Spinach Respect - Day Four

I learned something I didn't know about spinach today. This is only a hunch, but I've decided that juicing two pounds of spinach, along with a selection of other items, may not be the smartest thing to do if you are planning on taking a road trip or anything else that may require you to be any distance from the porcelain throne. Those of us that are juice feasting are working towards a much cleaner system, well.....today, it feels like I got just that. So, other than a wee bit worn out from repeated trips to the smallest room in my house and a rather tender tush, I feel really great. Who needs Cascara Sagrada around here?

Today I made 2+ quarts of spinach, celery, radish, fennel, sunchoke, beet, cucumber, ginger, lime juice. I drank it like a champ and about 30 - 45 minutes later, that's when the action started.

I spent the next few hours questioning myself and trying to figure out what I did wrong, what should I do next, who should I call (yada yada). I then began the thoughts like.....what in the world am I doing? Why am I doing this whole feasting nonsense anyway?? Whoa, slow down, sister! I realized I was starting to get freaky, so I sat down and got centered, meditated, prayed and did some deep breathing. Within a few minutes I began to feel a wave of peace. I could almost feel my stomach muscles relaxing. Once calm and regrouped, I went in and brewed myself a nice cup of Rooibos tea. That seemed to set all things right once again.

Around 7 pm, our neighbor, Candace, and her son, Trey, came over to watch American Idol with us. I tried not to discuss too much about my bathroom drama, but I think I looked extra pale, so she got a nutshell version. I am still not sure what she thinks about me and my whole raw foodist turned into juice feaster persona, but she keeps coming over so I guess it hasn't seemed too bizarre to her. It's not boring over here at least. As everyone settled in with a big salad and macaroni and cheese, I juiced grapefruits and oranges, diluted it with water and added a heaping Tbsp. of Crystal Manna flakes. My tummy seemed to absorb that with extreme contentment and everything has been perfectly normal since.

Who knew juice feasting would be such a ride? For the record, I have NO intention of quiting this. I am fully committed and I'm loving the results that I can already see and feel. I am just really honest and I decided to share my moment because I think that others may have a similar moment at some point along the way too. So today's lesson....next time, light on the the spinach, please.

Pineapple Pleasures - Day Three

I thought for sure that the Live Web Event with Eckhart Tolle and Oprah would be the final highlight to my most marvelous day, but alas, my computer connection proved to be a bit too slow and I was unable to watch the live event this evening. Although temporarily disappointed, I chose not to be too upset and decided to look at it as Eckhart would suggest by simply saying, "It is what it is." I was pleased to read that I will be able to go to her website tomorrow for a complete viewing and it can also be downloaded into my IPod from ITunes. So, it wasn't a loss, just a delay.

The inability to watch the class affords me this time to do the daily blog update and give the highlights of Day 3. As you can tell by the photo of pineapples, I have found new pleasure in this juicy, tropical delight. This morning I juiced a whole pineapple (peeled first and sliced), 2 bunches of cilantro, 1/2 head of celery, 4 limes, 2 apples and I added the water from one baby coconut. It was a Hawaiian luau party in my mouth! The reporter and photographer from the Tulsa World were also here this morning, putting the finishing touches on the upcoming article, so they both got to enjoy a bit of the sweet, green goodness, as well. It is a real joy to share the vibrancy, colors and life of freshly juiced organic fruits and vegetables with others.

Then this afternoon I put together a loaded pitcher full of juiced carrots, celery, cucumber, beet, lemons, kale, apple, burdock root, ginger and jerusalem artichoke. Sounds like it would be too much going on but it was really good. The color was a beautiful poinsettia color. I had about 2 quarts of this and it completely satisfied my palate and any bit of hunger that might have been starting to surface.

Everything else is going so smoothly. I awoke this morning in the the most pleasant mood and that has carried on throughout the day. Even though our weather was cold, sleeting, then snowing, then just plain dreary, I felt great and have experienced tremendous energy and clarity. My eliminations have been consistent but I have a colonic scheduled for tomorrow for good measure. I would like to try to schedule one each week throughout the entirety of the juice feast if finances allow.

So far I haven't been squeezing in much exercise but I know that will change. I have a gym membership, great yoga tapes by Rainbeau Mars, and a rebounder. It is a matter of just gearing up and doing it. I certainly have the strength and energy to move and get my blood flowing and it would be helpful to get some healthy, detoxifying perspiration going. I also love getting outside and briskly walking or hiking on days when the weather is a bit more cooperative.

My sleep has been good, filled with dreams and I awake very rested and ready for the day. I try to be asleep by 11 pm or earlier so I can get those important hours in before 2 am. I read somewhere that the sleep we get from 10 pm - 2 pm are the most crucial rest hours. Since I think of winter as being in hibernation mode, it's not a big challenge for me to get horizontal by a decent time. And with my husband's snoring, I like to be sound asleep before the chain saw starts sawing logs.

Until tomorrow....love to people and thanks to those who are reading!

Rhythm Nation - Day Two

Juicing and dreams.....I've heard there is something that happens when one is juicing that creates a change in dream patterns. I experienced this phenomenon last night. Janet Jackson was the starring role throughout the majority of my slumber. She and I were good friends and I was helping her to come up with a title for her upcoming album. We hung out, danced together and I convinced her to run a 9K race with me. She agreed. All I remember was that I would run like the wind and then there would be intervals when it was like my feet were so heavily weighted that I could hardly lift them. Although I felt rested when I awoke, I was aware that I had been dreaming for what seemed like all night. I usually don't have much memory of my dreams, so I think this must be directly related to my juice feasting.

I've decided that the significance of Janet Jackson as a key figure was because I remember a report some years back that she gave herself coffee enemas everyday for health reasons. She said it was one of her best kept beauty secrets. I guess I've been a little freakish about the whole enema a day thing. Although I do get colonics from time to time, I'm not a fan of enemas, not that anyone I know is. I totally understand why we are encouraged to do them because there's no denying the benefits of keeping things moving efficiently through the system. So that said, allow me to move on. As far as the weights on my legs in the dream....it could be the obvious...my spirit soars but the extra weight is holding me back. Maybe one of you dream interpreters can take a guess at what it means.

So far, today has been very much like yesterday. Good overall and my energy is fine. I am still having to stay near by the powder room, but things aren't all that bad. My headache from yesterday vanished as soon as it came, thankfully. It is nearing 6 pm and I've already had just over 3 quarts of juice, mainly green based. Tonight is my best friends birthday party at an Irish Pub here in town. I plan to take some tea bags and ask for hot water. I am also thinking that being the designated photographer will help me not feel weird about not eating. Most of those who will be in attendance haven't a clue about what I'm up to, and I'd just as soon keep it that way.

I hope all my other friends who are juicing their little hearts out are having positive experiences. They say the first three days are the worst on cravings. I haven't been having too hard of time, but we'll see if those digestive juices start flowing when I smell the Irish food tonight!

Just Juice - Day One

Today was such a marvelous day here in Tulsa.....it was around 70 degrees, sunny, birds singing, people out walking themselves and their dogs....I love days like this. The weather set the tone for my first day on just juice perfectly. I think I did everything the way a good little juice feaster should. I had my water with lemon and MSM to start the day off. Enema, dry skin brush, and hot/cold shower - check. I can honestly say that I have never juiced that much green produce in one setting in my life. I was able to extract 3 quarts of lovely shamrock green juice in the first part of the day (which I sipped on about every 2 1/2 hours) and then ended up having the juice of one thai coconut with green powder added in around happy hour. When dinner time came, I enjoyed a delicious concoction of diluted grapefruit, lemon, and orange juice with a heaping Tbsp. of Crystal Manna Flakes. I also swallowed down a tbsp. of Hemp oil earlier in the day when I started to feel cold...it went to work almost instantly.

My friend, Dea, is also juice feasting right now and she lives in Italy. Last week she was commenting that she was hoping not to have any "bathroom drama" like when she had first gone 100% raw and was juicing. I haven't read the update on her day 1 report yet, but I can speak for myself on the subject......I have spent more time than usual in the loo. I came into this feast wanting to experience cleansing and it looks like I'm getting the desired results. Nothing unbearable and I was glad that I was able to stay fairly close to home. OK...that's enough detail about that.

No doubt about it, today felt like a success. I had a headache later in the day that hasn't completely left, but I expected as much. There will be plenty of other symptoms that will bubble up before it's over but I'm hoping to just roll with the flow and take each day as it comes. Oh yes, I almost forgot, the weight question. I weighed in at 165 pounds first thing this morning. I had been a few pounds less last time I weighed, so I don't know where these pesky ones came from, but it's no matter, they'll be gone again soon enough. I plan to weigh myself about once a week, and when I do, I'll share it here. I can tell you that I already feel less puffy and feel really hydrated.

Until tomorrow......

Getting My Juice On

This morning I met with Matt Gleason of The Tulsa World. We hung out and chatted in the deli at Whole Foods and then we went produce shopping! Matt was really cool and seemed genuinely interested in this whole global juice feasting concept. He shared that he has even made some changes in his own diet and I think....I hope...he will chose to put a positive spin on the story. I spent a good deal of time preparing and I had my facts as ready as I was going to. I communicated that I feel as though I'm making an educated and dynamic choice for the betterment of my own health. My intention with this feast was never meant for any kind of publicity, as it feels like a completely personal thing to me, however, I am open to sharing what I've learned if it can help another. In the end, I made him promise not to make me into sounding like a far-out-new-age-hippie juice freak...he laughed. So did I, and we'll see how it all turns out when it hits the newsstand next week.

So, now that I've shopped and have this interview basically behind me, my personal enthusiasm has climaxed and I'm ready to get this show on the road. My kitchen and refrigerator are brimming with beautiful colors and overflowing with vibrant life. I have ended up only juicing today and haven't eaten anything yet, but Gordon and I will probably have "our last supper" this evening, just for fun. I'll most likely have a fabulous salad with an avocado....that sounds so good to me right now.

I just learned that my friend, Heidi Ohlander, has made the choice to end her juice feast today on day 35. She has done so well and she's been a huge source of encouragement to me. I applaud her for listening to her body and resisting the urge to prove a point, to try to hang in there for others or to push through for some sort of level achievement when that is so not what all of this is about. She is going to continue on with a modified juice feast and she will keep us posted on what that is going to look like in the days ahead.

Before I part with you, I'll post a list of what I purchased today for my first few days:

2 bundles spinach
2 heads romaine
2 heads rainbow swiss chard
2 bunches cilantro
2 bunches Italian parsley
2 bunches fresh mint
1 pkg. jerusalem artichokes
1 5 lb. bag carrots
3 heads celery
1 bunch red beets
6 cucumbers
3 red bell peppers
bag of lemons
bag of limes
4 young coconuts
1 ugly wad ginger
2 bags gala apples
Box of Rooiboos tea
Hemp Oil

And as Katrina Rainoshek says....only one more sleep and it will be time to let the feast begin!

Creating Space

Each day that goes by, I am getting more and more geared towards the impending feast. I have been using up ingredients in my kitchen and making meals with what we have instead of going out and collecting more to add into the cabinets. I suppose I have been unintentionally purging and cleaning out in preparation for the flow of organic life that will be filling the counter tops and refrigerator over the upcoming months. So instead of all kinds of raw ingredients, like raw macadamia nut butter, Cacao Bliss, agave nectar and a smörgasbord of lovingly prepared raw treats, my shelves are starting to hold supplements like bee pollen, Rich's MSM, Vita-Mineral Green, etc. The shift in my thinking has already taken place and now tangible things are starting to fall in line.

One interesting thing that happened last week was that a reporter from our local paper, The Tulsa World, somehow stumbled across my blog as he was looking for inspirational stories. Matt Gleason contacted me last Friday and would like to do a story about my juice feast and is particularly interested in the whole global aspect of what is taking place. Matt and a staff photographer will meet me at Whole Foods this Friday morning as I shop for the first couple of days of my feast. We'll do part of the interview at the store and then they'll follow me home for a tour of the raw and juicy kitchen and a lesson in JUICING 101. Won't that be fun? The story will run the following week and then there will be a follow up(s) as the feast progresses. A final story will run at the close of my feast to report statistics. I am delighted to be able to share this gift of life with people who may have never heard of the concept of healing and regeneration through juicing.

As I have been preparing for the upcoming changes, I have been voraciously reading other feasters blogs. I am learning something from all of them but one stood out. JuiceFeastingAtFifty writes, "The juice feast is a solitary journey. I did not foresee, before starting the juice feast, that it would take a toll on others besides myself, but in truth it does....... My family can’t eat dinner with my me; my friends from work can’t eat lunch with me....My focus is on me: how I am feeling? how well I am detoxing today? And frankly, that does get tiresome, both for those whom I love and for me too.....Although a solitary journey, it prepares one to rejoin the world from a higher, deeper perspective. I am more patient, kinder, and more considerate because of the juice feast. I have embraced my spirituality fully and without fear of disapproval, and have committed myself to undertaking the work that I now realize I came here to do....the clarity has enabled me to focus on realizing my dreams. What I want to achieve with this gift called life is no longer vague and unattainable — it is as clear and sharp as the spark in my daughter’s eye when she is laughing from the gut. The juice feast is, in essence, a vision quest.....During the juice feast you do retreat into yourself, but you do so to transform into the person you know you can be. And from there you can be of much greater service to the world, whatever your path."

After reading these words, how can I not move forward? What is three months in the great scheme of life? I will tell you the difference three months makes....Look at Terilynn from Denver who is nearing the end of her 92 days. This raw mama has got it going on! I read today that although her feast is scheduled to end this Saturday, she is considering taking it forward another week. Talk about inspiration!

I am so eager to join the others who are blazing the trail before me...just a few more days before my pantry is bare and my Omega Juicer is going at full tilt!

Eckhart Is My Homeboy

In my last post, I made a statement that I sensed my decision to commit to the upcoming juice feast wasn't something that I'm choosing, but that IT is actually choosing ME. After rereading those words and now having several comments from others who also appear to understand these feelings, I happened upon a writing from Eckhart Tolle that I wanted to share with you all here. This is from Oprah's website where he is discussing the reasoning behind why he wrote another book after his life-changing, The Power of Now......

"The process (of writing A New Earth) began in the same way as it had with The Power of Now—a strong sense that there was a book that wanted to be written. It felt almost as if the book already existed in the unmanifested realm and wanted me to bring it into this world. Many times in my life, it has been my experience that the most powerful starting point for any endeavor is not the question, What do I want?, but What does Life (God, Consciousness) want from me? How do I serve the whole? "

There it was again, simply said with different words, but the exact same thing I had been feeling. Eckhart articulated beautifully my own impression of my current internal feelings. I love when synchronicity brings it all together sometimes.

If you haven't read A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life's Purpose, I do hope you'll consider adding it to your list of must reads. I find it pretty amazing that Oprah has chosen this book for her Book Club list. The number of lives that may be touched through the reading of this is beautiful and humbling. I would also encourage you to go and sign up to be part of the online study of A New Earth that will be taking place every Monday evening, beginning March 3rd for 10 weeks. I don't suspect it is a consequence that this study parallels during the time of the global juice feast.

Today I am going out to get a blood sugar monitor. We are strongly encouraged to get a more clear picture of what our resting blood sugar levels are before beginning the juicing process. Knowing where we fall - whether in the normal, pre-diabetic or diabetic range - is important for planning what will actually be juiced during this time. I have a sense that I will be more into the pre-diabetic range, but we'll see. It is hard for me to imagine not being able to have fruit during this time. Alas, I'll cross that bridge if and when I get there.

Have a great weekend Everybody!