Keeping it off one month later!

     As always, check out all of my before and after pics under the links to the right!
     It has been a month since my 30 day juice fast ended and I am doing great. The scale did go up 5 pounds or so as my body adjusted to having solid food in it again. That was weight gain not actual fat gain. The weight of the food itself in my intestines made the scale rise.
     Now I have actually lost about 5 more pounds with healthy eating habits and some exercise. The juice fast truly taught me to focus on the nutritional value of foods. For example, when I eat a salad, I now eat nutrient rich spinach, instead of worthless lettuce.
     I work out nearly every day now to stay focused on my health. I feel great!
    
    

I take pictures of the scale with every weigh-in!

Day 29- Two Days Left!

     Fifteen pounds down, I am so excited to be finishing up soon. I am heading out in an hour or so to get the ingredients for my last large batch of juice to last me through today and tomorrow. I will weigh in one last time for my juice fast on Wednesday morning.  Look around at all of the categories to the right to see what this experience has been like day by day.
Now

Day 1 Side View

Day 28- Birthday party! EEK!

     I have lost 15 pounds so far in 28 days! As always, check my pics, journals and weigh-in records to the right!
     My daughter had her ninth birthday party today. I did awesome. I had a salad and a sliver of pizza. No sweets! I have gained a lot of self-control through this juice fast. I do have two more days left, but finishing should be easy. I have really enjoyed going through this. Even though I have mentioned cheating a couple of times, it has always been a tiny amount of food and with good reason.     
     Most people would think it is crazy to go without solid food for so long, spending the first 21 days with absolutely no cheating. It has been easy and I feel great! And with 15 pounds lost in less than a month, I feel I've accomplished something. The scale doesn't lie, and I took pictures of it all along. I have always been honest. Take a look around at my blog record as I finish out my fast, with only juice.

Day 27- Date Night!

     Well, since my hubby is starting TapOut XT on Monday and we don't go out on Sundays, we had to have our date night last night, instead of Wednesday. He refuses to eat out when he is on a fitness plan and I wanted to celebrate finishing up my juice fast. Anyway, I will still juice through Wednesday.     
     So, how was dinner? Well, all I have been craving for weeks is a guacamole salad- wierd, since all I juice are apples and salad ingredients. Anyway, I ordered chicken fajitas, which comes with a guacamole salad and the guacamole salad was awesome! The fajitas totally turned me off, however. Everything was swimming in oil, and the veggies were saturated with it. I just picked out the chicken and ate some chips and salsa.
     One thing that I have found out is, the more you juice, the more you appreciate the nutritional value of foods. Also, the more you are sensitive to how toxic bad foods make you feel. If it were possible to juice forever, I believe I would. It just has an awesome, clean feeling. Everytime I have cheated, which was extremely rare, I felt my body's reaction to the foods right away, no matter how small. It really helps develop a discipline against destructive eating habits.

Day 26- Another pound! What???

     I can't believe the weight is dropping so quickly here at the end. I did get a small haircut that could have affected Thursday's weigh-in, but this crazy. I actually had a couple of pinches of chicken and about 6 Ritz crackers yesterday- otherwise I have not been cheating. But I dropped another pound last night! Wierd! I have lost 15 pounds total on my 30 day juice fast. Amazing!

Day 25- Another half pound!

On Day 25 of my 30 day juice fast, I have lost 14 pounds total. Check out the computer version of my blog to easily access links to my journal entries, weigh-ins, pics, etc., that can't easily be seen on cell phones. I have kept a complete history, including juicing costs, and what you should be juicing for the most nutrients. Check it all out on my website to the right.

Day 24- Another pound! Honeymoon weight!

On Day 24 of my 30 day juice fast, I have lost a total of 13 1/2 pounds. That puts me at what I weighed on my honeymoon! Exciting!

Day 23- My clothes are too loose!

It is Day 23 of my 30 day juice fast. The last week! I went through my closet today to see how some of my clothes fit since I have lost weight. It was very motivating to see that some of my smaller jeans feel great now...and in less than a month. That's the best part. I have a pile of clothes ready to donate. No looking back!



Both of these shots were taken today. As you can see, some of my clothes are starting to fit like trash bags...especially in the butt. Clothes really do make all the difference!

Day 22- A plan to finish strong!

     As always, check out all of my photos to the right!
     Back on track today! After one day off of the 30 day fast, I am back at it for the last 8 days. It was a smooth transition. Juicing is always easy to start up. My head is clear and my mood is even. I am really excited about finishing my juice fast strong. I realize the weight loss has tapered off, but this will give me the added time I need to formulate an exit plan. A plan for diet and exercise combined, that is. Today went by so fast. I can't even believe I went 20 days without a meal! Sure I had one day of second thoughts, but this has been an accomplishment no matter how you look at it. Twelve pounds down in just over two weeks is awesome!

Day 21- Return to the fast! Got to finish the experiment!

     I have had awesome results! Check out all of my pics and weigh-in logs to the right!
After one day of eating food again, I realize that there is nothing interesting to blog about. After all, this is a juice FAST blog. All I can say about the last day or so is, after not eating solid food foor three weeks, you sure do get full fast!
     Yes, I decided to eat because the weight loss had slowed down to less than what a normal diet and exercise would help me lose; but now I really just want to finish the fast for the sake of the experiment. That is what this has been about all along anyway. My focus just got sidetracked.
     I guess I can't expect to lose the same as a 300 pound person, but I should finish it properly. I set out on this adventure to see exactly what a full 30 days would be like for a person my size, and I need to keep that focus. If the weight fizzles, so be it. That is what I am attempting to find out for my readers. With that said, I will finish out my last 8 days drinking ONLY the fresh green juice. Stay tuned! I will try and add more general juicing information and recipes as well.

Day 20- Another half pound!

     On day 20 of my 30 day juice fast, I have lost 12 1/2 pounds. This has, without a doubt, been the fastest weight loss I have ever experienced. A fresh juice fast is perfect for dropping weight quickly for an event, such as a wedding or reunion. It is also great way for morbidly obese people to gain their health back within as little as six months. The larger a person is, the more they will lose on a juice fast. Males seem to lose more as well.
     As a relatively small person, I was a bit overweight for my frame when I started this juice fast. Though I have lost a considerable amount of weight these last three weeks, the weight loss, as expected, has started to taper off. I admit, I didn't expect it to taper off so quickly. Other people of similar size on the Internet claimed to have lost 25 lbs. in 30 days. I realize that everyone gets different results, and I am EXTREMELY pleased with mine. However, now that I am losing a half pound every three or four days, it is time to start adding back some solid food.
     My body has obviously adjusted to the juicing, and I know that I can lose up to two pounds a week on numerous other diet and exercise plans. The question is, which one? Until I figure that out, I will juice all but one small meal a day and begin working out consistently.

Day 19- What's next after juicing?

Check out all of my Day 14 photos! I have had amazing results on my 30 day juice fast, but it's time to plan for Day 30. As my weight loss begins to slow down, I realize that my body is adjusting to the juicing and I need to start thinking about how I will transition into a healthy eating plan. There are just so many options, it's intimidating. Since diet and exercise must go hand-in-hand to fuel and shape the body, I guess I need to decide what type of foods I can live with first. Diet has always been my biggest challenge.  The reason juicing has been so enjoyable is it takes away that battle with food and self control. You can basically have all the juice you want, so self-control is never an issue. I am a bit nervous about the transition honestly. I am excited about joining the gym, but must come up with a healthy eating plan I can stick to.

Day 18- Juice on the go!

My daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed today, so, needless to say, my day was BUSY! To complicate things even further, I had just enough juice for the morning, and no time to juice more at home. On the way back from her surgery, I swung in the store for some Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness, out of desperation. Green Juices should always be the focus on a juice fast, because they usually contain the most nutrients. Pre-bottled juices, however, should only be used sparingly,  when juicing a fresh supply is not an option, due to time constraints. Fresh juices contain the most live nutrients, which the body absorbs quickly, with no additives.

Day 17- Another half pound!

Twelve pounds total on my 30 day juice fast!

Day 16- Another Pound!

It has been three days or so, since the scale has moved, but I finally lost another pound on the morning of Day 16 of my 30 day juice fast. That puts the total at 11 1/2 pounds! I really focused on drinking ENOUGH juice yesterday. I think that made a difference. Even if I didn't lose another pound, I am completely satisfied with my weight loss results in this short amount of time.

Day 15 Thoughts

I almost forgot to journal Day 14! Well, it's day 15 and I'm halfway there! Check out my Day 14 pics below, if you haven't already. I still feel the same-satisfied. There weren't any side effects during the fast so far, except for the detox headache on Day 2. It has really gone smoother than I ever imagined. I feel empowered and focused all around. I am looking forward to some light workouts this week. Since I'm not hungry, I forget at times that I need to drink the juice to fuel my body. In my experience with other programs, I don't lose if I don't take in enough calories. Always remember that the body is a machine with basic fuel needs. If you are feeling tired, you may need more.

Day 14 Thoughts

Well, I was completely satisfied with the pictures I took at the end of Day 13. It is amazing how much I have lost over the past two weeks. As my weight loss starts to taper off, I realize that a half pound a day is insanely fast for my frame, and that should be expected. I have to prepare to roll into eating solid, healthy food, without falling back into my old habits. When drinking the juice is getting a little boring, I'll have those pictures to refer back to.

Thoughts on Day 13...

It's the morning of day 13 and I have lost 10 1/2 pounds on my 30 day juice fast. So what's it like so far? Well, it has truly been easy overall. I drink all the fresh juice I want and the scale has dropped every single day except the morning after I did a light workout. That day it stayed the same because my muscles were slightly swollen. That day I was actually hungry for the first time, which was hard. It's like the workout just made me ravenous. That hasn't happened on the juice fast before.
    I plan to try to do some more 30 minute workouts, but if that happens again I won't work out for the last two weeks. You are only supposed to break a light sweat on a juice fast anyway. I just wanted to do some light toning with the rapid weight loss.
    I know what you're thinking...I had to cheat sometime, right? Well, in all honesty, in 12 days I have had 2 cashews, 5 pinches of crust off a pork loin, 3 Cheese Doodles Puffs, and 1 banana while I was up all night with my toddler having asthma attacks. My body was just extra drained that night and I had a lot of nausea from my nerves.
    I truly have not been hungry. It definitely gets old cooking for 5 other people all the time and watching them eat my favorite foods. It has been sooooo worth it, though. Like I say, I lost weight every day but one, and I feel great.

Day 12- Amazing Results!

Yesterday was my first day at the gym I joined. I did about 25 minutes on a stationary bike. I really took it easy since you are not supposed to work out hard on a juice fast. I expected to be a little swollen and knew it would affect the scale. Well, it didn't go up or down, so since my thighs are sore, I still technically lost, as usual. It is amazing that in a total of about three weeks, doing relatively no working out, I will still lose as much weight as I did on Beachbody's Insanity program in nine weeks. Now, I mean no insult to that program. Actually it is my favorite workout program and helped me lose 16 pounds in 9 weeks. I only bring it up to demonstrate just how powerful this juice fast is for weight loss.

Day 11- Still losing weight!

Well, I am a half pound away from ten pounds! YAY! I took some pics, posted them, compared them, then took them back off the blog. Since I am still overweight for a 5'4" frame, and relatively the same shape, the pics didn't convey how different my clothes feel. I don't think they would benefit readers at all, so we'll try that again later. My home Internet has been out, but I'll try to get a juicer demo on soon.