Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Juice Fast Day 8

 So today didn't go very well.  I guess my nap yesterday wasn't a good idea.  Even though I only got a little over an hour of sleep, I didn't sleep last night which was awful.  So this morning was just one of those mornings where nothing goes right and you can't find anything.  I made my juice this morning:

1/2 a pineapple
1 mango
3 large handfuls of arugula
4 carrots

Should have mad about 40 oz but due to being over tired I forgot to put the plug into the pulp chute of my juicer so I lost a lot of my juice into the pulp container and only got about 14 oz.  I was running late or I would have fixed the issue and run the pulp through again but as it was I was late to my appointment.  I had the gym today and I did alright even with no sleep and only 14 oz of juice but I knew I would start to fade quickly if I didn't get some more juice in me.  There happened to be a Robeck's across the street from the gym so I went there and got a large "cool cucumber" easy ginger on ice which is supposed to be cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger.  I tried to drink it but it was like drinking straight lemon juice with a hit of ginger, I just couldn't handle it.  I would have liked to have go home and made my own juice but I had some errands I had to run first.  By the time I got home I was hungry, tired, and had a terrible headache and knew I had to get something in my stomach fast.  With all the prep, juicing is not fast, so I had another stalk of celery with almond butter and then I just had to go lay down.  Didn't wake up til after midnight and thus ends day 8.

Stats after 7 days of juicing:

Starting Weight:          230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Current Weight:          213.3
Daily Change: -0.8
Overall Juice Change: -3.9
Overall Change: -16.7
Starting Waist:          45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5
Current Waist:      41.25 
Daily Change:  -0
Overall Juice Change: -1.25
Overall Change: -4.25

Monday, April 15, 2013

Juice Fast Day 7

 So I went to sleep yesterday (Sunday 4/14/13) at about 6:00pm and managed to sleep til 2:00am, so that is where we pick up day 7.

Got up and made:
1 apple
2 pears
1 zuchini
3 large handfuls spinach
18oz strawberries
6 oz blueberries

Made 52 oz

Drank most of this til about 7am.  It started out tasting fine, but the more I drank of it the more bloated and nauseous I felt.  Now I've had bloating problems before and it always seemed worse when my stomach was empty and with juicing my stomach is basically empty all the time so I dedided to go ahead and eat a little something.  I really wanted cheese or bread, but I was good and had a celery stick with some almond butter.  This helped the nausea almost immediately a the gas a boating subsided a bit.  I had a headache and was tired so I decided to go lay down for a bit.  When I woke up the bloating was almost gone so I went and finished the juice from earlier.  As soon as I started drinking the juice again, the bloating and gas started to get worse, but not as bad as earlier.  Don't know what I will do if this problem doesn't go away.  Once I finished my earlier juice I made:

1/4 pineapple
1 mango
3 1/2 carrots (had used 1/2 of one yesterday and ran out of room for the rest)
3 large handfuls arugala
1 1/2" piece of ginger

Made 24 oz

This was okay but I think I got way too much ginger.  I'd put ginger in my green drink and couldn't even taste it and since this was suppose to be pineapple, mango, carrot, ginger juice I figured I was supposed to at least know there was ginger in it, so I put a bit more in this than I put in the green drink.  Well apparently without the celery to overpower everything the ginger really stands out.  I'll have to put in a little less next time.  I know I should have had a green drink but thought I'd give it a rest at least for today.  I'll try it again tomorrow.

So liquid stats today are:

76 oz juice
64 oz water
16 oz herbal tea

Stats after 6 days of juicing:

Starting Weight:          230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Current Weight:          214.1
Daily Change: -2.2
Overall Juice Change: -3.1
Overall Change: -15.9
Starting Waist:          45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5
Current Waist:      41.25 
Daily Change:  -0
Overall Juice Change: -1.25
Overall Change: -4.25

Days 4, 5 & 6 of juicing

So the last 3 days have been a mess, and kind of a blur.  My sleep schedule was already a disaster before I started juicing and I'm still having trouble sleeping at night like I should so the last couple days I've been sleeping when I can.  As a result I really don't know how to break up my days.  I'm awake for a few hours and then asleep for a few hours so I'm just going to give the overview of what I drank from Friday 4/12/13 @ 12:30pm until Monday 4/15/13 @ 2:30am (what I'm calling the start of day 7)

I had 20 oz of naked juice mango flavor

then I made:

1 fuji apple
2 pears
1 yellow squash
3 large handfuls of spinach
4 plums
12 oz strawberries

Made 40 oz

next was:

6 romaine leaves
6 celery stalks
1/4 large bunch parsley
1 large cucumber (peeled)
1 fuji apple
2 oranges (orange part of peel removed)
1 large lemon (yellow part of peel removed)

Made 40oz

This was better than my last attempt at a green drink but the celery flavor was still really strong so I made:

2 oranges (orange part of peel removed)
1 large lemon (yellow part of peel removed)

which made 16 oz and I added it to the drink.  Once again it was better but it's amazing how the celery flavor still comes through.

Then I had 26 oz of naked juice mango flavor.

So the total for my miss mash of 3 days was  142 oz of juice and I had about 5 liters of water.

I'm tired but can't seem to sleep.  The bloating and burping is really getting to me.  Don't know how much longer I deal with it.  Not hungry but craving the flavors of other food.

Stats after 5 days of juicing:

Starting Weight:          230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Current Weight:          216.3
 Daily Change: -0.4
Overall Juice Change: -0.9
Overall Change: -13.7
Starting Waist:          45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5
Current Waist:      41.25 
Daily Change:  -1.5
Overall Juice Change: -1.25
Overall Change: -4.25

Sunday morning was my comprehensive measurement day but I haven't done the math on it all yet, I'll include that once I do.  Still not seeing the changes I'd like.  I'm trying to stick with it, but if I continue to have difficulty with weight loss and the bloating and burping continue the way they have I don't know if I can.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Day 3...I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!

So day 3, and I don't feel so hot.  Didn't sleep again last night, and I know it's a bad idea since it will make it even harder to sleep tonight, but I slept in way later than I should have.  The bloating and burping have not gone away this time.  It's not as bad this morning and it was when I finally fell asleep last night, but it didn't go away.  I'm having a really tough time drinking all the liquid I'm supposed to so I didn't have any herbal tea this morning just water.  It was almost 3pm before I finished juicing my juice.  I changed the recipe a little bit from yesterday.  It seemed really apple-y, so I did 1 less apple, also 1 less plum (cause that leaves me 4 for tomorrow and since it's so late today I figured a little less sugar would be good) and I added a yellow squash.  I like it better, not that yesterday's was bad just very strong apple.

1 fuji apples
2 pears
3 plums
3 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups blackberries
1 yellow squash

Made about 40oz of juice.

My second juice of the day was the green juice.  I made it before I started my fast in my blender and it was really bitter so this time I peeled the cucumber, peeled the yellow color off the lemon, and added a couple carrots.  Plus I did extra celery since I heard it's great for shedding water weight.

3 kelp leaves
6 romaine lettuce leaves
8 stalks celery
1 large cucumber
2 fuji apples
2 carrots
1/2 lemon
1" piece of ginger

Made about 40 oz of juice (or I guess I should say I had about 40 leftover after a spilling mishap)

I still had tough time with this one.  My modifications did help and it wasn't so bitter, but there is a flavor that is so intense and overwhelming it was tough to drink.  In fact tonight I dumped the last bit of it.  I just couldn't stomach it anymore.  I think it was the celery.  I suppose I'll put in less, but I need to find something to mask the flavor cause I don't want to get rid of it completely since it's so good for water weight.

Today I manage:

16 oz herbal tea (only at night, in fact right now)
76 oz juice
48 oz water

Stats after 2 days of juicing:

Starting Weight:          230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Current Weight:          216.7
Daily Change: -0.4
Overall Juice Change: -0.5
Overall Change: -13.3
Starting Waist:          45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5
Current Waist:      42.75
Daily Change:  -0.25
Overall Juice Change: +0.25
Overall Change: -2.75

Weight isn't really moving like I was hoping but I'm trying not to get discouraged.  Hopefully it's the bloating and water retention,  or maybe my body is just in shock so it's holding on to everything for a bit til it figures out what's going on.  I'm not hungry, however it's amazing how much you are bombarded by food.  I didn't seem to notice it as much before I stopped eating, but it's everywhere you drive, all over tv, and even in the books I'm reading.  It's not like I'm reading cookbooks or anything, just fantasy or romance and they keep talking about banquets and dinner.

I'm definitely sticking with it for 10 days, and we'll re-evaluate then as to whether I want to keep going or not.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Juice Fast Day 2

 So it's the end of day 2.  All in all it went pretty well.  Had my morning herbal tea followed by water. Then I fired up my juicer for the first time.

2 fuji apples
2 pears
4 plums
3 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups black berries

It turned out pretty good.  I did have some problems juicing but they were of my own invention.  Now I know what not to do.  It did take a lot longer than I thought it would.  I was planning to make a green juice for later in the day but I ran out of time so I finished off 1 of my 3 naked juices.

I wasn't hungry at all, but I was around people for dinner time and the smell of their food drove me crazy even though I don't really like what they were eating.  When I woke up this morning it took me a bit to get up and going but that's pretty normal for me as I am not a morning person.  I felt pretty good after the tea and water but after my first couple sips of the juice the bloating and the burping were back.  I'll be really happy when that goes away.  At about 6pm my stomach started to really bother me.  I think it was a combination of the bloating, soar abs from my workout, and the start of the intestinal issues.  Feel a bit better now but not great.  Definitely tired and ready for bed.  I slept better last night but not great, here's hoping tonight is better.  Finishing up my evening tea right now as I type and then it's off to bed.

Today I manage:

28 oz herbal tea
76 oz juice
50 oz water

I really tried to get more juice today since I only got 60 oz yesterday but as a result I drank less water.  I can only take so much liquid in a day, so I'm not really sure which I should aim for, more juice or more water?


Stats after 1 day of juicing:

Starting Weight:          230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Current Weight:          217.1
Daily Change: -0.1
Overall Juice Change: -0.1
Overall Change: -12.9
Starting Waist:          45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5
Current Waist:          43
Daily Change:  +0.5
Overall Juice Change: +0.5
Overall Change: -2.5


only lost .1 lbs and gained 1/2 an inch but as I said I'm really bloated so I hope that's all it is.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Day 1 of the juice fast: The good, the bad, and the UGLY!

Okay, so first the good…I started my juice fast today and I did pretty good. I had my morning herbal tea, followed by water, and then started on the juice. I managed 3 20 oz glasses of juice and about 2 liters of water. I usually drink 3-4 liters but with all the juice it was hard to get anymore liquid in. I’m drinking my herbal bedtime tea as I type and I always take more water to bed with me. Today was also my gym day so I also worked out with weights.

The bad…I barely slept last night. My sleep schedule was already a mess and then adding to that the excitement and anticipation of starting the juice fast just made sleep impossible. Hopefully I’ll sleep tonight. I was supposed to get up at 9am but when I was still awake as 7am I changed my alarm to 10:30, so I got about 3 hours sleep. Plus, now I was also running late. So unfortunately I had no time to juice. When I was at the store yesterday I did pick up 3 flavors of Naked Juice, so that’s what I had today…20 oz of each flavor. I know it’s not as good as fresh juice, but I figure it was better than nothing.

And then there was the UGLY…I cheated, although I kind of planned this one cheat in advance so I guess it’s okay. I went to see Jurassic Park in 3D on the IMAX, and I know there are people who do it, but going to a movie theater and not having popcorn just seems wrong to me. I did bring in my own juice and water so I didn’t have a soda which I had originally planned to do as well (yeah me) However, I have to say the popcorn was kind of gross this time, so maybe next time I’ll try just juice and water and see how it goes, it will be weird though.

So how do I feel…well I was tired and headachy all day, but I think that was due more to not sleeping than anything else. I really wasn’t hungry at all. There were definitely moments when driving by restaurants when I would think oh that sounds good. My biggest problem came from bloating and stomach gas, I kept burping all day, which isn’t pleasant.

Ready for bed and looking forward to day 2 and making my own juice.

My Starting Stats:

Starting Weight: 230
Starting Juice Weight: 217.2
Starting Waist: 45.5
Starting Juice Waist: 42.5

Note about measurements: I do a comprehensive weigh in every Sunday, and very in depth measurements every other Sunday.  For the purpose of this juice fast I will weigh and measure my waist everyday but it won't be exact.  When I normally weigh I'm naked, but for everyday I'll still be in my PJ's so I'll be subtracting and approx weight of my clothes and depending on what I'm wearing it won't be exact but I'll at least get some idea of my progress.

Day 1??? Well not quite!

So once again I wasn’t able to start my juice fast. :( A little back story…A couple years ago my doctor wanted me to drink a couple ounces of fresh beet juice every day for a week. So I went to walmart and bought a juiceman juicer and some beets. Well first lets talk about the beets, I don’t know if there is some trick that I was missing, but those suckers are so hard I almost lost some fingers trying to cut them into pieces to get into the juicer. Then there was the juicer, you had to have it already running before you put the produce in the chute. It didn’t matter how fast I was the thing spit beet everywhere before I could cover the hole. I still find specks of beet juice on my cabinets and ceiling. Then there was the juice itself, gross! I swore I’d never juice again, the juicer went into one of those upper cabinets you never open and there it has stayed. So fast forward to now… I really need to get my body in shape both health wise and weight wise so I decided to do the fast, and to get a GOOD juicer this time. So I ordered the Omega VRT350. I wanted to start yesterday, but the juicer didn’t come til today so I was actually contemplating using the juiceman again for the first couple days, but when I didn’t start yesterday I decided to wait tile my new juicer arrived and use it. So I was all set to start today, and kept checking to see if my delivery had come. UPS always comes early, but of course today it was 7:30pm before my juicer arrived.

So now, my juicer is here and ready for tomorrow and I will start tomorrow no matter what!!! I did go shopping today at both Sam’s club and Sprouts and got all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies, and I went ahead and got some of that Naked juice. So I guess I sort of started today. All I’ve had is water and a couple glasses of Naked juice, but my official start with the juicer and fresh juice is tomorrow.

See ya at the end of day 1