Gerson, Fasting, Juicing, Cleansing, Detox...call it what you want...I am in!
In exactly 7 days I will embark on a 29 day journey to improve my overall health. Lucky for you, you can sit and eat solid food and read my blog daily for your own entertainment. I, on the other hand, will be consuming nothing but raw fruit and vegetable juices the entire time. I am doing this for a combination of reasons but mostly because I have chronic health issues (liver disease, diabetes and psoriasis) that I can attribute almost completely to the series of poor lifestyle choices that I commonly call my 20's. I am starting the blog now because with any worthwhile, life changing event, there is a great deal of preparation involved.
I need to stock up on veggies and make sure my juicer is working. Speaking of which, I have a $99 juicer that will get the job done but I am considering replacing it if I decide to juice regularly. I have a subscription to Door To Door Organics (www.doortodoororganics.com) and they deliver me all the organic produce I need every week. I recommend them. Their food is top notch and if you email them with concerns, they get back to you within hours and are SUPER cool about taking care of their customers.
I also need to prepare physically. I have been on a consistent workout routine since the middle of last summer which included mostly cardio in the form of cycling until the winter months, where I hit the gym and have been doing weight training combined with running and racquetball for the last 3 months. I have built a good amount of muscle mass in this time and, unfortunately, one of the side effects of juicing is catabolism. Catabolism is the break down of muscle into amino acids and simple proteins. Since I will have a severe protein deficiency, my body will break down what I have stored in muscles and use that. It sounds brutal but it is part of the cleansing process. For this reason, I plan to drink 80 grams of protein shakes every day, until I start my fast, to ensure I go into this with a positive protein balance.
The last part of the preparation is mental. This is HUGE. One of the major benefits of a juice fast is mental strengthening however, from what I have read, the first few days are a big struggle. So how do I prepare mentally? That's a good question. First of all I am sending this blog out for the world to see. I am making it real and creating an outlet that will hold me accountable. Secondly I am limiting the amount of TV that I watch and cutting down on exposure to computer screens and my iPhone. I have replaced these mind rotting devices with an epic novel by Haruki Murakami. It's a 1,000 page stack of literary awesomeness called 1Q84. If you want something a little shorter that will absolutely blow your mind, I recommend "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle". Outside of these changes to help me mentally prepare, I am going to take it easy. Do things I enjoy and try to coach myself out of stressful situations. Hopefully, this will give me the extra strength I need to make it through any breakdowns I may encounter due to hunger pangs and shock.
Now where did I put that McDonalds cheeseburger...?
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