Day 71 - TADA!!!

Well, I did it!!  I survived 70 days and to be perfectly honest, today was almost anti-climatic.  I expected to feel this huge relief, but it was more like sadness to see it end.  It's nice to know that juicing will always be there for me when I need to go back to it for a little tune-up here and there.

My final results are as follows:

Total weight lost - 46 pounds
Total Inches lost - 57.75
Inches lost per body part:
Upper arms - 2.5 inches each
Bust - 7 inches
Waist - 10 inches
Abs - 13 inches (!!)
Hips - 8.50
Thighs - 4.25 each
Calves - 2.75 each

How incredible is it, that all of this is just from juicing?!  I feel so blessed and thankful to have found it and I know that if I ever get off track again or find my weight creeping back up, I can return to fasting and know that it will be the best thing I can do for my body.

I will be back periodically to post about my progress and my post-fast life.  Thank you all for the support & love and keep your eyes on the Savior!

P.S.  Here are my final photos!

Day 66 - Really?! How is that possible?

I can't believe there are only 4 days left of this fast.  I remember in the beginning thinking that I wished I could just wake up and be on day 70.  Now it's right around the corner and a small part of me wished it wasn't ending.  Just a small part...I really do miss food.  So many people say that they miss chewing, but not me.  I miss the taste, the texture, the smells, and especially cooking a meal I know that I actually will get to consume.  But, at the same time, I'm a little worried that I will just look at a tomato and it will jump onto my thighs like spackle.  Juicing is so easy...you don't really have to think about what to eat, you just juice.

In the past 70 days I have kept up with cooking for my family.  It hasn't been easy, and I must confess to a little bit of resentment from time to time (No fair!  Why do you get to eat and I don't?!  Oh wait, this torture was self-imposed...that's right....) as I watched them eat tacos, bacon, pizza, homemade chili and the list goes on...

This all made me realize that food addiction is a very real thing in my life, and that once I am done with this fast, I'm going to have to continue to lay it at the foot of the cross and trust in Jesus to carry my burden.  I still have dreams of gorging myself on food (and not lovely little salads or fruit platters either) all the time, and I wake up terrified that my life will resort to the same old thing...and that I will regain all the weight and lose my good health.  Then I remind myself that fear does not come from God - His word says that He has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.  Ooooh...did you see that last part?  Self-Discipline?!  Now there's something to ponder.  He's already given me that gift, now I just have to use it.

I do enjoy cooking tremendously, which is why I continued to cook for my family - in spite of the fact that my husband is an excellent cook and perfectly willing to do it.  I enjoy the whole process, beginning to end, and I didn't want to give that up.  I've collected 135 pages of vegetarian, vegan, and raw plant-based recipes that I can't wait to print out and cook up!  I'm hoping that my family will slowly transition into this healthier lifestyle as well.

A few people have asked me what my plan is to maintain the weight loss after my fast.  So here's the plan in a nutshell:

1.  Replace one meal a day with juice.
2.  Fast one entire day a week (juices only).
3.  Practice a mostly vegetarian lifestyle, with a mix of cooked and raw veggies & fruit.
4.  Allow myself one "cheat" meal a week, so I don't obsess (anyone who knows me well, knows for a fact that at least for the first month, that meal will be Mexican in nature and most likely nachos!!).
5.  Watch my scale like a hawk (I still won't weigh in more than once a week) and if the weight goes up, re-evaluate the plan.

I am basically just going to listen to what my body tells me.  If this is making me feel sick in any way, or sluggish/lethargic, bloated, etc., then I will change things around again until I do feel better.  I know that a lot of people go vegan, or raw food, after a fast but I don't think that's something I want to do just yet.  Again, I will see how I feel and go from there.  I just really do love my cheese!  I think I can live without other animal proteins, but I think a life without cheese would just totally bum me out :)

My first 2 meals are planned out!  My entire first week will be 2 juices a day, with a fruit or vegetable meal.  So for Monday night I plan to have an avocado (if I can even finish a whole one at this point) with some salsa on top.  Tuesday night my sister Sara (who by the way has also lost an incredible amount of weight & size from juicing right alongside of me), and a dear friend Carol, are going to get together and make some spring rolls at my house.  I'm so excited to do this!  Food and fellowship with two of my sisters in Christ - it's going to be amazing!

On a final note, I did a little shopping the other day and found that I am fitting into a size 6.  How crazy is that?!  In the space of 2 months, I went from a 14/16 to a size 6.  And unlike crash diets, I actually felt good doing it, drew closer to Jesus, made a ton of really amazing juicy friends, and have enough energy for 6 people!  Praise God!

I will post again in a couple days - blessings to each and every one of you!

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.  All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Ephesians 1:2-4

Day 63 - the finish line is in sight!!

First off I do apologize for letting so many days go by without posting, not sure how all this time got away from me and I'm really not sure how people find the time, energy, and words to post blogs every day.  It amazes me!

So, here's the latest update on my weight loss & inches...I am down 45 pounds and 52.75 inches overall.  Pretty crazy right?  Here is a few before and after photos (even tho I'm not quite done yet, I just couldn't wait) that my beautiful daughter took for me:

I have 7 days left before I break my fast, and the thoughts of food (any kind, all kinds, healthy & not so healthy) have invaded my brain and are refusing to let up!!  I am really struggling at this point to not put food in my mouth, but I've come so far that I really hate to give in so close to the end.  I hear that it's pretty common to deal with this near the end of a fast.

I'm learning that the temptations I've felt over the last 63 days have spiritual applications for me as well.  If I can resist the urge to eat when I am surrounded on all sides (and just in the last three nights, I've faced pepperoni pizza, tacos, and homemade blueberry pie!!) every day for 70 days, then I can resist all of the things the enemy throws at me.  If I can just remember that later on down the line, when the going gets rough, I'll be ok.  

God has been so good to me (well, DUH, right?) the last couple of months.  I started out very hopeful that I could make it the full 70 days, scared and worried I would really miss food.  But I've learned that all I really need is Him.  And that He will provide all that I need.  He blessed me with a huge support group on Facebook - where I've made a ton of new juicy friends - (plus some great friends at church and my sister too!) and enough produce (which is huge because our family really struggles financially), and the strength that I needed to do this.  Jesus has never in my life let me down.  I hope that you know Him and that you know how much He loves you too!

I will check in one more time before the end of my fast and tell you the final results afterward.  In the meantime, here is a list of tips (many of which you've already read during the course of my fast) that I put together to help some new juicers I met online.  I hope it helps and again, if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

May the peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be found in you hearts today my friends!  Until next time.....

Tips of the Day!

1. If you haven't started fasting yet, build up to it by slowly cutting out the bad stuff (processed food, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, fat) and start adding in more fruits and veggies. Replace one meal a day with juice for a week, and then 2 meals a day for another week. I had NO detox symptoms at all when I did it this way.

2. Make sure you are drinking enough juice. I drink a gallon a day - 32 ounces for breakfast lunch and dinner. And one gallon of water a day as well.

3. Try to only drink fruit juices in the morning so you have the whole day to burn off the sugar.

4. I do enemas once a week (coffee enemas) and I take Cascara Segrada (you can get it at Walmart for $7-8/bottle) and that keeps things "moving" along.

5. If you get hungry, make more juice!

6. Learn to recognize the difference between hunger and cravings. If you have cravings, do something to distract yourself - go for a walk, write to a friend, take a bubble bath, whatever.

7. Try not to watch too much tv or movies. They are loaded with scenes of people eating & junk food commercials!

8. Journal or start a blog. It helps to talk things out - 99% of this thing is mental!!

9. Surround yourself with people who will be supportive. I actually promised my kids $1 for every pound they helped me lose (I'm going broke!).

10. Make a list of all the reasons you are doing this. It should be at least 10 items long - I think I have 25. Then when you feel like you are going to cave or give in, refer back to the list. It helps to remember all the reasons you are doing it, instead of focusing on what you are depriving yourself of.

11. Weigh yourself no more than once a week - otherwise you are going to feel let down on the days you don't lose, or don't lose what you thought you should have. And keep track of your loss in other ways like how your clothes fit or how many inches you've lost.

12. Watch as many food documentaries as you can (not the chef-cooking-a-gourmet-meal kind either! The kind that educates you on how food works in your body to heal or destroy, and how food is manufactured, grown and/or processed in this country). They are so motivational and you will learn how to eat when you are done with your fast.

13. Make a plan NOW for how you will transition out of your fast. There's lots of info on the net about this - the last thing you want to do is run out and grab a burger the day you get done. You can make yourself seriously sick if you aren't careful.

14. Enjoy the process! This is time you have set aside for yourself, to heal your body, and treat it to all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it can hold! You deserve it and try to think of it as a treat instead of a chore.

Day 38 - Feeling great!

Sorry for the long delay between posts - life is crazy sometimes!

It seems like every time I sat down to write something in the last week, I would get distracted by something else.  Well, today the weather is awful and I don't want to go out, and I have no plans til the end of the day.  So here I am!

I have some news to share - on day 35 I took my "halfway" point photos and lined 'em up next to my "before" photos.  Pretty insane stuff.  I've heard everything from 'You look like a totally different person!' to 'You looked 10 years younger' to my all-time favorite from my oldest son, 'That looks like Mom and the woman who ate Mom.'  Ha!  (Photos will be posted at the bottom of this message)

It's pretty exciting to know that I have made this much progress and I'm only half way done!  My big dream is to make it to 145 pounds (and to live pain-free, walking closer than ever with Jesus) by the end of this journey.  At my last weigh in, I was down to 162 pounds.  So, it is possible!

I'm feeling a heaviness in my spirit today, however, and all I want to do today is hide under the covers and cry.  There is a lot of negative stuff happening in my life right now - and it would be so easy to focus on that and feel sorry for myself.  We have been dealing with health issues, financial issues, and now some spiritual stuff that is weighing me down...  But today I choose to settle in with my Lord and focus on Him.  I'm going to just close my door, open my bible, and soak in His presence.  It's what my spirit is craving.

With that, I'm going to draw this to a close - I have a divine appointment to keep!  Blessings to each of you in the name of Yahweh.

Day 31 - more inches lost!

I don't know how else to say this, but this juicing thing has really changed my life!!

Here I am on day 31 and I measured myself again yesterday - guess what!  I'm down 43.5 inches!!  That's nearly 4 feet of Mara gone forever!!  I still look in the mirror and see a heavy person, but everyone else around me assures me that I look much smaller.  I hope that my mind catches up with my body at some point.

On Monday at my ladies book club, that I attend through my church, I had asked for prayer because all of my clothes were too big and I had no money to buy new ones.  Then on Wednesday, a dear sister in Christ, gave me 2 big bags of clothes - all size 10 I might add - that fit me perfectly!  God is so good and He cares about every single aspect of our lives!  I am so excited by this!

I'm not weighing myself too often these days, because at this point the weight loss has slowed down and I don't want to get discouraged when everything else has gone so well.  I sleep like the dead now, way better than I ever did when I was on sleeping pills.  On the few occasions I feel like I need a nap, I will lay down for 15-20 minutes and feel totally refreshed.  And this girl used to take a 3 hour nap every single day just to function!

I'm feeling pretty darn energetic most times too.  I find that most days I am up by 6:30 a.m. getting a lot of stuff done and by 8:00 p.m. I'm sound asleep.  It's like living in another parallel universe sometimes - this is what the old me looked like:

9:00 a.m. Drag my sorry butt out of bed
9:05 a.m. Drink large cup of coffee and still feel exhausted
10:00 a.m. Huge breakfast with eggs, lots of cheese, toast, more coffee
10:30 a.m.  Try desperately to stay awake until 11:00 so I can take a nap
10:45-11:00 a.m. Finally take a nap
2:00 p.m.  Embarrassed I slept half the day away, I get up and make lunch
2:45 p.m.  Can I take another nap?
3:30 p.m.  Kids are home from school and dad is on his way, scramble around to clean the house
4:00 p.m.  Dad is home - try to look like you actually did something today
5:30 p.m.  Make dinner for everyone (although most of the time hubby cooks, he is better at it)
7:30 p.m.  Get back in bed and watch tv for 3 or 4 hours
11:30 p.m.  Toss & turn most of the night until I eventually fall asleep sometime around 2:00 a.m.

Yeah, I'm exhausted just reading this!  I can look back at this point and remember how lethargic, depressed and hopeless I felt.  This wasn't a life, what I have now is!

I hope by now you are joining me in this fast.  It has really, truly been a total blessing to me and it isn't over yet!  I have another 39 days to go.  Oh, did I mention that I am doing 70 days instead of 60?  Well there you have it.

I pray that you will feel surrounded today by the Lover of your soul, Jesus Christ!  Until next time....

Tip of the Day:

Wheatgrass is exceptionally helpful in cleansing the lymph system, removing toxic metals from the cells, nourishing the liver and kidneys, and restoring vitality.  A 2 ounce shot of wheatgrass has the same nutritional value as 5 pounds of vegetables!  If you can get a shot at your juice bar, I highly recommend it.  For you newbies, try it mixed with a little apple juice.  The taste can be quite strong.

Day 24 - Still going strong!

God is good all the time!  And all the time, God is good!

Hello my little juice-lings!  Sorry for the delay since my last post but it has been such smooth sailing that I haven't really had a whole lot to report.

These are my stats for now:

24 days of juice and not one single cheat or bite of food!

Down 18 pounds as of my last weigh in

Clear, beautiful skin

Tons of sleep

Lots of energy

And 8 people in my own little circle of friends & family that are juicing right alongside of me!!

So things are going so exceptionally well that I don't even feel like I'm doing a fast any more.  It's seeming more like a way of life for me.  I do miss food from time to time, but in general I'm pretty darn content.  My husband is so supportive that he's telling everyone what I'm doing and bragging on me.  I'm not hungry all the time any more, that's totally passed.  The only time I get hungry is if I forget to make a juice.  The cravings still come and go, but I've gotten a handle on them and have spent some time finding healthier versions of the food that I crave, so when I get done I can make them.

Which brings up another point.  I am looking to the future and planning how I will transition out of the fast.  This is the part where a lot of people blow it.  You spend X amount of days fantasizing about food, and then when you finally get to eat you totally end up undoing all the good work you've accomplished!  I absolutely refuse to do that.

Listen, there are TONS of free resources online for plant-based, and raw food, recipes and I'm taking advantage of that!  I made a folder on my desktop called "After the Fast" and I've been collecting articles and recipes for healthy living.  I do NOT want to go back to where I came from.  The old me was tired, sluggish, depressed and obsessed with food.  The new me sees so much more potential for this life and for what God has called me to do and be.

Jesus has been right here with me the whole time.  He reminds me that He is the giver of all good things - and that includes food.  He has given us so many varieties of fruits and vegetables to keep us vibrant and help us to live more abundantly.  And for that I turn back and praise Him!

I will be back in a few more days to check in with you.  In the meantime, feel free to post your questions and I will do my best to answer them.  I pray that the Lord will heap huge blessings upon each of you today in the name of Jesus!

Tip of the Day:

Juicing leafy greens becomes much easier if you roll the leaves into a little ball, before feeding it into the machine. Generally, darker green vegetables are more nutritious but less palatable. Cucumber can help disguise the strong flavours from leafy greens.

Day 15 and all is well!

Today was the day!!  I took my measurements this morning.  Who wants to know how it looks?  Anyone?  Anyone?  No?  Ok, well never mind then....

Psh...of COURSE I'm going to tell you!  I'm going to shout it from the rooftops 'cause frankly, I'm STOKED!!

DRUMROLL PLEASE......

Since day 3 (in only 12 short days) I have lost ANOTHER 15.5 inches!!!  For a grand total of 34.50 since I started juicing one month ago.  Here's the breakdown of inches lost and from where:

Arms - 3

Chest - 5

Waist - 5.5

Abdomen - 9

Hips - 5

Thighs - 4

Calves - 3

I think that is all I will have for today - busy, busy day.  But I pray great strength and endurance for each of you during your fast.  Give all the glory to Him!