Day 8: Live and learn!

Okay, yesterday I was not very good, I did not get enough greens. I drank mostly apple and grapefruit juice, but not enough leafy greens. 8pm rolled around and I was dead tired. I know I was drinking plenty of water but not enough juice so it wore me out. I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. So first thing I did was made a big pitcher full of spinach, pear and lemon. It was really good! It was just what I needed, I am really starting to feel my energy coming back. 

My best friend Des is so AWESOME! She is coming by to get Sage so I can have a few hours to myself. I haven't had a break in .... forever! So I am looking forward to some me time! Every mom needs some alone time from time to time. I am thinking about a getting a nice relaxing pedicure this morning! A nice foot massage is sounding heavenly! I have been wanting to get my nails done, but since I have been on this juice fast my nails are looking really healthy and they are growing in really strong. My nails used to be really flimsy and paper thin and would peel if I snagged them just right. If anything a nice polish and they will look like I had them professionally done.

I can't believe how quickly this fast is going! Every day I feel better and better. I am also excited I have inspired a few friends to start juicing! It is something I'd highly recommend to anyone! It is something everyone can enjoy with the plethora of veggies and fruits we have available to us, the possibilities are endless! I am grateful for all these wonderful plants the Lord has put on this Earth! When I start my garden I want to have a whole section just for healing herbs! Nature is amazing!

Netherlands: Gezondheid!

Day 7:  Just keep swimming!

I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo... minus the short term memory loss all though I do get some of that from my mother. I have that song going through my head "Just keep swimming, swimming swimming" feeling completely content and happy in my little world, despite the utter turmoil brewing outside my front door in the crazy world we live in. I know that no matter what may come, as long as I am doing what I am supposed to be and trusting in the Lord that he will look after us.

Nothing new for drinks this morning, I was kind of famished when I woke, so I guzzled the left over drink I had in the fridge along with the apple carrot juice I made for Sage. Going to make a fresh batch before I go walking. So before I go we are going to juicing a lot of apples and more spinach, oh spinach, the green goddess! I cannot get enough of that powerful leafy green!

So each day on my juice fast it keeps getting easier and easier as my body is accustomed to a new way of digesting my foods. Certain smells are hard to handle though only because some foods just smell better than others but it isn't as hard as I thought it would be, I don't know if it's because I spent a lot of time pumping myself up emotionally before I started the juice fast but I am really proud of myself for the progress I have made. I am almost bellow that weight hurdle that I have been having a hard time breaking, I still have a long way to go in where I want to be weight wise but I am so pleased with the success so far, I lost another pound! All the diets I have tried in the past I usually drop 10 lbs and the second I veer off  course it's like a magic wand *poof* (you are now 5 lbs heavier than when you started) It is really frustrating. I have not been able to break that dreaded 220 in over two year which is what I weighed this morning. This has given me a little motivation to really start focusing on getting more exercise time in. So I think I am going to load up the stroller and go for a walk around the mall today. Since it is kind of chili and wet today.

I am feeling really good not just physically and emotionally, I feel like my spiritual wellness has improved dramatically, having a clear mind when you study the scriptures makes a huge difference! I have set aside Sage's nap time as my study, prayer and meditation time, so much quieter (go figure). I used to do my scripture studying in the evening but that was not always easy because I would slide into bed and think "I am too tired to study I am just going to read a chapter" and I found myself not absorbing what I read because I am so ready for my head to hit the pillow. While I was reading yesterday I got one of those overwhelming impressions from the Spirit to do something that for me is not easy to do... share the gospel. And not just anyone a certain set of people that I know have read many anti-mormon literature. So before I could second guess myself I knelt in prayer and asked the Lord to guide my hand as I wrote a letter bearing my testimony to the ones I was inspired to send a book to. Went straight to the mail box with my extra copy of the Book of Mormon and my letter. I trust in my Lord and I know he would not give me a prompting to do something that was not for the benefit of His grand design. So we'll see how this plays out, should be interesting. :) Life is never dull when the Lord is on your side.

Day 6: Happy Dance!

Again, woke up feeling really good. I was a little tired, but still feeling excellent! Last night was kind of hard, Todd got himself one of those roasted chickens from the Deli at Kroger's... It was so hard getting Sage some of that chicken... I just wanted to tear into a drumstick, even as I was pulling some meat off the bone for Sage I wanted to lick the chicken grease off my fingers, but I made a commitment to myself that I would do this fast 100%! I made some of the Veggie stew, this time I used leeks instead of onion and I added some Serrano peppers and a turnip. I drank the broth and Todd ate the veggies, he loves it he says it has such good flavor!  Even though I can't have the chunks of veggies the broth is really good!

When I woke up feeling a little tired this morning I decided to make a very energy rich drink, so Sage and I made a spinach, kale, strawberries, green apple, and lemon drink. It was so good!! I think Spinach is one of my favorite greens to put in drinks, it is easily blended with fruits. Spinach was one of those veggies that I never appreciated until I was an adult, that and asparagus, now they are among two of my favorite vegi74210es. All though plain cooked spinach isn't my favorite, I love it raw but I like it cooked in with other ingredients6.

Nothing new to report on weight, still weighing in the same as I did yesterday, but I will say that I am noticing a difference in clothes, I went to put my bra on and I am having to use the smallest set of fasteners where are at the start of the juice fast I was on the last set of fasteners. My pants are feeling a little less tight around the waist and they feel baggy in the rear area!! I am good with that! Over 1/2 way through my 10 days, If I keep feeling like this I can easily make this a 30 or even 60 day thing! Another thing I have noticed is how clear my skin is. My face isn't feeling oil in some areas and dry in others, it is soft and smooth.

Scottish: Slainte Mhath!

Day 5: WOW!

I woke up this morning literally ready to jump out of bed and start my day. I woke up without any pain in my back and the arthritis pain in my hand. I was in a good mood, my breathing is lighter. I feel like I am just walking on clouds today. Sorry no pictures of my drinks for today. But this morning I started out the day with some fresh apple juice and a whole unpeeled lemon, mixed in with my beat juice (It made it far more tolerable).

Went to church, and it was amazing from start to finish, I just felt so close to my Savior today, with my mind and my heart open I could just feel His love all around me. I have been praying this last week to have some questions answered in my life and I feel like I had a few of those questions answered today. I am so grateful for all that I have, I am rich so rich in blessings! I tend to get so caught up in feeling frustrated for all the things that I don't have that I forget to be grateful for all the things that I DO have! I am so grateful for all of my family and friends, I am grateful for my wonderful husband who takes such good care of us. I am grateful for my beautiful healthy children, for 2 wonderful step-sons and two very loving parents who taught me well!

After church I came home and made a drink I had to chug fast just to get it down, not because it tasted bad, I am just not accustomed to cold broccoli, tomato, celery, garlic and parsley. It had good flavor and probably would make a good base for a yummy tomato soup or even a marinade. I am finding myself with more of an open mind for veggies than I ever had before though. I am looking forward to finding more Vegetarian based meals when I do come off my juice fast. I plan on cutting out 90% of the meat products that I eat, I plan on focusing my meals around veggies, bean, legumes, nuts, and fruits, one meat I don't plan on cutting out is fish, I love fish!

As for my weight this morning... down another pound! :)

Day 4: Superwoman!

I have to admit... I feel like Superwoman this morning. I got right out of bed, not feeling tired in the slightest. I feel energetic, I want to go walking but I am afraid of a repeat of yesterday, the drink I had might be one of those drinks that like to sneak up on you later when you get the heart pumping and blood flowing. That and it's 53 degrees outside, I might be feeling like Superwoman, but it doesn't mean I am invincible, the cold is my Kryptonite!  Maybe I will just do some rebounding on the mini trampoline or break out the Wii Fit.

I also woke up in a really good mood, I don't think I have ever felt happy to get up and start my day I almost feel like I am in a state of euphoria! I love it! If I feel like this every day I could easily do the long juice fast of 30-60 days! But I won't get ahead of myself. I am going to take it a day at a time first I have to get through my first 10 days. I am excited I am almost to my half way mark.

As for the weight: I stepped on the scale and I am down one more pound. I weighed 222 this morning!

  Jambo!

Day 3 Update: Montezuma's Revenge!

Okay... for anyone doing a juice fast there will come a time of reckoning. All those minerals, nutrients, and vitamins are hard at work trying to flush out all the poison and toxins we have loaded up in our systems and all that stored toxins are going to rear their ugly head at some point...

I took Sage with me to the park told him we would go for a walk and then we would play... 1/2 a mile into my walk the stomach gurgles, the cramps start to build, and the sweat starts to bead across my forehead. (Even though it is 62 degrees out) You know what I am talking about, especially my friends who no longer have a Gaul bladder. I was on a track in the middle of a park that has a bathroom on the OTHER SIDE of the mile long track....  I think I ended up jogging instead of walking that last 1/2 a mile. Of course I get to the port-a-john and it is N-A-S-T-Y! "Why is there half an egg shell in the urinal? Never mind I don't want to know." I think to myself. I didn't care. I was so close to using this disgusting, sad excuse for a place for relief, until I look down. "You have got to be kidding me!" I shout as I realize this portal to all that is unholy has no toilet paper in it!

The whole time I am fighting with a two year old, who is throwing a temper tantrum because we are so close to the slides and the swings and all that are shiny and enticing to a two year old that scream "PLAY WITH ME!" I break out into a full out run to my truck, tears in my eyes apologizing to Sage. "Sorry honey! But mommy has to get home, fast!" I finally wrestle the wild thing, with his flailing arms and kicking legs, into his car seat, start the truck and bolt out of the parking lot!

I am so grateful at this point there aren't any cops because I don't think I came to a complete stop at any of the stop signs, I am singing Hallelujah when I hit the only stop light green. I am counting down how many blocks I have left... "Come on, come on! Just one more stop sign, and two blocks!" I bite my tongue trying to be Christ like and not swear at the 3 cars at the 4 way stop sign, knowing it's not their fault. Pull in the drive way, I am glad all my neighbors are at work or in their houses because I probably looked like a crazy lady. Sage is still screaming "Play! Play!" he is heartbroken that his horrid, mean mother ripped him away from heaven on Earth.

I get to the front door, I am shaking so bad, I drop my keys! "Stupid, stupid me!" I am cursing under my breath because the keys refuse to cooperate. "OPEN DARN YOU DOOR!" I shout! (Again thankful none of my neighbors are watching) The door finally opens and I don't bother taking the keys from the knob as I am shooing Sage in the door. Breaking my own rule of no slamming the doors. I make the beeline for the restroom.
And no sooner do I sit down... AAAAHHHH!!!! I made it, my eyes are watering because I am so relieved! Never have I praised God more in that moment! I am still wondering if that is sacrilege... I am sure He will forgive me, I think he understands mans weaknesses more than anyone.

So moral of the story: If you are going to stray far from home on a juice fast DO NOT stray far from a bathroom, at least on your first few days, because Montezuma is not the only one who seeks revenge!

Day 3: Scrum-didley-umpscious!

My morning drink on day three

1 whole Pineapple

5 Kiwi

1/2 pint of raspberries

1 pint of blue berries

Okay, day three and I am feeling really good, I feel like I am breathing better my mind is alert and clear. Last night was another story; Three o'clock hit and I felt like I got beat with the tired stick. I went and took a nap while Sage was down for his nap and slept till about 5pm. It gave me a little bit of energy back but it took all the strength I had to make my juice for dinner. I made spinach, cabbage, carrot, and apple and had to gulp it down, not because it wasn't good was just feeling a little nauseous. When Todd got home from work I put him on Sage duty, but Daddy isn't the best about keeping him out of the bedroom so I could sleep, and it also didn't help that my son was a WILD CHILD! I swear someone gave him a shot or two of caffeine. (I think it's all the fresh fruits he is getting.) So I gave up and drank (more like chugged) 16oz of water and I felt so much better. I just need to pay more attention during the day how much water I am taking in. 

I went walking around the mall with my best friend Desi, then we met up for lunch with her sister in law at El Chico's. And I will say I was not feeling like I was missing out on anything, however if had been Chinese it may have been a different story. I took my juice in a thermos and I sipped on my Spinach, apple, carrot drink.

As soon as I get the little man dressed this morning we are going to go walking around Freedom Park. Then I will let him play on the playground and wear himself out so he is ready for a nice nap. Going to go make my green drink to sip on throughout the morning/afternoon. Oh and weight wise it the same as yesterday still hanging in at 223. 

飲勝 Yám sing!

Day 2: Pineapple Paradise

I have to admit around five I started getting a little hungry stomach was rumbling a bit. I went in and made a Spinach, green apple, and carrot drink. Wow! I think that is going to be one of my favorites. It was Delish! And it completely stopped my tummy from rumbling and I no longer felt hungry. My sister asked me how I was feeling later that night and I told her I felt like Popeye! I can see why he loves his spinach, that stuff packs a punch I felt like I had just drank two cups of coffee without the side effects of the caffeine. I felt incredibly energized. The only down side was I was still awake at midnight. I am going to have to find a calming/sleepy time drink in my Juice Bible.

I woke up this morning about 4:30 am, and knew that if I wanted to I could pop right out of bed and start my day, but I didn't. I rolled back over and made myself go back to sleep. Slept till about 7:30 feeling pretty refreshed, sore but refreshed. My dreams didn't pull me out of sleep every few hours like they usually do. So I know I slept much better than I have in a long time.

Last night I made our breakfast drink for this morning, grapes, oranges, and strawberry. Put it in two thermoses one for Todd and one for me. I will tell you one thing... it was almost an instinct to pop a grape in my mouth as I was sitting there washing them. I didn't though I was good! This morning I was having a hankering for some pineapple this morning, so I flipped on the juicer and put in a whole pineapple (well cut small enough to fit through the juice feeder, skin and all) and added the pineapple to my juice. Yum, I am just missing an umbrella and a nice sunny beach. What a nice way to start the day.

Sage is really enjoying the new bounties of all these fresh fruits. He had a whole banana and a Hard boiled egg (just the egg whites, he doesn't care for the yolk... he is so much like me). Yesterday for lunch he had a fruit salad and he was in his seventh heaven, for dinner last night I made him some Mediterranean vegetable couscous for Sage, which he loved! I am so glad he is not one of these picky kids who won't eat anything but hotdogs and mac'n'cheese. (Just a side note I read a report that found kids who eat lots of hotdogs and processed lunch meats are 10 times more likely to develop Leukemia. Something to keep in mind when packing your kids lunches. You will not find hotdogs in my house anymore. Sorry Oscar you are hence forth exiled from my castle)   Anyways, I made enough Couscous for Todd too but he said while he is home he will be doing the juicing with me and had a spinach, carrot, apple drink with me. He is so sweet, I am grateful for his support in this.

I would like to take the time to thank everyone cheering me on through this. It is so nice having a pep squad! I know this would be so much harder without the support of my loved ones and friends! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Oh and as for the weight... I LOST 3lbs! Just in the first day! Not bad if I do say so myself. That is technically 7lbs since last week, but I am not counting the 4 I lost in my prep week. Going off of the starting weight of yesterday.

                                                                         L'Chaim לְחַיִּים! 

Day 1: The new beginning

I woke up this morning ready to start my day. I made my first juice yesterday with Pears and Apples, I had to test out the new juicer that just arrived in the mail.  OH MY GOODNESS!!! It was like manna from Heaven. It was the tastiest apple juice I have ever had. I am so used to the store bought stuff and I never cared for it, it always left me with stomach cramps and constant runs to the bathroom. I did not get any of that with the fresh juice. Then I made a drink I got out of a book called "The Juicing Bible" by Pat Crocker, last night for my husband to take with him to work this morning. It was a recipe he had picked out because it was an energy booster, the recipe called for broccoli, cucumber, green bell pepper, and parsley. Surprisingly it wasn't as grotesque as I thought it would be, you could taste mostly cucmber. I got a report from him around lunch time, he said it was pretty hard to get down this morning and was afraid he wouldn't get it all down and was thrilled when he finished his thermos full. But despite the taste he really could feel a difference, he has felt more energetic today. (He unlike me isn't doing the outright juice fast but doing the juices as more of a supplement)  Then I made a huge pitcher full of apple juice for my son (Believe me that two year old will have it completely gone before dinner time tonight)

I made my first juice for today it's the Mean Green:   Kale, cucumber, celery stalks, green apples, lemon, and ginger. It is not bad, but not the best juice I have had. Never been a big fan of ginger and I think next time I make it I need to add a little more apple to it to offset the bitterness of the Kale. But I feel refreshed and not too hungry yet. Trying to drink lots of water along with the juice. I am not too worried about how I am going to feel by the end of today. They say the worst are days 3-5. So I am praying that I will have the strength to do this. I have always been an emotional eater and love my food.

To prep for my juice fast I spent the prior week drinking lots of water and eating more fruits and veggies, some meals I would just drink water. When I started I weighed 230 pounds, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was 226 pounds. I suppose that is a nice step in the right direction.

                                                        This is my juice of choice for the day

Bottoms up!

My Journey to Transform My Life

Hello and welcome to my Blog. My name is Joy and I am completely new to Blogging, I mean I have read other peoples Blogs and thought "Well that's neat and all, but really who cares?" Until I read someone's blog I stumbled across completely by accident while I was doing some research on juice fasting. I was completely inspired by this woman's reasons behind her desire and determination to get through her juice fast, and I thought if she can do it so can I! So the last week I have been preparing my self emotionally and physically to start my own juice fast. I decided to make my own blog not for anyone else really other than for myself, and I realize now why so many people Blog, in most cases it's for the author themselves and not for those wondering souls who stumble across their Blogs. This is my online journal/diary if you will, to record what I hope to be a big journey and hopefully life changing experience for me.


Let me go back to the last few years of my life. I am 32 years old, and I had an addiction that in many ways was just as bad as any drug or alcoholic addiction, I was addicted to video games, you are probably laughing at that, but I was a very sad excuse for a human being. I would wake up in the morning and the first thing I would do was get my son fed while I turned on my computer and logged into my favorite game and there I would sit from about 8am to sometimes the wee hours of the morning, with occasional breaks to go to the bathroom and eat and take care of the basic needs of my child. He was never neglected so I would tell myself, he got fed and clothed, but I really wasn't spending the quality time that I should have been. I wasn't a bad mom, just not the best mom. A very sad fact that I am in no way proud of.

I knew I had a problem but it was always one excuse after another why I couldn't stop playing. After years of playing this game and with very little exercise my weight slowly started packing on. I went from 135lbs to 230lbs in about five years, I could feel my body starting to fall apart as well and the more weight that started piling on the more I have suffered from depression, aches, pains, migraines and worst of all a separation from my family and friends. I didn't want to face reality so I would spend more and more time in my virtual world. It was my escape from reality.

One day I typed in the command of how much time I had spent on one of my characters in this game and about fell out of my chair. I had well over 200 hours of accumulated time just on this one character, and I had over 10 characters on my account. This is time I have wasted over the last five to six years of my life, precious time I will NEVER get back. I realized what I was doing was not fair to my family and it wasn't fair to myself. Ignoring reality wasn't going to change my situation, it was only going to get worse. I knew my health would get worse and the weight wasn't going to change other than get higher and at what point was I going to draw the line 250lbs? 300lbs? No one was going to do it for me.

I remember reading one night in Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot server God and mammon." I know mammon translates to money and riches, but I think it goes even deeper than that, not just money but things, "stuff". I was so focused on my dumb game that I was loosing sight of my connection with my Heavenly Father. So I made a commitment to myself that I was going to start making some changes in my life and made a list of goals.  The three most important ones on my list are:

Strengthen my relationship with my God

Strengthen my relationship with my family
Strengthen myself emotionally and physically

I have deleted the games off my computer and I have to admit, it was hard at first. For those who have never played a multiplayer online games probably won't understand, but you gain an attachment for the characters you create, it's like putting a little bit of your very soul into them as you level, quest, and go on adventures with other people from around the world. I would recommend to anyone thinking about getting games like this DON'T and if you do play get out, stop, find yourself in the real world with real people. It is far more satisfying than your time and energy into little pixels on a screen. So far I have not missed the online games. I had on the occasion played a few games of Solitaire, but I considered that my "nicotine patch" from the hardcore gaming.

Okay, okay, back to my juice fasting story: My sweet husband, Todd, is the one who initially started me on this path to enlightenment, he had been talking for months about getting a juicer, which I thought was a good idea since, Sage, my  two year old son drinks way too much juice, and the bottled juice you buy off the shelves is nothing but empty calories and way too much sugar. So one day I was online looking at juicers and found some links for juicing recipes, and of course one link always leads to another and another and another, I came to a page about juice fasting, I was completely amazed at the information I was finding, I started soaking it up like a sponge. The concept is so obvious more fruits and veggies = better health, but by juicing you are getting more nutrients and minerals, while giving all your internal organs a break from cleaning out all the garbage we shovel in our mouths (which in today's fast paced society, is hard to avoid.). It is hard to get a meal now a days that isn't loaded with refined sugars, enriched flours, artificial sweeteners, MSG, and, well, let's face it, every thing our bodies don't need. Over worked organs leaves the body weak and unable to naturally heal itself from some of the most deadly yet preventable diseases, obesity, arthritis, infections, to the common cold. It is nothing more than common sense really, nature is an amazing thing the sun gives life and energy to the plants and they in turn give that same life and energy back to us.

Growing up in a LDS family fasting was never a foreign concept, every first Sunday of the month was the day we fasted which was always hard as a kid, I just wanted to eat I thought I was starving! As I got older I gained more appreciation for fasting, it was easier to focus on my relationship with God when I was fasting. I had many prayers answered in my time of fast and it gave me a better appreciation for the things that I had rather than focusing on the things I did not have. I had never thought of the benefits of fasting from a physical point of view till now, but as I start my juice fast I want to combine both physical and spiritual. Not only am I doing this fast for the health for my body, but I am doing it for my spiritual benefit as well.

I welcome you to join me on my journey, I have a goal of 10 days. At the end of 10 days if I don't feel I can do it any longer than I will break my fast reaching my 10 day goal, but if I can go longer than I will. I watched an amazing documentary about an Australian man named Joe Cross, call "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" which has really given me the strength to do this. In the Documentary Joe goes on a 60 day juice fast, loosing almost 100lbs and virtually curing him of an immune deficiency disorder. Along his road across America he meets another man who commits to a juice fast and committed to 10 days and continued on for 60 days loosing 200 lbs and turning his life around. My priority in my juice fast is not to loose weight, but if I do I won't complain. I just want to be able to wake in the morning ready to face the day head on to have the energy and the vitality to be a better mother, a better wife, and a better servant of my God.