learning a lot more in the days/weeks to come as I continue this journey.