Monday, March 25, 2013

I'm Juicing!


After watching the documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Paul and I decided to start juicing.  And when I say "Paul and I" I really mean we decided that I would juice.  And Paul would support me.  And by support me I mean clean my juicer, sample my concoctions, get my produce and send me texts throughout the day of smiley faces and hearts, which actually is perfect because it turns out the juicer is no picnic to clean and I require lots of supportive texts.


So, I went to the computer, printed some recipes and headed off to the grocery.  After spending quite a bit of money on strange things that I have never eaten (fennel! mustard greens! kale!) I came home determined to do this.  We had a juicer that my mother-in-law gave us that had yet to be used, so once I figured out how to put the thing together I was ready to go!


Now, according to the Reboot with Joe website, whenever I am hungry I will drink a juice.  Between 4-6 per day.  And lots of water.  And that's it.  Did you hear me?  AND THAT'S IT.  So that is what I have done.

And I have to tell you, the first 4 days were bad.  Really, really bad.  I had headaches from the lack of caffeine, I was lethargic, I was hungry, I couldn't focus, I was grumpy, and there were some *ahem* gastrointestinal issues.  The documentary had warned me that this was going to happen, so I was prepared. Even so,  I could only think of food.  All.  The.  Time.

But, then it got better.  Day 5 there was no headache, I was beginning to lose weight, I survived a party where there was cake and pizza!  I didn't feel as grumpy, and I was sort of learning to be ok with being a little hungry sometimes.  Day 5 was also the day I broke the juicer.  Smoke was coming from it and the juice I made tasted like a burnt rubber tire.  Apparently in order to juice a sweet potato you have to have a pretty heavy duty juicer and mine just didn't cut it.  So, in the role of "supporter" Paul ran out to Walmart to get a juicer of at least 800 watts.  Except they didn't have any, nor the other Walmart, nor Target.  Finally he hit the jackpot at Kohl's!  So, I'm now the proud owner of a 900 watt non-masticating juicer.
Sweet Potato Juice that killed the Juicer #1

So, here I am at Day 7.  I feel great.  I'm still testing recipes.  I've lost 11(!) pounds.  I've started back on my treadmill again.  I'm wearing pants that I haven't been able to wear in a few months.  My goal is to juice for the next 40 days (in other words until May 4th.)  It's gonna be hard.


Work fridge with my juice supply!






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4 comments:

Toothy said...

There was a girl at work that was going to try this, but decided not too. I'm proud of you for sticking with it, I know I couldn't. FYI we have a juicer you can borrow if the one you bought ever breaks. It is a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Express.

mj said...

Yay you!!!! Great job - keep it up!

Sophia said...

Hey Natalie! I rediscovered your blog today via Facebook. :) I just watched the same film! My two big questions are: can you get enough fiber and protein through a juice-only diet and do you need to take any vitamins? It sounds like a fun experiment, but I'm nervous about those things!

Natalie said...

Hi Sophie! From reading stuff it seems that you can add protein powder or certain types of seeds to increase the fiber, but most things say that as long as you use plenty of veggies in your juices you will be fine. I've really felt great most of the time so far!