Today I started a 10-day juice fast with two primary goals:- Digestive Healing
- Appetite Reset
EDIT: I finished reading Eat to Live, and based on that book's criteria, which is more strict than the already strict BMI, my ideal weight is 195 (I'm 6' 6" and 202 lbs.), so I guess losing some weight while doing this fast is OK!
Digestive Healing
As you likely know, our digestive system works really hard. The process of digestion and waste-elimination is an intense process. And for the last year or so I've been trying to follow workout diet of "never be hungry." The basic idea is to eat many small meals and keep your metabolic rate up. When you're working out, you need to keep fed so you build and repair muscle. And that's not going to happen if your body does not have a ready supply of fuel.The problem with that plan is that if you're eating every couple of hours your digestive system never gets much of a break, and it needs a break from digestion in order to perform certain bodily maintenance and repair tasks. It's like those jobs are in the queue, but they can never or rarely get started or completed because digestion is priority one, and active nearly all the time.
During a juice fast, your kidneys are still on the job (the only way to give them a break is with a water fast), but your digestive system, after a couple days, switches to using stored energy and starts detoxifying and cleaning up your system.
Appetite Reset
Another interesting thing happens when you fast. As you begin to break your addictions to bad food, your body and mind start communicating better about what you really need. You often lose the desire for calorie-high, nutrient-low food (junk food), and learn the difference between true hunger and appetite/cravings. The last time I fasted, which was years ago, the idea of a fast-food burger was repulsive - for a year!So after this 10-day juice, I am hoping to have my appetite reset again and be able to move on to the next phase in dietary change, and that is to go on a whole-foods and wheat-free diet at least until the end of the year.
Experience Log - Day 1 (Friday, October 11, 2013):
7:00 AM: Made a little over a half pitcher of juice - mostly carrots, and some kale, lemon, and apple. Didn't give myself enough extra time to clean up very well before work, so I'll have a mess to deal with when I get home at the end of the day.10:00 AM: Drinking my second glass of juice. I see that I did not make enough for "lunch" and afternoon, so I'll likely be fairly hungry by the end of the work day. Unsurprisingly, no negative or positive effects to report at this early stage.
12:00 PM: Was a little hungry before I drank my juice, but not too much. Again, nothing negative or positive to report. Unfortunately, I am drinking the last of my juice, so I won't have anything for 3 PM. I'll drink a lot of water this afternoon, I guess. Tomorrow I will make more juice!
1:00 PM: Just got back from walking a mile in high-winds. I am a little hungry again already, but I found a $10 bill on the walk, so that was a good sign. :)
3:00 PM: I was pretty hungry so I made a quick run and got some Naked Juice. After drinking a bit, I realized that it was a smoothie (contains puree), so that's a bit of a cheat since my digestive system will have to work on that a bit. Tonight I'll get more produce and make sure I have enough juice for a day so I won't need to fall back on the pre-made Naked Juice or Bolthouse Farms juice.
6:00 PM: Stopped at the grocery after work and bought more fruits and veggies. Made a lot more juice. Randomly threw in celery, spinach, carrots, apples, grapes, lemons, and so on. It was okay.
Final thoughts on Day 1: Was hungry a lot but not too bad. Not other real changes or gastric-intestinal issues. On to Day 2!
Experience Log - Day 2 (Saturday, October 12, 2013):
7:00 AM Woke feeling fine and not hungry. Stomach and head good. Nothing interesting digestively going on....9:00 AM Got hungry and made more juice and added it what I made last night. Also made a small glass of straight red grape juice. Wow - that was sweet, too sweet. Not doing that again.
12:00: A little hungry and drank my "little-of-everything" juice.
2:30 PM Feeling tired and a little dizzy. Drank a little more juice because of fairly consistent hunger. Almost out again. Considering taking a nap....
3:00 PM Did 35 push-ups, which is about the most I can do, and they weren't especially hard, though my headache and spaced-out feeling persists.
6:00 PM Napped for a bit. Seemed to help. Somewhat hungry, but not very interested in making or drinking juice. Feel mildly spaced out, but pretty good overall. The fast itself is a little distressing, but I am feeling good that I am doing something good for myself. No sign of any cravings anywhere, though I do want to eat much of the time. The juice curbs the hunger, but I still desire healthy solid food. The taste of the juice isn't very good, and I'm used to really enjoying what I eat, so there's a part of me that is a bit confused about why I am doing this when there's a bad of yummy yams sitting right there, for example.
No negative emotional symptoms noticed so far, though I do have some minor negative physical symptoms: a little bit of a headache, a little tired, a little spaced out. Nothing surprising. This is harder than I thought it would be at this point, but I can take it!
12:00 AM Went to bed a little hungry, but out of juice and too late to make more. Drank water.
Experience Log - Day 3 (Sunday, October 13, 2013):
10:00 AM Work up this morning pretty much the same as yesterday. Feeling fine, not hungry even though I went to bed hungry. Made a few glasses of random juice. A little hungry while handling the solid food and almost put a bit of orange in my mouth by mistake. Same thing happened with a grape yesterday. It's like there's a programmed unconscious response to put food in your mouth, and my conscious mind had to say, 'Hey, no!" :) Juice turned out pretty decent, and drinking a glass now, though I'm not feeling like I need to.1:00 PM Just got back from a brisk walk - probably a couple miles. Feeling pretty good. A little hungry. Was a smidge light-headed when I stopped. Hunger mild. Drinking second glass of juice for the day.
3:00 PM Still persistent low-level hunger but not bothersome. The thought pops into my head, "I should probably grab something to eat." But no. :) Feeling a little pressure in my head. Mild headache likely. Feel pretty good otherwise. Sipping on some more juice.
6:00 PM Still doing fine, but also still hungry for solid food. Juice is not very attractive to my palate, but hey! :)
11:00 PM Sadly, this record is not terribly exiting so far. No fingers chopped off while cutting vegetables, not craving madness leading to binge eating, no great (or horrible) changes. Am still fairly hungry, which I was hoping would pass by now. Made more juice and made a colossal mess again. Am slightly spaced out, but pretty normal overall.
12:30 AM Not even as tired as I expected to be considering my lack of solid food. But I better head off to bed!
Experience Log - Day 4 (Monday, October 14, 2013):
9:00 AM: Awoke feeling fine again. Not hungry. Had a glass of water. Mental clarity seems good.12:00 AM: A little hungry, a little spaced out. Maybe from not getting enough rest last night.
3:00 PM Hungry, out of juice, and don't feel like making any more. So what did I do? I made the biggest batch of juice so far. Threw in everything, so now all I have left is apples. The result isn't good, of course, but it's drinkable. Guess it's off to the grocery store tonight!
6:00 PM Nothing special to report. Feeling fine, though a little weak and light-headed, I suppose. Nothing very noticeable. I did a few reps with dumbbells as an experiment, and it was much harder than usual. I was pretty hungry while shopping, so the sights and smells of food was a little tempting. There was a lot of Halloween treats for sale, and the thought went through my mind, "What a bunch of yummy-looking poison!"
11:00 PM Got pretty hungry because I didn't feel like drinking the juice I made. Went to the store and bought another $50 worth of veggies and some fruit. Didn't make any new juice, though. Finally drank another glass of the stuff I made earlier. Back to work in the morning, so we'll see how my brain and body does on day five.
Experience Log - Day 5 (Tuesday, October 15, 2013):
8:30 AM: Into the half-way mark! Woke up feeling pretty good. Not hungry in the morning as usual. A little film on the tongue this morning, but nothing significant. The juice that wasn't so good last night is even worse today as it has degraded a little, but it's what I have to "eat" all day. Tonight I may get crazy and actually try a juice recipe or two. I bought some ginger root last night - maybe I can find something interesting to go with that.12:30 PM Feeling a little weak. Came back from a staff meeting and felt tired and a little out of it. It's hard to gauge your own mental function, but I seem to be a little off focus.
3:00 PM Feeling a little more hungry again, but not too keen on the juice I have. Drank it anyway, of course!
6:00 PM Getting hungry but don't want any juice and drank all the juice at 4:30 PM, so I didn't have any made. Have to do it anyway, so I made carrot juice with apples and a little ginger.
9:45 PM Less hungry after the carrot juice, but still not really satisfied. Will need to make a lot more juice in order to have enough for tomorrow. I wish there was at least one juice bar so I could go out and let someone else make the juice for once. :) Overall, I feel pretty good physically and mentally. Was a little more tired this afternoon than normal, and a little weaker. Tomorrow is hump day, and also over the hump for the fast!
11:45 PM Have been sipping some extra grape juice that I was left over after making my other juices. Tried things a little differently tonight, and instead of mixing lots of stuff together, I made a green juice (kale and green apples and green grapes), an orange juice (carrots and green apples) and some apple juice. At least I will have some choices tomorrow instead of my "Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" special!
Experience Log - Day 6 (Wednesday, October 16, 2013):
8:30 AM Woke this morning feeling fine and not hungry again. Actually less than hungry. I do not feel like drinking juice right now. I've been up for over an hour but have only taken a sip of the apple juice I made last night. Feeling fine physically and mentally.12:00 AM Had a meeting lunch and got to watch other people eat salads, main courses, and desserts. Not too torturous, but I think it did jump-start my appetite a bit.
3:30 PM Hungry, but not for juice, downed a bunch of carrot-based juice down anyway.
5:30 PM On the way home was re-listening to 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferris, and he was talking about eating eggs in the morning for protein, and I started to salivate a little. Note that I don't like eggs very much, but I am going to start eating them more once I go off this fast and move to whole foods. Maybe just knowing I am going to eat eggs after the fast got me hungry for them.
Since I have not had a significant decrease in appetite (shortly after drinking juice I am hungry again), I am starting to wonder if I might not be in great need of detoxification in the first place. For one, my percentage of body fat is really low, and so I do not have toxins stored there that would release into my bloodstream as I burn fat, and two, I have been eating somewhat cleanly for over a year. For a few week prior to the juice fast, I cut out dairy and most sugars and sweets, and for a year before that I got rid of fast food.
Feeling fine physically and mentally, though I am starting to worry that I have not been drinking enough water. I better step that up.
11:00 PM Haven't had much juice, but finished all I had made yesterday and begrudgingly made more. The juicer stopped working before I finished off the spinach. I hope it just overheated! Feeling fine, though I am a little tired, so headed off to bed to read for a bit and then sleep.
Experience Log - Day 7 (Thursday, October 17, 2013):
7:20 AM Woke up at 4 AM and didn't fall asleep again until after 5, so am a little off today. Woke feeling fine otherwise. Mentally and physically good. No hunger.8:30 AM At work an feeling fine. Have only taken one sip of juice because appetite hasn't kicked in yet.
11:00 AM Walked a brisk mile in the cold (30s with wind), and did fine. Mental and physical function seem fine. Seven days in and no dramatic changes in physical or mental function, including no gastrointestinal distress or strangeness.
2:00 PM At this point, am noticing I am a little less hungry in general than previous days. As mentioned, however, I've never been ravenous or hungry to the point of anxiety at any point during the fast.
5:00 PM Still not much hunger, but I finished off my green juice about 45 minutes ago, and didn't like it much. I may buy a few things tonight that may taste better, but I'm feeling a little worn out, so maybe that will be a task for tomorrow so I'll have tastier things for the last weekend of the fast.
11:00 PM Well, didn't drink anything most of the night, so apparently the hunger has abated a bit more. I waited too long to make juice tonight so I'll have to get up early and make some more for the day tomorrow and not be forced to buy something pre-made. Overall still feeling good. No real negatives or positives.
I've been starting to develop some ideas about why I am not experiencing some of the symptoms - good and bad - that other people who juice fast for 10-day seem to experience, but I'll probably wait until I'm done before I write much about it. In short, I think my relatively low body fat percentage and my clean living and moderately clean eating over the last year are part of the reason I am not having any significant changes this far. We'll see how the last three days go!
Experience Log - Day 8 (Friday, October 18, 2013):
8:30 AM Overslept a bit, so didn't make juice this morning and I only have a couple small servings left, so I need to see if I can run home at lunch and make more, or else I will have to dip in to my pre-made stash - the Bolthouse Farms juice, which has puree in it.Otherwise, am feeling pretty good. Energy good so far, and no hunger. Feel mentally clear. As I was dressing this morning, I felt "thinner" for some reason, but I haven't weighed myself on my usual scale - the one at the gym.
10:40 AM Walked another mile with no difficulties. Having a little hunger but not much. Feeling pretty clear and reasonably energetic.
3:00 PM Drank more of my slightly old carrot juice mix. Not tasting too good!
6:00 PM Drank the last of my juice. Stopped by the grocery store on the way home and got another $50 worth of groceries. Got home and the juicer is toast. Drank a Bolthouse farms juice (not a puree) to hold me over, but was soon able to borrow another juicer and get back to making my own. Still feeling fine and energy is good. Oh, and I made a kale-based juice with apple and a little lemon and ginger and it tastes pretty crappy!
9:30 PM Getting a little tired. Need to get up and go pick up my Bountiful Basket tomorrow, so probably should go to bed at a reasonable hour. Hoping the basket has both some good stuff for juicing and some good stuff for me to break my fast with Monday.
Experience Log - Day 9 (Saturday, October 19, 2013):
9:30 AM Woke up at 8 feeling good, not hungry as always. Energy was fine. Picked up my basket and got some good things for juicing and, in a couple days, eating. Not feeling like making any juice right now, so I am slowly finishing the pre-made mango/carrot/ginger juice. I'll make something fruity in a while and then make my first beet juice. Should be interesting!1:00 PM Not very hungry, but did make some green grape and lemon juice which was yummy, made some endive juice with apples, but it was still really bitter, so I added some grapes until it was drinkable.
3:00 PM Feeling tired, but good. Drank the rest of the endive/apple/green grape juice. Took a nap.
5:00 PM Made a sweet treat with a bunch of raspberries that didn't seem to juice well but nonetheless made for a tasty drink, along with several pears, a few green grapes, a bit of kale, and two lemons. That was one of the best I made thus far, but not the most healthy for an evening juice meal! Feeling energetic though from the sweet drink and the sleep.
9:00 PM Still haven't made the beet juice yet. I better find a recipe and get at it before too late. Still feeling energetic. Better get at the beet juice soon. Lazy day....
11:00 PM Made beet juice with apples and ginger and green grapes. Use a whole beet along with its stalks. Turned out all right but made a huge red mess! My tumbly is a little rumbly.
3:00 Am Better go to bed - oops. Guess the earlier nap and sweet drinks gave me too much energy.
Experience Log - Day 10 (Sunday, October 20, 2013):
9:00 AM Last day! Woke feeling fine as usual, but during the night I had a couple of moments where I felt unusually cold, the kind of cold you feel when you have the flu or something. It didn't last, but perhaps is related to how the body burns fuel to keep warm. Still a little mild disturbance in the stomach.12:00 PM I juiced four cucumbers and a couple apples together: bleh! Pretty bad. So I juiced two pomegranates, thinking that would help. Before I tasted the pomegranate juice, I checked online to make sure the rinds aren't poisonous. Well, they aren't, but said they are bitter. Understatement of the year! I am used to drinking some pretty foul brew, but that was impossible! Can't add that to the mix. So I juiced my few remaining grapes and several apples, and make the cucumber juice drinkable. I have a pretty decent batch, so I might be done making juice.
5:00 PM Okay, this is insane. I weighed in at 202.8 10 days ago. I went to the gym, put on the same clothes and shoes that I wore then, and I weighed in at 190.0 pounds! I thought I would inevitably lose a few pounds, but 12.8? And I'm not done yet, so at that rate, my total will be close to 14 pounds. That's pretty wild for a guy with low body fat already. Imagine how dramatic a loss could be for someone with a lot of fat to burn. Crazy.11:45 PM Wrote a blog entry on willpower. Am now sipping my last juice of the fast. In the morning I think I'll have a banana, and maybe an apple a little later if I am still hungry. I have a pre-made smoothie I may drink for lunch, but we'll see how that goes. Perhaps I will get some steamed vegetables. Going to sleep shortly with the thought that yes, I did something that I set my mind to!
Breaking the Fast ( October 21, 2013):
8:00 AM Woke feeling good and, as always, not hungry, so I am drinking a glass of a pre-made fruit smoothie. Brought two bananas and two apples to work. Will be eating shortly - when my stomach and appetite ask for it. :)
9:00 AM Am eating a big banana. Very tasty! Pretty sweet and flavorful after 10 days with no solid food. And the flavor is staying with me. Also, have no interest in the other banana and two apples I brought to work this morning.
10:30 AM Although I was not hungry after the morning smoothie and the banana, I walked a brisk mile and started feeling hungry on the way back, so I'm eating an apple now. Super sweet! Wow. Flavors very bold. Almost too sweet!
11:00 AM No noticable reactions from the banana and apple, so I am eating six very chewed-up plain almonds to give my digestive system a hint of what's to come! (Also drank 20 oz of water so far this morning.)
1:00 PM For lunch I had about 20oz of a pre-made Green Machine smoothie, followed a while later by a whole handful of plain almonds. Too soon? Guess we'll see!
3:00 PM Not hungry at the moment - I think those almonds will hold me for a while. Perhaps in a while I'll have the rest of the Green Machine pre-made fruit smoothie. Also still drinking plenty of water.
7:00 PM Had my first cooked food. A sweet potato with a little sea salt and later a couple of beets with a little olive oil.
11:00 PM Stomach okay, so I guess I can handle the solid food. :)
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