Singley’s Health and Fitness

I feel 10x better today than I have over the last few days.  I’m not craving caffeine, I don’t feel like I’m starving, my headache is gone, and I slept pretty well last night.  Very nice!  In the category of TMI (just throwing this out there so that those that will do this fast will know what to expect) my trips to the bathroom are lest than pleasant.  We’ll just leave it at that.

Weight: 189.2

Breakfast: Grape juice, soon to be followed by a juice blend of red cabbage, rutabega, carrot, celery and jalapeno.

General Feeling: Feeling good today!  I definitely have more energy, which is great.  I’ve continue to work out throught the detox fast, and I’m glad for that.  Yesterday’s cardio (eliptical trainer and lap swimming) was tiring, but I made it.  I think today will be much easier.  I’m feeling good!

I felt my energy just continue to leave me yesterday, although I did have a pretty good workout at the gym.  I slept well last night, although I’m still kind of tired today.  The no-caffeine headache is gone, which I certainly appreciate…it’s terrible trying to function with that.

But no matter, today I am tired.  I know that tomorrow will bring some renewed energy (at least it has traditionally), so I will look forward to that.  For today I will just slug though my tasks and try to stay awake until it’s time for bed tonight.  The gym should be okay as well, today is my “off” day for weights, so it is just cardio.  ”Just”…hah…like it’s going to be easy.  45 minutes on the elipitical machine, 30 minutes in the pool doing laps.  I’m tired just thinking of it.

Breakfast today: 16oz of orange juice, 16oz of grape juice

Weight: 190.4 (side note: although my purpose of this fast is to detoxify my body, not lose weight, it will be nice to see the second digit on my scale as an “8″ for the first time in a long, long time!)

General feeling: physically I’m feeling better, the fatigue is something that is hurting me though.  I’m looking forward to some energy! I feel like quitting right now, and that is exactly why I will press on!

Last night was tough…the no-caffeine headache really kicked in.  My head hurt and my eyes felt hollow.  I was pretty sleepy, ended up crashing around 9:30.  This morning feels much better though!  No headache, the only pain I feel is from lifting pretty hard yesterday, my back muscles are sore.  Day two is ahead of me, and I will conquer it!

Breakfast: I juiced celery,carrot and jalapeno.  Normally day two is still solids, but I’m calling an audible and mixing in some juices.

Weight: 191.2

General Feeling: Much better!  Yesterday was a challenge, but that was to be expected.  I’m feeling pretty good, although still a little tired.  I expect my energy to pick up tomorrow and really kick in on Thursday.

Today I begin a 9 day fast.  I’ll do a checkin to assess where I am with things.  The point of the fast is to detoxify, ultimately feeling better, so it’s important to keep track of progress.

Weight: 194.4

General Feeling: fair. Unfortunately I’m experiencing some pain in my right hip and leg, but it has nothing to do with the fast.  I have gone on short 15 minute runs for the last couple of days, but my AS hasn’t like that so much.  I won’t be running anytime soon.  Health-wise though I feel alright, although already at 9:30 in the morning I feel like I *need* caffiene.  I hate being addicted to anything, especially that junk.

Breakfast: 1 pear, 1 plum, 1 glass of orange juice, 1 glass of green tea (just a little hedge against the upcoming lack-of-caffiene headache)

We subscribe to a local organics co-op, so we get a pretty good selection of organic fruits and vegetables every week.  Getting ready for The Fruit and Juice requires more though!  Here is what I got tonight in preperation:

From Costco:

• -Bartlett Pears
• -Blueberry/Pomegranate Juice
• -Fresh Orange Juice
• -Tomatoes
• -Apples
• -Pineapple
• -Celery Hearts
• -10lb bag of carrots
• -Plums
• -Total Cost: $55.31

From Albertson’s

• -Habanero Peppers
• -Green Cabbage
• -Red Cabage
• -Beets
• -Brussel Sprouts
• -Ginger Roots
• -Collard Greens
• -Jalapeno Peppers
• -Rutabega
• -Parsley
• -Red Onion
• -Total Cost: $19.29

Combine this with the grapes and peaches from my weekly delivery and I’ve got enough for most of my fast!  Oh…about the peppers (jalapeno and habanero), I’ve discovered that adding a little pepper to the different juices really makes it tasty and satisfies my craving for “real” food.  It’s awesome.

I’ll post up recipes as I go for juicing different concoctions.

Although I have skipped it for the last couple of years, pretty much annually since 1991 I have been doing a fast that consist of eating nothing but fruits and vegetables for over a week. I read about it in a book called “Gold’s Gym Nutrition Bible“. The purpose is to detoxify my body and let me internal organs get a bit of a rest.  Even though most people would consider my diet to consist of mostly healthy food, the reality is that I consume a lot of chemicals.  You do too.  Look at the ingredients on the side of any pre-packed meal and you’ll see a bunch of words that you don’t know the meaning of.  That stuff…those chemicals…are residing in my body now.

Back in college I read about the idea of a controlled fast as a way of cleaning out your system.  I tried it once…and have been a believer ever since.  It goes like this: for two days you eat nothing but solid fruits and vegetables and drink water.  You need to alternate the fruits and vegetables to allow the different enzymes to do their thing.  Make sure you drink plenty of water!  Then after two days of prepping your body the tough part begins: five days of fruit and vegetable juices.  No solids.  Yeah, you read that right. The highly preferred method here is juice that you make yourself, so it’s good to have a juicer already.  I use the Juiceman Jr. to make mine, I’ve had it for over ten years and it’s still going strong. After five days you go back to two days of solid fruits and vegetables to get your system acclimated to whole foods again.  That’s it, you’re done.

Sounds easy, right?

It’s very mentally challening.  The first 24 hours are tough, especially if you are a caffiene drinker.  As your body craves the drug the headache comes, followed by a bit of fatigue.  On the 3rd day, sometimes the 4th, your skin my get a very subtle rash, almost like a sunburn.  Say goodbye to those toxins!  By the 4th day however, you have more energy than you know what to do with!  I’ve always struggled with the first three days, but the fourth is such a payoff!  By the time you get to the end of your fast you practically turn your nose up at soda and processed crap.

So that’s it in a nutshell.  I’m going to use this section to chart my progress with mood, weight and overall well-being.  Although I usually lose close to 10 lbs over the course of 9 days, I do not do this to lose weight.  I do this to feel better and clean my body.

You’re welcomed to join me!  If you have never done a controlled fast like this I would recommend consulting your doctor.  I guess I’m saying that because I always see health sites say that, but the reality is I’ve done this with a lot of different people over the years and they always benefit from it.  But…if you do have special health issues or dietary needs, research this please.

I’m sipping my last dram of Scotch before it begins tomorrow.  It’s tasting good…but no more for over a week.  See you on the other side!