Post Juice

My hopes/expectations going into my juicy adventure. 

• To find out for myself if this juice fasting things really works. 
• To become healthier (and happier).
• To get my motivation to exercise back. 
• To (hopefully) lose enough weight to over take a sister (or two) in the Biggest Loser Competition. 

In the four days I was juicing I lost 2.7kgs  (I haven't been this weight in two years - so this is a massive thing for me) and I felt great, to me this is a success. I didn't really get any extra motivation to exercise, but I did find extra energy. I'm hoping to keep the weight off until at least the end of the month (which is when my next Biggest Loser weigh in is), but hope to keep the weight off past that. 

All in all I would call the Juice Fast a success. The hardest part was socializing, not only was it tricky when watching someone else eat, but also some of my friends were very against the idea. Most were supportive, but the ones that weren't were straight up mean about it. This was probably the biggest suprise, I didn't expect people to support me (or even care about why I was doing it), but I didn't expect people I consider to be friends to say right to my face that I was wrong and that I was doing more damage then good to myself by doing the juice fast. It would have been nice for them to at least hear me out. However life goes on and if these people were right then I will put the weight back on the moment I start eating again - I will keep you posted. 

Day 4

Juice #1 
3x Carrot 
3x Apple
3x Orange
5x Celery
1.5 cup Kale

Juice #2

5x Carrot

5x Orange

I was in a very orange mood (but it still turned out to be tasty).

This is my last day on the juice and I feel really mixed about it, I am looking forward to eating solid food again (and going out for dinner), however I have been feeling so much healthier and happier while on the juice. 

Day 3

Today I did another massive shop, the fruit bowl is way too small to cope with the juicing, now I have a nice big fruit basket instead! I also forgot to get ginger, but I guess that is something I can try next time. 

 Juice #1 

3x Orange

2x Apple

3x Carrot

1.5 cup Kale

5x Celery

Juice #2

2x Carrot

5x Orange

3x Apple

1x Banana 

5x Strawberry

I decided to try the banana thing again, but this time rather then putting the banana through the juicer I squished it up and mixed it in with the rest of the juice. I still couldn't really taste any of the banana, but at least this time I know I actually consumed the banana (and that is didn't get all caught up in the juicer). Didn't taste the strawberries at all, but they were about to go off. 

Day 2

Juice #1

5x Apple

1x Banana

2x Orange

Squeeze of Lemon

This juice was intended to be ‘dessert’ last night, but I ended up not needing it. The banana was a bit of an experiment didn’t really work, didn’t taste the banana at all – but now I know.

Juice #2

3x Carrot

1x Apple

2x Orange

1x Cos

1.5 cup Spinach

 2 cup Broccoli

I ended up only having the two juices today (again I had made a third, but didn't end up drinking it). To be honest I think I should have made more of a conscious effort today to drink more, I was only making juice as I got hungry and I just didn't get as hungry today. However I did need an afternoon nap. Tomorrow I will make sure I consume at least three juices. 

Day 1 - Evening

Juice #3

2x Carrots

1x Cos

1x Pineapple

2.5 cup Spinach

5x Celery

Squeeze of Lemon juice

Okay, apparently you shouldn't put an entire pineapple through the brand of juicer I have (even if it has been cut into little pieces). Turns out pineapple pulp is more like a cream and clogs up a juicer, causing awesome burning smells. 






I wasn't planning on having a juice for breakfast, lunch and dinner; I was planning on making a juice every time I got hungry. To be perfectly honest I didn't think three juices a day would keep me satisfied, I predicted I would need 5-6 a day to stay full. However today I did have a juice around breakfast another around lunch and the last one at dinner time. I had even made a fourth juice (in preparation) but didn't end up drinking it. 

I completely underestimated just how much fruit and veggies you go through when you’re just drinking juice. I did a massive shop before starting (pretty much brought as much as I could carry) and I went through over half of it on the first day. I’ve decided to go find the cheapest fruit and veggies and just buy big on them (rather then having the large variety), probably apples, oranges, carrots, celery and maybe a little ginger – as I’ve heard this makes juice amazing. 

Day 1 - Afternoon

Juice #2

1x Granny Smith Apple

1x Carrot

3x broccoli

2x Celery

1x Cos (lettuce stuff)

3x Spinach

After the first (very fruity) juice, I decided to try a juice with a vegetable based, it was tastier then the first juice (which was unexpected). Who knew vegetables could be so tasty?! 

So far I feel fine, my stomach was feeling a little odd earlier (I don’t really know how to describe it, but I’ll try), it was as if I was feeling hungry and full at the same time, it was very weird, but only lasted for a little while. I had a brief moment (while looking at a muffin on Instagram) where I really wanted a muffin, but quickly realized that I don’t normally have muffins anyway (so I would be feeling the same want, whether I was on the juice fast or not). It could just be a placebo effect, but I’ve been feeling much more energetic this morning then I usually do (I know increased energy is a side effect of the juice, but am not sure if the energy is meant to kick in on the first day – I figured it was something I would be getting on day 3-4). To be honest, I thought I would be feeling moody and low on energy by now, I suspected I would be taking an afternoon nap – there is currently no chance of that!

Headache started at 4pm (which I expected) however after a small amount of water it was gone (which I didn't expect). Did have a slightly moody afternoon (but nothing compared to what I expected). The biggest challenge of the day (apart from cleaning the juicer) was when other were eating around me, I wasn't hungry, but I did want to be eating too. 

Day 1 - Morning

I started the day by jumping on the scales and taking a few measurements, I know this juice fast isn't about losing weight, but I love numbers and want to see what sort of changes (if any) it has on my body.

Juice #1 

3x Carrots

2x Celery Sticks

5x Granny Smith Apples

3x Oranges

I felt healthier from the moment I started drinking this juice. 

The night before - Expectations

As I mentally prepare to set out on my juicy adventure I can't help but wonder how my mind and body are going to react to the next few days. 

I've done a large fruit and vege shop - the fruit bowl is full!

The fridge is ready!

I predict that I'm going to be low on energy and grumpy for the first three days (or until my body has adjusted to the lack of solid food) and there will be at least one moment when I want to crack (I'm predicting day 1). I just have to keep reminding myself, if the two guys in Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead can do it, then so can I!

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

On Friday night I sat down and watch the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227378/). For those who don't know, I'm currently in a Biggest Loser Competition with the females of my family and have lost around 7kgs this year, however in the last few months my weight loss has dramatically slowed (I don't want to call it a plateau because the problem is my motion). I'm eating more food then I need and exercising a less then I should.

In Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead two overweight guys do a 60 day juice fast and have great results. The idea was so simple (drink nice healthy home juiced fruit and vegetable for 60 days) and it looked easy enough (after the first couple of days they seemed to really enjoy it). I wanted to find out for myself if it was as amazing and effective as they made out, however 60 days of only juice sounded far too scary to me, so I settled on a nice safe four days to start with.

What I hope to achieve:

• To find out for myself if this juice fasting things really works. 
• To become healthier (and happier).
• To get my motivation to exercise back. 
• To (hopefully) lose enough weight to over take a sister (or two) in the Biggest Loser Competition.