As a continuation of yesterday’s post, here are two more reasons I am enjoying juice fasting.
Extra Time
I spend a lot of time every day preparing food, eating it, and cleaning up afterwards. I am more aware of this than ever, now that I don’t have to do it! I’m also amazed by how much of my energy usually goes into planning meals, thinking as I drive home from school about what time I need to start dinner, grocery shopping, hitting up farmers’ markets, and packing lunches for us to take to work and school.
Don’t get me wrong. I love food — the textures, flavors, sights, and smells. I enjoy planning meals and preparing them. I love trying new things and sharing old favorites with family and friends. But we all need a break sometimes, even from activities we enjoy.
If nothing else, I don’t have to deal with my least favorite part of cooking for a little while:
With the extra time and lack of dirty dishes, I can catch up on some of the housework that I’ve neglected, spend a little more time with my husband, maybe read, and go to bed earlier than usual. J agrees that the extra time is wonderful.
It helped a lot that my husband decided to do the fast with me so I wouldn’t have to cook. What a great guy! The first time I fasted, I simply chose a week when he was travelling. That worked well too. If he had not agreed to join me in the fast this time, I would have prepared and frozen food for him ahead of time. (I can see that having kids would make things more complicated. I don’t mean this as a universal rule. It’s just my own experience.)
Freedom
Anyone else feel attached to food? I used to think that there was no way I could possibly go without it. I never fasted. Ever. Not even for one day. The very thought frightened me. I liked to overlook all of those Scriptures about fasting and praying. Surely that didn’t apply to me, did it? Part of this has to do with my blood sugar problems (which is definitely something to be cautious about with fasting!), but I think a lot of it was attachment to food. Go without that comfort? Talk about scary!
The first juice fast shocked me. I didn’t think I would be able to do it, but I did. More than that, it really wasn’t bad! Sure, I felt a little weak the first couple of days, but my energy soared after that. I didn’t miss snacking. I didn’t even want food. I remember preparing a meal for my brother and not feeling tempted to eat it. Amazing.
This time, I felt hungry the first two days but not unbearably so. The smell of food the second day got to me a little bit, but I’ve been doing fine ever since. Today I’m starting to feel hungry, not in the I-want-to-taste-something-yummy sense, but in the my-blood-sugar-doesn’t-feel-quite-right sense. So today, the sixth day, will be my last.
You may be wondering why I didn’t mention health benefits in these posts. Well, whether or not I experience any remains to be seen. This present juice fast merely sets up the gallbladder/liver flush I’ll perform tonight. The malic acid in the unrefined apple juice supposedly softens any gallstones that might be present and prepares the liver and gallbladder for flushing. The benefit I most hope to see is an improvement in my nausea.
As a final note, while I like juice fasting, I’m not perfectly happy with the two I’ve chosen so far. Both have been far too sugary for my peace of mind. I have anxiety about all of that sugar, even if it is from a whole food (in this case, apples). I worry about a resurgence of candida, which I’ve successfully kept at bay with homeopathics, and about my poor pancreas, which works overtime anyway because of my hypoglycemia. In the future, I plan to stick to non-sugary vegetable juice fasts only (i.e., green vegetables and no carrots or beets). If I do the gallbladder/liver flush again, I’ll use malic acid in supplement form, rather than consuming gobs of apple juice.
hi Alison,
In High School (when I was a Senior), I fasted one day a week, but I lost too much weight and had low sugar problems so I had to stop. I was doing it as a spiritual discipline (and it was a wonderful experience), but it was hard for me physically to do.
I hope that you bear much fruit from your fast.
But it sounds like you’ve done very well with it. Perhaps I had more of a problem because I wasn’t always having juice, but sometimes just water.
I have also considered doing a detox fast (I know I many toxins), but have worried about the yeast issue as well. Let us know what your results are.
Thanks for the interesting info on your fast! I am very curious as to how this works out for you. Although it’ll be a while before I can try it, probably not a good idea while pregnant or nursing!!
I would love the extra time from not having to prepare and clean up after meals. Cooking and baking is fun but the piles of dishes certainly are not!!
Can’t wait to see you!
I have been wanting to do a juice fast for a while now, actually I’ve just been wanting to “juice” for a while now.
My hubby told me if I could find a decent juicer, cheap, then I could get it — and I did yesterday, Yay! Ok, so it might not be the best on the market, but it was a good one and it was half price. I have a book that has several juice ideas and what they’re good for and then I’m going to do some more research. If you have any great pointers let me know.
As far as having more time while doing the fast, yeah, with 2 kids I’m definitely past having any extra time to myself.
Fasting would actually be extra work since I will still have to make them 3 meals a day as well. But if I could feel like I’m getting myself healthier, then it would give me even more energy to devote to them. I just did a post this week on how busy I’ve been feeling and how I feel like I’m always in the kitchen.
I hope this fast really helps you!! The next part doesn’t sound as enjoyable to me, but hopefully it helps with your problems.
Kimi,
It’s interesting you should mention the one day per week fast as a spiritual discipline. I’ve been thinking about doing that for a while now, and now that I see that fasting is do-able for me, I feel more confident about it. I like Jordan Rubin’s suggestion of juice fasting until dinner one day per week. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get away with a water fast, though. Maybe I’ll try it some day, but for now, I’ll stick to green juice. I would like to devote more time to prayer every week, and it seems like this could be a great way to fit that in.
Stacy,
You’re right. *Definitely* not a good idea while pregnant or nursing! In fact, some people (including Sally Fallon) recommend that a woman not fast within a few months of trying to conceive. They say it’s good to clean out the body, but then it’s time to build up nutritional stores in preparation for pregnancy.
I look forward to seeing you too!
DeAnna,
The only pointer I have so far is to be wary of high-sugar juicing. It’s extremely common and can be harmful (encourages candida overgrowth, causes unstable blood sugar levels, and levels of insulin in the body that are too high). Most recipes call for large amounts of apples, carrots, beets, pineapple, or other sweet fruits and vegetables. I have found that green juice works better for me. My personal favorite recipe is here:
http://wholesomegoodness.net/2008/03/17/my-favorite-green-juice/
Obviously, I didin’t follow my low-sugar advice with my current juice fast, and I’m regretting it now. No more apple juice for me!
Thanks for the link to your recipe. Those are the kinds of recipes I’m looking at/for. I’ve seen some that are all fruit and I wouldn’t want to do that too often, but then I’ve seen the ones that are things like celery, cabbage, and parsley — yeah, that makes me gag just thinking about it, but throw in at least some apple for sweetness and its more appealing. Its all mind over matter for me, it will also be flowing into a darker glass so I don’t see how green it is, green is not an appealing color for me when I’m drinking something.
DeAnna,
Cucumbers can add a mild sweetness that is very pleasing. Lemon juice is another good flavor booster for those greener-than-green juices. I also like to dilute my green juice a bit so that it’s not quite as GREEN. All in all, though, the green juices are much tastier than I expected. I hope you find them to be so too!
I can’t remember where I read this, but a once a week water fast is not as good for you.as a green drink fast or low-sugar drink fast would be…..Something about the body and the way it works when only getting water…..can’t remember it all.
I have wondered if you could kefir the apple juice like you do coconut water kefir. What do you think? I am tempted to try it. Even my kids think the natural apple juice it too sweet!
I hope I see a new and improved you tomorrow.
Marjorie,
Yes, I think I’m happy to stick to green juice fasting. It’s still quite a sacrifice! I’ve also read that water fasting is too much for people now that we live in such a toxic environment. Supposedly it puts too great a strain on the body’s eliminative system.
Good idea! I bet you could. I also looked this up in Nourishing Traditions, and, lo and behold, there is a recipe on page 587 for Apple Cider made with organic apples, sea salt, and whey. She says to ferment it for 3 days, then let the flavors develop in the fridge for several weeks. “The cider,” she says, “will eventually develop a rich buttery taste and may become slightly effervescent.” Intriguing! If you try it, I want to hear your results.
If I do try this I will just use kefir powdered culture like I use for coconut water kefir.
I did try to make he coconut water kefir from purchased coconut water and something went wrong. I think I was too rushed and didn’t make sure it sat in a warm enough area….it was still very sweet and not tart like when I made it using the labor intensive method.
Didn’t see the results of your cleanse… still curious about the followup.
DINK