In the beginning....

Hi!  My name is Mara - welcome to my very first blog.  A quick snippet about who I am.  I'm a born again Christian, a wife (20 years!), a mother of three great kids, an author, artist and now...apparently...a blogger!

After nearly three months of intensive research including the following:

Documentaries:

• Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (a must see!)
• Food Matters
• May I be Frank?
• Hungry for Change

Youtube videos:
Waaaay to many to name here, but just type in "Juice Fast" in their search engine and go nuts!
(My favorite is RawRawLife)

Facebook Pages:

• Juicing FTW
• 60 day Juice Fast Reboot 
• (and TONS more)

And many, many, MANY websites with info on the topic (not to mention a close, personal friend with experience in juice fasting), I decided to take the plunge!  Beginning Monday, April 8, I will be starting a 70 day juice fast - perhaps longer depending on how I feel.  And I will be sharing the journey here with you!

I can hear you now..."What?!  Are you insane?!  70 days without food - juice only?!  But...but...what about PROTEIN?!  That's not healthy!  You'll slow your metabolism down!  Your body will go into starvation mode!  And not to mention when you start eating again you will gain it all back!"

Ok, take a deep breath will ya?!  I will address all of these issues in a moment, but first let me begin with WHY I am doing this.

About 5 years ago I started having problems with my hips hurting.  At first I thought I had overdone it at the gym, then when it didn't go away I just assumed I was finally getting the arthritis that runs in my family.  I went to a chiropractor, my regular M.D. (who told me there was nothing wrong with me), and finally an orthopedic doc who sent me for an MRI.  Turns out I had shredded all the cartilage in both hips sockets.

So here I am, 3 surgeries later, still in pain and unable to do so many things with my family.  Can't sit for long, can't stand, can't walk too far, can't work, trouble sleeping - been to several physical therapists, acupuncturist, taken lots of pain meds...nothing helps!

Then someone turned me on to the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead."  (A lot of juice fasts start out with that very phrase!).  If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend it!  It is the story of Joe Cross, an Australian businessman, who had a rare disease plus about 80 pounds to lose, and he cured himself by doing nothing but fresh, homemade juice for 60 days.

I have other medical issues that I'd love to get sorted out as well.  I have had endometriosis for nearly 30 years, thinning hair and brittle nails (not a medical issue, a cosmetic one, but would still love to see it resolved!) and very low energy.  This is the number one reason for doing this fast!  I'm way too young, at 41 years old, to be dealing with bad hips!

For those who don't understand how drinking juice can heal medical issues, let me explain.  It requires 70% of your body's energy to digest food.  (Ever notice how tired you feel after a really big meal?!)  When you replace food with natural, healthy juice, your body still gets all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to thrive but at the same time it gets a break from digesting food.  It uses that energy to go to work healing your body!  Most people report an incredible increase in their energy level, their mental clarity, better skin, hair and nails, and that their medical conditions (everything from psoriasis to cancer) are resolved.

Fresh vegetable and fruit juice cleanses the body of all toxins, which cause so many of our illnesses.  There is a price to pay for getting those toxins out, unfortunately, and that price is the detox phase of a fast.  As they say, poison stings twice...once on the way in and once on the way out!  I can expect any number of symptoms for the first week or two as the toxins are flushed from my body.  Nausea, headaches, flu-like symptoms and fatigue to name a few.  I have, however, spent the past few weeks getting ready for this fast by cutting out processed carbs, coffee and other junk, and started replacing 2 of my meals every day with juice.  Hopefully having done this will lessen my detox symptoms...we shall see!

The second reason for my fast is to use the time to draw closer to Jesus.  I have found a few online devotionals that I really enjoy and from what I have read, you go through great spiritual breakthrough during these times.  I want to really dive into my bible and create some intense times of fellowship with my Lord.  This is so what I need, and I can feel my spirit already coming alive at the very idea.

And finally, I am looking forward to shedding some weight.  Obviously when you are doing nothing but juice every day you can expect to lose some pounds.  The great thing about juicing, is that while you are losing this weight you are also curing your food cravings (nachos!!  nachos are my all time favorite junk to eat, anything mexian actually.  OH!  And pizza and french fries.  Ok, and wine.  I do like wine.) and change your whole perspective toward food, creating a new relationship with it and finally realizing that we should eat to live not live to eat!

Now as to your panicky concerns from earlier....here are the answers:

1.  Yes.  I am insane.  Next question?
2.  The protein issue....Did you know that 1 cup of spinach has 10 grams of protein alone?  And believe me when I tell you that spinach does not produce much juice.  I generally have to add at least 3 cups of spinach.  And that's just one juice!  I will get tons of protein no problem!
3.  As far as what will happen at the end of my fast?  Well the whole point of doing this is to change the way that you eat.  Your appetite decreases and your cravings for bad food are gone.  So as long as I don't go back to eating my nachos all the time, and incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet I shouldn't go up more than five pounds.  More than likely I will keep the juice in my diet, at least once a day and possibly one whole day each week.  Many people who do this go on to become raw food vegans, which I think is way out of my league, but I'm open to whatever God wants me to do :)

So, my plan is to write a new entry at least once a week - more if I have time, and to record my weight and measurements, along with how I am feeling, my struggles and accomplishments, and hopefully encourage you to join me!