Ending the Juice Feast

So I did a lot of soul-searching last night, and had to work through my many issues related to being too hard on myself.  ("WHY do you want to quit?!  Is a 19 day juice fast long ENOUGH?!"  oh boy....)  Eventually got to the point where I felt it was healthiest for me to give myself a pat on the back for doing a 19 day juice feast/fast, and start to transition out of it.  I'm pleased with what I was able to do, and now know that I probably won't be looking to do another long juice fast until it's a time when I am not also juggling the responsibilities of schooling the kids.

I broke my fast this morning with a small smoothie, later had a juice that I made yesterday.  I plan to have some more juice during the afternoon, and hopefully a small salad tonite.  From what I've read, it sounds like coming off of a fast should be done gradually and with care.  Too much too soon can cause a lot of digestion issues or even stomach pains.  I'd like to transition out smoothly, and so I am.  :)

Juice Feast Day 19

Today I'm realizing that without a timeline goal, while that has enabled me to not feel pressured to go to a certain date, it also leaves me without a finish line and without a way to feel able to exit the fast with freedom and a clear sense of accomplishment.  It doesn't feel good.  I find myself unsure if I should push on to Day 21 just so I can say "I did a 3 week juice fast"--or just let go and have something to eat later on tonite or a smoothie in the morning.  I'm just not sure.  Mainly I am feeling like it is almost time for me to be done.

I have lost 15 pounds, which is wonderful.  I don't feel any other differences in my health or energy.  I am thankful to have had this break, gotten free of sugar, grains, dairy, and meat.  My goals for after-the-fast are to eat a lot of raw foods, and what isn't raw- stick with vegetarian or vegan choices.  We will see how all of this plays out.

The hardest part of this juice feast/fast is the time involved in managing the actual chores related to the juicing.  Shopping multiple times per week, putting away large amounts of produce (or not having enough space to put it all away, therefore having the kitchen table and counters constantly covered with a dozen pineapples and other produce), keeping on top of the kitchen cleaning to a greater and more pressing degree than usual, having both sinks full of produce soaking in cleaning solution for a half hour at a time, all of the time spent scrubbing, cutting, peeling, and then juicing.  THEN the cleanup time and mess.  Oh--and the pulp!  Can't forget the pulp!  I felt bad about throwing it away, so started using it to make homemade veggie broth, which is a great use for it.  BUT, that means I also have a large crock pot taking up space on the counter as well.  I have very, very little counter space to begin with, so this is a sizable inconvenience.

All-in-all, I would guess that juicing has been a minimum of 10 hours a week of extra work for me.  I still had to cook for the rest of the family.  It has interfered with school hours a couple of times, which I did not feel happy about either.

Last night really threw me off because we had a home improvement project that went wonky, and it resulted in our water having to be turned off for the entire evening until bedtime.  So I had no way to run the dishwasher, clean the kitchen, wash the produce, etc.  That threw everything into a tailspin.  I started out today with no morning juice, had to take the afternoon portion of school time to get the rest of the juicing done, etc.  Basically, it was a real pain in the rear and threw everything off.  Today I feel like the management of this process is more than I want to continue to juggle any more.  If I was sitting in a resort having someone else bring me yummy juices all day, I'm sure I could continue on for quite some time.  Doing it on my own....right now I'm not feeling it.

Juice Feast Day 16

A good day again.  Other than the occasional wish for a baked potato, I'm doing just fine.  No problems, feeling good, not hungry, not suffering in any way.  On days that are as good as yesterday and today, I think I might just do a 60 day fast.  Of course, I know not all the days will be this easy, though my detox resource tells me that now I have crossed into the most optimal part of the fast, with my body "fully adapted" to fasting.  So, I guess if things keep cruising along so well--why not keep going?  I'm releasing extra weight at a nice pace, and certainly am not done with that job yet.  I will say, though, that I am looking forward to eating healthy food again.

One day at a time.