Juice Cleanse Days 11, 12, and 13

Day 11 (this would originally have been day 10, but I forgot to count day one)

Wednesday was a very snowy Colorado day. I felt VERY cold and juices did not sound particularly appetizing in the least. I drank my juices because I was hungry and not because I wanted them and I definitely drank my share of hot tea! I was supposed to go shopping on Wednesday (it happens to be double add day at sprouts.) But I just did not want to because it was snowing. So my husband picked me up from work and on our way home we stopped at Tokyo Joes. Probably not the best place in the world, but it was cheap and after a big bowl of Miso Soup with nothing but onions, I was feeling much better. I went home and did some yoga and drank some yummy peppermint cocoa made with brazil nut milk.

Day 12

I started Thursday on a wonderful juice high and had a really good day. After school we went to this nice little produce warehouse that is on our way home and bought all the veggies for the next day. When I got home I was still in a good mood and I started making myself and my husband a HUGE pot of soup/broth. While the broth was simmering I made all of my juices and then sat down with my dinner to  figure out what veggies I was going to need for the next week. By the time I was finished with all of my 'work' I felt depressed and extremely irritable. I made some tea and took a bath which helped a little, but I was still feeling awful when I finally went to bed. 

Day 13 The End

Ok, even though I decided to end the cleanse early I learned a lot today and I think that today was a very nice breakthrough for me in terms of discovering me and what I am able to do. I woke up horribly irritable this morning partly, I think, because I did not wake up in time to work out. I just kept telling myself that if I would only work out I would feel much better. When the kids came in to school their smiling faces made me feel so much better and I was ready to have a good day--for about 15 minutes. Then they decided to be more quarrelsome than usual all day long. So I was very glad to finally leave at 1:00. At this point I wanted food! I thought, I am going by Natural Grocers I will stop, get a Kombucha and some nice, dark chocolate. Then I ended up doing some self talk. I realized something epic--Food Never Solved Anyone's Problems! This realization made me calm and peaceful, I drank my juice and thought, "I can do this I can go one more day." I realized I didn't need food to solve my problems. I only need food to quench my hunger. I am now a little more free. 

Having said that, I still decided to end the only juice part of my cleanse. I was ready for a nice meal with my husband which didn't involve me cleaning the juicer. We went out to the Watercourse and got veggie bruscetta for an appetizer (I realize I probably shouldn't have eaten the bread). Then I ate a wonderful, Build Your Own Salad with arugula, spinach, avocado, mushrooms, tomatoes, and grilled zucchini with Balsamic Vinaigrette. We ended the night polishing off my Strawberry Cheesecake (really yummy) and I probably ate way too many mini vegan chocolate chips :) But I feel very good and accomplished. And I am excited for a grilled zucchini, sprout, sandwich tomorrow on raw bread!

I must say I am really impressed with those who can Juice Feast for an insane amount of time! I have really been enjoying following Rande's 90 day juice feast and she has really inspired me. I think I will eventually do a long juice feast, but not in the near future. I've decided sometime when I can take a little time to pamper myself every night so I don't go so crazy. 

What I Learned

Well I promised to tell you what I learned during this cleansed. This is really quite simple, but I guess we sometimes have to be hit over the head by something before we really 'know' it. This past winter I was under a great deal of stress because of work, school, and a very bad relationship. I began to gain weight which in turn made me feel more stress. In all I think I gained back about seven or more pounds. After Christmas I did Jason Vale's 'The World's Biggest Juice Detox' and began to feel AMAZING. But I didn't lose any weight, I played around with my diet and still didn't lose any weight. I didn't feel bad, just kind of annoyed. Finally, this time, I lost seven to ten pounds, easily, in one week! What made the difference? I am convinced that it was the time of year, SPRINGTIME. Apparently your body wants to cleanse itself and so if you give it the tools the body slims down--naturally! I have learned that during winter my body needs some heavy foods and it needs to eat, pure juicing may not be the best thing for my body during winter. I may put on some pounds, but that is ok. It is cold and the body naturally wants to protect itself. When it is time my body will naturally detox and lose the 'winter weight'. I am very happy to discover this and will (hopefully) not worry about it next winter. My plan is to eat less, but eat the foods I feel my body needs and be reassured that, in the spring, everything will go back to normal. I am also putting away the scale because I feel that every time I step on it I begin to define myself by the number. I will no longer be a number! I am a beautiful, confident person! And so are YOU!

Happy Juicing!!!