juice fast love!

©2011, Monika Roe

Last night I came off of my 7 day juice fast. 7 DAYS!!! I am proud and a little surprised that I lasted that long!

I was inspired by the documentary movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross. It's a movie that my man shared with me. It focuses on Joe's journey through a 60 day juice fast to lose weight and regain his health. In the process he travels through the United States interviewing people about their diets and meets an overweight trucker who ultimately goes on a juice fast as well to save his life. 

The message of the film is to get off junk food, and add more fruits and veggies to your diet to improve your health and live longer. What caught my attention was that normal, everyday people who tried a juice fast talked about how much energy they gained and how revitalized they felt.

As you know, I recently spent 2 weeks in Denmark on vacation. Ever since I got back I've been feeling a little "off". It's hard to describe exactly what that means. I'm not sure if it was just hard for me to recover from the jet lag or if it was a result of eating too much of the amazing food I was constantly surrounded by (my family and friends there pulled out all the stops and cooked some delicious, memorable meals for us!) 

This juice fast sounded like just the thing I was looking for to jump start my energy and focus AND get back to healthful eating.

Since I have never done a fast of any kind before, I decided to take it one day at a time. I hoped to last a week but if my body told me to stop before then, I would set my ego aside and give myself permission to stop. I also decided not to tell anyone unless I had to. This was something I was going to do for myself without the judgement, praise or skepticism of others.

I was a little worried about willpower. Was it going to be too hard? Would I give in at the first opportunity? Was I physically and mentally capable of such a challenge? When these fears came up I helped them subside by focusing on that moment instead of how much longer I had to go. 

It was very difficult the first 3 days. Not because I was hungry, but because of the huge headache I got that never quit over those 3 days! I drink a lot of coffee everyday, not just in the morning but throughout the day. I'm a person that can drink 6 cups of coffee at night and then fall right asleep when I go to bed. I can only imagine that the massive, non-stop headache I experienced was from caffeine withdrawal. I kept telling myself that it would pass and it did and I was SO grateful!

Looking back now that scares me a little bit. That my body was so used to having coffee that I would have such a violent reaction to not having it! I haven't decided if I will start drinking coffee again anytime soon. If I do, it will be decaf. In the meantime I will be drinking my new favorite coffee substitute... HOT WATER!

This former caffeine-aholic is here to tell you that the one thing that really helped me in the mornings and at night when I was used to having my coffee was not decaf or tea. It was simply hot, steamy mugs of WATER! It really, really helped! Eventually I did not miss the coffee (and still don't).

The whole time I was on this fast I kept asking my man (who is very knowledgeable about health and alternative medicine) where is the energy? When will it feel like I've been hit by a lightning bolt and be buzzing with a recharged battery?

Truthfully, that moment didn't come until today, the day AFTER I broke my fast. Today I've kept the juice in my eating regimen but have added fruits, vegetables and nuts. And I feel great!

I'm looking forward to juicing tonight for dinner because I my body is craving it. And to be craving something that is so very, very good for me is such a change, such a surprise, such a GIFT. 

I feel like I have come a very long way in the past week and I can truly say I am glad I took the time and made the effort to listen to my body and take care of myself. It's something I will strive to practice everyday. I hope you do the same!