Saturday, 4 October 2008

autumn juicefeast - intro

Wow. I'm back again already.

When I did the big juicefeast earlier this year YummyHubby was evidently inspired and said he'd like to do it at some point. So we set aside the month of October as a practical choice; post-summer hols and before it gets too cold, avoiding any major family celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries etc. It seemed like the right month. And boy did we choose well. Over this summer I slipped down that slide towards cooked foods. It started with the odd cooked thing here and there, mostly because we now have an allotment producing lots of veg, some of which is not edible raw, or so prolific the only way to eat it all was to have it cooked. So, I started cooking healthy, homemade food several nights a week. I stuck to raw breakfast and lunch but eventually more cooked snacks snuck in and then we went on holiday and I ate all sorts of things I haven't had for ages. Thinking back, even now, I'm shocked at how easy it was to slip back into old habits I thought were entirely killed off. So this juicefeast is well-timed. I need to drag myself back from the very edge of the abyss!

We spent the past week transitioning. We've had green smoothies for breakfast, raw salads for lunch, raw/dehydrated snacks and raw dinners of soups and crackers, pates and so on. Then, on Saturday we started the juicefeast regime. We're taking lots of what I learned from the Global Juicefeast and incorporating it into our regime, though we're not doing all of it. 

So this is our intention for our daily regime:
2 pints of water first thing
minimum 4 pints of juice (I found 8 pints a real challenge)
at least one green & celery juice 
herbal teas with honey
coconut butter, maca, hemp oil and misc other supplements

Plus as often as we can, the following:
skinbrushing
enemas/colonics
exercise and relaxation

We're juicing until the end of the month, for 30 days, and transitioning starts Monday, November 3rd.

Our goals are slightly different. I want to regain control of my food choices and lose the weight I've put on since the last juicefeast ended (I haven't gained it all back, but I have gained a chunk of it. I expect all of the regained weight to drop off during the juicefeast, and a few more pounds, hopefully.) YummyHubby is mostly doing this as an experiment. He's become more conscious of his health since he started running two years ago, and he's hoping to come out the other side with improved health which will improve his running performance. He copes very well on a mixed omnivore, mostly healthy and balanced non-raw diet, so if he cleans up and has optimal nutrition he expects his physical fitness to peak as a response. Though if you ask him what his aim is he'll say "to survive it" since he's only ever managed to stick to juice for 24 hours each time he's tried in the past.

So, welcome to our journey. Enjoy the ride.

1 comment:

Penni said...

Once again....we're soul sisters. My story is nearly identical to yours. I weighed myself this morning and I have gained back half of the weight I lost while juice feasting earlier this year. Instead of allowing myself to wallow in depression, I simply decided to do what I know works and that is to get back on the juicing train. I will likely incorporate green smoothies for variety and have an occasional blended soup or salad if eating out. I am glad you know you're working on this right now as well. I love the support!

xoxo....Penni