Day One of Juicing

Peach and blueberryHello, lymphies!

I have completed Day One of my juice fast and am already struggling. It’s much more difficult than I had anticipated! To avoid my hunger, I’ve been trying to keep busy by reading or napping. Napping leads to dreams about food, though – even when I’m awake, it’s all I can think about. I’m straight up hallucinating about solid foods. I don’t know how I managed not to eat when I had my eating disorder – I guess my willpower is not as strong as it used to be! I’m hoping it will pass after the first couple days. I mean… it should, right?

It’s not all bad, this juice fast. I made a lot of excellent juices, and I really enjoy the different tastes each one has. So far I’ve made peaches and blueberries, carrot and melon with a few oranges, and apples and blueberries. It’s amazing how many fruits and veggies you can squeeze into one glass. The amount of nutrients I’m consuming is off the charts, way more than what I would be consuming normally.

My family is doing this as well, but are only substituting one or two meals with juice. After the first twelve hours, we broke down and admitted that we had all eaten something! After some discussion, we realized that it’s more realistic to gradually introduce the fast instead of going all out right from the get-go. I don’t want the regular meals to interrupt the detox effects of the juice, so I think I’ll do a straight juice fast for the last seven days. Ahh! It’s gonna be tough, but it’s something I really want to do.

Nine more days!

End of Summer Juice Fast

August is halfway over, can you believe it? I haven’t been posting a lot because I’ve been super busy getting ready for the new school year and my move up to Vermont. I arrived home yesterday after a week-long trip to Burlington with my parents, where we moved all my stuff into the apartment. I even got a cat condo for my kitten! I’m so excited albeit a little nervous about living completely on my own. The independence will be good for me, though, because it will force me to foster a lot of good habits, such as cooking and doing yoga. I think I’m ready for it. Time will tell!

About a week ago, my family and I watched the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, where a man completed a sixty day juice fast and reaped wonderful health benefits as a result. After we finished the film, my mom went online and ordered a juicer. Tomorrow, I’m starting a ten day juice fast with my family. For ten days, I won’t consume anything that hasn’t been through the juicer first – apples, carrots, peaches, berries, spinach, kale, ginger.. you name it, and I’ll probably juice it. I am doing this for health reasons, because I’ve read that it can do wonders for your body in terms of detox and healing. I believe it could help rejuvenate my various internal systems, which have been ravaged by years of having an eating disorder.

I’m curious to see how this will affect my lymphedema. It could possibly make the fluids drain easier since I will be consuming less junk. I’m going to pay close attention to my legs during this fast and see if things are better, worse, or the same. Obviously, I’ll be sharing my observations with you all!

What do you think? Have any of you tried a juice fast before? Share your stories in the comments below!