60 day juice fast: 1-60

THE NIGHT BEFORE
A 60 day juice fast is just what this home-body needs! I start tomorrow, juicing fruit and veggies, drinking tea and water.
Juicer:

check

Veggies:

check

Stats:
Weight 140lbs
Measure:
hips 35
thigh 22
upper arm 13
neck 13
calf 15
Goals:
Break addiction of sugar, caffeine, white flour. Sleep 8 hours. Juice all meals and snacks. Lots and lots of water. Lose 20 lbs, and lots of inches!

I’ve prepared for day 1 breakfast with a juice of beets, carrots, apples, lemon, and ginger. 374 calories

Counting calories in juice:
I have read that in order to count calories the fiber is deducted from the total. In order to deduct the fiber it needs to be multiplied by 4.
example: an apple is 53 calories; fiber is 2.4g; 2.4 x 4 = 9.6
total calories for the apple: 43.4 calories

Keeping a food journal:
The above example is exactly why keeping a journal would be important. Once the apple calories are counted the first time and written in the food journal there is no need to have to remember those calories again. Making each time the juice is recorded that much easier and convenient.

iPad apps (free):
Calorie King

JuiceIt HD

 

 

MyFitnessPal

 
SparkPeople


Pinterest

“See” you tomorrow!

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Day 1/60
Day one of sixty, the easiest of 60. I feel great. I know I won’t feel this great for long. I am glad tomorrow is Shabbat, I have a feeling I may be having withdrawal symptoms by tomorrow afternoon. I only know this because I didn’t prep for the fast like I should. I am suppose to ease my way into a fast, but easing my way into anything really isn’t my style. LOL So I will handle the symptoms the best I can.

Today I juiced 3 meals.
Breakfast: carrots, apples, beets, lemon, and ginger about 370 calories
Lunch: cucumber, apple, kale, lemon, ginger about 300 calories
Dinner: kale, apple, lemon, ginger

My stomach was growling early in the day. Water always helped and I was fine after. A rather uneventful day. I am sure things will get more interesting soon. 🙂
Shabbat Shalom!
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Day 2/60
I am writing this as I lay in bed at 11:30 at night. I had a restful Shabbat and felt great all day. I felt tired and had something of a headache around 8pm. I pushed through that and prepared for Joshua’s birthday tomorrow.
One thing I can say about doing a fast of this kind is seeing how often I think about food. How much it controls my day. I find myself going into the kitchen often and for no reason except that is what I normally do. Only to walk back out again. It’s really crazy to see how much of my day is spent going to the kitchen, and sad really. Terrible habits that sabotage weight loss every time. A 60 day fast at least allows for some habits to be curved and changed.
We will have some family over for a birthday party tomorrow. That will be a challenge.
Nothing taste as good as healthy and trim feels!

Morning: 2 apples 3 carrots
Afternoon: 1 sweet potato 2 apples 3 carrots
Dinner: 3 apples 1 bunch kale 1 lemon
Water water water…

I am editing to make sure it is understood I am getting over 1000 calories a day. I am listing meal juices, however, understand that I also juice snacks like pears and carrots, apple juice, orange juice, etc…
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Day 3/60
<—— Beets, carrots, apples, lemon, and ginger
Beets are not easy for me to drink. Knowing the health benefits, however, make it easier to swallow.
Each time I have had blood work done in the last year, I have had “elevated blood pressure.” It’s still in the “normal range” but high enough for the nurse to acknowledge. I don’t eat pork or the kind (I eat kosher) and because ham and pork and bacon (what I used to consume previously) all have very high salt content which I assume would cause problems with blood pressure are out of my diet, I am surprised to have a small issue with it.
So, back to beets.
Beets have many benefits and one benefit is to reduce blood pressure and the effects associated with blood pressure like heart attack and strokes. Beets are known to have powerful antioxidant properties, they are high in folic acid which assists in tissue growth. Beetroots also contain a mineral that helps the body utilize calcium. Juicing beets can help lower cholesterol and helps keep blood sugar levels stable.
With all these reasons, I just have to find the taste buds that might just enjoy some red delicious. hehe
Today was a great day. I had a lot of fun preparing Joshua’s birthday party (and didn’t have any cupcakes!) I look forward to Monday! I am supposed to go to bed early, but with all this energy, I decided to make sure my lesson plans were ready for tomorrow. Now it is time for some shut-eye…
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DAY 4/60
Fat-Burning, Metabolism-Boosting, Detox “Special Tea” Recipe: LINK
1 mug hot water – adds to your 8 daily cups of water, fills you up and flushes you out
1 entire Lemon (squeezed, then scrap out the fabulous fibrous pulp)- natural fat burner
1-3 shakes Cinnamon powder- helps regulate blood sugar levels and curb hunger
1-3 shakes Cayenne Pepper powder- natural fat-melter
I am sharing this detox tea I found on Pinterest.
I had a long day. A headache plagued me since I got out of bed this morning. I drank lots of water and took some Tylenol at lunch. By 3pm it was so bad I went to my favorite coffee shop and got my sugar free chai. And guess what… yup, I feel great now. Everything I needed to do all day I got done in the last 2 hours. /sigh Now I know what is the “problem.” And I hate to think about the “solution.” I feel great with all the juice and will be looking for more recipes to switch things up a bit. I will go to Sprouts tomorrow for more fruits and veggies. I am off to look up some juice recipes!
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DAY 5/60
A link to 50+ juice recipes! here
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Day 6/60
What’s working:
This is tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch. I am using the juicer twice a day, which is far easier then using it at each meal and snack up to 4 or 5 times a day. I juice my breakfast and lunch while I am juicing dinner. I will juice a snack in the afternoon while I am juicing for my kids. By juicing more than one juice at a time I am saving time and energy. I was always worried if I juiced and left it in the fridge it would taste awful after a few hours. But I have found that I can leave a juice up to 24 hours at least and it still tastes just fine.

This is my mom’s fridge. Her and my step-dad work full-time. She juices and freezes. She has no complaints of quality. Another way to save time and energy while juicing. There is really no excuse to make juicing work for you. Get creative and get juicing!

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DAY 7/60
I am no longer calling this a fast. No way! This is a juice feast. I am not deprived or starved or any other such words you want to associate with a fast. I feel great! I feel full! In fact, right now, I am just plain stuffed! No a fast this is not. A feast is more like it!

A little reminder to juice the rainbow. It is important to get nutrients from all the fruits and veggies available at your local stores or markets. This is a typical day of fruits and veggies for me (in the pic) This is my juice (to start) for tomorrow. I have carrots, apples, beets, kale, oranges, cucumbers, ginger, lemons, pears, etc. A wide variety and lots of color. This is how you know you are drinking a lot of nutrients.

This is a pic of my menu for the last 7 days. (click on the pic for better picture quality)

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DAY 8/60
Shabbat shalom! This evening begins a Shabbat rest. A 24 hour period to spend only delighting in my Creator, my Savior, and my family! The hours leading to Shabbat are spent preparing for rest. I made sure to juice all the juice I will be drinking tomorrow so that I wouldn’t have to “work” preparing my meals. It is important to take time to rest and be still. God is smarter then we are, He knew it wouldn’t be easy for us to set a day apart as Holy and to honor Him on our own and so He gave us a day, sanctified it and hallowed it and made sure to make it a commandment so that we would remember to stop. Rest. And Be.

Exodus 31:16 ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.
Exodus 31:17 ‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Shabbat Shalom!
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Day 9/60
I am rested and ready to go.
Confession: I have taken a few more bites of meals today then I normally do. Some of my hubbys lunch, and after drinking the garlic, ginger, cucumber, celery, I took a quarter piece of a snickerdoodle. Don’t judge me! Tomorrow is a new day!
Good news: I have tried a few new juices in the last couple days:

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DAY 10/60
Oh my! I have so much energy. I am getting so much done right now, I didn’t want to stop to blog tonight. I had a great idea while taking a shower this morning. To lift up the boys school table by using pvc pipe under the legs. Then they would fit better with the tall kitchen chairs we use. So that started the journey today. As of 7pm I was waist high in papers, notebooks, and binders. It is almost 10pm and I am almost finished re-organizing and decluttering our classroom. I am so glad to get things done around here. I feel super focused. I blame all this on my juice, of course.

I have had other bright ideas. I even took pictures, hehe.

And these two ideas led to my entire classroom turning upside down to be straightened up again. So, here I go. I am off. I have to finish before our school day starts tomorrow!
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DAY 11/60
I love juicing. I am glad I didn’t back down when I heard some negatives like, “clean-up stinks” or “the prep takes forever.” Really, I experience none of these issues. Clean-up is as easy as cleaning up breakfast or dinner dishes. It does not take any more time than that. Unless you have an ancient juicer. With the newer juicers they will munch down entire apples with ease, prep is minimal.
Yes, indeed, I love my juicer, except…
peeling citrus.
Citrus is one fruit that cannot go into the juicer with skin. So every citrus is peeled. And I don’t like it much. Mostly because it takes time. So, one thing I did to cut back on this citrus stuff is to buy a citrus squeeze for my lemons (and limes) but mostly for my lemons. I use up to 4 lemons a day in drinks, water, and tea. For water and tea I would take a spoon and squeeze while twisting the spoon inside half the lemon. Then I would dig out the seeds, or not if I was feeling lazy. I didn’t mind the work so much. Until I was shopping and came across this citrus press for $4.99 at the grocery store. I couldn’t pass it up, $4.99 was a good price and it was sturdy and seemed well made. It is the best five bucks I’ve spent, well besides my Chai Tea at The Buzz. I use it all day any time I need to juice. Instead of peeling it and using it in the juicer, I just squeeze the lemon into the glass before I pour in the rest of the juice. A great buy and very handy if you use a lot of lemons and limes!
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DAY 12/60
Question:
How often do you juice fast? Is this your longest one so far? How are you doing emotionally? Do you exercise while fasting? How do you avoid being in the kitchen as much?

Answer:
This is my second juice fast. I fasted previously, about 6 months ago, for 21 days. Because it was my first fast, I juiced all meals and snacks and ate one raw/vegan meal. This is my longest fast, but by far the easiest. The first time was more difficult because so much of it was a learning curve.
Emotionally it can go either way, some have days of tears when they realize how emotionally attached they are to food and the lack of it causes a real emotional void. This down time happens often in the first week or two. Other days are a complete emotional high where you are on top of the world.
I exercise but I do not over-exert myself. I will walk and do light exercise. But not in the first week.
Honestly, I am in the kitchen a lot during a fast, mostly because I ENJOY cooking for my family when I am fasting. Is that weird? It is hard the first week, after that, my body goes into “juice mode” and my focus is not on food as much as at first, I get less and less interested. I can sit at the table with my family and drink my juice without feeling sorry for myself.
Shalom!

Question:
How do you count calories in your juices?

Answer:
When you juice fruits and veggies you do not count calories from fiber because the fiber is not in the juice.
Apple = 53 calories
Fiber from apple = 2.4
In order to find the calories from the fiber the 2.4 needs to be multiplied by 4.
Fiber calories is 2.4×4 = 9.6
53 -9.6 = 43.4 calories for the apple once it is juiced.

Question:
What juicer do you use?

Answer:
Breville Juice Fountain Plus $149.99

Question:
What is the purpose of this “juice fast”, why is it for 2 months, and why are you putting your health in danger with a drinking plan that is under 1200 calories?

Answer:
I am taking in all the nutrients my body needs. I will not get colon cancer. In fact my “bowel movements” are just fine. I don’t have any issues in that way. I have supplements and options if things aren’t moving along as I like. My calories are mostly above 1000. I have extra juices for snacks. I was giving recipes for 3 meals. I was tracking my meals in order to insure they are above 350 calories. There is plenty of research on this subject for you to look in to. Thanks for your concern.

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DAY 13/60
I haven’t been wanting to face the consequences. And so, often I have been going to get my favorite chai tea from my favorite coffee spot. And each day I have known that this day would come. I hoped it would be sooner than 13 days. But it wasn’t until today that I finally decided, “no more.”
I was at the library with my kiddos and my youngest, Oliver, hit my hand and my tea landed all over the floor. I was so sad. And I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened and all the things I could have done to prevent it… stupid. It was a stupid tea, expensive and ridiculous to be upset about. But, I was.
Tonight, I have made up my mind. Tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, I will not go to get tea. I will drink my green tea and be just fine. I will deal with the headaches and move on.
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DAY 14/60
Ow! My head! I have had a headache since noon. I finally took some medicine after dinner. I went to a meeting and out with some friends. How ironic, my friends and I met at a coffee shop. I haven’t tried Daz Bog chai tea and it would have been an excellent opportunity. But, I kept my water and did not buy anything. I know by the size of my headache how very much attached I am to caffeine. I know it will go away. It was a late night so I am off to bed.
But first wanted to show you the amount of veggies and fruits I juiced this afternoon and how much it yielded. 3 pints of juice:

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DAY 16/60
A strengthened resolve. Today has been a day of inner reflection and rest. I have strengthened my resolve to take this 60 day challenge and complete it to the best of my ability. Some days are easier than others. Some days I take a bit more “bites” then I should. I am not doing this any longer. I am strengthened in my resolve to continue this feast to the best of my ability.
My headaches have subsided, after 2 full days of light but constant pain. Caffeine will soon be completely out of my system and that is a good feeling.
I will start exercising tomorrow. I will be walking with Leslie Sansone videos and stretching with Classical Stretch from Miranda Esmonde. I look forward to this because working out always makes me feel stronger and more resolute in my juicing.
I look forward to the days ahead and to completing this journey of renewed strength and health.
I will be updating my blog every few days for the time being, unless something special is on my heart to share.

Shabbat Shalom!
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DAY 17/60
I have had some sinus pressure and much sneezing and a very runny nose. I finally took time today to go get some oranges to make this sinus drink:
Sinus Juice:
2 oranges (peeled)
2 apples
2″ ginger (peeled)
dash of ceyenne

Today’s juice:
morning: kale, apple, beet, carrot, cabbage, lemon
warm water and lemon
afternoon: kale, apple, cucumber, celery, lemon
warm water and lemon
dinner: 2 oranges, 2 apples, 2″ginger, dash of ceyenne
warm water and lemon

Night-time treat:
herbal tea with honey in my favorite mug.
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Day 19/60:

This is the oil supplement I use every day. I use 1-2 tbsp in 1/2 cup of applesauce. It has a delicious, nutty flavor. You can use it on salads, cooked veggies, or in any of your shakes and drinks. I have a friend who drinks it like a shot (you know who you are) Here is some more information on Udo Erasmus and his Oil blends: Link

You can find this supplement in your health food store in the refrigerated section of the vitamins and supplements.

From the link provided above:
Serving Suggestions
Start with one tbsp per day and gradually increase to one
tbsp for every 50 pounds of body weight per day.
• Ultimate Oil Blend is compatible with all foods and can
be used with cold, warm and hot foods (once off the
heat source), but must not be used for frying, baking or
other high temperature cooking.
• Favourite uses are in fruit or vegetable salads, protein
shakes, yogurt, apple sauce and juices.
• Try it on steamed vegetables, rice and pastas and baked
or mashed potatoes or add it to homemade soup
(after cooking).
• Mix it with extra virgin olive oil in dishes such as
hummus and tabouleh or serve with balsamic vinegar
for dipping.

Availability and Storage
Liquid (available in 250 ml and 500 ml bottles)
• Unopened bottles can be kept refrigerated for up to six
months and for over two years in the freezer (oil shrinks
when frozen; the glass bottle will not break). Once
opened, use within 8 weeks and keep
refrigerated between uses.
Capsules (available in 90 and 180 capsules per bottle)
• Store in a cool, dry place. Ideal for travelling.
(14 capsules is equivalent to 15 ml (1 tbsp).
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Day 23/60
I am feeling great! I have lots of energy and I sleep very well. I have lost 9 lbs. I am feeling slimmer and more comfortable in my clothes. I have slipped into a comfortable schedule and love all the juices I am making.

I wanted to mention and throw out here about grade b or seconds produce. They are a great alternative to the more expensive “perfect” fruit you see in the store. I order grade b or seconds to save money. If you are juicing, what difference does it make what the apple looks like? However, a word of caution. Most often seconds will take more time to “clean up.” The pictures below give you an idea of what I am talking about.

I bought 20lbs of #2 apples for $12. I have to cut away the “bad parts” but totally worth the $12 in my opinion. Some will not want to take the time to cut the apples and clean them up. This is all personal preference. I also buy 2nd grade carrots. You really can’t go wrong with carrots, at all. No clean-up.
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DAY 24/60
In order to be more purposeful in keeping a schedule and routine, I began tonight with the obvious. Write an ideal schedule. If I were to have a “perfect” day, what does that look like? Here is what I came up with for the 6 days of “work.”

Ideal Schedule:
5am wake up
Drink hot water and lemon
5:05am prayer and Bible Study
6am start breakfast for Oliver, prep fruits and veggies for a days worth of juice. Keep list on fridge for groceries
6:30-7am shower, Oliver and boys wake up, eat breakfast, juice all meals, start chores, water
8am drink 1st large juice, morning prayer and bible reading with boys
8:30 boys silent reading. Mom and Oliver time, water
9am school starts
10am small juice for snack, Oliver nap, boys snack, water
read aloud
11-12 school unit studies
12 lunch for boys, 2nd large juice, afternoon prayer time
move outside if weather permits, water
1-3 school, small juice for snack, water
3pm Oliver’s second nap, read aloud and unit studies with boys, snack for boys, water
5pm start dinner, 3rd large juice, boys chores, water
6pm dinner and baths/showers, exercise, water
7pm mom and Oliver time
7:30 Oliver bed, read aloud and bible study with boys
8:30 mom time, tea w honey
9:30 shower night-time routine
10pm bed

And it’s 10:30 right now… /sigh
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A SPIRITUAL PURPOSE
It has been 25 days of juice feasting. Over the last 3 weeks something has been lacking. As I look back I know God was telling me over and over again what it was that was that was missing. However, I have been deaf and blind to it until last night.

I started my juice fast with the goal of getting my house in order, cleaning up my body and feeling healthy again. I did NOT start my fast with any spiritual direction or focus. This fast has been covered in problems of the flesh and has been riddled with disappointment from not being able to have the self-control I am used to having in the past. I kept asking MYSELF why this was. It wasn’t until I FINALLY took the problem to God that my answer came and it was here all along. She is a woman I have gotten to know over the last 3 weeks or more. We talk often of my fast and fasting in general. She always emphasized fasting with spiritual growth. Something I could relate to from my past 21 day cleanse earlier this year.

Spiritual purpose has completely lacked in this juice fast. I did not set out with any goals spiritually this time and have felt it every day. When I realized this today I see now why this fast has been riddled with problems of the flesh. So last night I set out to define what this fast is to me spiritually and welcome the Ruach back into EVERY aspect of my life! Praise Abba for dropping the scales from my eyes and allowing me to see His purpose for my fast.

I am currently reading The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory. This book has helped me gain further spiritual insight into fasting with purpose.

I have put together a fasting covenant detailing my spiritual goals, prayer focus, and diet for the rest of my 60 day fast.
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YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT… OR DRINK.
Morning:
hot water and lemon
1 Pint of apples, carrots, sweet potato
Snack:
6oz of apples and oranges
Afternoon:
1 Pint of 1/2 beet, 8 kale leaves, 3 carrots, apples, lemon, sweet potato
Snack:
6oz of apples and oranges
Evening:
1 pint of beets, apples, lemon, kale, carrots

Water throughout the day. Herbal tea and honey for night-time snack.
NO BITES TODAY. ALL JUICE, ALL DAY! YES!!
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DAY 27/60
I learned a little secret today. If I add oranges to my green drinks, I can hardly taste the “green.” They go down a lot easier.

I was able to get some things cleaned and prepped and cooked for Thanksgiving. The mashed potatoes were the hardest. I did not take any bites or tastes. My family did all the taste testing for me. That was not easy. I just kept telling myself, it is only a season and your body is healing. I feel great, I feel healthy, strong, full of energy, just as I am supposed to.

Morning: Hot water and lemon
1 Pint kale apple lemon cucumber celery carrots beet
Snack: 8oz apples carrots ginger sweet potato
Lunch: 1 pint kale apple lemon cucumber beets celery carrots
Snack: 8oz apples carrots ginger sweet potato
Dinner: 1 Pint apples sweet potato carrots
Snack: 8oz kale cucumber apple lemon celery carrots beet

Walked 1.25 miles

NO BITES!!
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DAY 28/60
Take a few minutes each day to say, “Thank you.” Not just in November, but every day! It’s amazing how our attitude can change when we start being grateful and saying thank you to the ONE who provides for all our needs, comforts us, protects us, scolds us, loves us.

Happy Thanksgiving!
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DAY 29/60
My willpower is buckling tonight. I have not given in, even for a moment. But, I had to leave the kitchen. I decided to grab my juice and post my 29th day blog entry. I took some pictures of an (optional) morning routine. This is working for me this week and thought I would share.

Morning Routine Option:

1. use a juice list that gives you juices for an entire day, including all ingredients and how much it will make

2. Using a citrus press, squeeze your lemons into each of your jars. Another option is to peel each lemon and juice them in the juicer. Not a fun option in my opinion.

3. Prep and rinse all of your fruit and veggies

4. Peel your citrus and start juicing!

Your entire days juice is ready for the fridge. You don’t have to think about your juicer for the rest of the day! This could take up to 45 minutes or more depending on how much prep you have with your veggies. Those apples were seconds (called horse apples) and ugh! They took a while to cut out the bad stuff.

I hope this helps you get into a routine for good health!
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Wow!
I wanted to list my “go to” drinks, for this week at least. I juice this every day. Sometimes I make extra, but this is at least what I am drinking every day. Besides water and some non-caffeinated tea.
Juice A:
carrots oranges sweet potatoes ginger and lemon
Juice B:
kale apple lemon ginger celery cucumber green pepper
Juice C:
I am not going broke juicing these main ingredients for my day. Apples carrots and oranges are inexpensive because I get #2’s from a coop.

Ingredient list #s by the day:
10-15 carrots .75 (not coop, $2.99 5lb bag) coop #2 is cheaper
10 apples $3 (not coop, $1.25 – $1.49 each) much less buying #2 from coop
1 large beet .66 (1.99/bunch 3 beets)
beet leaves from 1 bunch of beets (3 beets to a bunch so I don’t have leaves every day, only twice a week)
1 pear .40 (2.19/lb)
1 sweet potato .50 (1.99/lb)
1-2 bunches of kale (depending how much “green” I want that day) $1.49/bunch
4″ of ginger .10 (3.99/lb)
2 stalks celery .40 ($1.49/lb)
1/2-1 cucumber $1 (1.99/lb)
6 lemons (including lemon for water) $3.99 (3.99 for 2 lbs)
3 oranges $3 ($4.99 for 3lb bag)
1/2 green pepper .75 (1.78/lb)

This is a very loose estimate but fairly accurate I would think. I spend about $16 for 72oz of juice. It is recommended in juice books I have read to drink 128oz of juice a day. 72oz feels right for me. There are some days I drink more but I never drink less than 72oz. I drink water and caffeine free tea.

Shalom!
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DAY 36/60
My updates are getting more and more infrequent. I am just going with the flow right now. It is getting a bit harder to stay focused on the goal. The rewards are numerous but being around food as often as I am makes things very hard. Tho I have not eaten a thing, I sure am mad about it sometimes. I think this is all a mourning process really. To get over the addiction to food one has to cross a lot of emotional highways I think. I know I would be severely disappointed if I stopped now. I know I will complete this fast, Yah willing. Some days are just more of a mental battle. I keep looking at my goals and praying through my prayer requests, waking up early to read Scripture has given me spiritual clarity and encouragement.

Physically I feel great! I have lost weight. I feel more energized. I sleep great, I don’t wake up unless the baby needs me. I am walking with a friend and getting stronger. I would like to add in more strength training. My days are filled right now and I just don’t have time for it. Perhaps things will slow up soon. If not, I am ok with that too. A wife and a mom has many responsibilities and I gladly take them on.

Some books and documentaries I would like to recommend that have helped me stay motivated are listed below. Bye for now 🙂

Books:
The Daniel Fast
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Juicing

Documentaries: (available on Netflix)
Forks over Knives
Food Matters
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Food, inc
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DAY 40/60
It is day 40 of my 60 day juice feast. I am feeling more and more healthy every day! I have lost 16lbs. All of my clothes are baggy and just right.

I recently just finished the book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Juicing. I am looking at my “post-fast” diet. How I will continue maintenance and moving forward. I know I still have 20 days to go, but humor me a little. I am a bit bored right now with all this juice and am moving on in my mind for a bit.

The Complete idiot’s Guide to Juicing has several different types of fasts. From short 1 day a week fast, to 3 days, 7 days, etc. I am going to adapt a 1 day a week fast to my “post-fast” maintenance diet. This is a basic idea of what I am looking at:

Monday: raw foods and one cooked meal (limited or no meat or dairy)
Tuesday: raw foods all day (no meat or dairy)
Wednesday: Juice Juice Juice all day
Thursday: raw foods all day (no meat or dairy)
Friday: raw foods all day (no meat or dairy)
Erev Shabbat (Friday Night): starts a 2 day “normal eating” but not binging! I can eat challah bread or a sandwich, or some pasta … you get the idea. This continues till Sunday evening.
Monday starts the week again with raw foods and one cooked meal.

Well, this is on my mind today and keeping me from eating a cheeseburger, hehe.
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Day 45/60! 15 days to go!
I was asked last week, “What heath benefits have you noticed so far?”
I wish I would have thought about writing this down sooner.

• Spiritual revelation and boldness!
• Lots of energy, very focused, skin is more radiant.
• I didn’t have any health “problems” before, but we are not diagnosed with a problem until it is chronic and advanced. You have seen it, I am sure, when someone is perfectly healthy and then… Well then they aren’t. My plan is to take action toward healing my body BEFORE a doctor tells me I am sick.
• I haven’t had any flus or colds, tis the season.
• I had a skin irritation of some sort on my left foot, that is gone.
• I weighed 140 when I started, I am 124 and have lost 10 inches as of this morning. My BMI is officially “normal.”
• I am overcoming emotional addictions to food, by simply fasting for 60 days and riding out everyday life without being able to HAVE food.
• I am sure my body could tell you more that I don’t even know about!

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Saggy drawers and smaller tummy. I am posting this only to motivate others who are merely thinking about juicing to give it a go. I came out to the living room the other day and Scott commented on how trim I was getting that my pants weren’t fitting any more and my tummy looked trim. He took a picture so that I would see the accomplishment and be encouraged to continue. It isn’t too “showy” and so I thought I would share it only to encourage others and win some juicers!
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FINISHING THE FEAST
So I am finished my juice feast. I have been eating again this last week. I eased my way back into food. Now I am in a battle of balance and over-indulgence. Which is exactly what I did not want to happen. I am taking a pro-active approach. I am going to continue juicing many times through the day. I am juicing about 3 – 16oz glasses now. I am working out an eating routine and schedule that will help me not over-eat and over-indulge. I want to eat a plant-based, whole food diet. I want to reduce my intake of all meats and dairy. I am looking into more recipes and books to help keep me motivated for change. I am excited to continue a healthy lifestyle. I am not exercising as much as I like and this must change! I want to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I want to work on strength training every other day 3-4 days a week. Fitting this into my schedule and making it a priority is the only way I will accomplish my goals. Happy juicing!