Juicing Day 6 and 7
I realize how last year when I did this same thing, I stopped blogging after the first 5 or 6 days. There is a difference between this year and last year. First, I am on completely different medications and that is because my illness has progressed and changed. Last year I remember feeling good, energized. I was able to get up and go to work...and work a whole 10 hour day before driving the two hours back home. This year I have been far sicker. I have not been able to work in the last nine months. I have a great deal of trouble getting out of bed even after my necessary 11 hours of sleep I get every night and the three hour nap I take every afternoon. Yeah, there is a big difference.
Last blog I faded out of the juicing so I did the same with the blogging about it. I didn't mean to leave it hanging like I did but I guess it took so long to write something I felt it was too long and didn't bother. I do not want to make that same mistake this time. I did the same stuff I have been doing the first 5 days. I woke up...very slowly and painfully... but that is my usual. I found it more and more arduous as the juicing progressed. The evening of day 6 I went to my parent's house for our weekly family dinner. I was a good girl and brought my own juice. I never felt hungary or too weak. I did feel a bit stupid and foggy in the head. I felt like I was floating down a surreal river that was my life. I noticed it the most the night at my parents. I had to actually interact with the outside world. At home I would wake up, juice, sleep, juice, sleep more, juice and then go to bed and have a horrible night's sleep (that part comes with my illness, not so much juicing).
Upon waking on the seventh day I realized I was more sluggish than usual. Far more and weak too. Getting out of bed that day was a nightmare. My pain was there as it always is but this time my muscles felt totally weak, almost useless. It took every tiny cell in my body everything it had to get me to the kitchen to make that day's juice. When I got there, I was out of breath. I thought...This is NOT why I am juicing. Every reason I wanted to juice: energy, feeling light on my feet, feeling clean, feeling the nutrients enter and revitalize my cells.....NONE of that was happening at this point anymore. I decided to stop juicing because it was no longer benefiting me at this stage in my lift or at this stage in juicing, I'm not sure what it is. My body just told me...no, this isn't working to our benefit anymore.
This does not mean I will not try it again next year. And when I do, I think I will call it a one week cleanse. This also doesn't mean that I am not drinking juice still, a few days later. When one comes down off a juice diet, one must break it to one's body slowly. What I did first is make a smoothie, instead of a juice. I added some different fruits than I had in my fridge because I wanted to use my frozen fruits. I learned the hard way that frozen fruits do not juice well. They turn to mush. For smoothies, frozen fruits are the only way for me to go because you must well know me by now and know that I must have cold juices and smoothies. I put in frozen strawberries, mangos, a cup of almond milk and a half scoop of protein powder (cake batter flavor!). My next meal was all juice. I felt weak again so I took a protein bar with me on my wak with my dog. For dinner I nibbled on a sandwich fearing my stomach was not ready to take it. My stomach didn't complain to the bread so I felt lucky. The next day I had a juice for breakfast but I put a dash of protein powder in it again. I had the other half of the sandwich for lunch and a protein smoothie for dinner. Today I feel much stronger, healthier. I had a juice for breakfast, a smoothie for lunch and Vietnamese spring rolls for dinner.
I am still losing weight which is great. It was not my intention on this juice cleanse but it is a common side effect. I am now focusing on losing weight because I just booked a trip to Hawaii for my and the bf's birthdays...in 32 days!!! I am going to eat healthy now and I will be supplementing that healthy diet with juices.
In the end I lost 11 pounds. I can't say I got much more from the juicing fast this year other than that. I am not disappointed though. I just chose the wrong time to do the cleansing. I will choose a more fitting spot in my life, next year, to give it a go again.
Until next year....Please write to me with any questions you have. If I have the time, I promise I will post a blog about high sodium fruits and veggies.
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