The First Three Days - A Second Attempt

So here we are again in another attempt to do a three-day juice fast.  I tried it yesterday, but due to other circumstances, it went awry.  So, today begins a new attempt and I know that this time will go better.

I'm starting out with a lovely carrot/apple/lemon juice.  Yesterday I made a carrot/apple/ginger juice that was absolutely amazing.  And, I don't even care for carrot juice on its own.  It's too bitter for me.  The apple and the ginger gave it the needed sweetness and kick.  I'm sure the lemon will make it a bit sour, but good, too.

Motivation comes from within, encouragement comes from without... There are times when I feel like the barrel is empty for both.....

The New Attempt

Okay, so we're back, and this time we're doing it a bit differently.  After having done a bit more research and mentally prepared a bit better for this juicing thing, I know I am ready to try my revamped effort.  It may end up being a "two steps forward, one step back" kind of things at first, but I figure that is better than nothing at this point.

I have printed up the grocery list for the recommended 3-day juicing plan, which is what I'll be doing for the next three days beginning tomorrow. (Saturday).  It is going to be a bit difficult with my work schedule, but I'm up for the challenge. 

Titan hasn't lost his desire for juicing, though he hasn't been as strict as before.  I know that together we are going to be able to encourage each other to get through this first three days.


I did notice last time when juicing that I had a lot of energy.  More than I had while working, even though I felt so very hungry at first.  I hope that this revamped thing will allow me to ease into a longer juicing session eventually. 

I did gain a bit of the weight back after the first 8 days last time, but not as much as I thought.

My current weight: 238.  My ultimate goal weight is 180.  Anymore than that and I fear that I will look emaciated.  My bone structure is pretty large.  Although, once I reach that first goal, we'll see how it goes.  Perhaps I'll need/want to lose even more.

For now, let's get through the next three days.  

Day 1

Admittedly, we did not do a ton of research before beginning this fast.  That is usually my modus operandi when doing things anyway.  We were excited just to get this party started.  This morning we had watched the previously mentioned movie on Netflix, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". To sum it up, it is basically the story of an Australian man who came to the States for 60 days and did nothing but drink juice that he juiced himself and talk to Americans about what he was doing. It was quite an inspirational movie.  This man was on all sorts of medications for various things and overweight.  By the time he was done, he wasn't overweight anymore and he didn't need any of the medications, either! 

Well, I'm not on a lot of meds, but my boyfriend, Titan, is on a few.  I'm sure that after this juice fast (that will likely last more than just two weeks) is done, he will not need to be on anymore medication, either. 

With regards to the lack of research on this project, I figured that we will learn as we go.  We did read some things online about the benefits and the side effects, which are minimal except for some irritability due to hunger in the first few days.  I have a friend who saw my first facebook post about this fast and she called me really excited.  She is into this sort of thing and has offered her support and encouragement and even some herbal remedies to help with any toxins that might build up but not expel.  (Sorry, that one thing that we talked about last week sounds absolutely horrid.. lol!) 

Day 1 was really good.  We had finished watching that movie this morning and went straight to the store to buy a juicer and fruits and veggies to mangle.  We took the juicer and produce back to his house and began by making 40 ounces of this really icky green compilation of carrots, collard greens, apples, celery, grapes, ginger, oranges and romaine lettuce. I'm sure there was something else in there, but there were so many things in this concoction that I've forgotten them all.. lol.. 

I was very skeptical about drinking juiced up collard greens and romaine lettuce.  I barely eat veggies as it is.  And carrot juice?  Oh heaven's NO! hahaha...  Well, this was one of the best mixtures of salad stuff I've ever drank in my life.  We stuck ice cubes in our glasses and it made for a perfect lunch.  He made himself one more before I took him to work.

After I dropped him off at work I went and bought a second juicer to use at my house.  I also bought more produce even though we split what we bought earlier in the day between us.  Below is a picture of the items I used in my first alone concoction. It is the Strawberry Shine recipe from Just On Juice.

The above ingredients alone made over 20 ounces of juice!  I didn't finish it all, but it tasted really good. 

So, with all good beginnings, I am going to give a few measurements regarding my beginning stats. 

Onyx's Weight: 241 according to my brother's scale.  (Ouch! I thought I was lighter than that!)
I don't have a tape measure to measure anything else, but I'll post a few pictures of us sort of as a "before" look.  No, we decided not to do actual before pictures where people take from all sorts of ungodly angles.... lol...  And as for Titan's weight, well, I didn't get the go ahead to post his weight, but let's just say it's a good amount.

Onyx Day 1

Titan Day 1

Well, wish us luck.  I know we will need it.  I'm hungry already!

Welcome to Juicer's Corner!

I would like to kick this off first by saying, welcome to Juicer's Corner!  No, this isn't about steroids, but about this strange thing called "juice fasting".  I'd heard of fasting before, but when I was a kid, that usually meant we were allowed water and that was all.  This not so new thing known as juice fasting was brought to my attention last night by my boyfriend, whom we'll call Titan.  This blog is about our adventures with this juicing program.  The description says that it will be a two week adventure, but that is just to start. I believe that if we can make it through that first two weeks then we'll be able to go the entire distance.

How did we hear of this?  Titan had gotten off work and went singing at a casino in downtown.  I was to pick him up after I got off work, which wasn't until very late.  When I arrived he was talking to the KJ about weight loss. I know.  An odd thing to be discussing, but all things happen for good reasons, no?  Apparently, the KJ had lost over 70 pounds in a few months doing this juice fasting thing.  He had seen that documentary on Netflix "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".  The KJ swore by this method and highly recommended that Titan and I view this movie, which we did and found very motivational. 

Now, I don't need to lose 70 pounds, and I am well aware of the dangers of losing weight that quickly.  I do not think that  I will lose a lot of weight with this, although I definitely could stand to lose quite a bit! Titan, on the other hand, is quite a large guy who could stand to lose at least 70 pounds if not a bit more.  And, I don't say that out of anything other than someone who loves her boyfriend and wants to see him healthy and around for a very long time.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who will say, well, don't forget to exercise, and how do you expect to get your protein while you're doing this, etc....  but, the truth is that there is a decent amount of protein in the fruits and veggies that we plan on juicing, so I am not terribly worried about it.  As for exercise, we both get a fair share during the day although I will admit that there could be a bit more.  I have a bad hip that prevents me from doing a lot of high impact stuff right now, but Titan will be having access to a gym with a pool, so perhaps lap swimming is in my near future!

Below is a picture that I found online (and happily borrowed) that displays a list of benefits from juicing:

Now, I don't know about any of you, but I could use help in just about all of those areas.  Especially improved nail strength.  My job takes its toll on my nails in general, and no matter how many times I use nail strengthener on them, they still manage to chip and break. 

Some of the negative aspects of doing this is the fact that for a few days one feels hungry as hell until the psychological and physical aspects of the new process kicks in.  I can speak for both Titan and I when I say that hunger causes us both to get irritable.  No one wants that, but it's a necessary evil and one that we are both okay with facing in order to become all on the above list.

So, thus begins our journey with this juice fasting experiment.  Coming up...

DAY 1