Juice Fast Day 3...

Bitter Detox

Wednesday was my third day of Juice fasting and I certainly didn’t feel that ‘crash and burn’ that most people experience the first three days but I didn’t have the same kind of energy that I’d had on Tuesday either. It was kind of an up and down sort of day.

7am - Woke up, but I’d had a restless night and didn’t sleep very good so I decided to go back to sleep.

8:30am - Woke up again, but stayed in bed until 9am because my dog jumped into bed and wanted to cuddle. I was feeling bright, positive and full of energy upon waking.

9:30am - Went for a short walk. It was pretty cold and dreary outside, so much so that even my dog didn’t want to be outside.

10:30am - Made Breakfast.  I had the same breakfast that I had on Day two of the juice fast. The Bitter Detoxifier and the Strawberry Kiwi Juice. The only difference is that I added a blood orange into the fruit juice and it tasted fantastic!

Strawberry Kiwi Juice

12pm - My husband and I had some errands to do and so we headed out to get things done. We were out for a couple of hours and I felt pretty good, and positive the whole time. Was looking forward to the day ahead, and to relaxing under some warm blankets with a good book.

2:30-3pm - Drank a Kombucha

4:30pm - I started feeling depressed and frustrated with the fast. The same kind of feelings as on day one. Doubting myself and my ability to actually accomplish the fast, wondering why I was doing it. My brain telling me to eat even when my body wasn’t hungry. I wanted to give up and pack it in, I wanted to quit. I was feeling really tired so I decided to take a nap.

5:30pm - Still felt the same as earlier, the nap made me less tired but didn’t seem to dissipate the negative feelings I was having. I was hungry and so I made lunch. A 36oz green juice. No recipe, wasn’t in the mood to find one, and didn’t feel very inspired. Instead I just threw a bunch of greens into the juicer. Collards, chard, arugula, ginger, lemon, apple, romaine, and cucumber. My camera wasn’t in the kitchen as it usually is and I didn’t want to go upstairs to get it, so I neglected to take a picture. Around this time my husband was also making himself dinner - spaghetti - and that didn’t help my negative feelings. I didn’t even particularly want to eat spaghetti and yet I felt like breaking down and having some. I didn’t. I drank my juice which was mentally less satisfying then the other juices I’d drunk, but physically it filled me up and once I was out of the kitchen I was feeling alright.

6:15pm - We had to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things for juicing. While there I ran into some people that I know and started to feel that renewed positivity.

7:10pm - We saw a movie. My positivity went up, and I was feeling good about myself and proud that I hadn’t given up doing the juice fast. I was proud that I made it to three days even if there were tough moments along the way. Although I began wondering when the energy and sharper mental clarity were suppose to kick in.

Wheatgrass/Spirulina Coconut Water

10pm - Arrived home, and while I was a little hungry I wasn’t hungry enough for a full juice so I did what I had the night before and mixed some wheatgrass, and spirulina with coconut water. It was good, filled me up and kept that positivity going. This time I took a picture!

Overall Thoughts for the day

My positivity and negativity seemed to be in a constant battle today. Some moments I was super positive and super charged, while other times I was super negative and down on myself, wanting to quit. I didn’t feel as bad as everyone says you’re suppose to feel on day 3 but this was probably one of my least positive days. Although even with my negative thoughts I still found it easier mentally, emotionally and physically then day one, which was probably the worst day so far.

Aside from feeling a little more tired then usual I didn’t experience any ‘detox’ symptoms. No headache, or nausea or aches and pains. Although Since day 2 I have noticed a white film coating my tongue in the morning. This is apparently normal, a sign of detox. I used my tongue scraper to get rid of it. My mouth also constantly tastes and smells like vegetables, no matter what I do. I brush my teeth and for 20 minutes it smells and tastes fresh like mint, then it’s back to that veggie smell/taste. This too, is apparently normal, and I look forward to when this goes away.

I am starting to wonder if maybe my diet isn’t actually as bad as I think it is, but that it’s actually rather good. I mean I know I can make improvements here and there - everyone can - but I don’t really feel like I’m detoxing, and for the most part the juice fast has been pretty easy. The mental aspect of it is what’s hard, but physically - hunger-wise - it’s no problem. I also wonder if this means that I won’t actually get that extra energy and mental clarity that everyone talks about. Maybe my energy and clarity levels are exactly where they’re suppose to be? Maybe it’s only people coming off of the SAD diet that really experience those kinds of revelations. Since all the accounts of juice fasting and cleansing I’ve read have come from people who went into it as omnivores, smokers, coffee drinkers, food addicts and alcohol drinkers it’s hard to say. I’m not a smoker or a drinker, I rarely drink coffee, rarely eat fried foods, and rarely eat bread. I do eat a lot of other carbs like grains and beans but I don’t think I over eat them. I do use oil, probably more then I should sometimes but hey. Sugar is definitely my enemy number one, but when I think about how much sugar I consume compared to how much other people consume it certainly doesn’t seem to be as big of a vice for me as it is for others. So all of this makes me wonder, but maybe these other great benefits will come over the next few days. We shall see.