Day 1 - 3rd Time's a Charm

I started juice fasting again just a few days ago... kinda.  It is not wise for me to do anything half-heartedly; I need to be all or nothing.  Today, March 4th, 2013 is officially day 1 of my 3rd attempt.


Current motivations to stick to the juice fast:

1. This summer (June?) I will be attending my 10 year high school reunion and I don't want to feel crappy about myself.

2. This summer I will also be flying to Arizona to visit my parents for the first time since they left Alaska for a warmer climate last year.

2a. While in Arizona I will be meeting a nice single LDS man my parents have befriended; they have high hopes.  We talk on the phone and exchange texts semi-regularly already; I want meet him at the airport with proof that I really do care about myself.

2b. Extra weight + hot climate (Arizona) = Hell

2c. My parents installed a pool in their backyard. When I'm visiting Arizona in the flippin' hot summer I  plan on living in it; I don't want to feel like a whale.

2d. Two words: Airplane Seats.  No explanation necessary.

3. I impulsively bought myself a tenor ukulele and am teaching myself how to play. Don't worry, music is one of my "things"; this is not some crazy phase.  Anyway, have you ever played a guitar/ukulele/etc. with a stomach that isn't all flat and fit?  Yeah... a little tough sometimes to keep the instrument where it needs to be, plus since they sit against your stomach and/or chest, it just screams, "look at me!".  I want to feel better about people looking there.

Back to juicing...

I will not be following any fancy pants recipes for juices, and will do my best to stick to what I deem a "normal" food budget.  How will I do this?  If I weren't allergic to so many vegetables, my approach to a healthier diet would be to transition to a mostly raw-foods diet, starting with eating more salads (I LOVE salads) which I can do without busting the bank account.  Since I cannot eat the salads, I am going to juice them.  For some reason juicing the veggies I'm allergic to helps me tolerate them, which is a huge blessing; nothing else works (believe me, I've tried it all).

As you can see in the photos below, I created what I would consider a pretty normal salad that would cover 2+ portions (in my house growing up a salad was a meal, not a side dish).  If I could just eat that bowl of goodness, it would definitely cover my meals for the rest of the day.

And then.... I juiced it.  That's it, nothing fancy.  Plain, simple, and affordable.  It didn't taste too bad either.  Seriously.  It was no milkshake or banana cream pie, but it was definitely palatable.

The juice is my lunch and dinner.  I didn't juice breakfast today because I didn't really feel like it, but my intentions are to juice oranges or apples each day for breakfast; probably 2.   I also have to eat something in the morning each day because I am on medication for temporal lobe seizure activity; gotta keep all the electricity in my brain down to a dull roar.  It is necessary for me to eat with that pill.  So, I have my favorite Greek yogurt to help me with that.  Not much is needed, just about a quarter cup does the trick.

Basic store bought salad (I cheated and went with a boxed one rather than getting the individual greens).

Layer one

Cucumbers!

Sweet Peppers!

Sweet pepper packaging - I couldn't resist getting these... 

Carrots!!!

Tomatoes!  (Near the end of juicing this morning, I actually added 1 more tomato because I like them, and because it helped get the last of the greens through my juicer).

Pulp! 

My juice!

Best Greek yogurt out there! A little of this works to take my morning meds. :)