When I got home from Christmas Break, I felt like my body was going through some crazy hormonal shift. I didn't feel right. I felt off. I was getting more tired and emotional (probably because I was frustrated at my lack of energy). I've adopted natural health as a way of living the last few years and it has had a MAJOR impact on my quality of life as well as my family's. When I know what feeling great is like, I get super bummed when I don't feel well. Rather than dieting or pill popping to solve my problems, I try to find healthy alternatives to healing what ails me. I don't always get it right, but transitioning into a natural and organic lifestyle is such an exciting one because there is no time limit pressuring you when you're learning how to change your life. You may not get it all figured out right away, but you can find simple satisfaction in knowing that your doing at least one more healthy thing for yourself. You're better off than you were the day before. It's a journey. One well worth taking.
Anyway, Bryan and I saw a documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It's all about one man's journey to total healing through a 90 day juice fast. It was incredible. It reminded me of the healing power of food. We are what we eat. It's hard to argue that, if you've spent a week indulging. You feel terrible. So, I suckered my husband into watching it with me ;) and by the end of the week, we had a juicer. I highly recommend watching this documentary before starting a juice fast.
Here is a website that is a great resource for learning about juicing and getting detailed programs tailored just for you.
Here is a list of the top juicers
Really do your research before making a juicer. Some of them remove pulp and some of them leave it in. I don't like pulp, so I opted out.
We have a Breville Juice Fountain. We bought it used from Ebay.
I spent about 10 days really doing my research and preparing myself. I analyzed cost to make sure it did stray too much from our budget. Feeling financially burdened AND hungry will cause you to collapse. You need to have a very clear plan and do LOTS of preparation. Don't set yourself up for failure.
To prepare for my fast, I spend 5 days weaning myself off of caffeine and ate only raw vegetables and fruits. I wasn't strict. I made smoothies. I ate as many apples and salads as I wanted. I drank a ton of water and tea. I then juiced STRAIGHT UP for 5 days. The first two days were nuts. I was an angry animal. Some people get sluggish and want to sleep. I was a squirrel on crack! I couldn't sit still. I was anxious. I was emotional. I was breaking out. I already have skin problems. This did not make me happy. I felt gooey. My skin was sticky. It was so weird. I came to find out this was part of my Healing Crisis. I will devote an entire entry to the Healing Crisis. It is really cool and really awful.
Anyway, by day 5...I was ready to conquer the world. My mind felt so clear. I bounced out of bed in the morning. I wasn't bloated. My skin was glowing. I was REALLY affectionate toward Bryan. haha. I felt like superwoman. I slowly weaned myself out of the fast the same way I came in. I ate raw foods and eventually started incorporating grains and lean meats back in with the occasional indulgence. I lost about 13 lbs since Christmas. I was able to keep it off. I thought as soon as I stopped juicing and eating raw that it would come right back on, but to be honest...I believe the extra weight I had was just hormonal toxic water weight that by body was so happy to let go of. As long as I maintained a healthy balance, I would be fine.
Since then, I have just fasted a day or two here or there just to recharge myself, but today I am actually going back at it for the whole week. I need a brain and body detox. It's been a rough month for me and the stress of studying and being in a house full of small children has worn me down. Oh, AND I've had a horrible allergy to tree pollen. That has been a nightmare.
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Here's what a day in the life of my juice/raw food cleanse.
6 am: ARISE (sleep in if you can though) Sleep is SUPER important. I boil water and have hot green tea with lemon. This is a great way to detox your liver.
6:30 am: Prepare my Juice. I use 4 large stalks of Kale, 2 cups of Spinach, 2 oranges, 2 green apples, 1 red apple, 4 carrots, 1 small beet, a handful of parsley, a handful of micro greens, and a half inch of ginger. I squirt lemon juice into my drinks.
I run it all through and then collect the pulp and run in back through. It gives me a few extra ounces of juice for a total of about 32. The only prep I do is peeling the oranges and cutting the apples so they fit. Oh and wrap your spinach and parsley or other leafy greens in the Kale. Depending on what juicer you have, it will have a manual on how to juice certain fruits and vegetables.
I Drink 8-12 oz at a time throughout the morning and store the rest in the fridge. I drink all 32 oz by lunch time. I just drink when I want.
I also drink green tea and detox tea throughout the day and water with lemon. Lemon is SUPER important for cleansing. I'll talk more about that later.
1:00 pm: I have a HUGE salad that includes whatever in the world I want. Here's what I like to put on mine
Celery
Broccoli
Cucumber
Green Peppers (red, yellow, and orange are great too)
Onions
Cilantro
Chia Seed
Tablespoon Olive oil
A few sprays of Braggs Liquid Aminos.
and sprinkle TURMERIC on top
and sprinkle TURMERIC on top
I can't WAIT to tell you about some of the cleansing powers of the superfoods I've included in my salad.
I eat as much as I want until 7 pm as long as it's a raw veggie or fruit, but go easy on the fruit. That is best saved for mornings. I continue drinking tea and water with lemon.
After 7 pm, I stop eating. I just drink water and tea and try to be in bed by nine. I have my lavender and chamomile tea before bed. MMMMMM. I love it. Knocks me out.
For supplements, I take Maca Root, omegas, and Probiotic. That's all I feel I need during a cleanse. I'm getting PLENTY of vitamins through juicing and eating raw.
Click to learn more about MACA ROOT. I am a bit in love with this stuff.
I think I have an entire entry on Maca somewhere on this blog.
I will keep regular updates on my facebook page. My Fit List. I am taking care of lots of kids and it's way too hard to sit down and find the time to write things at length. WOW. Stay tuned!
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