autumn juicefeast - days 15 & 16

Hurray for us! We're half way through. It's really been easy so far. I wonder if it's a case of being an old hand, or it's just the right time to do this, or, well, no idea. YummyHubby isn't doing bad either, with barely any detox symptoms, so it feels very comfortable.

day 15

We went for a colonic today. YummyHubby's first time, and we were both a bit anxious, but it was fine. The lovely bottom lady recommended he take probiotics for a while - same happened to me first time. But otherwise he got a good report card. She was very impressed that I seemed to be detoxing a lot. There was a shock in there, too, though: I passed what looked like a parasitic worm. Ewwww!!!! How did that happen? I've been vegetarian for 25 years! The bottom lady said it was dead, probably been stuck in my colon or small intestine for a while but the detox had shifted it. So that bit's good. Better out than in. She also said I could have ingested it via veggie food from somewhere with poor hygiene standards. It's unlikely it's been there since the last time I ate meat. I'm still reeling from the shock!

Today I had:

orange-carrot-apple-ginger juice (soooo good!)

savoury broth

savoy cabbage-carrots-apple-celery

I made the savoury broth by adding chopped ginger, chilli pepper, garlic, onion to hot water on the stove and kept it warm while I added a bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg and a splash of tamari. I let it sit for 15 minutes or so and added a spoonful of coconut oil at the end. It was quite tasty and satisfied my savoury cravings. I think it might be salt I'm missing, so I'll remember to put a tiny bit in my savoury juices from time to time.

I also did a weigh-in today. I've lost another 4 pounds, so that's a total of nine so far. Hurray!

day 16

So I might have spoken too soon about dry skin and not much detox... my face is feeling a little taught, so I've bought a richer face cream and will try to up my oils intake. I also spent most of the afternoon-evening with a headache, which felt like a detox headache. Bleh.

We went shopping for a few bits and pieces today then were going to spend the afternoon on the allotment, weeding and planting the spring bulbs. Didn't happen. YummyHubby went up and harvested a mammoth marrow for a colleague and that's about it. I've done a few chores between lying on the sofa not doing much. I entertained myself by watching a video of David Wolfe being crazy and inspirational, and read a few blogs here and there. 

Today I had:

"Pre-Christmas Spirit" juice: orange-apple-lemon-lime-pear juice with nutmeg and cinnamon

coriander-carrots-celery-pepper-ginger with cardamom (another failed experiment!)

mango-pineapple-golden kiwi-passion fruit

We bought a litre size Sigg bottle for YummyHubby today so we can both take smoothies/juice with me. We also had a chat about how he's going to approach his diet post-juicefeast. Avoiding dairy and gluten in general in order to have the good stuff now and again - so no cheese sandwiches for lunch, but perhaps some extra-special cheese at home with great crackers and homemade chutney. So it's a 'treat' rather than the norm. He's going ethical vegetarian, with a handful of 'get out of jail free' cards for special occasions. We talked about choosing the best option when the range is limited. Despite him working in one of the most affluent areas of London the range is not fabulous when it comes to veggie food. In fact, it's extremely limited; so he needs a bit of leeway there. But it's positive stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing how we both step up the healthy eating habits post juicefeast.

autumn juicefeast - days 11 &12

It's going well. We're only getting light detox symptoms - which concerns me, to an extent, as we should surely be getting rid of junk at this stage. YummyHubby has decided to have a green smoothie for breakfast as he's getting too hungry. He had a moment of wavering, wondering if he really was going to last much longer. He's set a target of next weekend and then he'll have another think - whilst also believing that if he makes it half way then he'll want to keep going. So that's positive.

We're still adding crystal manna and flax oil to our savoury dinner juice and having our honey-filled coconut hearts to keep the oil coming in. It seems to be working. My skin is fine - it hasn't started to dry out, though it did threaten to briefly.

day 11

We're both aware that we need to drink more juice in general, and more greens too. It's really quite a challenge some days, but today I think we did quite well, whilst also having yummy treat juice. I had a green smoothie today for breakfast but it was too heavy. It kept me going until dinner time and even then if the juices hadn't been so darn' tasty I might have had to force them down.

green smoothie (banana, peach, spinach with maca and coconut butter)

greens-celery-cucumber-mint

strawberry-mango-orange (gorgeous)

day 12 

I made lots of juice in the morning and packed us off with Siggs and bottles. Then I made more at work with the leftover produce from Monday - only to realise that I'd be having pretty much the same juice all day long. Doh!

carrot-apple-spinach-ginger-celery (x2)

melon juice straight up

Feeling good...

autumn juicefeast - days 5 & 6

Wow. YummyHubby is doing fantastically well. He's not suffering any detox symptoms so far (!) and the only side effect is the odd moment of lightheadedness which I think all juicefeasters get at some point.

We aren't remembering to take all of our superfoods and supplements so I'm going to have to sort that out. We get a huge delivery tomorrow of more green and less fruit, which I feel I'm gravitating towards. 

The big thing I'm excited about is that I seem to have almost picked up from where I left off in terms of needs, desires and focus. I don't feel hunger pangs or food cravings. The not-so-great habits I had in the big juicefeast earlier this year have evaporated. I'm having a lot of fruit juices because that's what is in the fridge/fruit bowl, but I'm looking for more greens. Last time I forced the greens down. Even celery doesn't taste that bad. So this is all good news!

I wrote those first paragraphs early on day 5 and then succumbed to the temptations of dates and miso soup, so perhaps I was jumping the gun a little. Though I still truly believe I'm in a much stronger position than I was at this point last time round. It's fine. I'm not worried.

day 5

Today I had:

pineapple juice (yum!)

miso soup (ok, so I caved in... but I lasted four whole days without it.)

gazpacho in a glass

2 medjool dates 

carrot-beetroot-spinach

crystal manna, hemp oil, coconut oil, bee pollen

day 6

Today I had:

watermelon

orange-carrot-apple-ginger

romaine-celery-pear-alfalfa

crystal manna, coconut oil

I feel and look better than I did a week ago, despite the last vestiges of this cold clinging on for dear life. I had my first hunger pangs today, but I still think I'm way ahead compared to last time, so it's all good.

I'm hoping for my package from the weight-loss fairy (credit to Bunny Berry for that expression!) when I get weighed on Saturday. YummyHubby's love handles and pot belly are disappearing. Bit of a shame, really, I've become quite attached to that little belly. I'll just have to put up with a six-pack instead ;)

autumn juicefeast - days 3 & 4

It's been a challenge. I'm still battling a cold accompanied by an evil headache. YummyHubby is mostly just hungry.

day 3 

I stayed off work, dozed, listened to some podcasts and dozed again, to see if the coughing and spluttering would clear up. I don't like spreading germs around and am lucky to be able to decide to stay home and take care of myself.

We made a ton of juice first thing, before I was totally washed out, so YummyHubby had his first taste of taking juice to work with him and I could just get up and go to the fridge to get my juice when I needed it. YummyHubby will be getting juice from the juice bar near where he works on weekdays, so our daily consumption will differ and the juice lists from now on relate to what I drank. 

Today I had:

orange-apple-carrot-ginger juice (extra ginger to help clear out my respiratory tract)

orange-apple-carrot-ginger-greens-mint juice

spinach-romaine-mint-pear-cucumber juice

lots of water, herbal teas, crystal manna, hemp oil and coconut oil treats.

Turns out the juice bar near work for YummyHubby does have decent juices, boosters, superfood shots and so on, so he's quite happy. Hurray! The nearest juice bar for me is ok, but a little tame. They don't have what we'd call hardcore juice - mostly fruit, and no greens, though they do one juice with celery. It'll do in a pinch but not ideal. Whereas YummyHubby is totally set up with ubergreen juices to go. Hurrah!

day 4

Today was much the same as yesterday. I stayed off work, slept and dozed my way through the day, trying to get rid of this cold and headache. I hate that I tend to be slow recovering from anything that involves headaches or my respiratory system. But I'm on the honey and pollen and with the juicefeast cleansing properties I should build up my immune system soon.

I am delighted to see that I've lost the bloat I acquired just prior to and during my holiday. I've lost a couple of pounds since starting the juicefeast but I think I must have lost a good few during last week's green smoothie and salad regime, too. Though I didn't get weighed before I started on the clean 'n' green regime last week, I look a lot slimmer than I did. Hurray for green smoothies!

Talking of which, the lovely Penni over at Real Food Tulsa is also juicefeasting right now, but with a twist - she's adding some green smoothies and blended soups into the mix. I suggested to YummyHubby that we could do that if things got tricky. I could certainly go for some miso soup right now...

Today I had:

orange-peach-passion fruit juice (mmm, thick and creamy. Delicious!)

orange

'gazpacho' tomato-cuke-basil-leek-apple-peppers-lime

herbal teas with honey, hemp oil, coconut butter treats

autumn juicefeast - days 1 & 2

day 1

We started off with our two pints of water. No MSM as I was not convinced by it during the Global Juicefeast. I just didn't experience the benefits everyone else talked about.

We made a big green juice, with spinach, chard, celery, apples and pears, which was actually very good, despite the celery. Or maybe my tastebuds adjusted after 65 days of it last time around and that's stayed with me.

Then I showed YummyHubby how to skinbrush and after we both showered we snuggled on the sofa and watched a movie and sipped herbal teas. We're both fighting off colds at present, plus I'm plagued by nasty headaches, so it was a write-off day anyway.

Early afternoon, we had a mint-melon combo which was lovely and fresh, followed by "gazpacho in a glass" for dinner.

More herbal teas with honey and an early night.

day 2

Made a big tropical juice for brekkie, while listening to The Archers. Papaya, pineapple, mango, lime, passion fruit and oranges. Delicious! We had our uber-green-celery  juice for 'lunch'with some hemp oil and a bit of an experiment with spinach-parsley-beet-apple-carrot for dinner, which turned out to be quite nice, with just a touch of earthiness.

YummyHubby is doing surprisingly well. I can't tell if it's detox or the headaches I've had intermittently for the past week, but I'm feeling rough, and rubbing lavender oil into my temples to keep the pain at bay.

We've made some coconut oil treats. The oil's needed to stop your skin drying out, if nothing else. But it also provides some basic calories and nutrients. I melted the coconut butter in the dehydrator, we blended in some maca and a pinch of cacao (which is a bit naughty, I know) and then for others we made honey centres. We left half of the coconut butter to almost set in the chocolate moulds, scooped a small hole out, poured in the honey then poured more liquified coconut oil over the top and stuck the tray in the fridge to set. Yum! 

Tomorrow I'll be calling the natural health centre to book us both in with the lovely Annette.

Before I go, I just want to shout our a huge congratulations to YummyHubby for making it through 2 days of juicefeasting. Hurray!

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.

that darn wagon and me

i hadn't intended to come back here to post, as this blog was purely for the juicefeast experience, but what i have to say is relevant. so here goes.

there are days when i feel like a fraud. i don't feel i can call myself a raw foodie when i just ate cooked food for the third time this week. so i feel the need to publicly state that i'm struggling to stay raw. again.

the battle with cooked food

i worked out part way through the juicefeast that drinking juice for 92 days wasn't going to stop my cooked food cravings. the juicefeast would give me time to explore my relationship with food and work out some of the pyschological hangups, but it wasn't going to be a miracle cure. but, you know, i was dealing with it. so far so good.

then i completed my juicefeast, calling it quits after just over two months, when i saw that my heart just wasn't in it and i was starting to pick at food. i eased myself back into eating, with lots of fresh fruit, salads, smoothies and a firm commitment to eating raw for health reasons. and let's not forget that amazing energy you have on a high raw diet.

falling off the wagon

but then we had house guests. and then there was a family get together. and then whatever other social occasion. and each time i thought "i'll just have a little cooked food today, to keep thing's easy" and fully, genuinely, intended to keep going that way. then somehow, it all fell apart. and now, two months later, i'm eating way too much cooked food. i eat mostly raw most days, but i also binge out on rubbish. in the past two months i've eaten ice-cream and crisps, of all things, and lots of not-that-great cooked food. it's crazy! but i'm not going to get myself in a mess over this. 

the all or nothing option

i read steve pavlina's update on eating raw and felt consoled. a slight aside here, i didn't know he'd continued to eat raw. i thought he'd done an experiment and then gone back to his usual diet. so i was quite impressed to wander back over to his blog and discover he's now pushing himself to stay 100% raw. anyway, the point is, that it's often easier to stick at 100% raw than to dither at 80% or do the"'i'll just eat this cooked food tonight because i'm eating out with friends but i'll be back to 100% raw tomorrow" thing. i guess that differs from person to person. i compare it to the casual smoker, or the innapropriately named 'social smoker'. some people can smoke like a chimney for the duration of a party night out then not touch a cigarette for months. yet the majority of people would be buying a packet of ciggies the next day because the nicotine had already got a stranglehold. cooked food is just as insidious. once the wheat starts to leave your body you get that sickness which you either ride out as detox or you cave in and have some more to appease the beast.

yo-yo side effects

i still eat plenty of fruit. i have green smoothies a couple of times a week and eat a big raw salad for lunch and dinner most days. but because of the inconsistency i don't feel as well as i should. i get lots of detox headaches after a cooked food 'binge' - especially wheat, i've found - and i'm putting on weight again. so it's time to rein in. i get so frustrated with the yo-yo-ing. i've read a few things recently which talk about falling off the wagon and they all come to the same conclusion. and it's something i know, inside, to be true. recognise you've fallen off. dust yourself down. get back on again. no guilt. no recriminations and no "if only"s. just get yourself a juice or a green smoothie and start planning a few days' worth of raw food.

so that's what's happening in the loulou household. we've got a week of juices, smoothies and salads coming up. i'm making some teriyaki almonds and we have a cupboard full of conscious chocolate, so i have treats available for those tricky moments.

wish me luck.

day 58: backbreaking

backbreaking in that i've broken the back of this juicefeast. 7 weeks down, 5 to go. slightly disappointed that i don't seem to have the same verve and commitment that i can see in my juicebuddies. i'm looking forward to the end - i want to eat already. and not just prunes! so many people get past the first month and are on such a wonderful  trip that they just don't want to get off. not me. i'm still aching for yummy kale salad, drooling over lemon cookies and oh boy do i want lunch from rainforest cuisine asap pls thx.

also backbreaking is the work on 'the lotty' - our wonderful allotment. it's hard work clearing the weeds, building the shed, hauling mammoth bags of compost around. but we are both loving it! it's so exciting. 

yesterday we planted early potatoes - they'll be ready to eat in two months, and, yes, i will be cooking them and eating them! there are a few things we'll be growing which need cooking, but the vast majority will be raw-edible. the point is to feed ourselves, so we've chosen carefully. some stuff i'll make into chutney as christmas stocking-fillers for friends and family and i will give surplus away as it grows. i like sharing. we've got some small red onions to go in next week, and we're germinating tomatoes, herbs, and flowers around the house ready to plant out in a few weeks. we get the main bulk of the veg seeds arriving next week, so we'll be busy sowing, germinating and planting for the whole of may! we're going to have such a wonderful garden of eden. it's got to be the best hobby in the world ever. despite being covered in dirt, sweating, breaking my nails, getting scratched and bruised... it's still my favourite way to spend the weekend.

recovery mode

back to the juicefeast situation. so, i've somewhat recovered from my horrid midweek crisis. i've decided not to be so hard on myself, not to give up when i'm past halfway and since i've recovered - it seems - from the candida, thanks to all those lovely probiotics i'm taking, i'm choosing the easy option when i can and having my favourite fruit juice for breakfast and moving on to green for late morning-afternoon juices. much more palatable that way.

stats and stuff

i got weighed on saturday morning. i've lost a total of 25 pounds, which i'm happy about. i was a bit disheartened when the weight loss stagnated but it seems to have picked up again. i would like to lose another 15 pounds and i think it's possible to shift some, if not all, of that over the next five weeks. a fairly low fat raw diet and plenty of exercise will deal with the remaining few pounds.

i do find that my weight moves first and my body settles into the new shape in the following weeks. so even when i don't lose any/much weight on the scales, my clothes say i've lost mass somehow. i've dropped two dress sizes and my 'spare tyre' has gone. i'm liking what i see in the mirror :) i'm no longer fat. i'm still on the curvaceous side of slim, but this time last year even that seemed out of reach, so i've made great progress!

i had a colonic yesterday. the therapist congratulated me on my progress and encouraged me. she also said i'm getting a very clean colon - she was impressed with how it clean it was. hurray!

photo credit: before & after pics by YummyHubby

day 54: meltdown

note: written on day 55, the day after, with - i hope - a clearer perspective on things.

ok, so yesterday afternoon i hit rock bottom. well, i hope that was rock bottom. don't want to find out if there's further down to go...

it felt my world came tumbling down around me, i just Could Not Cope any longer.

for the past few days i've noticed i'm bright and breezy in the morning but by early afternoon i'm tired and by the time i get home i'm frankly exhausted and getting crabby. i hate being crabby (can you see the start of a vicious circle there?) then, because i'm tired, i sit down and don't move. by the time i haul my backside off the sofa to prep for the next day it's late. i know, totally counterproductive. if i prepped my veg and got clothes out, planned my moves etc, i'd have an easier morning. but i haven't been doing that. i've been going to bed late, getting up shockingly early and still managing to miss my train to work.

then there's the commute to and from work. it's not bad, as far as london commutes go, but there are a lot of mean, pushy people and i get bad tempered. then the trains have an odd schedule, where there are 3 i can catch all packed into the space of 15 minutes, then there's a half hour gap. so if i juuuust miss the last of the three then i have to stand on a cold, windy platform, surrounded by the smell of food, and watch a dozen trains that don't serve my route go past me. oh, and get pushed around by mean commuters.

then there's work. i'll start by saying i love my new job. i'm working with a bunch of people who i get on really well with, there's true affinity there. there's one guy who can be really unhelpful, but he doesn't mean to be, it's just a flaw in his approach to the chain of command, and i try to be forgiving and coax him along. but he rubbed me up the wrong way yesterday. but it's a mammoth task that i've been hired to do, with a zillion itty bitty things to pull together into a cohesive plan. now that's a loulou kind of challenge. but over the past couple of days i've felt like i've dropped a couple of balls and despite my project planning the whole thing is such a house of cards that it felt it was about to collapse into chaos yesterday... i forgot my old-time mantra of 'no one is going to die' and just felt panic, discomfort, disappointment etc welling up inside me.

then... i had to go via the supermarket to pick up more greens on the way home and by then i was past myself. i was ready to give up. call it a day. give up the juicefeast, that is. claw back some time to myself. regain my sanity. i got home and - i don't think i even said hello when i walked through the door -  just crumpled in a heap and poured it all out in one huge splurge to YummyHubby. he was fantastically helpful and thoughtful and we worked through lots of it. it's not over, but he said he's not letting me give in so easily.

i know this crisis is not over yet, but i feel like if i can get to the weekend and then give myself some space, some thinking time, do some yoga, refocus... then that might get me through a little while longer. 

and we're promised some "unseasonably warm" weather. sunshine is my number one mood-lifter, so, c'mon mini-heatwave. bring it on!

days 34-39

long time, no see, juicebuddies!

it's been busy. i've tried to keep up with everyone's blogs, but that has to be squeezed in along with everything else these days. this week i was drooling over heathy's pot pie, terilynn's fritters, and shannon marie's muffins. i was so encouraged by the article terilynn linked to in a local newspaper about three journos going raw for 30 days, and have been following the blog since. and ben made me laugh - thanks to all of you. you make my day :)

so, how've i been doing? first, a humble moment, i'm so grateful to know that what i write here is read by people out there in the big, wide world. people actually want to know how i'm doing. that is such an awesome feeling. you guys, my 'juice buddies' care about my progress enough to stop by - taking a chunk out of your busy schedules - to spend time caring about me. awesome! thank you so much.

so, back to our regularly scheduled programming. i've been physically much better. i've still had some embarrassingly loud gurgles but i've had no headaches over the past few days and i've had enough physical and mental energy to get through the day. i had a couple of unpleasant emotional moments, though, at the end of last week and i can only assume that i hit some kind of deep emotional detox. i woke up on thursday and friday with a mammoth black cloud hanging over my head. talked it through with YummyHubby, thanked him for, as ever, being there to help me along, and he said he can cope with my moods, he just wants whatever's best for me. but i acknowledge it must be tough to have me on this emotional rollercoaster. brief moments of elation and long hours of misery. i don't know where the misery came from, and i was gearing myself for sitting down and having a poke around in my head and heart to sort things out. it seems, though, that despite a heavy-going weekend, i've released whatever was, as i'm now back to being fairly consistently upbeat. which is fab!

i admit there have been a couple of times when i've seriously considered quitting. i've thought long and hard - not just because i can smell coffee and toast (which, actually, no longer tempts me! so bad example, but anyway, a craving) but because i was getting so many headaches, and then they cleared up and i started getting these black clouds in their place. neither of those situations make daily life exactly easy. ok, so headaches suck, but if they get too bad i relent, i take some strong painkillers and get to bed as soon as i can. but a depressed mood, short temper and loss of interest in everything takes its toll on those around me and i don't want YummyHubby to suffer that. and so i asked myself: is it time? have i come as far as i can on this journey? so, since i don't have any prunes, i'm always ready to keep going until tomorrow to see what that brings. luckily, tomorrow generally brings some relief.

ugh. you read this far? you deserve a medal!

so, i've increased my daily juice intake. i'm managing between 3 and 4 litres (roughly same as quarts) and trying hard to keep that mostly veggies, with plenty of greens and i have been feeling so much better these last few days. coincidence? who knows.

i still want this to get easier. no kidding. the buying produce, storing it all, preparing it, scrubbing celery and peeling oranges, making juice, cleaning up, carrying it around with me... it's a never-ending cycle. but at least i've achieved the ultimatum i set myself of feeling physically and emotionally positive for three days in a row. hurray :)

i've got another two posts half-ready, which i'll put up tomorrow or thursday. in the meantime, keep it juicy xxx

image credit: YummyHubby created this south park avatar for me. aren't i cute?

day 31: must try harder

today's been another mixed up day. it started off well, then i got a headache, then a bit of an upset stomach, then i felt great for an hour and now i'm tired, washed out and craving food. i haven't been hungry for a few days but i was so tempted by the smell coming from the two indian restaurants i walk past on the way home from work (more on that in another post) but knowing that even if i decided today to break my feast i still couldn't have a curry made it easier to keep walking.

on the way home it was bright and the last rays of the sun made me smile, but i still did consider, very seriously, calling it a day. i'm fed up of the headaches, i'm fed up of not feeling great most of the time - though i feel truly amazing at times, it's always for short periods. and i want food. i'm still fixated on kale & avocado salad, currently it's the black olives that are the most tempting. 

the thought of having to admit defeat will keep me going for a while but i tell you, i really want less crappy, detox days, and fast, or i'm checking out of the juicefeast motel.

today i had:

1l msm-lemon water

1.75l celery-spinach-chinese leaf-broccoli-apple juice with pinch salt

0.75l carrot-orange-strawberry-raspberry-pear juice

various herbal teas with honey

1 tbsp hemp oil

day 27: detoxing

right. i've figured out the whole migraine thing. i've been detoxing for these past couple of days. i did an enema last night, one this morning and another one this evening and boy did i have some stuff to shift. i have a spot on my chin and woke up with lots of mucous and have had a runny nose all day, so put all that together and i figure that's what it's all about. no headache today, felt so much better. what a relief, i was getting worried.

having told lots of people this thing ("your diet" or "liquid diet" as most people call it) is a choice of 1/2/3 months, i'm finally starting to say out loud to those who i didn't expect to get it, that i'm going to keep at it for the full three months. people's chins drop. audibly. the funny thing is, i reckon they'd freak out more if they knew what i eat when i'm eating. hah.

today i had:
0.5l water no msm, ran out of lemons
1.5l romaine-spinach-grape-apple-celery juice
0.5l "work fruitbowl" juice mandarin-apple-plum-pear
0.5l romaine-spinach-mint-orange-pear juice
1 tbsp bee pollen
lots of teas with honey
3l water

day 26: hiccups, heartburn and headaches

had an excruciating headache all day. reluctantly gave in and took ibuprofen but it still didn't fix it. then i got heartburn. i wonder if that's from the ibuprofen, or the coating of the tablets.

last night i got hiccups briefly, which i got rid of by doing some pranayama, but it sparked off an attack of heartburn. it was bad enough that i had to take some gaviscon.

any thoughts on what might be causing it, anyone? i hate taking medication at the best of times, but it's annoying and frustrating having to take it now, mid-juicefeast. it seems a bit pointless to juicefeast to release toxins and then shove more in your body. but i can't cope with a full day at work with a stinking headache, or get to sleep when my throat feels like it's burning up.

today i had:
1l msm-lemon water
2l romaine-spinach-carrot-apple-grape-orange-ginger juice
0.5l tomato-celery-romaine-apple-leek juice
1 tsp zeolite
1 tsp nature's living superfood

1 tbsp hemp oil
various herbal teas with honey
3l water

today's been fairly tough, as i've been feeling pretty rotten. however i can honestly say that i didn't feel any hunger or food cravings for two days. i am a little peckish now and fancy something to eat, but nothing like the hunger pangs and cravings i've had. and i'm about to make some more juice which should sort me out. so, at least i am making some progress. huzzah! 

day 21: lazy

been a bit lazy on the blogging front lately. i've wanted to step away from it so i can get on with some other stuff. i have so many downloaded files off juicefeasting.com to read through, and the rainoshek's videos to watch, and everyone's blogs to read that when it comes to writing up my own blog i've kind of lost interest by then. 

i've also got two books on the go at the moment and they've been rather neglected, so i'm trying to get back into them.

then of course there's the new job. it's not tiring or demanding just yet as my big project (the thing i've really been hired for) doesn't kick off until 1st april, so i'm just looking after a couple of small things in the meantime and trying to learn as much as possible about my big project in advance. but getting going with the routine, general settling in and having to catch a train every day is enough to be getting on with! my underling (heh) is sweet and well-meaning but needs a fair bit of hand-holding which i currently find endearing (whilst acknowledging that i might tire of it eventually) and it means the control freak in me is pacified as i get sight of everything, but it does mean i have to be prepared to be stopped every time i pass his desk... which is every time i go to the bathroom for a pee. and as you'll all know, on a juicefeast that means at least once an hour. roll on solid foods...

today we went out for lunch to wagamama. i figured it's somewhere YummyHubby can have his beloved stinky fish soup and i can have fresh juice and since we don't get to eat out, or even together, much these days we should make an effort. however... i also somehow managed to order myself a miso soup. it's white miso, so slightly less full on. i picked out the seaweed and tofu and just drank the broth. i know it was really naughty but, you know what, i really enjoyed it and i felt completely full for the rest of the afternoon, which was the first time in three weeks, so if for nothing else it was worth it!

a couple of things to note from the last few days. i did my first herbal enema. i bought some slippery elm from neal's yard as i'd read in ben's blog that he'd used it. good lord. do people actually drink this stuff? man, just having it in the enema bag was stinking out the bathroom. gross. anyway... i don't know if it helped, but as it's supposed to be good for you i will continue to use it once a week or so. i have some red clover, too, which i originally bought for YummyHubby to drink as an infusion to help with his eczema, but i've read that it's good for enemas, too. it's a strong detox herb so why not?

i've been trying hard to get more greens in, and less fruit. i've noticed furry teeth over the past couple of days. it's weird as the front of my teeth feel superclean, smooth, just brushed - all day long. but the backs are totally icky. i've bought a second toothbrush and some more toothpaste to take to work so i can keep that in check.

haven't been able to face the green superfood or zeolite recently. i've upped my bee pollen and honey intake instead. i know they don't achieve the same things but at least there's some superfood going in. i'm also wanting salty foods, so i'm adding a pinch of salt to green juices here and there. also still making my 'thai soup' tea from time to time, which is a great way to get salt.

despite hating celery like very few things on this earth, i've stopped noticing it in my juices. i think perhaps because i'm so heavy-handed with the mint or parsley or sometimes limes in my green juices, but i just don't even know it's there. this is good.

are we caught up? cool. love to all x

the photo was taken whilst on honeymoon, november 2007

days 18-20: backdating

had a headache when i woke up. it turned into a migraine by mid-morning so, finally admitting to myself the lavender essential oil just wasn't cutting it, i went out and bought some f***-off painkillers. 

for the rest of the day i drank lots of honeyed tea and took the painkillers as often as the dosage would allow. when i got home from work i went straight to bed. i got up about midnight and did an enema, hoping it might alleviate the symptoms. i've read in a few places that a bad headache is often a sign of detox, so get the detoxing stuff out of your system and the headache will subside. it didn't seem to work for me. i woke up the following morning with a groggy head and a lighter, but still persistent, headache, which eventually dissipated 24 hours later. 

blimey. that was a tough one.