Today I decided to drink only juice. This isn’t foreign for me since I love it and I have done several juice fasts in the past. The longest juice fast I have ever accomplished was a week long orange juice fast. I LOVED it and felt great when I was done. Here is what I drank today:
1 quart of prune water which is the water from soaked prunes
1 1/4 quarts spinach/celery/apple/lemon juice
1 cup grapefruit juice with green powder
1 quart grapefruit juice
1 1/2 quart mixed greens/celery/cucumber/strawberry juice
1 1/2 quarts grapefruit juice with green powder
So…let’s see. That is about a gallon and a half. Right? WOW! It seemed like I drank much more than that. Today wasn’t too hard until this evening when I had to make food for my family. It still wasn’t too bad at that point, it just was the first time I had any desire to really eat before then.
I feel really good and had energy most of the day. I did feel a bit tired in the late afternoon but just relaxed for a few minutes and then I felt better. I am now VERY tired though. I am ready to go to bed. I found I was emotionally stable for the day. I enjoyed this side effect immensely. Physically, I spent a good amount of time in the bathroom which I LOVE! I really enjoy the light feeling you get when you are “cleaning house”, so to speak.
The interesting thing about today is about a year ago I swore off all supplements for awhile just to see how I felt while trying to transition to a less fat, no salt diet. There is a green powder I used to drink. I don’t see it as a supplement but today I decided to pull it out and start taking it again. I took it for several years when I first went raw. I was consistent with taking it up until last year. I enjoyed taking it again and will probably incorporate while I am doing my little drinking stint.
I am still vacillating on how long to stay on the juice and when to start incorporating smoothies and such. I really agree with Victoria Boutenko’s info in her “Green for Life” book. I like what Doug Graham has to say in his new “80/10/10 Diet” book. I do believe in a whole foods diet. With my bowel the way it has been in the past and the bowel being a muscle that I believe gets stronger with use, I am wondering about how long to juice fast. Of course, I do agree that the more we ease digestion, the efficiency of healing and health is quickened. Chris is somewhat concerned about how long I should stay on just juice but I will listen to my inner knowing. Who knows? Maybe I will do juice in the mornings and then smoothies and soups the rest of the day. That sounds like SO MUCH fun to me too! But either way, I hope others are interested enough that I will post everyday what I eat. I am wondering if it might get boring because I do eat alot of the same things over and over. If I do incorporate the smoothies, then my plan is to definitely do this until the day I finally get my teeth in. So…I figure that will somewhere between 6 to 8 months.
I was talking to a friend tonight and mentioned the dietary changes I am making. I was telling her that I was hoping others would want to do some cleansing and rebuilding along with me. She stated that she didn’t think she could do it as long as I was. I want to clarify that when I ask for anyone else to jump in, I mean just plan a cleanse similar to mine and decide what you can handle and then go from there. Even if someone ends up doing only a couple day juice fast or a week of green smoothies or whatever, they will want to be a part of it with me and feel better as a result. So…until tomorrow.
Peace and love to you all,
Rachel
Thank you for the reminder! I love how juicing grounds and heals me. I was just thinking this morning that I needed to do something to balance out some recent stress in my life. Usually, I will run myself into the ground then end up sick for a week! I cant wait to make some delicious juices! Do you have any favorites? Awesome blog, Rachel!! The flow this week from Faith, to the healing at the sweat to juicing, is like putting one foot in front of each other and progressing towards peace. I needed to hear it this morning. 🙂
Love, Julia
Your jaw/juicing issues is a surprise for me because I’m having the same issue (not from molars, but something else).I had considered juicing as an alternative to chewing too. Years ago I did online cleansing with Jos-hua Medicine Man, and he was a big advocate of juicing. Said he had juiced (in the tropics with fresh tropical fruits) for 18 months once without adverse affects. You seem to have a good sense of what your body needs so you will probably be fine, however long or short you go. Anyway God Bless and I may juice right along with you, to some extent. Love to you girl, Lorna
Julia,
I am so glad you liked it. Thanks so much for posting to let me know. I really appreciate the feedback. My favorite juice right now is grapefruit juice. They had some really DELICIOUS grapefruits at Good Earth last week. But I love green juices too! Hey, if you decide to jump on a fast, let me know and we can both chat about how we are doing on the group. I was thinking I might want to post there so everyone can participate. Thanks again.
Rachel
Hey Lorna,
Just like Julia, if you do decide to juice, let’s all talk about it on the group. I think it might help others get motivated to do it. Like I said, even if I don’t juice for too long (which at this point I think I will) then I am going to do smoothies. I am really excited and so far it has been so much FUN! Thanks for posting on my blog. I am so happy that you did.
Love,Rachel