Juicing Week 1: We Survived!

Last week I talked about all the juicing research I have done.  Now we are getting started!  We have devised a plan to allow us to ease into juicing.  To be honest, we were both a little scared.

Our goal for week 1 was to have juice for a meal 5 days out of the week.  We choose dinner b/c that fit into our pattern pretty easily.

For me juicing during week 1 was not all that bad and it was torturous all at the same time.  I’ll get into the gritty details here, but it was definitely a roller coaster!  I think the easiest way to document this is to just run through the various feelings / emotions/side effects we were having.

We were having a green juice for dinner & another juice shortly after (orange or red or purple).

1. Our first reaction was an overall weirdness feeling.  This is really hard to explain but we felt super alert and little jittery or shaky – this was mostly just the first few days.  Thankfully we were juicing together so we could dialogue – “I feel, weird do you feel weird?”  “Yup, I feel totally weird”
2. My second real issue was mental.  We were having juice for dinner.  I generally have a shake for breakfast, and I continued with this.  So, my only real opportunity to chew my calories was during lunch.  So I found myself behaving like a human vacuum.  I was trying to eat as much as I could and still function in the office.  I was aware I was doing this, but let it happen.  I am committed to the juicing and this was a way to really ease into it.  Plus, I was eating pretty terribly before.  I felt that even though eating a ton for lunch, it would still work out.  I can focus on reducing / managing lunch in a future week
3. Cranky – I was definitely cranky.  There is no way to deny this.  I was kind of picking fights with Jackson.  Luckily he is amazing (and to be honest was also a little cranky too) but we know this might happen and worked through it.  As a side – I get cranky anyway so there is no real way to blame this solely on the juicing
4. Headaches – I had a few minor headaches, but nothing really worth mentioning.  I am including this because Jackson had a few days when he had pounding headaches.  Boo!  There was no real cure we found.  He drank a ton of water, had a little diet soda, no real change.
5. Poo! - I was terrified of juicing because I thought I’d be on the toilet.  This didn’t happen at all.  Maybe because we eased into it but I noticed not adverse poo side effects.  Jackson had one really tough day, but he sometimes has a sensitive stomach.  We also chose some tamer juices, so this could be why we didn’t have issues here.
6. Hungry – I was rarely hungry.  On the 4th day when I woke up I was starving.  But that was it.  I assumed with juicing I’d have a rumbling stomach all the time – not so at all!
7. Felt like torture and punishment.  In my mind I just wanted to be one of those girls who could eat whatever I want, as much as I wanted and still be healthy, fit, thin and feel good.  This isn’t asking for too much, is it??  I know people like this, they do exist, I just want to be one of them.  I had a really tough time, feeling like I was being punished for all of my previous bad behavior.  I had at least one meltdown about this.  I honestly think this is one of the reasons I have not seen really any results in the first three months.  Just wanting it is not enough.  And acknowledging that just because I juiced for 3 days I didn’t weigh significantly less.  So yeah, I was going to have to do this for a long time to see results.  But I don’t wanna!!  My inner-child is having a hard time working through this.  My logical side can acknowledge that it really hasn’t even been that hard!  I have not been hungry, I have not been sick etc.  I just miss chewing, but more than that I need to deal with me feeling like I am missing out. 
8. Sleeping – both Jackson and I have noticed how amazing it is to go to bed without your stomach hurting.  We have slept better!  We woke up feeling better.  All good stuff!  I am kind of obsessed with energy.  Energy to accomplish your goals & do it with a smile! (I’m working on the do it with a smile part!)  If I sleep better this can become easier almost immediately!
9. Heartburn – Jackson did have some issues with heartburn on several days.  Not sure what drove this, but several times he was feeling heartburn throughout the week. 

So after one week, we committed to keeping this up for at least 6 weeks with the goal of having it for one meal, 5 days.  After that, we’ll decide what’s next.  I’m excited to take on this 6 week challenge! 

Please share any juicing experiences you’ve had with us!

Life in the Green Room