Reflections on the Juice Fast 10 day Challenge 1

It's 6:24pm. Enjoyed a wonderful Sabbath worship and dinner with friends. Since we all participated in the juice fast we ate lite. Our dinner consisted of two soups, a salad and chow mein. All items were delicious! I made a curry potato soup found on vegweb.com. It was well received. We discussed the fast and how it changed our lives within 10 days. Some say that they would be willing to do it again. I will do it again and attempt to make juicing a part of my dailey routine.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 10

It's 1:39am. This is the last part of the 10th day of our juice fast. Wow! This is amazing! We finally made it to the end of the fast and we are ok, no, better than how we started. Earlier, on yesterday we had a mean green juice with the addition of two handfuls of fresh green beans and 3 busshels of broccoli. the taste was still the same. I also had a salad for breakfast when i got home which was very delicious! about 3 hours ago I made a pineapple beet juice (punch) which contains; 1 beet, 1 honeydew melon, 1 cantaloupe, 1 sweet potato, 1 pineapple, 1 yellow apple, 1 pear, 1orange, 3 green apples, 3 thumb size ginger and 1 peach. The taste was sweet and smooth. I ate a salad afterwards and enjoyed it tremendously as well. My body is feeling fine, the only slight  issue is gas but its not overwhelming. In just over 5 hours i will be posting the end of the fast and how we broke it. Happy Sabbath to all!

The Juice Fast Journal Day 9

It's 3:00am. Just finished eating a nice fresh salad made by my roommate and one of his homemade juices, it contains;3 peaches, one cucumber, 1 tomato, half a lemon, 5 apples, 2 thumb sized ginger pieces, half a container of raspberries and half a container of blueberries.This juice was mildly sweet in taste but was also smooth.  Earlier tonight I had one of his juices which contained; 12 leaves of kale, 3 thumb sized ginger pieces, half a lemon and a mango.This juice reminded me of mean green, hopefully it had the same benefits. My body still feels ok and tonight once again i am wide awake at work.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 9

It's 7:38pm. At about 11:30am today we enjoyed a delicious wake up wowser juice! It helped to end a somewhat stressful night at work and assisted starting a peaceful day. about 15min ago i had about two bowls of salad with some banging salad dressing prepared by my roommate, sorry can't give out the recipe on fear of death! But he does sell his homemade creamy italian dressing and tofu cakes (http://www.facebook.com/events/131922226924693/) if anyone is interested. I still feel good after beginning to eat solid raw vegetables. We will see how we feel after we introduce cooked items to our diet again.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 8

It's 3:17am. On last night before work we eased in some raw food in our fast in the form of a salad. I did feel the salad as it was going down into my stomach, have not gotten sick yet. salad was so good to me i had to come home from work to get some more! We also had a homemade juice that consisted of; 2 beets, 1 pear, 3 apples, 2 carrots, 1 lemon, a container of fresh blackberries, half a container of fresh raspberries, half a canteloupe and half a honeydew. 

The Juice Fast Journal Day 8

It's 2:30pm On last night while at work i enjoyed another Odwalla superfood juice drink! About 12:30pm today we enjoyed a juice recipe by a new juicer friend of ours Kenda Fields. The juice is called Wakeup Wowser: 3 sweet potatoes (raw), 4 oranges, 2 apples, 2 pears. The taste was very good and we plan on making this again in the future after the fast. Overall my night at work went well and today after drinking my food i'm feeling well.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 7

It's 9:23pm. About to go to work. I just enjoyed a homemade juice made by my group partner. It contains 1bag or 6 to 7 cups of grapes, 1 lime 1 container of strawberries, 1 orange, 3 thumb sized ginger, 3 carrots and an 8oz container of pomegranates. The taste was superb, I shall call it Impression juice. 

The Juice Fast Journal Day 7

It's 7:57 pm. We have reached the 7th day of the fast! On last night i drank one 32oz bottle Odwalla superfood juice drink while at work. While at work my energy level seemed to improve up until about 5am when tiredness started to come upon me. by 5:45am I was back to good energy levels and ready to complete my shift and go home. At about 10:00am today we enjoyed one serving of mean green juice. Overall my body is feeling to his usual self. One thing i realize is that at lunch time when i am most likely sleepy i was wide awake!

The Juice Fast Journal Day 6

It's 9:44pm. Just experienced a V8 type juice mix, it is very tasteful, spicy and filling. The recipe is; 3 tomatoes, 5 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 head of cabbage, 2 bell peppers (red, green or yellow) 3 kale leaves 2 cups of spinach, 1/4 of sweet onion and salt and pepper to taste. this will yield about four good servings. I ill be going to work tonight to face more food temptations but i know that I'm stronger now. 

The Juice Fast Journal Day 6

It's 2:00pm. We have reached day six of our juice fast and we are still surviving, almost thriving! My group partner who is also my roommate, misses eating food so much he put ketchup on my arm and almost ate me! He was comforted however by the fact that we will be introducing raw vegetables and fruits to the fast on Wednesday so we can ease into solid food so we won't get sick. As always we drank the mean green juice at about 12:45pm. The taste was somewhat stronger. That could be attributed to us using a single recipe and the larger amount of ginger used (I felt a kick afterwards). We used a single recipe this time because too much juice is being leftover and we wanted to maximize our nutrient intake. Juice drank after a few hours does not contain the same strength of antioxidants as it would have if it was drank immediately. We also substituted bag kale for fresh, six to seven cups should equal six fresh leaves. I'm feeling my old/new self so i know  that my body has adjusted. I realize that although I am a omnivore and truly enjoy meat, dairy etc. I am now "eating" beyond vegan or vegetarianism. This fast makes a vegan's diet look appealing! Maybe in the coming months I may be able to stomach a two or three month vegan diet. My roommate says that i have somewhat been vegan by default because that is usually all we cook in the house, but, we will see how my diet changes in the future.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 5

It's 2:34am. Last night at about 10:00pm we made a fruit punch which consisted of half cantaloupe, half honeydew melon, whole pineapple, about two oranges, 4 cups of strawberries, one thumb size ginger, handful of blackberries and two cups of blueberries. The punch was very good and after drinking a glass and a half we both felt full! Right now I'm finishing off some leftover mean green juice and a little more punch. We went to the movies earlier to view Sherlock Holmes, good movie! While there, however it seems like every food smell was ready to attack, from popcorn to nachos/cheese and jalapenos, we were inundated. I don't know if my sense of smell is improving or I'm just craving food but by Sabbath I will be ready to "go in." Our bodies seem to be adjusting, no major side effects and energy seems to be improving.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 5

It's 1:09pm. At work last night I purchased an Adwalla superfood juice drink and had it for break and lunch. It was sweeter than the juices we have been making except for the purple power punch. I also consumed a few sticks of sugar free gum but they did not fully satiate my food cravings which i was able again to master. About an hour ago we made some mean green drink and i can feel it working even now.The taste of the mean green was slightly altered because the kale leaves were a bit smaller than usual. I have not been feeling as weak before so I think that my body is adjusting to this new food regimen. Looking forward to the next juice we make tonight!

The Juice Fast Journal Day 4

It's 6:11pm. We just had a juice fast group Sabbath "dinner." There were several juices that were tried, they all were good and flavorful. We offered the purple power punch which was very sweet and slightly tangy. This punch can compare to any prepackaged juice on the market! This was also our first formal meeting since we started the fast. We decided on variations to the fast which would include a little gum and some will eat raw vegetables. On Wednesday of next week our 7th day of the fast we will be adding raw fruits and vegetables to our menu so that we can ease into solid food to avoid any harmful affects. I hope my posting has encouraged and assisted those who are curious about healthy living.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 4

It's 11:00am, just finished drinking some mean green juice, doubled the recipe and added two apples for taste. The juice is a little better and we had a good amount left over. I woke up about 6:40am and i felt a little tired and weak, but after drinking some water i felt much better. With this fast at the beginning i found it difficult to enjoy water but i found a way to get myself back to water drinking and that is to taste a pinch of salt.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 3

It's 1:49am. Happy Sabbath all! On yesterday around 9:00pm my group partner and i enjoyed a detox juice which consisted of two grapefruits (peeled), two limes, and six beets (peeled), we later added two green apples for taste. This juice is very powerful and potent, but i actually enjoyed it and will try to add it to our menu nest week. Our fourth day won't start until 7:00am today but i think we are well on our way to accomplishing this challenge. Many of us have felt a little under the weather or irritable on the second or third day of this challenge but that is to be expected for something like this. Since we are only doing juice and water the body has to adjust abruptly but i can tell that it is all for the better. I have felt little burst of energy even at work that have given me the strength i needed at work and the resistance to buy junk food. Anybody out there that's reading this trying to consider doing this type of fast or diet change should have the motivation to stick with until the end because it's worth it! We also made purple power punch which we will consume at Sabbath lunch later on today!

The Juice Fast Journal Day 3

It's 4:58pm. I woke up about 2 hours ago so I can get my house clean for Sabbath. About 10:00am we enjoyed a variation of the mean green juice, we did not have enough kale leaves so we substituted broccoli florets and added an extra apple. The taste was slightly different than with only kale leaves but it didn't get much sweeter with the added apple. We are not going to be too concerned about the sweetness of taste because we don't want to lose the benefits. Just now I consumed my second serving of mean green and I'm enjoying the stuff that it is doing to my body!

The Juice Fast Journal Day 3

It's 9:42am I recently got off work about an hour 1/2 ago. The first real test of this juice fast was passed! I was able to endure my work load without consuming solid food. I often times buy items to eat at work or come home for lunch since i don't live that far away.Food to me has become a stress relief especially at work, still working on that issue. We made apple cucumber and mint leaf juice last night and i was able to drink that at work. It was a struggle but it worked out. The recipe calls for 8 green apples and two cucumbers and a handful of mint leaves. The mint leaves seem to give the juice a better taste.

The Juice Fast Journal Day 2

It's 6:41pm. I enjoyed some mean green juice today at about 10:00am. It was not as tart as before because we added a little more apples but it also was not sweet. we made enough for four servings which helps to get over hunger pains. The real challenge is for tonight i will be going to work where i purchase all types of unhealthy food but i know i will make it. this is going to be fascinating!

The Juice Fast Journal

It's 1:09am I'm not hungry after my last post where i noted that i had two servings of mostly fruit juice. I usually work at night so it is common that I'm up now. I am so thankful to have friends that are health conscious so that i may be challenged in this way. My brother/best friend/roommate is a vegan and many of our friends are either vegan or vegetarian so its often that we go on these health excursions. At first i was not excited but after watching the movie, Fat sick and nearly dead,( http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead) i was convinced that i should try this challenge. The last challenge i tried was to erase sugar, sweets and similar items from my diet from Thanksgiving to Christmas of last year. After accomplishing that (with my love of sugar and sweets) I think most anything dealing with appetite i can do with God's help.

The Juice Fast Journal

It's 10:26pm I woke up around 6pm after sleeping all day with very little interruption. It must have been the large amount a food i ate before i went on this fast or it may be i was just very tired. We just had purple power punch juice: 8 cups grapes (red) 1 cup blackberries 2 Apples 2 thumb size ginger. The taste is very good and tangy. We were able to get four medium size servings.

The Juice Fast Journal

It's 9:11am. Just enjoyed a terrific mean green juice! The recipe calls for 6 kale leaves, 1 cucumber, 2 green apples, 4 celery stalks, 1/2 lemon and 1 ginger root (thumb size) and a handful of spinach leaves. It was kinda tangy and and i can still feel the the ginger ( we added more than a thumb). The next time we just will be later on in the day. I think my body will be enjoying this.

The Juice Fast Journal

It's 7:49am, I just recently got home from work and this is the beginning of my groups 10 day juice fast challenge. We will be making juice from fruits and vegetables. we will only consume this juice along with water. We got the idea from watching Fat, sick and nearly dead, a Joe Cross film. the movie chronicles a man, Joe who decides after trying the medical sciences to cure a skin disease to try juicing for about sixty days. In the time period he loses weight and becomes a healthier person. He also all but cures his skin problem as well as helps others along the way.