Kevin and I recently watched the film, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and got hyper-wound-up about going on a juice fast (o.k., mostly Kevin). So, 24 hours later, there I was, filling up the Graco Trekko stroller with mounds of fruit and vegetables for our juicing pleasure. We had done a week-long fast in the past in Goa, but that was way back in 2008 when we were footloose and fancy free, with nary a toddler in sight. We also took off work and were able to spend the day resting (when we weren’t administering our twice-daily enemas of death), and someone else made our juices for us.
Fast forward to life with a little one, and we had completed 1-, 3- and one 5-day fast without too much difficulty (again, with someone else preparing and delivering our liquid gold). So, we figured, this wouldn’t be so bad, right?
I decided to use a juicing app, which was a fantastic experience as it gave all the recipes, indicated what time the drinks should be ‘enjoyed,’ and had a nifty shopping list function so I could see if I needed a mountainous 36 or only a measly 24 organic apples for the day (we doubled everything as we were fasting for two). The feast started out on the sweet side, heavy on the apples, as you might have gathered from the previous sentence, and then ramped up the greens as the week went along. We had a lot of wheatgrass, which can definitely give a person a queasy stomach, especially if it’s been a while since you have played detox party games with wheatgrass shots (just something to keep in mind).
I had thought about keeping a detailed daily diary of the experience, but between buying produce, cleaning produce, washing produce, juicing produce, and cleaning the juicer, I was pretty much tied up (did I mention we have a two year old and no help?!), so the brief notes which follow will have to suffice. I will say that Kevin weathered the week pretty well, as was to be expected from him. I, on the other hand, battle low blood sugar, and fasting – at least during the first half of the day – is a real mental and physical battle. Here are my memoirs from the week (well, the general highs and lows, anyway):
Day 1: Really hungry, with the sensation stemming from my stomach (as opposed to Kevin’s desire to chew and experience tasting food in his mouth). Lightheaded and weak, questioning why we are doing this. Feeling sadness from the loss of eating, and mourning over not being able to experience food, feeling as if it will be a lifetime of suffering ahead of me.
Day 2: Pretty much the same as Day 1. By now many friends know we are doing this, so I cannot quit without looking like an idiot. I am having waves of nausea off and on, which I find strange considering I am not eating anything!
Day 3: This is my dark day. I felt as though I might either burst into tears or violently beat someone at any moment. I am thanking my lucky stars that no Thai has messed with me today so far, because it is gonna be ON! Emotional turmoil is high. I am beginning to release a sort of tar-like sludge. Side note: Thankfully, after this day there was no more pooing of any kind during the fasting period. At all.
Day 4: Still feeling bad, but leveling out from the mess of Day 3. In it to win it, knowing that it will all be up from here. Still hungry, though – not gonna lie.
Day 5: We’re picking up! Feeling bursts of energy and having a positive outlook on life in general. Ego is pumping, as I feel superior to all the crap-eaters around me. Skin is starting to look good, and I’ve got a spring in my step like evil Black Spiderman. I RULE THE WORLD! For now, anyway…
Day 6: Feeling juice-tastic! I officially have no need for food or sleep. The wheatgrass drinks give me such a boost and mental clarity, that I feel I should be sitting down and running a statistical analysis on something. If I did not have the little one to take care of, I am convinced I could come up with a cure for a deadly disease or at least start a 6-figure business or something. Wanting to feel like this FOREVER! It’s like a caffeine high without the caffeine (and without the crash afterwards).
Day 7: This juice thang has officially become second nature and part of life. We both feel that we could keep going for longer, but an upcoming trip to Scotland is looming, and we know we need to get back on track as we will be indulging a bit while away. We decide to do an add-on to the app, which has 14 days of really light eating, in order to continue to clean out our bodies (whatever that means), release more weight, and stay motivated to eat a little lighter and a little less.
Weight loss tally: During the 7 days of juice-feasting, I lost a total of 1.6 kg (3.52 lb). Kevin was the superstar with a loss of 3.6 kg (7.92 lb), and he continued to lose in the days after, although I stopped keeping track, mostly out of irritation…
Post-fast:
This is where things got Krazy with a capital “K”.
We were to have a juice (blended with avocado) for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and a cooked veggie soup for dinner. I was questioning the logic of having a raw salad (which even had broccoli, albeit it grated) right after the fast ended, but I decided the app probably knew more about this than I did, so we went for it. On Day 8 (first food day), things went well digestion-wise, and we were happy to have something to eat. Day 9 was a repeat of the previous day, just with the soup for lunch and the salad for dinner. I was eating a lot, but feeling really lightheaded and weak. I could not figure out why I felt worse since we were now eating. Kevin even attended a jujitsu class, for Pete’s sake, and there I was – lethargic and not feeling like going anywhere with the child.
That night I asked Kevin if I could sleep by myself (we are a trio in one bed at night, which does not work well for a light sleeper like myself). I slept fairly well until 4am, when I heard Fergus whine and it woke me up. Needing to pee, I decided to make a trip to the bathroom, and as I walked a few feet across the bedroom, something weird came over me and I felt that I had suddenly lost control of my arms and legs. I went from standing and walking, to falling into the nearest wall (or else I am sure I would have landed on the floor). My arms started jerking and flailing, and while I was mentally conscious, I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I started banging up against the wall and then the door in our bedroom, and this continued for 4-5 seconds (I reckon) until, as immediately as it started, it all stopped and I was left standing in the dark. I had no idea what had just happened, and knew I had woken Kevin up, so I just mumbled it was a leg cramp to buy me some ‘WTF?’ processing time, and then proceeded to the bathroom as was the original plan. When I walked back to the bed, I was not just a little bit concerned it would happen again, but thankfully I got back without drama. I could not go to sleep after that, so I just rested in bed until Kevin and Fergus got up just before 6am and I could explain to him what had happened. My hands were shaky and I felt a bit out of sorts with a slight headache, so we decided I should eat something. We then decided I should go to the hospital to get checked, but since I had eaten, I would not be able to get a true blood sugar measurement representative of what it might have been during my ‘episode.’.
Bumrugrad Hospital was so fantastic – I showed up at information, and within two hours I had had seen a GP, had blood drawn, seen a neurologist and been back to the GP to get the blood test results. Nothing showed up, and both doctors said it was unusual to remain conscious while having a seizure, so we all decided whatever happened was likely a result of either low blood sugar or low blood pressure or both, brought on by the fasting, and I was sent home and told to eat and rest and come back if anything else happened. Luckily, I didn’t have any additional episodes or problems, and once I started eating again, I felt ‘normal’ in a few days time. Kevin was concerned and decided to end the light follow-up diet as well, and so we slowly eased into eating again, initially with fruits, vegetables, easy to digest grains and carbohydrates. I was really disappointed in having to cut short the follow-up diet plan. I mean, Truck Driver Phil from the film did his juice fast for 60 days without dropping to the floor. 60 DAYS! However, I assume that Phil’s starting blood pressure and blood sugar where higher than normal, as opposed to my lower-than-normal rates.
Fast costs: The total cost of the produce for the fast came to US$283.68 for two people, which breaks down to $20.26 per day per person. This was buying all organic, with the exception of lemons and avocados, which are not always available here organic.
Final thoughts: Kevin had a great experience on the fast. He lost the weight he was hoping to lose, and he is more motivated about making healthy choices for meals and snacks after the experience. He is continuing to drop weight slowly and is getting in better shape by making more time to exercise. I am happy with my results, as I had a few kilos I wanted to shed from my lower body, and this started the process. I do not regret the experience, but I certainly need to keep in mind that perhaps with age, changes in my body from pregnancy, stress and the general lack of sleep for a mother with a two year old who bed-shares and does not sleep through the night, I might not be able to push my metabolic limits as far as I used to. I am looking forward to making more time for exercise, something that has always been elusive to me, and I know that getting a strong body (for the first time in my life!) is equally as important as dropping fat.
My advice to anyone interested in juice fasts is to pay attention to how you are feeling as the fast progresses, and don’t feel obligated to continue it as long as you might have originally planned if things are not going well. Our bodies are all different, and there is no one-size-fits-all fast or cleanse that has the exact same effects (either good or bad) on everyone. Proceed with gusto, but also with caution. And possibly with medical guidance.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor or nutritionist, so please consult your favorites before embarking on a juice fast. I am in no way presenting anything negative about the particular juice fasting program that we chose to use for guidance. In fact, it was a fantastic resource which made things really easy to follow and stick to, the juices were pleasant-tasting, and the follow-up diet plan was adequate. I just had a bad experience, for whatever reason(s).
Yikes! thanks for the warning! I’ve had some pretty scary experiences also on fasts – I don’t do them anymore. I do a green smoothie day if I need to, but that’s it. I think some of us have more fragile constitutions than others.
take care!
I have done several juice cleanses of 3-4 days and they always went great. The last when I did it went really great too. As usual I felt like a million bucks with great energy by the 3rd day. However after my last one on my first day easing back into light foods I got so weak and sick and almost passed out right as I was getting ready to get up and give a presentation to a large group of people. It was awful! I think the problem was on the day I was easing back into food I did not start my day right away with a juice like I normally do when I’m juice fasting. Once I drank one of my leftover juices and got more food in my body I felt fine. When I’m doing the juice fast I’m drinking the juice pretty constantly and evenly spaced out during the game so I don’t have big blood sugar problems. But now I know I need to be much more careful on that first day as I’m easing back onto raw food.
That’s interesting, Shari! Maybe that was my problem. We did have a morning juice, but that was all for the juices, so intake was pretty spaced out on the eating day as opposed to me sipping juices all day. Good point!