Day 9

Wow...9 days. I'm shocked I am here.  We are about to go to costco and do another large haul.  We bought some little additions along the way but this will be our first big trip since day zero.  I am sitting here writing this while smelling my brother's breakfast of waffles.  I can't say that I don't want to punch something, but I will say I was doing just fine til he woke up.  I'm quickly writing this so I can go down a glass of juice.  I'm fine once I have some again.  We have been adding 1 tablespoon of chia seeds to a little water in between one meal a day, and also adding 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed to a juice per day.  I couldn't remember if I had mentioned that before.  My mom and I don't know when our end day is, we are still taking it one day at a time.  If I am correct, Lanae is beginning her next 5 day juice fast tomorrow.  She is doing 5 on 5 off I believe.  Hopefully she will post about that later. Anyway, I have to go down some juice before I go eat the toaster. 

Day 8: 11 pounds down

Today was weigh in day.  I'm down 11, Mom is down 9.5.  She is much smaller than I am and I was surprised she lost so much as well.  We know this is lots of water weight included, but still, I needed that after the crap that was yesterday.  Now that I am consistently smelling things (after 6+ weeks of super congestion), I realize the juices I have had zero problems with tasting...smell pretty bad.  This must be why Mom hasn't liked them as much as I have...cause they reek.  So advice to new juicers- pinch your nose, juice tastes good but smells like rotting flesh sometimes.  Here is a peppy picture of my mother juicing.  You notice there is not a peppy picture of myself juicing.  That's cause I'm a fatty, and in true fatty form, I hate pictures.

~Jacquelyn

F@%$ Day 7

This was absolutely my worst day yet.  I had to work again, which probably made it worse than if I just stayed home in my protective fruit and veggie cocoon.  What is that picture?  Oh, thats my juice at work, where I serve good greasy food.  What is that next to it?  You tell me.  I came back to have more juice and there it was, taunting me.  Every waking minute I was thinking about food.  Again, I have to admit it is not that I am dying to throw whole fruit and veggies in just to chew...I want steaks and mashed potatoes and burgers and pizza.  I'm not even a big fan of pizza, but I want it.  Ugh.  I had to white knuckle the steering wheel the whole way home to keep from pulling off and getting food somewhere.  If I didn't have my mom waiting at home, all happy from juicing, I would not have made it.  That guilt was enough...for today....

Day 6: Cauliflower juice smells like poop

....but it didn't ruin my juice so I'll let cauliflower live.  Today I had to brave going to the store and only buying more fruits and veggies.  I told my mom we had to hurry up and get the hell out of there cause I wanted to rub up on all things yummy.  I struggled with hunger today for the first time.  I'm going to add more juice to my day tomorrow to help out, definitely want to listen to my body.  Speaking of, Lanae told me she was going to introduce solids back into her diet today.  She feels like she needs more and she is breast feeding so she definitely needs to listen to her body.  If I didn't have my mom to keep juicing with me I think my motivation would have plummeted, which is interesting because I really feel this is an independent, soul searching type of journey that you fight your demons in.  I guess knowing someone else is fighting theirs helps.  I'll have to update this later with the pictures and recipes from today's juice fest.  I am just too lazy right now.  On to day 7...

Day 5

Today I had to go to work and serve delicious, fatty restaurant food to people and opt to NOT eat it as well.  I cannot explain how difficult it is to see and smell good greasy food and stay on track.  Somehow, I managed but I am dreading my next shift.  I will say that I do not feel more restricted from juicing than I do from any other diet type thing I have done.  I don't have an inherent desire to chew something like some others seem to when they juice.  I just want to eat the same fatty things that got me fat.  So that doesn't count against the juicing...its not the fast's fault that I'm moo moo mooing all the way home.  I have still been pretty satisfied, and I have been drinking the low end amount of juice.  I could up my meals two more servings if things get rough.  Lanae said she was struggling a little more today, and was really craving some healthy protein solids.  I had dirty dreams about food again but, hey, day five is over now.

This is a picture of how much juice comes from 12oz of spinach...not much


~Jacquelyn

Day 4: The Curious Case of the Furry Tongue

before running and brushing

I just got off the phone with Lanae and I had been telling her than my tongue felt like I just ate too much pineapple.  That weird feeling that isn't quite any of these.. but resembles: numbness, a very faint stinging, and it just feels thick.  Some google searches later and I find out that a white and coated tongue is common in initial stages of juice fasting. I immediately jumped up and looked in the mirror and there it was.  A disgusting white and furry tongue.

After some more research I find out that it is the result of excess protein secretions that bacteria have giant orgy love affairs with...in my mouth.  I now sit here writing this post with a sore tongue from scrubbing too long and hard with my toothbrush and rinsing with mouthwash.  Twice. Now I would like to note that I brushed my teeth this morning, and I brush my tongue when I do so, so that build up was from only a half of a day.  According to http://www.izocleanse.com/article/different-juice-fasting-stages-detoxification, "headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger can be the most intense in this period unless the enema is used which quickly assists the body into the fasting state by ending digestion in the colon."  If you are considering a juice fast, that enema idea may not be as bad as it sounds....

after furiously scrubbing

So now that I was the last to know about furry tongue, I looked up what other surprises may be lurking.  Second half of week one and the following is (allegedly) supposed to happen:

"Fats, composed of transformed fatty acids, are broken down to release glycerol from the gliceride molecules and are converted to glucose. The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem-free skin may have a few days of pimples or even a boil. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. Ketones are formed by the incomplete oxidation of fats. It is suspected that the ketones in the blood suppress the appetite by affecting the food-satiety center in the hypothalamus. You may feel hungry for the first few days of the fast. This effect is temporary. The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may last 40 to 60 days, depending on whether you are on water or juice.
The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases. You may feel pain in your lungs. The cleansing organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and impacted feces on the intestinal wall."

After 10 days or so...."the body's healing process is at optimum efficiency. As the body scours for dead or damaged tissue, the lymphocytes enter the older, damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a reoccurrence of aches from previously injured areas that may have disappeared years earlier. The pain is good as the body is completing the healing process. The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected, as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth. Daily gargling with salt and water will prevent or heal cankers."  All that sounds cool.  Get me there.

I've had mucus issues since Thanksgiving resulting in bronchitis and a sinus infection that laughed at more than one antibiotic prescription.  I can say that I have been able to breathe through my nose for the first time in over 6 weeks since I have started juicing.  That could be coincidence with my body just finally getting better or a benefit of juicing, I don't know.  I am not 100% clear by any means but I am able to smell things occasionally which is a novel feeling at this point.

Speaking of smelling, mom says she does.  Must be those "rancid oils" oozing out of her pores. For all I know, I smell too, considering the only smells I have noticed are very fragrant...like onions.  And my brother's damn fried chicken strips baking in the oven.  Anywho, she said even after she showered she said she still smells...off.  Apparently this is all normal  and means our bodies are cleansing.  So yay for furry tongues and body odor!  Errrr...yeah?

~Jacquelyn

Day 4

The caffeine withdrawals all happened day 1 and they weren't that bad.  I was expecting them to get miserable day 2. But nope!  Nothing day 2! The hardest part of the day for me has been mid-day around 4ish, which is surprising because on every other type of food restriction I've ever done, my x-rated food fantasies were at night before bed.

Going strong!

~Lanae

Day 4: Fear Factor Juice

So I was looking at juicing recipes for the giant juice making day ahead and came across some that were for beginning juicers as far as being veggie heavy but still yummy.  We had lots of carrots and romaine lettuce and those were the only two ingredients listed for one of the recipes.  Cool!  Carrots juice is awesome right?  And I haven't really been tasting the leafy greens in my juices; its the cucumbers and celery to watch out for.  Anyway, a bunch of carrots and romaine later and my mom and I go to try it... and its AWFUL.  Like, spit out the extra saliva in your mouth after tasting it, awful.  We sat there staring at each other with no idea how to make this shit show any better without adding a million fruits.  Mom suggested some cucumber, cause even though she hates the flavor of cucumber, she would rather taste that than the mutant juice we just had.  I replied "no joke, that juice should be on fear factor."  So that's where the name came from.  Now the juice inst so bad and we only added some pineapple and one lime...for 32 ounces of juice, that's not bad.

~Jacquelyn

Day 3 came and went easy

I'm still having X-rated thoughts about good ol' greasy food at night but that would be happening no matter what restrictions I put on myself.  The juicing itself really isnt a problem and I am not having the terrible week of symptoms that I thought I would. I am not naive enough to think the hard part is over, but so far, so good.

~Jacquelyn

Day 2

While I opted to lay around in bed most of the day, today really wasn't all that bad.  It is the end of the night now and its the first time I have dealt with hunger pain that did not go away within a couple of minutes.  So far, my mom and I have both noticed we feel hungry right after our juice, more than we did right before the juice.  Pretty sure that is still just phantom hunger pains trying to lure me down the path of evil.  My mother's headache from yesterday cleared up and she hopes she is through the caffeine detox.  We find ourselves craving a more "savory" taste and plan to experiment with spicy vegetables and less fruit.  I will say that I am surprised at how green my juices are (in both color and ingredients) and how I am not having an issue with taste.  My mom and I seem to have opposite preferences, as I gravitate toward the green tasting juices and my mom likes the sweeter juices.  I've just never been too much of a sweets person, maybe that has something to do with our taste preferences.  Who knows. Yesterday, we juiced enough for 6 servings for two days.  However, on both days we ended up only drinking 4, so we actually have a third day ahead of us without juicing.  Thank goodness because I wasn't ready to get up and juice all damn day again.  We plan to go see a movie tomorrow and take some juice in.  I want to take a picture of my face tomorrow because I keep forgetting and want to see if there are noticeable changes after the fast.  My skin has been crap lately.
My hunger pains are getting crazy so I'm gonna run and try to put myself to sleep immediately before the demons take over.

~Jacquelyn

Day 1 (cont): Whew!

All the juices we made today.  The doubles of each batch are not shown.  I should take a picture of the fridge after a two day juicing hurricane blew through, its shocking how much is gone already.  A couple of these had prettier colors when we followed a recipe, but every time we came up short on ounces, so my filler for everything was always "mo spinach!  mo kale!"  This prep took forever, but my mom and I don't have to juice at all tomorrow or for breakfast the next day.  As far as how I feel, its 7pm and I have been hungry today.  However, I will say I seem to feel the most hungry five minutes after my juice.  We call these phantom hunger pains, cause they are bullshit.  Other than that we pee every five minutes and mom has had a headache, probably from no coffee.

~Jacquelyn

Hungry

I've been psychologically hungry all day but its been bearable.  It's 1:47 and now I'm starving. Fml

-Lanae

Day 1- breakfast

Our first juice! We started to follow a recipe we found, except when we tried it both of us looked at each other in shock with puckered faces as two lemons somehow overpowered half a costco bag of greens, carrots, celery, and cucumbers. So we ended up modifying it quite a bit. We made a 32 oz batch, enough for two meals for each of us. We want to juice every other day so the plan is to stock mason jars in the fridge. Each jar is 32oz (two servings) and we are filling them to the very top to avoid as much oxidation as possible. I took a close up of our pulp. My mom used to have a centrifugal juicer and this time she wanted to try a masticating one, and she said she noticed a big difference in how dry the pulp was. Anyway, I have the juicer out in the 18 degree weather right now cooling between batches cause that mofo got hot after making 8 servings.


RECIPE (4 16oz servings)
4 celery stalks
8 carrots
1 english cucumber
6 apples (red & green)
2 lemons
buncha hands of greens (kale, chard, spinach)...1/3-1/2 of a costco        mixed bag

~Jacquelyn

Insomnia, and Heartburn, and Migraines, Oh My!

It is now 6:19 am and I have been awake since 3 am. This is not the way I wanted to start day 1. I woke with a migraine which, unfortunately, has been happening more often as of late because I have eating terribly. The last month or so I have been focusing on eating a more plant based diet. However, we were broke this last week and knew we would be juicing once a paycheck came so we got "rid" of all the leftover junk... by inhaling it. This quickly lead to me popping my old favorite vitamins: Tums and Excedrine. Ugh. This is a picture of my nightstand this morning.There was a pile of 6 Tums there last night.  We won't mention the elephant on the table...
I have read over and over that the first few days of juicing are awful due to the sudden initial detox. I have also read that decreasing meat and sugar intake the week before a juice fast really helps to mitigate the trouble of those first few days. I had already done that while just making efforts to be healthier... of course until the week before I actually start. I feel like shit. I don't like to use foul language in public forums, but there is no proper way to get around that. I have treated my body like shit, and now I feel the shit. I guess the silver lining in this is if I already feel awful, detoxing may feel normal. Then again, the pizza, doughnut, Reeses, sourdough toast, butter, jelly, and cereal l had yesterday may have the last laugh at that point. That's right, I had zero nutrition yesterday and today I'm promising to drown my body in nutrients and begging forgiveness. Hmm. I must be from 'Murica.

Its 6 am, I'm hungry already for no reason, and today sucks.

Bhahahaha jacquelyn just said she's "afraid to go to bed."

I couldn't agree more.


---lanae

A recent me...

---Lanae

My biggest fear and insecurity in achieving this is not having coffee. I'll be dead. I'll just die. If I can even fathom a worse pain than depriving myself of food for 10 days, it would be depriving myself of coffee for any day. Please higher power out there...please please give me strength.

-Lanae

Whenever "can't" is thought, "won't" is inevitable.

Its night before launch and I'm on Netflix watching some healthy food documentaries to help with my mindset. I had to pause and post something immediately because I found it to be so resonating.  Lanae and I are both terrified to begin this journey.  My mother is also starting with us.  The three of us are trembling little lambs for the slaughter, or so it feels like.  Here I am dreading the first few days because I know there will be ramifications for my horrible actions that promise vengeance in the form of detoxing.  My mind has been focused on what I won't be able to have and how difficult that will be and I haven't even started!  The documentary pegged me perfectly.  I have been planning on thinking "I want that but I can't have it."  Here is the beautiful part: it should be "I can have it but I don't want it."  Yeah thats simple and so seemingly obvious, but lets be real, so is eating healthy and I'm certainly in good company being a fatty in America.

I am still sitting here in fear of this journey, but cognitive patterns aren't changed overnight.  I don't live by a "can't have" mindset in any other arena in my life.  I can do whatever the hell I want to do and I am capable of anything when I set my mind to it.  Thats my lease on life, I have choices and those choices define me.  Its time to merge me with the fatty me.  Its time for fatty to go, that bitch ruins everything.

~Jacquelyn

Fridge full o' skinny

Well, there goes a paycheck.  Its no secret, juicing is expensive.  However, for me, being a fatty is more expensive.  I am a high class fatty.  I'm not fat cause I am so broke I have to eat top ramen and other nutrient empty foods.  I eat what I want, when I want it.  The more extravagant and fatty the better. So buying this much produce from mostly Costco isn't the end of the world.  Know what is expensive? Eating out!  Even more expensive will be the five stents I will need to open arteries after my third myocardial infarction.  So yes.  I'm serious. As a heart attack.

For those in the household not juicing, I kicked the non vegetation items out to the refrigerator in the garage and they are on their own for making meals.  I'm lucky that I'm in a situation to do that. This juice fast is drug rehab.  I want to treat it like such.  Oh good golly, less than 24 hours away now.  Help.

~Jacquelyn

JANUARY 18, 2014. Diet begins tomorrow. Here is my first batch....

I'm Lanae and I'm a transient fatty

Being a transient fatty means I sometimes find skinniness to be happiness and sometimes choose fried chicken to be happiness. Apparently my happiness since my daughter was born 6 months ago has been my beautiful baby girl and fried chicken. But I'm donesky, meng. Ready for my happy place to be SkinnyLand again. And after I jump start my adventure with an excruciating 10-day juice detox, I plan to sporadically do 3 days juice detoxes every 3 months or so for a kick in the butt. I actually know a whole lot about nutrition. I just lack the will power to use it at times. Furthermore, I just graduated nursing school, just became an RN, licensed to save lives, and I'm on the verge of finding a job and beginning my lifelong and rewarding nursing career.....and I want to start it out right; healthy and happy.

Im Jacquelyn, and I'm a fatty

Being fat sucks.  For me at least.  No offense to those out there that are large, in charge, and loving life.  But if there is one thing I can accept, it is the fact that will never be me.  I'm tired of having blowouts in my jeans on my inner thighs.  I would like to be able to take a bath without becoming a human dam in the tub.  It would be wonderful to not leave whatever I forgot upstairs because I would have to actually climb said stairs to retrieve it.  So, down with fatties.  Or, at least, this fatty needs to get down.  Enter the juicer.  The box arrived today and I have been too afraid to open it.  Just the picture strikes enough fear into my heart that I feel like I am looking Freddy Krueger in the face.  Juice fasting sounds like the single most inspired idea I have ever had, and the most asinine, far fetched joke invented, at the same time.  Luckily my best friend is just as idiotic and brilliant as I am and we can suffer together.  Go team.