Day Seven

First day without any hunger pains/cramps!

I felt a million times better today. I had a fruit juice earlier and then I made a mean green for tonight in case I get hungry, but aside from that I haven't wanted much. Oh, and I also had some 100% organic vegetable broth tonight. That did help me a lot. I find since I added a little salt (I could taste) to my diet that I don't want hard food nearly as much. Which, is awesome.

But man, a whole week? How kickass am I?

I had a talk with my roomie Jay today when we were at Publix buying groceries; I told him that after this 60 days I'm not sure I could do it again. 3 days, sure. I'll probably do that once a month. But, after this, aside from substituting two meals a day with juice, I don't know if I could do this long. I could always change my mind, but I dunno.

I do know when I come off this I will stick with the majority of my food intake being juice I make myself. I feel so much better on it. And, to really seal the deal, I know I've lost weight. I still wanna wait 3 more weeks before I weigh myself, but I already look better. I don't have muffin top nearly as bad as I did before. My pants fit better. And my belly looks to be getting smaller.

Gary had a bad day today, but I think that's because he's strictly on the ecig now--like me. He's got some grumpy going on. I'm going to give it a few more days for him before I can gauge it well.

Anyway, still going strong. Continue to root for me. ^^

Day Six

Today was a much better day than the previous days. This morning was a fruit juice, like usual. I had a mean green this afternoon, and I didn't feel the need to finish it all or eat much else. The stomach pains are much less. Much later this evening I ended up having to break down and had an Orange Julius with a  double protein shot with Gary. Which, I know isn't totally good to do. But, I needed to eat and I wasn't eating stuff that needed to be digested in a hard way. I have been talking to Gary, and one of the things he says he really wants is something hot. I think that's kinda my problem too. So, I looked at some forums posts and blogs and found a lot people will drink broth. Now, we don't wanna do a meat broth, but we thought it would be a good idea to get some vegetable broth or make it ourselves and drink that. Just to satisfy the want for hot food.

Now, some of you might see this as another way of cheating, but the whole point of this diet is to super feed your system with materials that are not difficult to digest--i.e. juices you blend yourself. Now, I know taking in a vegetable broth isn't the same because those nutrients are cooked out, many of them are. But, I told myself when I started this that I wouldn't eat hard foods--solids--the macro-nutrients. Broth is something I see as a nice compromise; so long as I'm not taking in the hard foods and my stomach still gets that break from heavy digesting, I think I'm alright. Especially if it's only once in a while, and especially if it helps me stay away from solids. It ebbs the temptation that I crave in my mind, not my body.

Gary also said he wanted to have tea occasionally  Now, I won't have tea, but I think if he wants it, some green tea wouldn't be bad for him. I suppose with this it's just really good to be as healthy, pure, and as true to the benefits of it as possible.

This is a trial; that's the name of this blog. My trials in this 60 day juice fast. It's not easy and the desire to eat bread, steak, or a sub aren't going away. I know some people say it does, but I'm not so sure it will for me. Gary hates eating most of the time, but not me. I love bread and cheese. It's hard as hell sometimes to just not want it.

But, I'm going to get through this, to prove to myself that I can. Not so much to anyone reading this, although it does make me fell better know you guys care, but so that I can prove to me that I have the the kind of mettle to do this and be the person I always say I am and can be.

Whoo, enough of empowerment.

Gary hasn't had heartburn since he started the diet. I don't know if I mentioned that. We both (still) have a lot of energy. He's not sleeping so well, but that's because of the mattress and not the diet. I'm not not cramping tonight; which I think is because I started putting water in my juice to top it off. A friend of mine of facebook told me to do that because it could help with the cramps. And I think it really did. I feel a lot better.

So far, so good. For now, I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Six knocked off, fifty-four to go.

As always, wish me luck.

Day Five

Five days. Crazy huh? I'm not surprised I made it this far, but I am surprised and how hard this can be sometimes. And often, I still find myself wondering if I can make it the sixty days. And when that doubt sets in I begin to think of all the people depending on me, watching me, and rooting me on. Thanks, by the way.

Today wasn't as bad as yesterday. I got up, had a breakfast juice, and then the cramps came back. They were there most of the day, even after I started my lunch juice ( which I couldn't finish--carrots in mean green suck, in my opinion). I drank over half of it and then had the overwhelming urge to take a nap. I'm not sure how long I slept exactly. But, sometime before my nap and after my drink, I realized I wasn't cramping as I had been before. I'm sitting here, typing this, sipping on my night juice (which has far too much fruit in it, I'm pretty sure. But hey, I've been good.) and I'm not having any trouble at all. I don't feel the urge to plow through it just to fill my stomach. Now, don't get me wrong, some lingering cramps are still there, but nothing like they were yesterday. So, that's really cool!

I did some math today, checked an online source for how-many-days-from-now type of thing. I did that to make sure I had the date right for when I break my fast next year. When I did, I couldn't stop laughing. January 23rd--my birthday. So, the morning of my birthday I can have solids--slowly. This was a nice surprise. What a great day to break my fast, right? And I honestly didn't plan it.

Gary appears to be doing better still--a lot more energy as a whole. He doesn't look to be in near as much pain. I really would have asked him today, but I didn't want to bother him too much about it. Asking someone the same question everyday can become a little annoying for the person answering.

So, good parts about today: Not as crampy in the stomach and energy keeps coming.

Bad parts: Couldn't really bother Gary about his overall status with the fast.

See you guys tomorrow.

Day Four

Today sucked.

There is no other way to describe it. Sure, it was awesome this morning; I was full of energy. But then, after my lunch drink--like right after my lunch juice--I was hungry again. Water is great at holding off the cramps for a little while, but Christ. This isn't me wanting food out of desire. I don't. Honest. I even sat across mom tonight while she ate a Publix sub; it looked awesome, but I didn't want to eat it. No, my stomach just keep cramping all the damn time, no matter how much water or juice I drink. And I'm doing anywhere from 3 to 4 a day; mostly that's vegetables.

So, here I was, wondering, am I the only one? Surely, someone else has had this problem before. Because, I've been hungry a couple times over the last three days, but nothing like today. So, I did my usual google search to figure out if I was, if something was wrong.

Turns out, it's normal. Apparently, it can be a mixture of reasons. Some people think it's because your stomach is use to digesting all this stuff, and now it's not. In a way, it's wanting more; it wants to digest what I call 'hard foods': as in, not liquids like the fresh juice or water I'm consuming on a daily basis. It's like my body is in panic mode. Basically, me not eating all the calories I normally do is doing a number on my system. [Source]

Well, it's good to know I'm not screwing my body over, that it's normal. Does it make it any easier? Hell no. This sucks. But, then I look at Gary, and what he's going through, and I think of how much healthier we'll be together as a whole unit. And I think about the example this will set for our kids; not just that we can be healthy, but that we can stick to something we set our mind to an finish it. That's equally important, I think.

Anyway, enough about the bad, let me tell you about all the cons for this thing.

Energy, tons of energy. I was so peppy this morning. And let me tell you, I'm not a morning person. I hate getting up, I hate eating breakfast more (until I wake up). But not today. Today I was bright, happy, in a good mood. I got to talking to my buddy Ryu who told me that vegetables and fruits have a lot of minerals in them that--essentially--boost your mood. They're like a natural anti-depressant. Which, is awesome. Which also kicks all kinds of butt, in my opinion.

Now, one thing I think people wonder is the weight. I don't know if you can tell by my picture, but I'm not a heavy gal. I'm not skinny skinny either, but not heavy. I do have some weight around my thighs, butt, and stomach that could stand to go. But, overall I'm good. With that being said, I'm not going to step on the scale. I usually weigh anywhere from between 151 (pounds) and 161, depending on a lot of factors. Knowing my weight range, I'm not going to weight myself for a while. Maybe after a month.

Why?

I don't want to start focusing on that and disappoint myself. I'd rather trick myself a little by eyeballing my tummy, hips, and thighs. No measuring! ^^ If I can get back to looking like I did when I was in my early 20s? That'd rock.

So, in short? I'm just happy I'm not dying xD

Day Three

I'm writing my entry earlier than usual tonight. Mostly because Revolution comes on at ten and I've got to talk to my website guy for a bit after it's over. So, I don't wanna cut my time too close to midnight and miss the day.

Today was especially hard. I made peppered steak for mom and Jay and it smelled soooooo good. The rice smelled awesome too. I thought the cheese in the fridge was hard to avoid. Trying not to sneak a bite while cooking was really hard. They say after you've been at it for a week or two you don't even want regular food; at least that's what Joe Cross said in his Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead documentary. Well, that's how his reaction was and a few others. I hope the same it true for me.

We didn't have a lot of fruits and veggies today; so I had to make due with the last of the apples, some celery, a half a lemon, my knot of ginger, and the last of the cucumbers for most of the day. But, Gary came home earlier with my dinner!

So, I'm doing much better now. He had to make due at work with the hand-orange juicer. I just need to make sure he juices healthy when he gets home.

Overall, it hasn't been an easy day, but it hasn't been too difficult either. The real test will come tomorrow when I'm at school. I'll have to make sure to get up early, make my fruit juice and drink it, and then make the mean green for lunch later.

Wish me luck!

Day Two

My evening juice meal! Well, that was left of it... ^^

Second day of my juice fast. Feeling pretty ok. I'm not hungry. Running a little low tonight on juice stuffs, but I'll have enough to survive the day tomorrow. Today my cheese craving wasn't so bad. I wanted it, but not that much. Part of me believes that it's good that it's in the fridge, tempting me. Because, it'll help me overcome the want to eat any food right now.

I still say Christmas dinner is going to be hard for me. I know were probably going to have it at Jen's (the boy's mom's house). I may end up asking Gary to drop everyone off and come get me after dinner. I don't want that big of a temptation. That's the thing too. Some people ask me why I don't wait until after the holidays to start it. I tell them I can't afford to because of Gary (my fiance). He's got so much wrong with his body right now. I'm afraid if we wait it'll only get worse and he'll end up in the hospital. We have to do this now. It's not really a question of to do it or not; we have to.

Mom wants to do it now as well. She told me she'd wait till after Christmas, like Jay. She's worried it'll be too hard with the holidays. But, even if she can't start now, I'm still proud of her for deciding to make the right choice.

So what juices did I have today? I made an apple and grape for breakfast and then my mean green the rest of the day.

So, day two is over and day three starts anew. I can do it!

Day One

So, this is my first post. Mostly, I'm writing this blog so that I keep on track and stick with it for the full 60 days. but, how did I get here? I could say to stay healthy, and that's probably the core reason; however, it's mostly for my fiance. He's really not bad off, but he's not good health-wise. He's always in pain, always tired, and he thinks he's got some kind of internal infection going on. But, he won't go to the doctor, and I can't make him. He worried about work and affordability. So, when I saw the video about Joe Cross, I thought, "This could work." So many people who were sick have done this diet and it helped them. I figure, why can't it help him? Help me?

So, mostly this is for support. He'll tell you he doesn't need me to stick with it, but he does. It's day one where we're strictly on it and he's already feeling like he has the flu; which, everyone seems to get, but not this soon. I know it'll hit me tomorrow or the next day. I have finals coming up (college)... soo... this should be interesting. And it's Christmas almost! All that food is really gonna do me one over--to not eat it. BUT, I know I can. I have to. For him and for me. Our eating habits need to change.

So, day one?

I had some fruit juice this morning that consisted of two apples, two tangelos, two oranges, a knot of ginger, and... yeah, that's it. For lunch I had the mean green juice that Phil drinks in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. If you want to know it's ingredients there are a handful of variations online that you can try. I will say this, don't leave the skin on any of your citrus unless you like it bitter. I also discovered today that half a lemon is alright in the mean green, not a whole one. It's too lemony--bleah.

Right now I'm sipping on my late dinner juice. The mean green. They say you need to try and keep it 80 veg/20 fruit and no more or less. It's not easy eating all these vegetables  but it's getting easier as the day went by. We'll see how I'm doing tomorrow.