I did well yesterday with Juice only all day… then I learned something that I have really known for a long time.. I am a huge stress eater… Had an issue pop-up and my stress level went sky-high really quick.. and then I started craving certain things… mashed potatoes and gravy was the main thing and it was so severe it was as strong as a cigarette craving when I was quitting.

I ended up going to the store and getting instant potatoes, jars of gravy and instant stuffing (which was a craving while I was in the store)… I also got the fruits/veggies I will need for the next couple of days…

So for dinner it was a food frenzy… I had Chili w/beans and pasta shells, Mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and gravy and fried shrimp spring rolls (which I also bought at the store)… then ice cream for dessert… it was not a good night at all.

It was really evident to me about how the stress triggered the cravings and the only thing I could do was eat.. that made me feel better while at the same time made me feel worse because I knew I shouldn’t be eating like that.

Today I’m back on the horse… juiced this morning about 1 1/2 liters of the green juice… drank about half for breakfast and will be having the other half for lunch… just more for dinner.

I need to be able to catch the triggers like I did last night, but more importantly I need to be able to replace the cravings with something.. or at least be able to just ignore them.

I am going to research that and see what tricks I can find that may help.

Since my last post I have been juicing only very rarely and have had no motivation to move forward with juicing like I did before…One of my Facebook friends, Paul (by the way, check out his band Krooked Treez, has been juice fasting for 7 days (following a 17 day vegan diet)… This has inspired me to try again.  I know there is a difference in my general feeling of my health when I juice… but I have never done the total fast… the closest I was to that was replacing breakfast and lunch and then having whatever I wanted for dinner.. usually something very unhealthy… so, here I am… trying again.I made the recipe that Paul gave my wife and it is the right ratio of veggies to fruit and a lot of leafy greens… and it’s not bad…I am going to do this today for at least 2 meals… then tomorrow I will be starting the Juice fast.. water and juice… I plan to watch Fat, Sick and Nealy Dead again tonight to get motivated.. maybe the original Rocky also   Doubt Netflix has my favorite inspirational movie.. Vision Quest.So wish me luck and cheer me on.  I would love to have comments on my posts on this blog so I at least know someone is reading.

Let me give you the pros and cons I have found so far in juicing.. Cons first…CONS:

• It takes a LOT of time
• It doesn’t taste great
• Frequent shopping
• Bad breath
• Cravings
• Sticking with it

PROS:

• Definite increase in energy
• (possible) Reduction in blood pressure
• Feeling healthier
• Weight loss

Now let me address these individually:

CON: It takes a LOT of time

At first, it didn’t seem like it was a chore or that it took a lot of time.. but after a couple of weeks it gets really old.. I am having trouble right now getting up early enough to juice my breakfast and lunch.

CON: It doesn’t taste great

I kind of expected this… but then you hear how great some of these taste.. and if you watched Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead the majority of people he gave juice to said it was good… well I am telling you.. if you make a juice that is 20% fruit and 80% vegetable and include mostly dark green leafy vegetables it does not taste good at all. If you add more fruit and cut back on the greens it is much better tasting, but kind of defeats the purpose of juicing.

CON: Frequent shopping

This goes with the taking a lot of time.  You have to buy fresh veggies and fruit every couple of days.

CON: Bad breath

This is suppose to be a sign of toxins leaving your body.. I don’t know about that but I do know that I have sugar free gum handy all the time now.

CON: Cravings

Not as bad as I thought they would be but they are there… Fast food beckons my name as I drive, drinking my lunch.  I think if I did a full juice fast that it would be much easier than replacing 2 meals and eating one… if I was committed to only juice then I think the cravings would be easier to deal with

CON: Sticking with it

This is a struggle.  It is a struggle I deal with for every diet/life style change that I have tried.

And now the pros…

PRO: Definite increase in energy

At first I thought it was in my head… but I really believe that the increase in energy (and I mean a HUGE increase) is directly related to the juicing… I have been juicing for a few days and then slipping and eating junk and no juice for several days… when I juice, after a couple of days, I get a define boost to my energy level… when I have been eating junk (fast food, sweets, fried food, etc.) I fell sluggish, down, not passion… Since I have been off and on several times I can see the difference.

PRO: (possible) Reduction in blood pressure

My blood pressure (with medication) runs around 135/80 sometimes as high as 140/92… I went to my doctor while I was juicing and it was 130/62… SIXTY-TWO.. I was shocked by that… and I want to believe that it was accurate (same nurse that always takes it) and that it is attributed to the juicing.. Not fully convinced yet, so we shall see the next time I go.

PRO: Feeling healthier

Again, I was thinking this was in my head when I started.. but it goes along like the energy level.. juicing I feel healthier.

PRO: Weight loss

Replacing 2 meals with a healthy green juice does make me lose weight.. I lost 11 pounds the first week even with eating poorly for that one meal… my binging when I go off the plan puts that right back on.. but the juicing does cause weight loss for me.

So it is time again for me to get focused and think about all the pros that I personally have experienced.  I need to just suck it up and do this like originally planned… I need to juice every day, 2 meals (Breakfast and Lunch seem to be the easiest ones for me) and not binge on the one meal…

If you are considering juicing here are some links to some Juicing resources that will help you get started.

After watching ‘Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead’ on Netflix at the urging of a friend, I decided to start juicing.  I researched and asked questions… I started trying fresh juicing on Thursday, November 29, 2012… My goals I hope to achieve by juicing are:

• Weight Loss (11/29/12 starting weight: 386.0)
• Better Health (including reducing/eliminating current medications)
• Improve Fitness
• More Energy
• Inspire Others

I have tried MANY other methods and have been ‘trying’ most of my life.  So the first week I started out with one meal replaced with juice… I found that breakfast was the easiest to replace… I started the first couple of days by jumping in and juicing mostly dark green leafy vegetables… with a small amount of citrus and fruit… This proved to be difficult as the drinks are really harsh in flavor… The second day I tried a ‘spicy’ juice by using Bell pepper, Jalapeno, garlic, tomatoes, celery and kale.. I had no idea of what amounts of each item to juice and I mistakenly juiced the whole jalapeno (seed and all)… that drink was super hot (and I like spicy things) and actually caused my mouth to feel burned for several days after.  I also learned that if using Ginger, use small amounts.. a thumb sized piece is too much.. a pinkie finger TIP size is better.

After a few days I decided rather than give up I would ease myself into the ‘super healthy’ drinks so I began adding more fruit to the juices and focused on lighter greens (celery and romaine lettuce), adding smaller amounts of darker greens (Spinach and Kale) I also tried Beets… I have never liked beets but the juice is not bad.. I juiced the beet greens too.. the down side is of course they are very high in sugar and they are difficult to work with because of they stain everything… but the one day I used a whole beet the juice was pretty good… the other negative thing with beets… lets just say when you are in the bathroom you may think you are dying.. beets stain EVERYTHING

Toward the end of the first week I started replacing breakfast and lunch with juice.  That has been going okay and I am trying to add more greens and less fruit as well as keep trying different combinations.  I have found that eventhough I do not like Grapefruit I like having it in the drinks because it kills a lot of the bitter greens flavor.. I guess kills isn’t the word.. I would rather have a horrible flavor that I know than a horrible flavor that I don’t know

Officially I lost 10 pounds in week #1

Now on to week #2!