Saturday

5 Day Juice Fast Review. Spoiler: I loved it!


Juice Fasting was extraordinary. 

I must admit, i don't have tons of experience with fad diet health stuff, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. But I have watched others go through those roller coasters, and this was amazing!
Me and Jesse only ate fresh fruits and vegetable juice for 5 days. 

WHY: Our friends were doing it, and we watched Fat, Sick and Nearly dead.(forks over knives is also fasinating) One thing the doctor said in the video stuck out to me. America's wealth and resources, we have the ability to be the healthiest and live the longest of anyone in millenniums. That was kind of convicting. I am a squanderer. God gave me all this awesome food, and I so often choose crap. So we wanted to flip our diet, instead of 10-15 % fruits and veggies, 85% bread, oil, dairy and meat. What if we could get fruits and veggies to 40-45%.

We thought the best way to start was a juice fast. I was interested in what it would do to our energy levels and what being nice to your body would feel like, instead of constantly eating things you expect your kidneys to filter, what if you ate raw nutrients for 5 days? I was curious. 


First, I honestly did not do it to loose weight...
 but in 5 days, i lost 10 pounds, and...I wasn't hungry! 
crazy! Don't get me wrong, I WANTED food, badly, but I was not hungry except for maybe 15 minutes the first day. In general i was more alert, I woke up quicker, and by the last day I felt really great. This was an awesome post-pregnancy/nursing health boost!

Understanding my emotional attachment to food was probably my favorite thing about the fast. When I was uncomfortable I wanted to chew, me and Jesse were also kind of snappy with each other. I just wanted bread and it had NOTHING to do with hunger. 

Side effects: These were minor, but if I did not drink a 12 onz. juice every 3 hours, i would feel a little lethargic, and 3 or 4 times I had a mild headache. I would get in this weird place, were I DID NOT want a juice, so I delayed making one, then I would feel terrible and lay down, I could not get out of these funks until I got off my butt and made a juice! 

Detox? i have no idea if this really cleanses you. I think maybe only God knows. I did experience the bad breath/slight muscle aches the second day they say accompanies your body dumping toxins. We did not experience the crazy ups and down that most 'juicing' sites talk about. Me and Jesse hypothesized it was because food here in Montenegro is fresher, generally less processed and contains less toxins. 

My other favorite thing, it was kind of easy. I was not hungry, I was not taking an hour a day away from my kids to exercise. doing it with Jesse was essential, we held each other back when Soren's cheese slice was making us salivate. This is day 6, we both ate a banana for breakfast. No bid deal. No drama. We could honestly do it longer. 

Sustainable? fad stuff sucks because it is unsustainable. I get that. But we don't feel deprived, we feel good.  we are eating only raw fruits and veggies for 5 days, then adding whole grains  for 5 days and so on. Hoping the end result is healthier more grateful family. I know we may gain some water weight back, but it doesn't have to be a  quick fix, what if is helps us further along on our path to honoring our bodies? If anything we appreciate God's goodness in his provision for fruits and veggies more.