Juice Fast. Ready, Set, Go!

I am sooooo excited!  Today is Day One of my 10 day juice fast. I may extend it beyond the 10, but I am committed to10 first.  I may get brave and post my stats and a revealing photo.  Here is a photo of the fridge filled with fruits and veggies.

I decided to do the juice fast after watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  I'm nearly 50, sick of being fat and worrying about early death.  Although I am now also looking forward to the weight loss benefits, the main reason for me wanting to do the juice fast is for my health and for the possibility of retraining my taste buds.

I crave fried foods...and the potato chips...MMM mmm--especially after quitting smoking!  I could eat an entire large bag in a day with some green onion dip.  That is where a lot of the 20 lbs I gained came from after I quit.

With this 10 Day Juice Cleanse I am looking forward to:

• Retraining my taste buds so they crave fruits and veggies instead of fried chicken wings and french fries. 
• Detoxing from processed foods. 
• Changing my eating habits.
• Improved overall health (skin, rashes, arthritis type symptoms, cholesterol, and heart health)
• Weight loss (I feel so much better about myself when I am thinner).

I, like Joe and Phil from the documentary, have had a chronic rash for about a year now.  It comes and goes, and moves from place to place, but when it is flaring it lasts for months.  Yikes!  TMI?!  I m just trying to real here in the hopes that my honesty can help someone else.  

I just think that the rash and other symptoms, (arthritis like) are signs of an overloaded system and I am hoping to reset my system--a DO-OVER! 

It makes sense to me.  I could give details about why juice fasting is good for you, but Joe Cross already did that so well in his documentary, which I already mentioned above.  I highly recommend watching it!

I'll do my best to keep you updated on my juice cleanse progress.

Juicing sure makes for some pretty photos!  This is the cup that captured the beet juice I made this morning.

Photo by Marisa Zocco

Carrots, Apples and Broccoli, Oh My!

I made my first juice tonight with my donated juicer!

When I did my 101 List, one of the goals on that list was to "Make it a habit to eat at least five servings of fruits or veggies per day 5 days per week,"  and for someone who grew up on canned vegetables that task was turning out to be tougher than I thought it would.  It's funny how naming goals actually helps the universe put things in your path that can help you achieve them. 


I watched the documentary Fat Sick and Nearly Dead this weekend and I really related to it.  It is about a man who decided to do a juice fast to reboot his body and heal it from the inside out.  I don't want to tell  you all the details here, but just know that it inspired me and I recommend watching it.  I was so inspired that I wanted to do the juice fast too!

Juicers are expensive and I am on a budget so I put out a request for one on a freecycle site that I belong to and I got one the same day--today!

Here is the plate of vegetables (and a fruit) that went into my carrot, broccoli, and apple juice. 4 carrots, 1 apple and 3-4 broccoli florets.

That is a lot of veggies to eat in one sitting isn't it?! Well for a meat and potatoes gal like me it is.  Easy when it is in a juice. And since I love fruit juices, I think I can totally get into this juicing thing.  Naked juice makes a "green machine" juice that I love and I am going to try to get as close to the flavor as possible, but adding more vegetables. Green veggies have the most nutrients and I'm hoping that I can find a way to make kale taste amazing in a juice because kale is super duper good for you.

It was a little messy at first.  My first glass didn't fit under the lip where the juice came out and the second one I tried didn't fit against the side well enough and it was spilling.  A coffee cup worked fine.  I ended up adding a couple ice cubes to make it colder and it was better that way.

I am going to spend some time over the next couple of weeks practicing with some recipes, and then I think I am going to do the juice fast.  I'll start with a 10 day and extend it to 30 days if the 10 days is bearable.  In the documentary, people talk about the fast resetting your taste buds so you are craving the veggies and fruits rather than the bad for you foods.  Here's hoping that is the case with me!