Jesus...and Kelly Fasted for 40 Days and 40 Nights

I thank the Lord for the bounty of his Mother Earth that has nourished and healed my body over the last 40 days.  Yippee!  I am two thirds the way through my juice fast! Because we see ourselves everyday it is difficult to see the transformation.  I ended up back at the park during lunch today with my juice and thought to take a picture next to the tree like I did on day 3 of the fast.  Here is a side by side of my progress.  Big changes are a happening!!!

Long Time No Talk

So it's been a while since I have last given an update. Today is day 39 on the Juice Fast and I am currently down 22.5 pounds! The last few weeks have very positive and enlightening. I feel better than I have in years: less headaches, more energy, healthy cravings, more stamina.  In the first few weeks of the Juice Fast I was craving everything bad for me.  Fried chicken, sausages, burgers, tater tots, anything cheesy.  I would salivate over the food others around me were consuming.  Now I fantasize about making vegetarian lasagna with zucchini noodles, or a lettuce wrap with fresh crunchy veggies and tahini.  I have a read a lot of juicing blogs where the writers would say they got to 30 days but their mindset and cravings weren't under control so they wanted to continue.  I now understand how it truly feels to be Reboot!


Last Thursday was my birthday and everyone was asking how I was going to celebrate without going out to eat or without having drinks with friends. I had a state-wide meeting I had to travel to in San Diego and would be spending the entire day in meetings.  I packed a few gallons of juice in my cooler bag to bring with me.  Even though my beautiful room didn't come equipped with a fridge, I called on my college experience and filled the sink with ice to keep my juice cold. I knew I learned something in college!  This is how a juicer rolls when out of town.  But the best surprise cam when I arrived at the hotel.  There was a beautiful birthday cake flower arrangement in my room sent by my best friend Bridget.  The card said a lot of sweet encouraging things and ended with, "You had to enjoy your birthday cake somehow!"

Bridget is right, there is always a way to celebrate and enjoy special occasions even when you are living your life completely differently than you had in the past.  We need to learn to celebrate by enjoying each others company, sharing gifts, expressing love, and not define a special occasion by the food we eat at it.  Since returning to town, I have heard from some of the meeting attendees I saw in San Diego.  They are inquiring about Juice Fasting and are thinking of implementing it in their lives.  My fellow Project Manager in my office is already on her 26th day of the Juice Fast and is thriving!  I never intended to inspire others to give up food or Juice Fast with me for 60 days; yet my results have motivated them alone.  Now my boss, remember "Just EAT something!", wants to join the Reboot.  And another friend at work and her husband are kicking off. I am so encouraged by those around me choosing to focus on their health in such a dramatic way.  Let's juice fruits, eat copious amounts of veggies, prevent disease, and live forever!!

After returning home from my travels, I spent the evening with my sexy boyfriend, watched the GIANTS win, and lit my candles on my flower cake.  When I blew them out I wished for a lifetime of health.  And I know when you tell your wish to others it's not supposed to come true.  But the ball's in my court on this one and I'll make damn sure it happens!  We ended up choosing to enjoy one of the last days of summer at the beach with my sister and nephew to truly celebrate my birthday.  It was so sweet to watch my nephew play in the waves and share my birthday with me. Being a part of my loving family and having such a supportive encouraging boyfriend is celebration enough for me.

And so you can see some of the physical changes the Juice Fast is creating in me.  Here is a picture taken of me today drinking juice in the office.  Stay strong!

 

Week 3 on the Reboot

As Lawrence Carrol told me recently, the Juice Fast is like any road, there are hills and dips.  And I couldn't agree more!  After a challenging weekend; this week just breezed past me. Not a roadblock or bad mood to speak of! The distraction work provides enables me to forget that I am fasting.  It just feels like daily protocol now.  I am learning to set boundaries and not be around too much eating.  And on a VERY ENCOURAGING note, I am down 14.1 pounds!

The Juice Fast's effect on my emotions

This weekend brought unforeseen struggles my way on my juicing journey.  I missed food very badly this weekend.  I wasn't particularly hungry, just craving food. Any food. Even the frozen pizza my boyfriend was eating looked appetizing.  I realized I was feeling bored and sensitive.  I never understood how profoundly food effects our emotions.  We play games with ourselves all day long surrounding food. We think, "Oooh! I can't wait, I'm going to grill steak for dinner!"  Or, "Just one more hour and I'll run and get a sandwich at lunch."  Or even, "I worked so hard today, I deserve a little ice cream."  I realized that without eating, not only do I have a lot more time on my hands, I have a lot more time in my head.  I don't have the little daily rewards to look forward to. Not that Green Juice isn't completely delicious! And with my plan to go 60 days on the Juice Fast, the end in nowhere in site.
 
Being flooded with emotions, I retreated to my room to clean furiously and cry.  I can't pin point exactly why I was crying.  I know I felt left out...of eating tasty things.  I also was feeling a little overwhelmed.  I have committed to a major change and a lengthy time line and I was feeling vulnerable on only day 15!  There are a lot of people rooting for me and excited to see my big transformation and here I am crying about food only a quarter of the way through my journey. As I am violently folding and putting away clothes my boyfriend comes in to check that a tornado had not hit my bedroom and comfort me.  He said that of course it is hard. That I hadn't eaten food in over two weeks, there were bound to be some emotions.  Truly, I think I just needed to cry.  I needed to let down my guard and release a little tension. Immediately afterward I felt a sense of relief.

I recognize that with great results comes great challenges.  No outcome worth having was going to come easily.  Otherwise the news would be telling stories of how healthy Americans are rather than our obesity problems. I am committed to this process and all that comes with it.  Even it produces tears at times.

The good news is that today is day 18 for me and I am down 11.7 pounds.  I still have excellent energy levels and I am still sleeping like a baby.  I am motivated to continue on and really excited to pass the one month mark. I would be interested in the emotional journeys you have all experienced while Juice Fasting.

Keep the juice flowing!

Weekend Challenges and Success

So week one is down!  I think there is a major mental hurdle you surpass at the one week mark. I feel much more at ease coming out of the weekend.  I planned a few too many social encounters this weekend, WAY too early-on for my willpower to catch up.  This weekend my sister and I took my Mom to a concert for her birthday.  Because this was an evening event, I could skip the dinner plans and meet up with the fam to just go out.  Juice was my cutest accessory! This juice fast supplied a built-in designated driver...me!  Which was perfectly fine and pretty funny in fact.  I drank pints of water with lemon all night at the show and felt very included in the fun.

On Saturday night my boyfriend and I went over to my sister's house to play with my nephew and hang out with the family.  My sister made a delicious dinner of stuffed sweet potatoes and braised brussels sprouts with kale.  My boyfriend had a steak with some veggies...and I had juice.  It is way to hard to sit at the dinner table while others eat. I should have taken my nephew for a walk. Even if my stomach wasn't grumbling; it is hard to sit there and not eat.  I felt grumpy and left out. (Not anyone's fault, I realize. I am the one who decided to juice fast.) I also have to stop and recognize that the weight loss, increased energy, and great rest are all worth passing up a few weeks of meals.  As my sister says, "Nothing is going extinct while you're dieting."  And she's right.  Stuffed sweet potatoes will always be there. I even bet my sister will make them for me while I play with my nephew in a few short weeks. 

Starting my second week back at work on the fast feels much more natural.  I feel less carnivorous and more calm.  My hunger isn't intense; in fact I feel no more hungry than when I was eating.  I have extra stressful events scheduled at work this week.  And even though I will be traveling all day tomorrow with lots of stops and a business lunch; I am grateful that I am portable with my juice packed along with me. When I get hungry I don't have to stop for food.  I just need to reach into my cooler bag for some juice and keep going. 

With my head clearer and the scale down 7.4 pounds now; I look forward to the coming days on my Reboot.

Keep calm and Juice on!

Day 6: New Juice Recipes

It's Day 6 and I am within striking distance of completing my first week of my Reboot juice cleanse. I am down 5.1 pounds and I am still feeling fantastic.  I have an almost annoying amount of energy, I am sleeping like a baby, and I am not incredibly hungry.  I do experience hunger when it is meal time or snack time; but the hunger pains pale in comparison to when I am eating.  Yesterday I experienced a little bit of listlessness in the afternoon that faded once I drank a juice snack.

I have been swimming four out of the six days I have been on the cleanse.  I know not to push a hard workout until I become more used to my new intake. I swim a few laps and do some moves I learned in water aerobics class; roughly a 30-45 minute workout.

I have 2 new delicious juice recipes for you!

Count Lawrence Carrol's Bruschetta Juice
(To keep the vampires away!)
Tomatoes
Basil
Garlic (2-3 cloves for 2 32 oz. servings)

This juice is thick and filling.  My best friend's dad, Lawrence, raved about this delicious juice so I had to try it.  It satisfies the savory cravings and is quite a bit different than fruit juice.

Orange Delight
Orange
Mango
Afghan Melon

This has been my most delicious juice blend to date.  It is sweet and filling. I started my day with it yesterday and had energy straight til lunch.  Enjoy both of these tasty new juices and Juice On!

Day 4 Down 4!

It's Day 4 and I woke up and weighed my self and I lost another 2.2 lbs!  Down 4 pounds since Sunday.  I feel so encouraged and motivated.  It also helps that I woke up feeling like a million bucks!  It's almost silly, I feel hyperactive, tons of energy! 

Since yesterday morning was a bit rough for me; I started my day today with my fruit juice to start my day with more calories.  I normally enjoy my green juice as meals and use my fruit juices for snack between.  I'll let you know how the switch affects me today.

I made a fresh batch of green juice last night. I made it a little less sweet with fewer apples.  I have been craving a bit of salty foods.  So maybe a less sweet juice will satisfy my craving.

Thought I would give a quick update to let you know that the first few days are hard and the detox symptoms can be tough.  But hang in there; it gets better.  I feel better today then when I was eating regular food!

Keep it going!

Day 2 and 3

Yesterday, day 2, was my first day at work on the cleanse.  It went shockingly well.  Work was a welcomed distraction from focusing on juicing. I had felt a little bored on Sunday night with all the food thought removed from my day.  I moved through the my day at work with relative ease.

In reading others' Reboot stories, in day two and three they seem to start to feel the effects of their bodies releasing toxins. Since I coasted through yesterday feeling great; the symptoms I am experiencing today feel like they are due.  I woke up a little headachey and nauseous.  I really felt like staying in bed this morning...not to say that is juicing related...I would rather stay in bed most days.  Once I got up and drank my hot lemon water and started getting ready I felt less nauseous and refreshed.  I am having an extra pressure-filled day at work and that coupled with my nausea isn't an awesome combo.  My symptoms are not severe and start to evade with every sip of juice I take. 

I like how co-workers throw in their unsolicited 2 cents.  This morning I was told to just drink a little caffeine and that would relieve my headache. Or maybe have a snack.  I thought, "You're right! I DO need a snack!"  I missed my mid morning juice snack! 


Now after heading to the park at lunch to enjoy my Green Juice I am back in business.  I am three quarters the way through day three and I am feeling like this Reboot is doing it's job.  No results worth having should come to us easily.  Then I would be robbed of learning the lessons the process has to teach me.  As my motto thus far in life dictates, "I am stronger than I think I am!"  And I am.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to include: I've lost 1.8 lbs since Sunday!  How ya like them apples...or melons?!

Reboot Kickoff!

My Reboot has begun!

In preperation on Saturday I hit the vegetable market with my mom and may have gone a little nuts on my purchasing.  I filled an entire cart to nearly overflowing including stacking five melons underneath it. My mom and I were heaving it around the store hoping a small child wouldn't pop out of nowhere because slowing to a top was very difficult. Once I got home, it took me and my boyfriend Arrol about 10 trips to get it all upstairs.  For my last chewed meal before the Reboot I ordered Thai tofu curry and brown rice.  I had to savor my last meal and really enjoy it so that I didn't feel jipped as I enter cleanse.

Sunday morning my mom had planned to come over and help me kick off my Reboot and start juicing.  Little did I know my sister was on her way with my nephew in toe for support and encouragement! It was an impromptu kickoff party with family and boyfriend in attendance. 

Thank God I started washing and categorizing my fruits and veggies Saturday night. You can see the bounty of goods I had and it nearly took all evening to unload!

We juiced three varieties of juice enough to last a little over three days.  We started with Green Juice so I could drink breakfast and have good energy to continue juicing.  My mom is a machine and kept me laughing the entire time!

I loved the taste of my "Green Juice". It tastes green! It's sweet and a little tart and sends chills down my spine.  I felt like a plant that was fed Miracle Grow.  I perked right up!  Later I drank what I nicknamed "Berry Heaven".  It was an amazing combination I could not even imagine. My first sip I thought, "Wow, that would be great with a little vodka in it!"  Then I relished in it's pure deliciousness.  I ended my day with a swim and my "Pumpkin Pie Juice". I went through my entire day with no real hunger.  Infact, I was hard pressed to finish the last few ounces at night.




Green Juice:                                   Pumpkin Pie Juice:                        Berry Heaven:
Kale                                                 Carrot                                              Black Grape
Celery                                              Sweet Potato                                   Red Grape                      
Spinach                                           Butternut Squash                           Black Plum
Granny Smith Apple                     Orange                                             Peach
Lemon                                             Lemon                                             Watermelon
                                                         Cinnamon                                       Raspberries
                                                                                                                  Black Berries
                                                                                                                  Blue Berries

As the sun went down I sat on my balcony, drank a cup of herbal tea, and thought about the first day of my journey.  In the quietness I realized how much I dedicated to my eating.  All the thought that went into what I would make next.  The entertainment these thoughts provided me. I may have a ton of extra time on my hands over the next 59 days.

Overall, after day one I feel excited. Encouraged by the love and support of my family and friends; I hope this high lasts for a few more days.  I will blog how I am feeling as my journey progresses. 


Day One: Success!