Archive for April, 2014

#38 A Week Into the Juice Fast

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A week ago today, I started the next phase in my cleanse, a juice fast.  This is something that I try to do, at least once a year, to help me break food addictions, enhance my self discipline, change dietary habits and maybe even clean out my body a bit.  This year I’ve been integrating frozen, antioxidant rich smoothies as well, as a way of transitioning to lower calorie diet more gradually.

Its going really well so far.  I’m feeling great and don’t miss the typical foods that much.  I’d like to keep it going for as long as it feels right, maybe another week.  Then I’d like to spend a few days water fasting.

A Week Into Pre-Fasting for a Juice Fast

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I’m about a week into a pre-fast “detox” diet. So I’ve eliminated many of my relatively non-productive dietary vices like coffee, alcohol and for the most-part, processed sugar & flour. I’ve been eating mostly various vegetables, sprouts, microgreens, fruit, nuts,  raw cheeses and fermented food; this often includes really densely packed wraps full of sprouts, avocado, sauerkraut, etc and wrapped in a sprouted wrap.

This has me feeling pretty good. I think just getting away from the caffeine, alcohol and sugar has helped tremendously. I am more aware of my environment, the subtleties in things and I’m thinking more broadly, rather than the more constrained perspective, which many of these chemicals encourage.  I guess you could say, it helps the body to regulate itself, rather than forcing it with food-based chemicals.

Also of interest, I find that I still have plenty of energy and vitality even without the constant caffeine boosts I usually have, while I’m also able to wind down in the evening without the glass of wine, I still manage to stay motivated and feel great.

So I’m going to be eating the rest of this big cauldron of vegetable soup I cooked, which features some really tasty Japanese Sweet Potatoes and various peppers and other soup-friendly veggies. By the time that’s all gone and I’ve used up most of the cookable perishables, it will be time to switch to exclusively juice/smoothies for perhaps a week or so.  Maybe a water fast for a few days at the end.