This finish line is near :-(

Gotta admit, I'm a little sad to see the end in sight. This has been one hell of an experience! I have considered going just one more week, and I still may, but I'm afraid Kiersten will feel obligated to continue with me. It's time for her to be done. She did well, and I'm proud of her but she's only 19 and doesn't have nearly the amount of crud built up in her system as I do, and she's losing weight, which she doesn't need to do. She's only 130 lbs to begin with (must be nice) lol.
I'm still waiting for this giant burst of energy.....today I "napped" for 2.5 hours! I used to get that at bedtime. I felt fine, just sleepy today. My knees are still swollen from my 5 mile adventure the other night, oddly enough not sore. So I decided to skip my walk tonight *shame on me*. I have guilty feelings about that as I write this. I'm not perfect, I screw up, and I guess I still make excuses. But I know I'm still in the game.....my favorite jeans fell off me today! Literally fell off me. I was in Jewel and had a handful of produce ( will NEVER by produce from them again. Was in a pinch cuz I needed just a few things and Pete's closes at 10p) I was walking and felt my pants start to slip but figured they were just a little loose, and they made it below my hip bone before I was able to put the stuff down and grab em! A little embarrassing but exciting at the same time. I haven't felt that skinny in a long time! LOL. When I went to get my jammies on tonight, I didn't even have to unbutton or unzip them, I just shimmied them right off ( those burlesque classes really paid off!!)
Today was my mom's first day of outpatient therapy. She did awesome! I can't believe how well she is getting around. She even went out to get the mail today! She lives in a townhouse and has community mailboxes at the opposite end of the complex, roughly 1000 feet away! I hope this means she's gonna work super hard during therapy and get back to being 100% independent quickly. I'm sure she will. :-)
Made a trip to Jamba Juice today and got my extra large jug-o-juice. Berry upbeet...yummmm! Now that is one drink I will never feel guilty about "super sizing"! Actually thought seriously about franchising a Jamba Juice here in Oak Lawn til I read the requirements. Gotta have 350k in liquid assets and have a net worth of 1m. SERIOUSLY?! Maybe next year. LMAO!!!! Then I though about getting a part time job there! OMG, I'd never eat food again. So I decided against it. hahaha.
As far as juice goes today, I nailed it. Uhm, don't remember what I made today though. My Jamba juice counted as 2 juices, and I made 3 more. So I got close to 3 liters today. Let's not discuss water, ok? Making ANOTHER batch of Hippocrates soup. I'm so addicted. The smell is making me drool on myself a little. OK, a lot! I've decided when I break my fast Friday I will go all raw for a week. Fruits and veggies of course! Primarily veggies since I haven't focused a ton during this detox. But RAW, whole, intact veggies I can eat all day! Love em! So it'll be a little yummy game of catch up.
That's about all the news I have today. Thanks for reading. See ya tomorrow. Same place, uhm, probably a different time. lol. Til then.....JUICE ON!!!!

Eternal youth does not come from a fountain. It comes from a 4 speed blender.  :-) "Jamba Juice motto"

DAY 9!

I can't believe how far I have really come! I never in a million years thought I would have the will power to pull off a juice fast. I really thought, especially the last year, that I would always be "fat, sick and nearly dead". Either that, or the next in line for lap band or bariatric surgery. Well guess what peeps?! Not this girl! Not any more. I have made the decision to better myself naturally. To change my lifestyle drastically. And it's working. I never want to be in this place again. I am better than bad, over processed, fattening and/or fried food. I am bigger than my vices. I will succeed and live to be healthy. I am thankful for another chance. I am blessed with awesome friends and family who support me in my crazy endeavors. I am also thankful for the people who call me crazy, laugh, and say it can't be done. THEY are my motivation to push on. To be able to give them that shit eating grin while saying "I did it, bitches". To pull ahead healthier, stronger, both mentally and physically, leaving them scratching their head wondering what just happened. I live for that stuff.

I apologize for being so intermittent with my posts the last few days. I have had my hands full with my mom. She's home and really can't do much on her own. Yet. She is doing much better than I expected and I am super proud of her. :-) 

Yesterday was pretty uneventful as far as juicing goes. Got my 2 1/2 liters, not enough water and a 5 mile walk in. Yip, 5 miles. My knees are paying for it today. Overdid it just a little. lol. But I feel good about doing it. I feel energized and rejuvenated after. 2 months ago I didn't have the desire to even walk around the block. So I have come a long way, with a long way to go. But I feel like I am on a great path and need to stay focused. Today got 3 liters of juice in, most of my water ( forgot to keep track today. Oops)  and a light walk. Only a mile. Knee is still swollen from last night. But I got up and got moving,  and that's the main thing.

 Came up with some yummy concoctions today. For breakfast just did strawberries, mineolas and soy. Juice 2 was cucumber, carrot, sweet potato and apple. Actually very good and sweet! "Juice" 3 and 4 was my Hippocrates soup. Love that stuff! Juice 5 was blackberries, raspberries and pineapple. MMMMMM!!!!!! Super delish!  So I did well today. Although I am waiting, patiently, for this "runners high" everyone speaks of while doing a juice detox. I am expecting it any day now! I have just been kind of in a limbo so to speak. I have days that I feel I can run a 24 hour marathon, my mind remains sharp, yet my body doesn't feel like keeping up. It's weird. I don't know if it's because my body is only taking in 1/4 of the calories it is used to, if it's an excuse or what. But, I am going to leave it be, let my body do what it needs to do and get on with it. Can't say I'm stoked about all the breakouts and blemishes though. I was warned!  

On a side note, It's been a long, busy day. Time for my cold shower and a comfy bed. Til tomorrow.......JUICE ON!!

“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

This week is OVA!

First and foremost, my mom had her surgery and is still in the hospital recovering. The surgery went well. Dr. said her knee was extremely inflamed and highly unstable. He also said he fixed it "perfectly". I did not go to see her today, she needs her rest and was busy with therapy. My uncle did go to see her today, just a quick hello and told me her pain is off the chart and she is very nauseous. They had her on morphine via PCA, but switched her to dilaudid PO. She is due to come home tomorrow evening...I will be staying with her for a few weeks. So keep the prayers coming, she has a long road to recovery.
Welp, I did it. Week one is in the record books! I gotta say, it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. Was I hungry? A little. When I was, it was my own fault for not drinking more juice and water. Was I cranky? Only on day 5, as you all read. Did I have any energy? Ungodly amounts! At times. The first 3 days were the hardest. Sluggish, unmotivated. Cravings? Yup. Still do. But they are def. diminishing day by day. I have to admit, I was on a bigger learning curve than I thought. I had done so much research, I thought I was totally ready for this! HA! But ya know what? I am so glad I embarked on this journey! If nothing else, it proved to me that I can accomplish ANYTHING when I want it bad enough and put my mind to it. This is more of a mental hurdle than anything else. I still cant get the greens down. LOL. I have asked so many people how they do it. I've gotten responses that range from "its an acquired taste", "it takes time to ease yourself into that" to "ya just gotta choke it down". So I cheated. I went to Jamba Juice and got a green juice! Berry Upbeet. Strawberries, blueberries, kale, apple, celery, green bell pepper, spinach, beets. It was fantastic! Of course they have top of the line blenders and some secret squirrel stuff they do to make it taste yummy, but that was, and will continue to be, my green juice for the remainder of this fast! Breakfast was simple grapefruit juice, 4 cups of it! Was off and running early this a.m. so didn't have time to chop n dice n slice. Dinner was strawberry and minneola juice tossed in the blender with whey, almond, oatmeal, soy milk, banana. More of a breakfast smoothie, but I had a taste for it. After dinner "juice" was my soup. OHHHH my soup!!! This stuff was so amazing I made another batch! Celery, carrot, spinach, tomato, parsley, garlic, leek. That's it. Throw it in the blender after it simmered for 2 hours and done. So fab. that I will continue to make this as a treat for myself when I come off the fast. I have been trying to incorporate new fruits and veggies every time I go shopping. Just one or two. Today I got starfruit and lychees. Anxious to try. Speaking of shopping.....grand total for one week of juicing? $120. And that is just doing the minimum 3 liters of juice a day. Imagine if I had juiced EVERY time I was hungry or bored or thirsty?! Easily $200. Now I will be the first to admit, there were many things I have guessed on as far as the fast goes. I am not a puritan juicer! I have used soy and greek yogurt in my smoothies. Hell, I have made smoothies instead of pure juice. I have juiced mostly fruit, and I am drinking tap water *GASP* instead of distilled water!  But guess what?! Total weight loss for the week? 11 lbs. :-) I feel pretty damn good! AND.....the 20mgs of Prednisone? Yep, not any more. Down to 5mgs. and will be off by next week, I hope. No headahes, no aches and pains..... I must be doing something right!
I am listening to my body. When it is tired, I sleep. When it is hungry, I drink. Thirsty, drink. Spun up seven ways to Sunday, blog. :-)
My goal for this upcoming week is to FORCE the water and pay more attention to bedtime. I haven't been getting to bed before midnight. Partly because I have so much dang energy! Even after my 2 mile walk. I lie in bed, tossing and turning. It's crazy. They say around day 10, the body will experience a constant "runners high" for the remainder of the fast. This should be interesting! Are they trying to tell me Ill have MORE energy?!
So in celebration of a successful 1st week, I will be treating myself to a pedicure and a warm shower! I have been taking ice cold showers all week as a way to hold my attention. To force me to focus and think about the day ahead and what I need to do to live healthy. I have done some of my best thinking in the shower! But tonight, a warm shower and early bed. Thank you guys for the constant motivation. I couldn't do this without you! With that being said.....JUICE ON!!!!


 One should eat to live, not live to eat" -Benjamin Franklin

DAY 5

I know this post is a little early in the evening, but tomorrow my mom is having surgery at Weiss Hospital and I have to be up at 4am to go with her. Sooooo........I wanted to get this done before my walk tonight so that when I get home I can hop a shower and head to bed!
Thank you guys for all of your encouragement here and on FB. Yesterday was a BAD day. I am not sure how I survived it, or how anyone else survived me for that matter! UGH. Its was brutal. None of which I was not expecting, I just wasn't as mentally prepared as I thought for it. Woke up with a pounding headache that stayed all day. Failed on juice. Failed on water. Failed on walk. Talk about a wash! But, in typical Flaws fashion, when I am knocked down, I get back up with vengeance. Which I did today and kicked some serious juice ass!!! :-) Not only did I meet my 2 liters of juice, I EXCEEDED my 64ozs. of water! As this is only as of 7pm! GO ME!! I woke up good and pissed off at myself for my temper tantrum yesterday and promised I would make up for it today. I am promising myself a 2 mile walk as well. After the way I rocked today, that should be NO problem! I may even do 3! I felt absolutely wonderful today! No headaches, no aches or pains, no stiffness. A miracle, right?! I fell like I'm 25 years old again! (I won't even dare push it to 21, lol) Josh and I worked in the yard all day, and other than having to pee every 15 minutes, working in the heat and high humidity did wonders for my stiffness.
I kept my juice primarily simple today. Nothing fancy or unusual. For breakfast I juice a mess of strawberries and added the juice to the blender with a banana, soy milk and ground steel cut oatmeal. Very delish and very filling. A "hearty" smoothie to start my day. For lunch I had blueberries, kiwi, black grapes, apple, BIG handful of spinach and mint leaves. It turned out the color of stagnant pond water, but was very mild in flavor and good. Dinner was pink grapefruit, oranges, carrot over sparkling water. YUM! My last juice for the day really isn't a juice but broth. It is called Hippocrates soup. Basically a bunch of veggies cooked, thrown in the blender to puree and returned to the flavorful broth and sipped. Old people food. Or people with cancer, it is known as Gerson Therapy. Cooking as we speak, can't wait til it's done! Making extra so it lasts a few days. It smells UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
So I'm back from my walk. I did manage to meet what I did yesterday, and exceed by 2 blocks! *bootie shake*, even got another 2 bottles of water in.
On that note, it's time for a cold shower and bed. Long day tomorrow. Oh, and since you guys have shown ME so much support, would you mind saying a little prayer for my mom? She is just having her knee replaced, but she is in for a long road of recovery because of her underlying psoriatic arthritis, spinal stenosis, plantar faciatis, plantar and heel spurs! She has been a mail carrier for 28? years and her body is beat up. She said when she recovered from her knee surgery, she would be willing to try a juice fast with me!!! I think we'll go easy on her and start her off with a weekend fast.  :-) I will be juicing all my stuff for tomorrow, tonight and bringing in in a cooler. I will probably be spending the night at the hospital with her, so I may or may not get a change to post tomorrow. If I don't, rest assured I will be back Friday...full steam ahead! Until then......JUICE ON!!!!!


 Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.- Hippocrates

DAY 4, ugh.

I am not even going to beat around the bush with this one. Today sucked. I was a total waste of space and juice. So very upset with myself. I am honestly considering quitting this at the end of the week.I can't even tell you what I juiced today, really don't care to remember. If it was any good I would've remembered. This is a full time job! All I do is juice, take apart, wash, put back together, blend, take apart, wash, put back together, grocery shop, peel, slice, dice, wash, juice. What am I really getting out of this? Am I destined to be fat the rest of my life? Why don't I have enough will power? DO I have enough will power? How can I make this better? How do I improve? Why do I fuck everything up all the time? Can't I just start something and finish it well? Why do green juices have to be SO vile? Will I EVER be able to drink a green juice? Will I ever be able to add anything other than fruits, carrots, spinach and cucumber to my juice? Am I a sally ass? Why do I have a texture issue? Do I have a texture issue or is this my way of making excuses as usual? Why can't I push my body anymore? Why can"t I drink enough water? Why can't I find a happy medium between juice and water? Why isn't MY juicer here yet? Why is my daughter doing this? Why don't my friends and family understand why I WANT to do this? Why DO I want to do this? When will I get my life in order? Has my life BEEN in order all along and now I'm just screwing it up? Is this really as good for my body as the Juice God's say it is? Why am I running out of GOOD juice recipes? WHY WHEN I GO PRODUCE SHOPPING WHY DOES ONE CAR INSIST ON TAKING UP 3 PARKING SPOTS!? Why do people drive like assholes? Why do trains only come when I am in a hurry to get somewhere? Why do I have such an awful headache? Why do I have no energy? Why do people expect so much from me but refuse to give back? Why do I give so much of myself? Why do I KEEP giving? Why can't I say no? Why do I ache all over? Why can't I catch a break once in a while? Why are cranberries only available frozen in the summer? Why do I have to press one for English? Why does there have to be purists in EVERY FUCKING THING?! Why can't I ever come up with a good answer? Why can't people just MTOB?! Why does McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and all these other shitty ass fast food places even exist!? Do people honestly believe they serve "food"? Do you have ANY idea what is in  McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and all these other shitty ass fast food places ? Am I in withdrawal? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAY 3

Back for more, eh?! :-0  AWESOME! :-) I cant tell you guys how much your support means to me!  Well here it is the end of day 3, and I'm not feeling any of the horrid withdrawal symptoms I've been warned about. Maybe its the coffee? Maybe I'm doing this wrong!? I have been including a lot of "smoothie" type concoctions, which I'm not sure if those kick your GI into "go time"? I have also started to include TAZO teas into my day. 1 or 2. Just to give my palate a change and my mouth some "warmth". Cold juice all day is yummy, but, well....cold. Just need to change it up. I am also looking into if Gerson therapy is acceptable during a juice fast?
I slept pretty soundly last night except for getting up to pee at 4am. I suppose that is to be expected. lol.  Today was strange mentally, physically. I felt great, no headache, mild aches n pains, and I had a TON of stuff on my "to do" list. I figured I would hang out at home since it was 100* outside. I started housework and phone calls, emails and within an hour or so, I mentally powered down. Instantly. So I figured I would catch a 30 minute cat nap. I even set my alarm. And slept right through it. ARRRGH! 2 hours later I wake up feeling like flippin Super woman! Now it is 10pm and I am WIDE awake. It's going to be a LONG night! I have to learn some sense of schedule and how my body reacts. Timing my evening coffee early enough that it doesn't keep me up all night, get to bed at a decent time, schedule my juice and water cut off time so THAT doesn't keep me peeing all night. Yep, learning curve. Thank you EMS.
It was also a difficult craving day for me. Thank you 95th St. and Cicero Ave. My senses are definitely  heightened to crappy food. I smell it and it makes me ill. But to taste is something different. To sink my teeth into a juicy cheeseburger or a Portillos beef sandwich...sheer HEAVEN. But honestly, I don't want to. I just remind myself what that food has done to my body over the years and I'm good. At least for another 50 feet before there is another fast food restaurant. I can see why America has an obesity epidemic. I now find myself looking at overweight people in a different light, especially when the answer to obesity is SO friggin simple! Whole foods, plant based diet. Done. The crap these companies put in processed foods is an addiction. Just like caffeine, nicotine, OTC and street drugs. It IS hard to stop. But once you make the decision to be healthy, it becomes a lifestyle. Just like junk food was a lifestyle.
 Breakfast- pineapple, strawberries, mango, vanilla soy milk, fresh ground flax seed.
Lunch- apples, black seedless grapes, peach, mint leaves over sparkling water. I added Tahini to this as well. Remind me not to do that again. For those of you that are not familiar with Tahini, it is a liquid sesame seed paste. Middle Eastern origin and comes in oil or powder form as well. It is good, however, my daughter says it tastes like liquid peanut butter. Not good in this last juice. lol.
Speaking of my daughter....this has been tough on her. She works at Subway Sandwiches and the cravings are a plenty for her! I noticed today she was cranky, short and just looked tired. I told her she didn't have to keep doing this. Her reply? "I am doing this to make it easier on you". WOW! Not sure how to respond to that. I am proud that she would give this much of herself to help me out, and that is just the way she has always been. A giving, caring, honest, sweet girl. But to go through something this rigorous and demanding for someone else? She is 5'10 130lbs. She doesn't need to lose the weight, nor does she think so. I think she is in it simply for the detox aspect. I told her to stop, and wean back to food. She got VERY upset with me. I cant influence her decision, all I can do is make sure she benefits from this and comes out a healthier woman.
Dinner was orange, pineapple, carrot. Very sweet!
I fell short of the juice today by about 2 cups. Only got about 1 1/2 liters in. I just wasn't "hungry". I blame the heat. I did however, do a little better with my water. I've come to the conclusion I hate water! Got 64ozs in today. I feel good about that. I also have lost a few more pounds. I can't wait til the end of the week when I disclose the weeks total! I know it will be significant. Water weight or not!
I also got my walk in. 2 miles @ 133 calories. Little disappointed. That's a long walk, and to only burn 133 calories?! What a rip off! lol. But I guess since I have cut my calorie intake by 3/4 of my norm., I guess 133 calories is pretty significant! So yippie me! Still gotta work on getting more veggies in these juices. Don't get me wrong...I love me some veggies! ALL veggies. When their cooked. Or even raw. But my mental hurdle is with juicing them. *sigh*. I WILL overcome!
A few people have asked me if there is any spiritual reasons behind this fast. Honestly....I'm not sure. I don't consider myself a spiritual person, though I was raised in a strict Catholic home. But truly, when you are eating God's bounty, how can there NOT be a spiritual aspect to it? I mean think about it...what did Even offer Adam in the Garden of Eden? An apple. Now I can go on, but I know some of you may get upset and disagree. That's fine. You are entitled to treat your body as you wish. And am I. I will save this fight for my severe withdrawal day. :-) Until then.....JUICE ON!


He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.  ~English Proverb

DAY 2

Day 2 down and in the books! I'm surprised, I feel really, really good. No withdrawal symptoms yet. I have a confession to make....I have not given up my coffee. Now before you bust my chops, let me say that I have cut back. Way back. I am now down to a small cream and sugar in the a.m. and occasionally the same in the evening (down from 2 medium french vanilla with extra cream and extra sugar, and previously from 2 large french vanillas 8 cream, 8 sugar!!). I have done my research and the census is split when it comes to juicing and caffeine. Many say that if you are "addicted" to coffee, a juice fast is not the time to stop being that there is already a tremendous amount of change going on in the body. They recommend trying to wean yourself slowly. Which is what I am doing. So cut me a little slack! 
Last night I was so full of energy that I couldn't fall asleep. It was crazy. Crawled into bed about 11:30 (trying to work on bedding down a bit earlier, and get myself on an actual normal sleep pattern). The last time I looked at the clock it was 03:30 as in A.M! UGH! But woke up feeling fine. 
Today had its moments. I started my morning with a little bit of stretching by my pond, followed by my a.m coffee. Stifle it, people!  It was wonderful. To hear the birds chirping, the waterfall piddling and the feel of the warm sun on my shoulders. Ahhhhh......
 I finally decided I should go all in and try this phenomenal "mean green" juice that all juicers RAVE about. So I had a recipe that came recommended. (Remind me to punch the person that recommended it later) OK, 6 kale leaves, 1/2 cucumber, 1 granny smith apple, 4 stalks of celery, and 1/2 lemon. Kiersten chugged it down like a champ! Now granted she held her nose while chugging, but nonetheless, got it down. Boy was she pissed at me! LOL! Me on the other hand, I didn't fare so well. It took me about 15 minutes of staring at it, contemplating my fate should I give in and drink it. Bad move. NEVER think about what your drinking! It is a mind trick, and it will get me every time. So I finally did it. Held my nose and slugged down...it was only 2 cups worth. Annnnd, it didn't stay down. I will never drink that sludge ever again. Ever. I don't care how tremendous the benefits are. I gotta say, the energy i got about 20 minutes after and the clarity of mind that set in was, well, pretty cool. Not worth it though. HAHAHA! 
So my breakfast today was honeyed figs. Pretty sweet and yummy. 3 fresh figs, 2 apples. pinch of vanilla greek yogurt, cinnamon, manuka honey and fresh ground almonds. A bit of a complex is starting to set in. By adding soy, occasional yogurt, and ground up nuts/seeds, is it still considered juicing!? The whole point is to flush the system and give the GI tract a rest. So am I doing that? I dunno, but its damn good! Also had a blueberry and acai berry juice. Pretty nifty. blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate. So after all is said and done, 2 liters of juice today (same as yesterday) and again, not enough water. UGH! I will learn. I'm on a little bit of a leaning curve. 
I was surprised to see that in 24 hours I dropped 7 lbs. I couldn't believe it, so I checked on 3 different scales. Now granted, its probably 7 lbs of water weight, but its a start. I feel lighter. I feel focused. I feel proud. To me this is a huge undertaking, especially when 1 year ago I thought juicing only meant steroids. I never paid any attention. I didn't care to learn. Wasn't my "thing".  
Happy to hear hot tea is also in my "diet". Gotta thank St. Xavier for the TAZO teas. Even though it cost us $2.50 for 1 individual teabag (that's a story for after my adventure!) Anyway, tonight I am enjoying "calm"...chamomile, rose petals, hibiscus, spearmint, lemongrass, peppermint, sarsaparilla root, lemon balm leaf, licorice root. Lots of good stuff, and a nice warm change to the cold juices! 
With that being said, off to bed I go. Well, at least try. Ya'll enjoy your evening, til next time....JUICE ON! 


"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
- La Rochefoucauld

DAY 1

Let me start by saying...I am SO TOTALLY STOKED that so many of you are following my blog! Talk about some seriously needed motivation!!! You guys freakin RAWK! Please feel free to comment, advise, encourage, motivate below! With that being said.....ONWARD! !

Starting weight 233#.  Breakfast 2 oranges, 1 peach, 1 granny smith apple. Slightly diluted with distilled water. Juicing for 2 is gonna get expensive!  Lunch 1/2 papaya, 5 oz. pineapple, 2/3 c. of coconut milk, 1 lime, pinch fresh ground cinnamon, pinch ground nutmeg. YUM! Tastes like a pina colada! Was supposed to add guava, but forgot to get that at the store. Speaking of stores....I have recently discovered Pete's Fresh Mart in Evergreen Park. WOW! They have all the off the wall stuff that a health food junkie could ever need. Their produce is redicuously fresh, and reasonable too. I have not been doing organic, which I am in a toss up about. If your going to juice, do it fresh, do it smart and do it right! But I gotta tell ya...like I mentioned before, I am juicing for 2, and organic is SO expensive. At least for me right now. Were on a tight budget, so I figured I can still reap the benefits of juicing, 98%. Now would be a good time to mention that juicing for 2...yeah, I'm NOT preggo, but my 19 year old daughter is juicing with me! YIPPIE! It was her decision alone, in no way shape or form did I push her to get on board with this. I explained why I was doing it, whats involved, the pros and cons, "side effects", both good and bad ( days 3-5 are gonna SUCK) and she still wanted to do it. Which is great. She understands this IS NOT a diet, but rather the beginning of a lifestyle change. I only hope she sticks to it. Hey, shes 19! lol. It also gives us some really great mother/daughter time. I hesitate to use the word "bonding", cuz well, we've already been there, done that. Kiersten, my oldest, and I have always had a pretty good relationship. We have been through some rocky times, but for the most part, she has been my easy child. We talk about everything ( when shes in the mood, lol) and I consider her my best friend. Although I wont hesitate to put her in her place as my child! 

After lunch lunch  2 kiwi, 1 apple, 1/2 lemon, handful spinach, few mint leaves. Yummy, but a bit too much mint. It called for 3 leaves, I put 6, they're so tiny! :-) This recipe called for cucumber as well, I left it out. On purpose. I made my attempt at a green juice the other day and the only thing I could taste was pulpy cucumber. It took everything in me not to spew. I'm finding that I am a "texture person", and not in a good way. One thing that has helped a bit is taking the juice from the juicer and pouring in the blender with a few ice cubes, 1, to chill it a bit and 2, it tricks my mind into thinking the pulp is ice. I'm not sure if this is proper juicing etiquette  per the juicing gods, but if it helps me I see no harm. 

I've been doing 2 cup glasses of juice. I'm only 6 cups in at 230pm. I've used ALOT of produce! I have a feeling this will be a little pricier than originally thought. 

OK, last juice down for the night. This one was probably the best yet! It is supposed to be a stress tonic. One to help you relax and unwind and has plenty of protein to stabilize blood sugar. I have had alot of sugar today.... albeit healthy sugar, but sugar nonetheless. This one was roughly 15 strawberries, 1 pear, 1 red Michigan apple, 1/2 tsp. tahini, 1 tsp. fresh ground flax seed, 2 tbsp. soy yogurt, 1/3 c. vanilla soy milk. DELISH! So all in all, I consumed 8 c. juice today, roughly 2 liters. Not bad, for me. Goal is 2-3 liters a day, plus 64oz of water a day. I fell short by a long shot on that! I had a period of a few hours after lunch that I felt hungry, I was also outdoors all day, cutting the grass, yard work, etc. Even with regular food I'd be hungry. But...not one single sign of a headache today, a miracle if I say so myself. I normally have a headache at some point in the day, every single day for the last 20 years. My focus was good, I didn't have a single craving for anything, and I had enough energy to get me through the day without a problem! Uhm, aside from the 30 minute catnap. Again, pretty normal for me. I even managed to squeeze in a 2 mile walk this evening. Gotta say, I feel pretty dang successful! So we are off to a good start. Tomorrow is another day, and I am CONVINCED it will be better than today! Until then....JUICE ON! 

"Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favour compared with the products of nature, the living cell of the plant, the final result of the rays of the sun, the mother of all life."
- T. A. Edison

The decision

That about sums it up! Not a healthy way to live, that's for sure! I am about to change that. I guess a bit of a back story is needed here....how did I get to this point? I have always been so carefree, in every aspect of my life. Not always a good thing, especially when it comes to my body. I have beat it up pretty bad over the years, and have enjoyed almost every minute of it! As 40 rolls around, by body is packing up and checking out. But WAIT!!!! I still NEED it! OK, so how to "reverse" 37 years of  "hold my beer and watch this" moments?! I am convinced, it CAN be done, at least on the inside.
After multiple doctors appointments, gallons of blood drawn, enough radiation to kill Godzilla and prescription drugs aplenty to make Mr. Walgreen himself giddy, I've decided it is time for a change!
I walked out of the MRI office with a clear picture of what bulging L3,4,5 discs and moderate arthritis down the entire spine look like, pared with a new diagnosis of an unclear auto immune disease, surgery on the table for "female issues",  visions of having a total knee replacement in the near future, and a new prescription for 20mgs of Prednisone.
 Martin was kind. He was knowledgeable. He was vegan. I.... was skeptical. He was speaking to a paramedic! I knew how important protein, carbs, B12, calcium was in a western diet! He told me there were other ways of getting all of that. He sent me on my way with book titles, links, movie titles and articles I MUST read. I thanked him, smiled, and left the office. As I drove home, my daughter had asked if I could take her to the library. I agreed. After all, it was 105* outside and I had no intention of doing anything other than hibernating in the A/C at home. So we went. Little did I know this trip to the local library would be the beginning of a BIG change! Out of morbid curiosity, I decided to look at the "healthy stuff books". To my surprise, there it was. Glaring me in the eyes like a solar eclipse. I couldn't look away, but I felt "awkward" staring." Forks Over Knives". Although I hadn't taken the time to look through the stuff Martin had given me, I recognized that name as being on one of the pages. I had NO IDEA what this book was about, except that it was "healthy stuff". It floated into my grip (I honestly don't recall consciously picking it up) and I began to thumb. Whole foods blah blah blah, plant based diet blah blah blah vegan blah blah blah has been proven to reverse auto immune disease. SCRAAAAAAATCH! WAIT. WHAT!? I read a few sentences and decide I still look awkward reading this book in the library!?!??! and take it home. I spend the night reading. First thing in the a.m. (after coffee of course) I head back to the library for the rest of the books and movies Martin suggested. I was hooked. I spent the rest of that day, and EVERYDAY since, researching, reading, contemplating, questioning. It was later that week I discovered "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". I was sold.
The following day I tried my first juice. I had an OLD juicer I got from my wedding shower back in 1994 that I think had been used once to get apple pulp to make cookies. I ended up dumping the juice out! Had I only knew ten what I was missing in that juice! Today was going to be different. I threw in a few apples, strawberries, blueberries and mixed the juice in the blender with some ice. The rest is history. I fell in love so much with the idea of the juicing lifestyle, that I decided right then and there that I wanted to try a juice fast. Which brings me here today. 
I am a few days away from starting my fast. I calmed down and did PLENTY of research. The pros and cons, ins and outs, and how to break a fast.  I ordered a new Omega VRT 350 juicer, should be here within the week. Gotta have good equipment if you want to be successful. Not to mention an overall more pleasant juicing experience. I am excited. I am nervous. Over the last month, I have begun detoxing my body, preparing for this juice fast. The more garbage you have in your system ( fatty meats, dairy products, refined sugars and starches, processed foods) the harder the fast will be on your body. The whole point of a juice fast is to rid your body of toxins built up over time and decrease the cravings for above said crap. You want to be able to come out of your fast feeling better and looking forward to the hard work needed to change your entire lifestyle. Sounds overwhelming? I suppose it can be. I am taking it one step at a time. I have begun to incorporate a brisk evening walk into my daily routine. It has gotten tougher and tougher the last few years for me to stay active because of the severe pain I am in day in and day out. I have had to take an extended break from my job as a paramedic. I couldn't make it down the firehouse stairs quick enough for calls! My getting out of bed at anytime, involves lots of stretching and finagling of body parts to get them to do what I needed them to do WHEN I needed them to do it!  Bending and lifting were close to impossible. Forget about the firefighting aspect of it all! But, baby steps I am taking. At a quick pace. All together. And I feel confident that I can do this. I NEED to do this. 
I have mentioned to many people that this was my plan. Some supportive, some not. But either way, I have decided to blog about it. So if after this you are still interested in my success/failure, you can check back here and see how I am doing. I will be posting every evening. Until next time.....JUICE ON!