Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Juice Feast, Days 25-28, & Breaking the Feast

I broke the feast this morning with a smoothie of mango, mixed berries, banana and kale. Papaya and spinach is what I really wanted but only had kale on hand. Even though it wasn't what I was craving it was a great way to break the feast and kept me satisfied until late afternoon. Today I also had 1 Tbsp Vitamineral Green, 1 quart of juice, some bee pollen, chlorella and an orange. I've decided to contine this way for the next two days and then resume my high-raw diet. So, my feast is officially over. 28 days was plenty for me, and towards the end I didn't think I would make it because of all the other challenges going on in my life.

Wow it's been a crazy few days. Things started getting strange last week when one of my four cats got sick. The Reader's Digest version: we took him to an after hours vet who, after 2 visits and a lot of EXPENSIVE tests and x-rays concluded that he had a very high temperature and an infection which was treated with antibiotics. We're still giving him oral antibiotics and my boy is just about 100% back to normal.

Right around that time I decided it was time to do a gentle liver cleanse which is recommended on the juice feast. The recipe calls for water, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Nothing much happened during the day so that evening I decided it would be a good time to also start taking probiotics. Ooops.

That was day 25 and my stomach has been wild until today. I've never experienced such constant, loud gurgling in my life. There was no cramping or discomfort but something was happening - maybe it was the colony of good bacteria multiplying, plus a delayed reaction to the liver cleanse. Elimination was little, but OFTEN. Finally today I had a very productive colonic and I feel brand new.

During all of this I had to install an exhibit at the gallery where I work, and deal with 2 home computers infected with a virus. Resolving that problem was another costly, time-consuming and stressful event, to put it mildly. The juices really kept me going, and focused on what had to get done.

Now, I'm quite happy to be finished with the cleanse. My overall observations:

PHYSICAL:
Hunger: little to none, until the last couple days when my appetite returned.
Degree of difficulty with juice feast: challenging moments, but overall not too difficult.
Eye discomfort: A noticeable improvement past 2 days!
Other pain or healing crisis: headache and sleepiness around day 26.
Elimination: inconsistent.
Energy: excellent.
Exercise: a little rebounding most days and some yoga 2-3 times/week.
Weight lost: 7 lbs.
PERSONAL:
Stress level/activities/workload: Busy!
Temperment: some irritability but mostly even, especially considering high stress level.
Other: Playing guitar, working on new art, writing project proposals.

As I ease back into my regular diet I plan to incorporate a once-a-week juice fast into my regimen. I'll also try to continue posting periodic health updates.

2 comments:

HiHoRosie said...

Congrats on your 28 days! That's so great!

And glad your kitty is okay. He's beautiful!

Mary Laredo said...

Thanks Heidi. It was a fast 28 days. My kitty is doing great & yes, he's a handsome guy:)