My objectives in doing a 30 day juice fast is to try and quit smoking (once and for all! -- yes I've been through that before, too), do a whole body detox , and to knock off 30 pounds and 10 years. Not asking for much am I? But with juice fasts done correctly, it's highly probable that I will succeed with at least 3 out 4. I've done this before, so I know what to expect and am aware that the next three to four days are going to be uncomfortable, at times very uncomfortable, but there's brilliant light at the end of the tunnel after four days.


Well, I've loaded up on produce and juicing ingredients:

Carrots
Apples (Granny Smith)
Celery
Cukes
Tomatoes
Brocolli
Green Beans
Yellow Squash
Zuccinni Squash
Parsley
Baby Spinach
Beets
Red Cabbage
Green Bell Peppers
Cantaloupe Melon
Pineapples
Watermelon
grapes
Lemons
Limes
Bananas
Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Various herbs and spices such as Cayenne pepper, whole pepper corns to grind, fresh mint, basil, oregano, bay, etc., these I will use liberally in the juices and fresh veggies broths.


Fortunately, I found a produce place nearby where I can get 50 pounds each of carrots and granny smith apples for a total of 100 pounds of produce for less than $50. So, I have them stored in the second fridge I keep in the garage along with as much of the above produce as I can shove in there. I keep in the fridge in the house produce that's already washed and chopped in airtight plastic bins, ready to juice. Saves time. I prepare the next day's juicing the night before. It's a mindless chore, the kind of chore where your mind can wander off in meditative thought and before you know it, the chore is done and you don't remember much about it, but it all looks good anyway.


Today, Day 1, has been a wee bit rough around the edges. I kept sneaking a puff or two from a cigarette out of the pack that belongs to my husband who is not trying to stop smoking. I tell myself, at least it's not a whole cigarette and when my digestive system shuts down and throws my body into detox mode, then I really will have to NOT smoke. It'll make me feel sick. And defeats the purpose. But right now, I can take a puff or two, or so I foolishly tell myself, because it's not making me feel ill. The problem is the strength of the craving and the fact I know there are cigarettes nearby. It's the strain of fighting against such a powerful, though unwanted, physical desire.

I've gone through this cycle on every fast I have done. The first three days to a week are always a bloody battle with the cigarettes. I usually get it all under control by the end of the first few days or so. I have to. Even one little teensy eensy meensy weensy puff is enough to give me an enormous headache or a nauseous, sickly feeling all over that lasts for hours. All those little puffs I took throughout the day were the equivilance of two whole cigarettes. When looked at from that perspective, that's much better than 20 whole cigarettes.


I've decided that even if I do backslide now and then, I am not going to beat myself up. Just keep facing forward, keep making the effort, keep trying... I loathe smoking.


Any one reading this, take heed. You cannot, cannot, smoke anything, including anything green that smells like the ass end of a skunk, you cannot drink coffee gunked up with white sugar and cream (just the way I like it), you cannot drink alcohol, or take OTC meds, etc etc etc. Well, I suppose you can indulge in these things while fasting, if you really wanted to, it's just these type of things entering your body and blood stream on a juice fast (or any kind of fast) will make you feel sicker than you ever want to feel. When this happens you'll say, "OMG! and to think, I do this crap all the time, how could I deal with it before yet makes me sick now?" The answer to that is, in detox stage your body is striving to purify itself, PURIFY itself, so when you throw toxins at a system in the purification mode, those toxin are going to be stripped down and laid bare, MAGNIFIED three million times their usual effect. You'll begin to perceive fast food, junk foods, OTC and prescription medications, smoking, alcohol, and all the other needless abusive crap we do to ourselves in the normal course of living in a whole new light on a juice fast.


Today I consumed three 16 ounce glasses of juice consisting of

Morning:
apples
cantaloupe melon
grapes
couple mint leaves


Lunch:
carrots
apples
celery
spinach
bell pepper
parsley


Dinner:
carrots
quarter beet
apples
celery
spinach
greenbeans
brocolli


I drank various herbal teas throughout the morning, day and evening. Chamomile, Green Tea, White Tea, and custom herbal teas. Lots of fresh filtered, lemon tickled water, and I made a stock pot of vegetable broth to sip on all day. I made enough to store in the fridge for tomorrow.


The veggie broth was made with filtered water and lots of veggies such as tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, celery, sweet potatoes, garlic, brussel sprouts, brocolli stems (the fat stems on fresh brocolli we never eat, well I juice those and use them in veggie broths similar to the way we use ham bones in bean soup... it's great for taste but we don't eat it.) I threw some granny smith apples in the broth, too, along with the sweet pots for well, sweetness. The tomatoes and sweet pots gave the broth a lovely golden hue. The apples cooked down and thickened the broth some. I simmered these veggies (for a few hours or so) with a bay leaf, freshly ground black pepper, some cayenne for a bite, and various other herbs to taste. At the end I added a tickle of lime juice. This, along with lemon, can be used in place of salt if need be.


The hot broths are a terrific tool to trick your tummy into thinking it's full and satisfied. Heat has that effect on hungry tummies. But it is only a temporary relief in the first few days or so of fasting. Once the hunger fades away after the digestive system shuts down around Day 4, drinking the broths can actually make me feel literally full and it lasts awhile. The same effect of fullness happens with the juices. There is no sensation of hunger and my stomach shrinks so much the juices and broths actually fill me up.


Today I spent the time, trying to keep occupied in some way, working on my group (for women friends) site at Yahoo Groups. I uploaded some 65 files on topics ranging from Juicing to Investment strategies, with a few aromatherapy articles and natural beauty cosmetic recipes thrown in for sweetness. It gives the girls many things to consider about their own lives and bodies. And everything they're reading is designed to inspire and awaken within them the desire to fly. I hope they fly and then come by my place and pick me up! But hopefully by then, I'll be flying too.


The next few days while I am starving and trying not to gnaw my fingers to the knuckles for want of a smoke, a cup of coffee and a bloody cheeseburger (I make the best cheeseburgers!), I intend to lay low and occupy my mind with tons of magazines, a few books to choose from, topics I need to research on-line... more files to upload to the site for the group. The weather has been relatively balmy here in southwest Florida, so I may even plan out on paper another flower bed project to do during the latter half of the fast. Anything to keep occupied so I don't think of smoking or eating over the next few days or so. Fortunately my husband will be working all week and the smokes won't be here to chase me all over the house. They eventually catch me.


All in all, it really wasn't a bad day, except for the cravings. I was hungry all day, but I drank so much that it wasn't as much a problem as always needing to rush to the potty room or stressing over the cravings. Tomorrow I fear the hunger will be very strong. I've got my plans in place to ward that off... lots of hot broth, for example. Reading material. Three loads of clothes to wash. And maybe I'll clean out the guest bedroom. The idea is to stay occupied all day long so I don't think about smoking or hunger.


In the meantime, I am taking a soothing hot bath with lavender essential oil to help me be calm and to sleep deep.


I'll see you tomorrow... sweet dreams.

~ Dazzle

January 16, 2006