Jump To Day 55

Yes it has been a long time.  In between jury duty and storage training I have been actively avoiding people asking me about my diet.  I have even avoided answering phone calls from family.  How do you explain after awhile you just do not want to talk about food.  Now that I am approaching the end of this diet I feel so much better.  Today I am excited about going home and eating some noodle soup and broccoli.  From here on out it is a meal a day to get my stomach back in the habit of eating.  I started this last week and it has been a joy and a curse.  The joy is actually chewing something.  The curse is that your body is completely out of the habit of processing food.

I have also noticed that I do not like the taste of some things like I use to.  On Friday I had some beef for the first time in 2 months and I really did not enjoy it that much.  Chicken has a better taste but I have to say so far it is seafood that is the best to eat.  In my soups I will put some shrimp in or an egg and the taste is amazing.  I however am still juicing.  I do not think I will ever stop juicing.  It is almost like an elixir of life.  I feel great and if I do not feel like cooking in the future a little juice goes a long way.

Now I am trying to concentrate on eating going forward.  Fruits and veggies are a given but I need to work out what I like and what is easy to make for a life on the go.  Honestly we all have to start thinking about heart health and our own well being as we go into another stage of life.  If I could go vegan I would however I like my meats.  I may not do meat every day but I can see myself doing it once and awhile.

Day 34

I am about to head to the farmers market to get some items to continue my obsession with pickling and I am going to cook a tomato pie for people in the office on Friday.  I think this whole fasting thing has sparked an interest in cooking again.  The free time I have not eating has to be burned away somehow.

The big news on the diet front is that I am going to slowly reintroduce solids back into my diet.  The first plan was to do a meal a week until the end but I think I am just going to do that only if the meal is soup or a salad.  The past couple of days I have gone to the local health food store, staffed by hippies, and I have purchased organic tomato and garlic soup.  It is not very filling but I add a little heat to it and it will quite down the hunger. Outside of that I am buying dried peas or nuts to start having something solid on more of a regular basis.  My main meal is still juice but I do not want to go back into eating solids and eating too much.  Plus I do not want the shock to the system.  It is hard enough just eating dried peas.

Other than all of that it is all going well.  The weight loss is getting a bit more dramatic.  I can notice now what other people are telling me.  Now I have to turn up my cardio and get the body moving.

On the down side of the fast

So here I am finally with few days in front of me than days behind me.  Yes that makes me feel good and yes I like the weight loss but now I am thinking about more of a life change.  What happened was I watch this special on CNN about heart health.  Sure there is some amount of sensationalism but there was one statement that shook a nerve. "The combined knowledge of the medical profession could say at this moment if people were to follow the best minds in medical care we could very well see the last heart attack in our life."  What that statement means is not that we will never see heart problems again but we could right now end unnecessary heart surgery, end the $50 billion dollar a year bypass surgery and reduce heart related deaths to a small fraction of the population if everyone followed some simple advice.

Are we all going to follow the advice? No.  Am I going to follow the advice to the letter? No.  However I think it is time for a serious re-evaluation of my life and how I live it so I can go into the next step in my time on this earth with a little more wisdom and a chance to see another 30 years.  What does that mean?  A mostly vegetable and fruit diet.  Does that mean never eating meat again?  I don't think so but juicing for one month has given me a taste for fruits and veggies that I never had.  You may ask why I say this now.  Yesterday I rewarded myself with a bowl of Pho for 31 days of no solid meals.  It had bits of shrimp in it but mostly just broth and noodles.  Now this morning I am back to juicing but I have to say as good as the Pho was I do not think that I had to have it.

During this fast there is always the constant thought that I have to have the pizza or the burger but I think that is just because I have lived an entire life eating that way.  What about just eating a salad or a piece of fruit?  If just eating that not only gives me better health but my tastes now switch to liking that more then the benefits are too big to ignore.  Everyone always argues quantity over quality of life.  Maybe this is not a correct choice.  Maybe the question is how do you want to live and die?  The question is a little more open ended.  Maybe just maybe the answer is I want to live well.

Also go check out some Vibrams.  I actually like jogging in the morning.

Day 29 and 32 lbs gone.

So at the half way mark I am 32 lbs smaller.  I was thinking of working in a meal a week until day 60 but now I have a high on weight loss.  I will still try to get my meal but now I am all hyped about losing weight.  So now I need to turn up the exercise and focus on the juice.

Day 28

One more day to a mid course weigh in.  I was going to make a broth for myself tonight but I think I am just going to drink some OJ and maybe a little pineapple juice.  Last night the hunger pains hit bad around 9pm.  I wanted something so bad I stumbled into the kitchen and I forgot why I was there.  In the end I sucked on a couple of lemons and that killed the hunger pain.  If anyone has an idea to do this lemons, hot peppers or even just vinegar will help you with hunger pains.  Lemons are the best because you can get a little pulp to make to think you are taking something substantial down.

Today I added a sweet potato to my normal Mean Green juice.  I have to say I was surprised that the sweet potato juiced so well.  It also had a good taste all on its own.  I added some cinnamon and nutmeg to the juice and that gave it a good flavor.  I think to the end I am going to stay with a base of kale, spinach, carrots, celery and apples but from time to time add in something like a sweet potato, grapes, peppers, plums and various other things I can think of to change the taste.  I do have to say radishes are a big no no.  You can add radishes to more bitter drinks but anything that has a sweet flavor will be spoiled by a radish.

Tomorrow a weigh in.  Tonight I will try to tighten up my belt.  My pants are on the ground.

The Real 27th

OK today is actually the 27th day and tomorrow is the 28th so four weeks out the way.  I think I need to be drinking more milk because I need some fat in my diet.  Who would have known that we require fat for proper brain function.  Maybe that is why I seem a little spaced lately.  Tonight my task is to cut another hole in my belt so I can keep my pants off the floor.  That is a nice problem to have.

I do have to suggest to anyone trying this type of diet to find something to eat every once and awhile.  If it is just a piece of fruit or veggies.  The major problem with juice only is that you have these moment where you want to crash.  You can be flying high all day and then like I feel right now you just want to hit the floor and catch a few z's.  When I get home I think I am going to get me an energy drink.  That should pick me up and keep me going until bedtime.

Also I have noticed it is easier to relate to people in a social setting after being on day 27.  I can actually sit and watch people eat.  I can cheat by drinking some sweet tea.  I think I am going to keep pushing on no solid intake.  I should think of eating some noodle soup once a week but I will see how I feel about it.

Day 27 - Gee where did the time go?

Since the beginning of all of this I have had a two bowls of soup, a cup of beef broth, dry roasted seaweed, wet seaweed, and now four leaves of kimchi.  To my amazement I am not craving any food as long as I do not see it.  I went to get my juice at lunch and I saw some cold pizza in the work fridge.  Man I just wanted to grab it and run.  To fight the cravings a dried green pea or a peanut has been good.  Also that little amount of food is good to get some protein and some other mineral that my doctor was so concerned that I get.  To be honest I cannot eat much because my stomach feels like it has imploded on itself.

I have not weighed myself since the 10th day.  I plan to weigh myself again this Friday.  I am also thinking of doing one meal a week after Friday up until the last week where I will eat everyday but just melons.  I have been reading that eating melon is the best way to ease back into solid food.  Saturday is the halfway mark.  So far I am noticing that I will have to purchase more clothes.  I am on the last hole on my belt and all of my pants are falling down.  Now to keep off the weight.

Day 18 - Cheat Weekend is Over

So I had a scheduled cheat weekend because of a visitor from across the pond.  The cheat was three beers and a bowl of soup.  I needed the soup to counter the affects of the beer.  I think my head still hurts and the last beer I had was 8pm on Saturday.  This means it is going to be a low beer college football season.  Anyway back to the diet as I sit here getting ready for work drinking my Mean Green juice.  At some point today I am going to have to thank Aaron for the headache that seems to not want to go away.  I have not been keeping up with any changes in weight but I was able to get into a pair of shorts that I could not get into just a year ago.

So far juicing has been an overall positive.  I would say that I still do not recommend it to just anyone.  To be healthy you have to work in eating something at some point in time.  A scheduled cheat or just juicing twice a day and eating once may be a better plan.  The Asian food market has been a blessing for me because of seaweed and wasabi peas.  They help take the edge off while not giving you much solid food.  Plus I get my hit of protein and some fiber.  Well it being Monday it is back to the juice and trying to avoid social situations as much as possible.

Day 13 Pains

I have really not experienced the pain of hunger until about 3am this morning.  Even after morning juice the pain is sticking around.  What is weird about the pain is that I feel if I eat something I will just get sick.  I even do not want to stomach any juice but I am going to power down a bit in a moment.  This may be the wall that everyone talks about.  Yeah there is an initial hump but this make be the full on brick wall.  I feel that if I can get to the weekend everything will be fine.  There is no dizziness or a feeling of faint but there is a very nagging pain.  I think when I get home I am going to try to drink a small bit of milk to see if the pain goes away.  Drinking water helps ease the pain a bit.  It helps that the water is cold.  Oh well time to quit whining and tough it out.

12 Days

I started this thing out at 370 lbs.  Today I weighed myself after 12 days on this diet and I am at 353 lbs.  So almost a 20 lb drop.  Wow!  I also have to say that recently my skin feels better and I am much more aware of the world around me.  Maybe this detox thing actually has a valid point.  I have also been a little put off by anything sweet.  Even some fruits seem too sweet at times.  At one point I would squeeze two apples and now I can only tolerate one.  (Oh and by the way figi apples are the way to go.)

I also have to give my thanks to Dennis Heaton.  He has cleaned out his garden of good veggies for our consumption.

I have to say this has been a good idea so far.  Now to push the limits of my will power.  Yes I still have hunger pains but they are not near as bad as the first week.  I think the main thing is to keep focused.  Yes I still crave having that burger but I can get through the urge much more easily now.

Day 10

Hunger is an interesting drive.  I think now I have some understanding of addiction.  Now where hunger is a natural drive to help keep the body alive addiction is not but if the same neurons or similar brain functions that drive hunger also drive addiction I can understand now why the addict has such a difficult time quiting.  To say it has been easy not to eat really is an underestimation.  I miss everything about eating.  Chewing, having a full feeling, taste of various foods and on and on.  There is also a social aspect of eating that is better to just avoid when fasting.

So with that here I am at day 10.  To say I have not eaten anything is a bit of a lie.  I think going cold turkey would be physically dangerous.  However when I have had a chance to snatch a bite of something it has just been the fruits of veggies that I am cutting up to go in the juice.  The pure thrill of chewing something has kept me sane over the last 10 days.  Now that I have made 10 days I really think I can easily push another 10 and go on to 30.  Tomorrow I will weigh myself and I am going to talk over adding some solid food to this juicing thing.  Not that I am giving up but I think it would be healthy to include some intake of protein or fiber into everything just to keep from experiencing any health issues at the end.  My idea is to once a day eat seaweed.  Not an actual meal but maybe some dry roasted seaween, which taste like salty air and a cup of seaweed salad every now and then.  Most meals will however continue to be juice.

On the juicing front I have found that kelp and spinach are really good to juice but they immediately kill the taste of the juice and give it a smell.  The challenge has been to mask the smell and flavor of the greens.  Ginger, peppers, and even hot sauce have been a godsend.  I think the dog misses me cooking meat but she has started trimming herself because I am always up for going for a walk.

Next week the challenge is to keep juicing, work in a small about of seaweed and exercise.  Also I have to suggest to everyone to check out the book "In Defense of Food".  This fast has forced me to evaluate my eating all together.  Michael Pollan is a good fighter against the "nutristionist" society we have created in the US.  I am not saying he is without criticism.  I find this entire juicing/vegan/cleansing culture very suspect.  Pollan does a good job at arguing that food should not be a science experiment but we should rely on what got us through fifty thousand years of evolution.  Good read/audio.  This will go a long way into reworking what I do with my diet on the other side of the 60 days.

Day 6

Yes day six still going strong and besides being hungry I feel a bit loopy.  For some reason the Bee Gees are in my head along with Lady Gaga.  Now that is a weird combination.  As far as juicing going I now have begun for a change of flavors.  The first few days I was into a V8 like flavor with some hot sauce in it to counter the taste of beets.  Now I am into a sweeter more apple flavor.  It is weird that any flavor I can get is so refreshing.  To fight real hunger sucking on a lemon or drinking something with vinegar is very helpful.  Today I need to go to the store and I think I am going to get some banana peppers in vinegar because that taste kicks back the hunger pains.  Other than that I think getting along six days has been good.  I still want a steak though.

Day 4 The Daily Struggle

It is day 4 and I am struggling.  I think it is because it is almost lunch time and my mind is thinking about what to do for lunch.  Yeah I do have some juice to drink but even after that the feeling of needing something to eat is tough.  I went to get some water in the break room and this guy was heating up a sausage in the microwave.  I wanted to jack him of his food.  It would have been a hit and run.  This was much easier at home because I could focus on something else.  Later today I am going to go to the gym and go for a swim.  Time to burn the fat.  Oh well the struggle continues.  This one friend of Aaron's quit because he could not get past the hunger wall.  It will be interesting when I get there.

Day 3

I got fed up with the Master Cleanse so I am on to just juicing and boy do I feel better.  The Master Cleanse just sucks and I only did 2 days of it.  Just imagine it is a 10 plus day cleanse.  You need to be off work and have availability to a clean restroom.  No thank you no thank you.  The lemon drink is good the first few drinks but after that it sucks.  Give me juice.  On the juice my hunger is back but it is manageable.  The problem comes if I am watching TV or someone mentions food.  I was just thinking how nice it would be to smoke some ribs and some brisket.  Well I guess that will have to wait until October.  Juice Ho!

Master Cleanse.... no thank you.

So I begin day two with my shortened version of the Master Cleanse.  It is a 10 day diet and I have to say that just doing three is more than enough for me.  In a word: NASTY!!!  Oh yeah it flushes your system but you are not prepared for how it flushes your system.  I tell you what this does make me forget about the hunger pains because my lower intestines is just really angry with me right now.  OMG I cannot wait to just be on juice.

So It Begins

It is only 8:09 am and I already want to go get a breakfast sandwich.  This morning I had my salt water and a taste of the lemon mixture for the Master Cleanse diet.  My doctor hates this.  Her religion requires her to fast and she say she let's her mother do that for her.  Well might as well give it a shot.  The lemon mixture puts a bite on the simple hunger pains of your normal morning routine.  It will be interesting to see what happens when the real hunger pains hit.  That should be sometime tomorrow.  Right now I just keep liquids in my body and purge what can be purged.  I am really excited about starting with the veggie and the fruit juices on Monday.  Starting weight is 370 lbs.  To the brave good forturne.

T-Minus One Week Until The Start

Well so far I have my doctor's appointment on Monday to get the clear from my doctor and I have been making juices and starting a morning pattern to workout and juice.  Just drinking some of the juices and slowing down on solid food intake is starting to affect the plumbing.

Tonight I am going to take some before pictures which will be posted at my objection and working on some other juice combos.  A week away from the start and I am just afraid of how my body is going to react.  I admit I like my food and I am a proper southern boy that wants his big meals but I have to say taking in all these fruits and vegetables is really making my head clear up and I have so much energy already.  If what we eat affects us this much I do not know why more people don't at least try to drink juice or eat more veggies and fruits every day.

I did get some good advice to watch out for taking in too much fruit because you blood sugar will skyrocket.  That taken into account means I will use fruits to mask some of the flavor of green veggies that I have learned gives a really harsh taste to anything.

So goes the beginning of this journey.  To the brave good fortune.

Prep for the fast.

This is probably the craziest thing that I have decided to do.  In 7 months I plan to run the Tough Mudder here in GA.  That is going to be one grueling event.  To prepare for this I am starting a workout program to get my weight down and my stamina and strength up.  I have also decided to tackle what I put into my body.  Thus the juice fast idea was born thanks to my friend Aaron.

I bought the Omega J8005 juicer this week and I have been testing out different combos of fruits and veggies.  The little I have done has added to my energy and alertness.  This is going to be tough because I will admit it, I love food.  So here this journey begins.