Whenever I talk about this crazy juice thing, I am careful to call it a “fast” or a “cleanse,” never a diet. I don’t like the idea of a diet. Diet, in our current perception, generally means something you’re doing for a finite period of time to get down to a target weight, after which you’ll likely revert to old habits. I don’t want that to happen to me. I want this to prompt a lasting lifestyle change (or at least a lasting abstinence from chocolate croissants and Oreos).
BUT, while the point of this has not been to lose weight, that’s definitely a perk. I’m having trouble keeping my shirt tucked in at work today, because mah pants is fallin’ down! Actually, that’s inconvenient, but it’s a nice feeling all the same.
Today is Day 11. Holy cow. There’s still this extreme mental duality — right now, I want to say that the second half of this juice fast has flown by, and it’s much easier than the first half. But then last night was a very weak moment for me. I was so freakin hungry, and I just wanted real food. Also I had a headache, which is not supposed to happen on the juice fast, and there was no parking at the Y so I didn’t go to the gym like I wanted, and blahhh.
But I got all my juices made last night by 8:30 or so, and Courtney came over & we talked about food and such, and then I did my yoga in my own living room with the help of this lovely posture guide. So I felt a bit more productive.
I still don’t feel particularly self-controlled, probably because it’s been such an emotional roller-coaster and I think about wanting food all the time. If I tracked my mood, it seriously would look like an EKG chart. But I’m hoping that this 16-day period will be a reminder in the future that I can control myself. If I’m looking at cookies, going “Just one more won’t hurt me!” I want to remember this fast, and say, “Hey wait a minute, you went for more than TWO WEEKS with nothing but fruit and vegetable juice — surely you can decide not to eat another cookie.”
We’ll see.
(Now I want cookies …)
Weird side effects of this fast: My hands are even more painfully dry than usual, and I’m running out of the nice Eucerin lotion I have at work. This comes, of course, from washing vegetables and washing the parts of the juicer in hot water at least three times a night.
Also, I think Court was right; my nails seem like they’re growing faster.
I think I’m colder than normal, too, but then again, I’m always cold. And let’s be honest, I still have a lot of insulation going for me.
What’s been exciting is finding that I actually crave the juice, too (not like I crave verde nachos, but hey, it’s a start). That first sip is delicious and satisfying, and I have to work to drink it slowly. (Except that nasty broccoli one. That was a struggle). This morning I had my own creation, “Rise & Shine,” with carrots, oranges and a lemon. So bright! Lunch has a beet in it, but hopefully it’ll be OK; it’s that watermelon-pineapple one again. And dinner is kale, chard, cucumber and oranges, so it’ll be pretty green but still good, I think. Mostly, today’s juices are just really pretty, in bright orange, red and green.
And it's Ash Wednesday! I'm still thinking I want to give up sweets for Lent, but I'm trying to mitigate that ... I'm thinking store-bought sweets. So if I make cookies for myself, I can still eat them, but there would hopefully be that deterrent of actually having to make them.
Happy ashes,
— molls
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