Tag Archives: juice

10 Day Juice Fast

Posted in Self Care by

I just recently completed a 10 day juice fast, and it was very eye-opening. There was a group of us in my program who were inspired by Joe Cross, he created the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. We all had a support system to share our ups and downs. I found it very helpful to hear other people struggling with the same things. I would recommend finding someone else who will fast with you, or better yet, a group of people.

The first three days suck. You have been warned. This is when I felt the most detox symptoms, nausea, headaches, and questioning what I was doing. This is NORMAL! The second night was the worst for me, this is when I realized the difference between actual hunger and mind hunger. Actual hunger builds slowly and increases in strength, whereas mind hunger comes on so quickly, but will decrease over time. During the first three days I drank juice a litre at a time, 4-5 times a day, and drank 6 cups of water a day. This is my recommended daily amount of water, by dividing my weight in half and drinking that many ounces.

Day 4 :There was significant improvement. I drank more water, 8 cups, and 3 litres of juice which reduced my hunger pains drastically, and also helped to flush toxins out of my body, which eased all the symptoms I was previously feeling. I did som research and found out that if you aren’t drinking enough water the toxins will sit in your intestine, where your body will try to protect itself by wrapping the toxins in a layer of fat. Clearly, not what we are going for.

Day 5-10: Feeling awesome, I continued to drink the same amount. I felt very clear, focused, and bright. I started to receive comments that I looked really healthy, my skin became very clear, I lost seven pounds, and I was rarely hungry.

I juiced in large batches and would put directly into large mason jars, and drink.

Can you make huge batches of juice on one day and conveniently store them for the rest of the week, saving you so much time?

NO.

Haha.

Here’s the deal, when the juice is exposed to air, it’s slowly loosing nutrients. That being said, we have jobs, and responsibilities. So, how can you preserve it? Mason Jars, filled to the top, with the lid on tightly, in the fridge. I wouldn’t go more than 12 hours. Drink asap. Filling to the top limits the amount of air in the jar, limiting the number of nutrients lost. You also shouldn’t freeze the juice, because again nutrients will be lost.

If I had to work, I would pre make one litre batch and store in mason jars for a few hours. I used organic produce about 90%. In ten days I consumed $235.00 worth of produce, such as: cabbage, fennel, apples, oranges, grapefruits, limes, lemons, ginger, garlic, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, kale, swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, sweet potato, carrots, beets, and radish. I seasoned some juices with spices such as cayenne, cinnamon, and cumin. I was able to drink much higher percentage of vegetables in my juice by the end of the fast.

What I learned about myself during this fast was how much of being hungry was actually in my mind, and how it feels different. I was able to become more in touch with my mind – body connection, and read my body’s signs for food and water correctly. My goal is to repeat this experience in the summer, and incorporate this rest for my digestive system into my health care regime.

I think that everyone would benefit from incorporating juicing into their life because it is such an easy way to jam pack your body full of nutrients. You certainly don’t need to fast in order to get the benefits of juicing.