Tuesday, April 26, 2011

yum

Had the BEST juice last night.  1/2 a pineapple, 2 pears, 2 apples, and a cup of green grapes.  Just wonderful.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Day 50

Weird expression on my face....

Down 36 pounds as of yesterday.... can't really see it, yet.  Still wearing the same jeans I was wearing at the start of the fast.  I mean, they're looser, for sure, even straight out of the dryer, but I can still wear them.  Also, I'm still quite bulgy in the waist and hips.  <Sigh>

Monday, April 11, 2011

Day 42

249 pounds this morning -- that's 31 pounds lost so far.  I felt REALLY good most of yesterday, even better than normal.

82 degrees and sunny yesterday.  It's Michigan, in April, no less.  A week ago it was snowing.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Day 36

I did actually weigh myself yesterday, I just forgot to post.  253 pounds, which means 27 pounds lost.

We found our camera!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Summary of the first month

It's time to sit down and reflect on all the things I've learned in the first month of juice fasting, the experiences I've had and the changes that have taken place.  Whether my kids allow me that time or not!

Weight Loss
I may not have wanted to admit it at the beginning, but this fast has forced me to come to terms with my motivations, and the number one reason I'm doing this is for weight loss.  Period.  I want to be able to shop at regular stores.  I want to wear shorts in the summer.  I want to live without the word "obese" hanging over my head.  I want my husband to feel proud of me again.

So far, I've lost 26 pounds.  26 pounds in the first month.  I have every expectation that weight loss will slow as the fast progresses, but as long as I'm still overweight (and I certainly am, by any standard) it will still continue.

Finally, I am able to see some changes.  I think yesterday was the first time I've been able to look in the mirror and say to myself, "Oh, I do look thinner."  More than that, I feel thinner.  A month ago I felt too big for my bones, too big for my heart.  Getting up and walking around from a sitting position was sometimes more than my joints could take.  Climbing stairs with Tara in my arms would bring on shortness of breath, mild chest pains.  I could barely hold her in my lap -- I barely had any lap to speak of.

Energy
This is probably the most dramatic change that has taken place, most astonishingly because it happened right away.  For nearly my whole adult life, I've been plagued with chronic exhaustion.  Sometimes just getting off the couch has seemed like too much effort.  I can't tell you how many times I've declined doing things out of doors because I just didn't have the energy.  I've also been overweight most of my adult life, so it's easy to understand why I thought those two things were related.  However, the fact is that this exhaustion lifted around day 3 of my juice fast.  At that point I had only lost around 4 or 5 pounds, and most of that was water retention.  And yet, I felt my body humming with energy.  I've been doing a lot less just sitting around in the house during the day, and I have sufficient energy for all my tasks. 

The regular peaks and valleys of energy that I'm used to are gone.  I've always loved mornings because that has been the only time of the day I could count on to not feel utterly wiped out, but now, it's as if the whole day is one long morning.  It's become my habit to watch Glee while juicing, and repeatedly I find myself dancing along -- yes, me, dancing! -- to my girls' delight.  Now the thought of getting out of the house doesn't seem overwhelming, and we're able to go on more outings as a family.

Sleep
This aspect is simply fantastic.  At the beginning of the juice fast, I was waking up in the morning feeling like I'd just come out of a coma.  I was sleeping so deeply that it was a little bewildering.  That lasted about a week.  Now my body seems more used to deep, refreshing sleep; I think I've "caught up," so to speak.  I'm getting better sleep than I have in years.  During my pregnancies I was getting up around 4 times a night to use the bathroom; but even after Tara was born I just couldn't seem to stay asleep.  I would still have to get up multiple times, use the bathroom, and then not be able to go back to sleep.  I would get up for the day at 5am and play computer games, thinking I just needed less sleep than the average person, or that I was somehow unable to sleep in the early morning hours.  (Then wondering why I was so tired all day long!)  I refused to drink anything after 5pm, hoping to keep my bladder empty so it wouldn't wake me up so early.  Now I realize it was probably a digestive issue!  Now I'm going to bed at 10 or 11pm, and sleeping soundly until 7am or later.  And this after drinking all day long and right up until bedtime. 

Black Days
Every so often, I have a "detox day."  For awhile it was every Monday (don't know why), and sometimes twice a week, though I don't think I had one at all last week, so maybe they'll be spaced out further as the fast progresses.  These are the days I just try to live through.  They suck.  I feel pissed off at the world, nothing can please me, I have headaches, muscle aches, I'm ravenously hungry, and very, very tired.  Sometimes I feel cold as well, a deep bone cold that I can't get rid of by wearing a sweater.  In the shower, I scrub my skin and it just sloughs right off.  My arms break out in acne.  On those days, I don't want to drink very much juice, even though I'm starving.  Sometimes I can force down my regular 16 cups, sometimes I drink much less, perhaps only 10 cups.  At times I luck out and a black day falls on a night when I'm not working, and then I go to bed right after the girls do, at 7:30 or 8pm!  Food cravings are particularly bad on black days, and it seems unbelievably unfair that I have to make 3 delicious meals for my daughters and husband and withstand all those wonderful smells and not eat. 

It helps to know that detox days don't come all that often, that they can be survived and they pass, and the next day will be sunny and wonderful again.  I've also noticed my weight loss tends to accelerate right after a black day, so it gives me something to look forward to!