So we did a juice fast...

Let me preface this post by saying that my husband and I are not particularly unhealthy.  Our BMIs are within an acceptable range, we’re average for our heights and weights, and we eat our vegetables…most of the time.  Recently, we had our cholesterol checked.  Mine was fine but, as we suspected, my husband’s genetics plus our only mostly healthy diet had contributed to some nasty looking numbers.  Also, my husband’s side has family members that have suffered a range of cardiac related events—some due to cultural influences but probably most due to genetic inclination. After the results, I made more of an effort to cook more vegetarian and vegan dishes for dinner.  Truth be told, if your DNA predisposes you to higher cholesterol and triglycerides, diet has a minute influence.  But hey, trying to get all the balls in our court. 

So one night, my husband watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  He became motivated to try a juice fast.  Now ladies…you know men.  It has to be their idea to make a change or try something new (like a drastic change in diet).  And try it we did.  Here is what we learned:

1. We LOVE food.  When we can, we go to local establishments/restaurants and we also eat a variety of cuisine types.  When you drink your caloric intake for 3+ days, you really get a sense of your relationship with food. While we are not total foodies—I’d say we are 75% foodie.  Recent limitations have infringed on our foodie status due to two kids under the age of 3 (limits outings to nicer establishments) and my last pregnancy with #2 where I could only eat pasta for 8 months that is still having effects on my tastes 11+ months later.
2. As I have gotten older, I have learned that I am a hangry person.  I can go, go, go without food, drinking or peeing—I work 12 hour shifts as an RN and it is how all of us nurses are trained to perform in our job (although, this self-sacrificing practice is not encouraged).  When lives are in jeopardy, we run on adrenaline and table our needs until appropriate…or at least until we get a spare 3 minutes to shove something in our faces. As a result of 8 years of this practice, when I am not working, I literally eat every 3 or so hours or else I am zero to HANGRY in no time flat.  My husband has also trained himself to anticipate with my food-related behavior and can tell when I am teetering in hangryville.  The juice fast brought out a world of hangry-hurt.  However, the hangriness was expressed in both of us.  To know that I am not the only person who goes a little crazy/cranky when hungry made feel AWESOME…for about 2 minutes…until I felt hungry again.  We were not a happy juicing couple.  Especially in the afternoons from about 2-5pm, where there was a serious amp up in crankiness…maybe because there was not a yummy dinner on the horizon but just juice. Adding to the hangriness was that I was still feeding my kids regular food (obviously), which made it very tempting to just snack on what they were eating.  
3. My snacking habits before this fast were pretty awful.  Whenever I put stuff out for my kids, I’d take a bite or two, or grab a couple of chips for myself.  Not only was I eating too many refined carbs, but I was hindering my weight loss with the snacking.  Really examining this habit has really highlighted my need for greater self-control.
4. It is very hard to eat a diet devoid of protein so we did not completely give it up.  We had nuts…a lot of almonds and cashews. To do this without protein is just nuts (pun intended).
5. We lived without caffeine for 4+ days.  In preparation, I went to half-caffeine coffee for about a week before starting the fast.  I really did not notice the change.  I managed to continue with no coffee for almost a week after the fast was over…until the kids got my up 4 times in one night with the first round of the preschool plague that hit our house.  However, I am only drinking half-caffeinated coffee in the morning, and I plan on keeping it that way…for now. I have a history of a fast heart dysrhythmia so the benefit of this change in habit is something to embrace. (Update since I've written this--Our daughter contracted her first round of the preschool plague after her first two days of school and woke me up 4x in one night, and her brother got up to eat in between her last two awakenings so after that night I'm back on full-caffeinated coffee.  However, only allowing myself to drink one per day. Plus...I mean...it's PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE season. Enough said.)
6. It is expensive.  Even with cheaper items like bulk bought carrots, apples and Kale.  So. Much. Kale.  It was close to $30/per person PER DAY to do this juice fast. And on that note—2 people juicing with just a side-by-side fridge?  Not a lot of room. Which means more trips to the grocery store. Which means more gas money. Not our cheapest endeavor.
7. If you drink a lot of beet juice your pee will turn pinkish. Also, I was so worried about turning orange that I tried to limit my carrots in my juices to once a day.  One juice we made had both carrots and sweet potatoes.  The next day I complete avoided carrots.
8. Juiced onion always needs to be in a lesser quantity that whatever the recipe calls for…if at all.
9. Of all the foods we missed—it was mostly the umami and savory flavors.  We did not miss sweets at all.  This was big for me.  Also since completing the fast, I have reduced the amount of sugar in my coffee by half and we have both had a significant drop in our sweets cravings overall. However, on day 3, I saw a Domino’s delivery car in my neighborhood around lunchtime and I had visions of running out and carjacking him for whatever pizza he had in there…and I don’t even really like Domino’s!
10. On the third evening, after powering through our “dinner” (begrudgingly…and perhaps with a couple of tears), my husband looked at me and was like “um…are we essentially crash dieting?”  Light-bulb moment…YES.  We both lost 6-8 pounds in 3.5 days.  Yes, we know that this was mostly water weight. Duh.
11. When you’ve only had juice and nuts for 3+ days and go out to dinner with a group of friends, you are a very cheap date when it comes to the fermented grape juice.  Okay, this is not much of a change.  My alcohol tolerance has always been…nonexistent?
12. When it comes to juice recipes stick to what has been already created by the people who have done it before.  I tried to brainstorm some combinations on my own and it always ended up gross but since I was so hungry I would just hold my nose and power through. Also, while mustard greens and kale have a very similar appearance, DO NOT MIX THEM UP when juicing.
13. The main character of the documentary, Joe Cross, did his juice fast under a doctor’s supervision for 60 days.  60. He said the first 3 days were the hardest—which I now know to be true.  When we embarked upon this juicing journey, we really thought that we’d keep this up for a week or two.  Once we got to the fourth day, we both realized that we were going to kill each other if we didn’t consume something that actually involved chewing.  It did allow us to take a hard look at our old ways and habits in order to start making the changes we needed to lead healthier lives.  We are still juicing in the morning as a meal replacement and occasionally as a snack in the afternoon. Lunches and dinners are more balanced with lean meats or plant proteins with a lot more vegetables are making it onto our plates. 

So there you have it. Juice fast complete.  Now a month later, we have continued to juice occasionally and really cleaned up our diet habits.  Since Labor Day, I have managed to lose 8 pounds and my husband 11.  Portion control, snacking control, and just overall nutrition quality control is what we gained from our fasting experience.  Given the opportunity, what could you possibly gain?