Juice Fast Complete - Construct More Additional Pylons!!

Juice Fast Summary

5.5 days

Weight Lost: 2 lbs

Total Weight lost since 01/18/2013: 7 lbs

Inches: ?

Pant size lost: 1

Well as you know I just completed my juice fast in 5.5 days. I was going to try to take it to Friday but Thursday night I did some running around after work. I went to the gym, had to pick up Joe and had to get his mom fast food.  And though I could have chain scarfed some fried food in the parking lot...I withheld. I finally had to just go and get food. I was starved. I opted for Blue Coast Burrito and got  a yummy salad. I hate half and I was content once again. The hangry gods were calm and so was I. :)

Saturday was tough as I craved salty foods and had somewhat of a headache. I think it was my toughest day just because I waited longer to start my training and I hadn't got to drink anything other than water until 1 pm that day.  Once I had gotten enough juice and my headache went away, it was tolerable.  The one thing I learned, preparation is key. I found that 4 juices (16oz servings) were plenty to get through the day and I didn't suffer hunger. I had minor headache for 3 days but nothing a bit of excedrine didn't relieve a half hour.  I made sure to drink plenty of water and threw in hot tea just to give a different flavor in my regimine.  While I did not lose alot of pounds, I did drop down to the next pant size and let me tell you I have never done a happy dance in the fitting room EVER until yesterday when I went shopping! Lost some inches!  It is exciting that jeans that are brand new that I bought 2 years ago can now fit properly! 

I find it interesting that I am missing my fast right now. I need to construct more additional pylons!! (Pylons are energy sources in StarCraft II). While I was doing it, I didn't have to do any meal planning. I juiced the night before and it was done!  I had pre-planned dinners with my family. They ate what was in the fridge mostly. I cooked one night (another thing I miss was not having to cook) to make it less tempting to cave in.

Tips:

• Store juice in glass containers and make sure its filled to the brim to make sure there is no air in the jar(I used mason jars).
• Keep yourself orgnized to keep from being overwhelmed. Have jars ready to pour.  Have a prep area for produce (I put my cutting board by my juicer for less mess).
• Juice leafy greens with harder produce such as apples, pears or cucumbers to max their juice yield.  You can pack them into the denser fruit or veggie as well. If you have a variable speed unit, juice leafy greens on slowest setting.
• There are literally a ton of juice recipes online. Stick to a couple different ones that integrates 3-5 ingredients.  I share mine below. Keep reading!!

I did take a progression pic here:

"Week 4" is actually supposed to say "Week 3" 

Some changes in my face. I am happy that I am for once not bored with this. Every week I learn new things about nutrition and exercise.   I would typically try the gym or try to eat healthy for a few days and I was back to my old ways.

As promised, here a just a few of my fave juices that kept me going during my fast:

Emerald Protein Punch:

• 7-8 Leaves of kale
• 1 Cucumber
• 3 Pears (Bartlett or Anjou are my faves)
• 2 Medium Red Apples

I alternated each ingredient to help mix the juice. I put half the cucumber in and packed the kale behind it to help max the kale's juice yield.  My juicer is 1 speed so be sure to push leafy greens through slowly.

According to http://juicerecipes.com/build/ a site I use to give me an idea of what is going into my juice. With this blend this will give you approximately 11% protein (this makes about 2 - 16 oz servings) and also gives:

• Vitamin A 111% (essential for cell growth)
• Vitamin C 299% (boosts immunity)
• Iron 56% (transports oxygen throughout the body)
• Zinc 17% (Cold prevention!)
• Vitamin K 1196% (“Wolverine” vitamin - helps our body heal open wounds etc)

Now these are estimates and based on values pre-juiced but a juicer can extract 75-90% of the nutrients from a fruit.  Juicing allows us to intake more than just 1 piece of fruit.  So while these are estimates, you’re pulling the nutrients straight from the source and ingesting them as a juice will only provide your body the mega-vitamin it needs.  This is my favorite green juice. It masks the kale bitterness well, it’s sweet but not overwhelming and the cucumber gives it a melon-y flavor.

I love juice in the morning. It is a great wake me up and it is filling.  I used to take a cup of orange juice every morning but since I was staying away of store juices, I made this little gem.  I must say, I like it way better than any store bought juice :)

Sunrise Breakfast

• 6 Medium or large carrots
• 3 Small oranges (or 1 large)
• 2 Medium red apples

This juice is sweet and the carrots make it rich and gives it a nice texture.  It’s a great breakfast or dessert juice. I would typically drink this in the morning or in the evening after a green juice.  If you’re craving something sweet, this will help tremendously!

Fighting food urges, one TV show at a time...

So over the weekend of my juice I had to find things to keep me busy.  I watched alot of netflix and on demand.  I found that they put the past episodes of season 15 Biggest Loser on On Demand and I watched an episode that was in the middle of the season.  I caught myself saying "oh noo..." when one of the girls only lost 3 lbs and the man lost 13.. wait..thats what I have been losing..why is 3 lbs in a week bad? Shows such as this really do skew the ideal weight to lose in a weekly basis. Not to mention I am sure they do nothing but gym several hours a day. This particular episode had the loser team of the challenge work at diner as well as maintain their gym/training. DUM DUM DUUUUIMMMMM. So what? They should be learning how to balance healthy living with their daily lives. I was curious how many people gained the weight back once they return home.

The season finale aired and shock doesn't describe how i felt about this…

Rachel was the winner of this season's Biggest Loser. I know this story has been circulated so much and I wont be on it long.  I didn't watch the finale but pics are sad. My question (and maybe I don't know much about the show) is why wasn't there a physician or trainer for them to check in with?   Overall, I hope the media about this and and societal ignorance doesn't cause negative reaction for Rachel. I wish nothing but the best for her!

There is another show on A&E called Heavy. They go to a retreat and they start with implementing activities everyday. They sit them down at each lunch and teach them about the foods they eat. Then after a determined amount of time, they let them free. Back to home and everyday life. But this time they go back with knowledge and tools to benefit their weight loss. They are given a membership at a gym with a trainer. They can even call the resort staff for guidance. If the staff feel that the person is straying away, they bring them back to the resort and complete the time with them at the persons side.  They even have access to a counselor to help cope with emotions that may cause them to turn to food. They actually deal with the problem. Now I am sure that both shows tend to have their amount of scripting. But at least Heavy seems realistic.  I hope it's realistic anyway, it's very motivating!

Anyway that was my week end review!  I feel so great after my juice fast! I have more energy and will be planning other juice fasts in the future.  I can’t wait to continue on and share more of my epic journey. :)