Juice Fast - Day 1 - preparing for the coming days

It's been 5 months since I posted. I still don't feel good but now I'm going to do something about it. Instead of waiting for doctors to fix me or give me even more medications I'm going to try juicing fruits and veggies. David actually got me going in this direction by asking me to watch a video, by an Australian guy name Joe Cross, called "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead". In the movie Joe does a 60 day juice fast, curing his chronic urticaria (a skin condition), going off the Prednisone he'd been on for 8 years and losing about 100 pounds! I've watched a lot of videos on youtube about the transformation that other people have had and find it to be very interesting. Joe has kept off the weight since 2006 and looks awesome. As much as I want to lose 100 pounds more importantly I want to get off the 9+ medications I'm on, have some energy and have a better quality of sleep. I'm tired all the time, can't do anything physical without tiring immediately and feel sick every day. I'm also tired of being in pain all the time. I'm desperate and I am willing to give juicing a go. I've been thinking about doing it for weeks and have done a lot of research and watched a lot of videos in preparation for starting the process of changing my eating habits. I don't know if I could do a 60 day fast like Joe Cross did but I'm willing to start with 3 days and go from there.

So, today I cleaned out the cupboards, fridge and freezer. I have 7 bags of groceries that will be going to my son. I feel great just having done that. It was so cleansing to remove all the food that hasn't been helping me feel better. It's not bad food it's just not that healthy for me. At my age (53) and my weight (267) I can't eat whatever I want. I have to make better choices. For now that choice is going to be fruits, veggies, lean protein, nuts, seeds and beans. I am going to start juicing Saturday when our Breville juicer gets here. I've already made my grocery list and will do the grocery shopping tomorrow. I was going to try to take 10-14 days to wean off all the sugar, caffeine, salt, processed foods, fast foods and convenience foods but knowing what I do now I can't eat that stuff anymore. I've removed the unhealthy foods and taken the temptation away. I have decided that I won't eat fast food or go to the convenience store for Cherry Coke and candy. I am not going to wait until the 1st or until Monday to do it. I'm going to do it starting today. I can't juice until Saturday but I can make some better choices until then. The best choice I can make is staying away from junk food and processed food.

There's not much in the freezer beside the bag of food we'll be giving to Gabe. There's more in the fridge than I'd like right now but that will be taken care of too by giving away 2 bags to Gabe and getting rid of the other opened foods. My next pictures (tomorrow) will show a fridge, freezer and counter full of fruits and veggies and other good stuff. I need to clear off a space for the juicer so I'll be moving the microwave across the room. I want the juicer to be on the lower counter to make it easier to use. I'm really excited about making these changes. I look forward to seeing a healthier me in the days, weeks and months to come.

Right now I just thought "what if I fail?". Well, all I can do is try. I'm giving it my best effort and really trying to be as proactive as I can be. Maybe juicing won't be for me I'm thinking but being Fat Sick and Nearly Dead isn't for me either. I don't like the way I look or feel. I spend more at take out and the convenience store than I do on groceries. I spend hundreds of dollars every month on prescription medication too. It will cost more to buy all the fruits and veggies (especially if I buy organic) but I'm thinking that it will be less overall than I'm spending now on the junk and processed food and medications.

The first step has been taken - I cleared out most of the junk food in the house. Now I just have to get Gabe over here to pick it up so I can put healthy stuff in its place. Then it's on to grocery shopping and starting the new way of life. Saturday the juicer gets here and I'll be figuring out how to use that and what juices I like. I'm going to try the juices that are recommended on Joe Crosses site (rebootwithjoe.com). I'll keep making the ones that I can tolerate and like and stop making the ones that I don't like. There are so many juice recipes out there that I know I can find many that I do like.

Am I nervous? Yes, I am. And today, because of all the soda I drank yesterday and all the crap food I ate last night, I have a very upset stomach today. I know the first few days of the fast will be difficult. Being off of caffeine will be difficult. Earlier today I just wanted to eat some chips or some other kind of junk food but instead I had some peanuts. I was shocked though after looking at the label to see that there was corn starch,, sugar and other junk in the peanuts. Eating organic is going to be important. I feel like I am so ill prepared even though I've learned a lot in the last 2 weeks. I don't know much about eating healthy so it will be a learning process for me. I'm going to continue watching videos and researching how to go about doing this but I'm not going to wait until I know everything to get started. I feel I have enough knowledge to get started on this journey.

I'm really curious to see if I will like juicing. We're making an investment in it by buying the juicer, getting rid of food and buying tons of fruits and veggies (well enough for 3 or 4 days anyway, which is a ton to me).

David needs this too. He also is having medical problems that require medication and has a lot of weight to lose. But once again, it's the health issues being resolved that is key and primary.

This is 4 bags of food I cleared out of the cabinets to give to Gabe. Seven bags of food total. That's a lot of food! If he doesn't take it I'll have to donate to the food bank and throw away what can't be donated. I'd hate to do that but can't wait too long for Gabe to get this stuff. I have to shop by Saturday to get the ball rolling.

I worry that I'm getting too excited and that this won't work in the end. I've tried so many things but have never been that successful or kept with anything so I'm nervous about trying something yet again. I know how to make something into a project but can I make it into a way of life. I don't want to be miserable or hate what I'm eating (or drinking as the case may be). I know I can only do this if I see results and if I can find juices that I like. Otherwise I'll just go back to eating junk again. It does feel good though to clean out the cupboards, fridge and freezer. I'll feel better when the stuff is gone and I can get more out of the fridge.

I can actually see myself six months from now having lost some weight, looking better and feeling great. I can also see not having to take all of the medications I'm taking right now. I'd like to be off all of them within a year. I'm sure it's possible to get off the high cholesterol med, the GERD med and the pain meds. It's the medication for depression and sleep disturbance that I'm not sure about. I want off of them too but just don't know if eating better will help "cure" the depression and sleep problems. I'm fairly sure it can though and I'm going to keep a positive attitude about it.

So that's where things are today. I'm nervous about starting but also excited too. I look forward to getting that juicer in 2 days and trying my first juice. I know I'm picky about food so it won't be easy but I'm willing to give it a go. I posted Genesis 1:28-30 today on facebook. Basically it says that God has given us all the food we need in the fruits and veggies that come from the ground. I guess if God says that it's what I need then it probably is. I can do this. With accountability through my blog and the support of family and friends I can make the changes I need to make. It will be a journey and I'll have to learn as I go along but I can do it.