My first little victory of this testing 5-day journey is over...well almost. I'm sipping my last liquids as I write: a warm and comforting cup of peppermint tea to soothe the digestive system and calm me to sleep. With four days left I'm facing them with fierce determination that this week is going to be so much better than I had been dreaming up it would or could be. Easy, no way. It's not easy to deny yourself food and then drink all of your nourishment for let's count...1, 2, 3, 4, five days! But clearing the first day successfully was a huge boost to the spirit.
First, let's get it over with and talk fears. What did I fear in entering into this?
Well, for one thing, I have never fasted. Not with intention. Only in the
I'm so immersed in what I'm doing I forgot to take care of myself and eat way. Which isn't at all fasting.
Fasting is a willing act of abstinence. It is surrender. It is abandoning the burden of something that has hold over you. It is entering into a place of freedom. (All in my opinion and belief.) Long story short, I didn't know what to expect without eating, on purpose. But I do know what to expect from going long periods without eating before today...to name a few: headaches, hunger pains, lightheadedness, hypoglycemia, stomach aches, and the beloved
hanger. Not fun!
Second,
I feared the detox. Well, that part hasn't happened yet, but what I do know about it is it's a good thing. Whatever is going on in my body that shouldn't right now, will be wiped out. That is health victory, friends. It's a clean slate. Sometimes the bad things in our lives have to be cut off, and that can hurt or it can be challenging, but it's worth it. Going through it...well, I've given birth. I know I'll live through most things.
Third, (and this one surprised me) other people. Not out of insecurity (which I talked about
here while setting my resolutions this year), but out of the sheer fact that
making huge health changes around others who don't, or won't, is HARD. Not that anyone is critical necessarily, but if you don't care about your health than it's hard to relate to sharp health shifts in someone's eating choices, like giving up sugar (completely), or whatever food it is: meats, dairy, sweets - you name it. I know every vegetarian and vegan out there can name at least one uncomfortable situation regarding food choices. It just has it's moments. And in this I hope I learn more how to educate, share, discuss, debate, and properly and politely defend my decisions because after all, it's my body. Why should anyone be anything but happy that I choose to treat it well? Hmmph.
So the exciting fun of it all... what did I eat (
drink)?
Today I enjoyed a grapefruit blend that I sipped on all morning. It had a tangy spice to it and was awesome. So far, yum! Next I had a green juice packed with spirulina and other healthy greens. I could smell the celery when I opened it, which I love in juice. If you've ever juiced, or drink juice, you probably know and enjoy this taste paired nicely with some lemon. For lunch was a mixed greens and beet juice. I've tried to love other beet juices and I will say, for market fresh juice
Evolution Fresh's Essential Vegetable with beets is definitely good and I make an amazing smoothie with it that I'll share soon (
or just check out the recipe on my IG). This beet juice was definitely more drinkable straight up because it had a sweetness to it. My fourth juice of the day was a super carrot - a beautiful orange, my fave color - that tasted so, so, so fresh. It was like drinking juice from a carrot - if that were even possible. Like when you eat a perfect juicy tomato. Yeah, like that!! It really filled me up. It was actually tough to drink it all. That was such a nice feeling at this point in the day (5:00 p.m.-ish). Last up was another green juice. It was light and easy to drink at the end of a day with
lots of liquid.
The only thing I "ate" throughout the day were raw, roasted almonds. Roasted because the raw irritate my throat. (I'm working on discovering some food allergies in this process.) And I was allowed one fried egg which I ate in the morning with my grapefruit juice. It helped me feel like I was eating breakfast since those are two things in a normal morning meal around here.
Other than that I'm taking specific supplements for my body that work for me and with my tailored juices. I'm getting a lot of good things each day. And it's alllll gooood stuff! Way better than even the healthy things I probably get in a normal day, because let's face it a normal day isn't going to be 100% healthy. Those are really the exception days, right? But I want them to be the norm. And I'm one day closer and enjoying it.
Be sure to check out
Health + Happy's amazing blog for all things nutrition related or to
get your juice on.
Stay tuned for the rest of the juice journey this week.