Day 7 - The Juicing is over (Well Kinda)

Day 7 

wow, i cant believe its now been a week since ive chewed any food (not even a grape) its really been an emotional trip now i'm looking back at the week, the first few days being very hard for me and then seeing the change in my body to the point where i was feeling great. 

I would highly recommend trying this detox although you will need some strong-will and be able to take each day as it comes but i promise you it does get better, you will see food in a whole new light and also its a brilliant personal challenge. 

So now that ive eaten a mountain of vegetables (with some fruits) What am i going to do now? 

(Not far off this amount was consumed) 

...Well the night before starting this detox i went out and bought a nice steak from a farmers market and said i would have the same at the end of the 7 days but im sad to say this isnt going to be the case. 

After coming off a week long detox like this its important not to stress your body (and digestive system) with foods its not been used to. 
You will need to slowly reintroduce foods over a period of 4-5 days. 

For example:

Day 1 - Fruit salads, Vegetable Soups & nuts
Day 2 - Rice or Quinoa, butter beans and all of above
Day 3 - All above plus eggs & organic yoghurt 
Day 4 - All above plus introducing fish or meats if desired. 
Day 5 - The choice is yours
..and to me all of the above sound lovely, i really am excited to be waking up tomorrow morning and being able to make a fruit salad and start to enjoy meals again. I'm proud of myself for having completed this without giving in and im very happy with the results. 

Overall i have spent about £40 on this detox which over the week for ALL meals (well 4 pints of juice a day) works out at £5.70 (ish) a day. 
My shopping list for the week worked out like this:

6 lemons
4 celery bunches
6 nets of sprouts 
6 medium bags of carrots
5 Green Kale bunch
2 Purple kale bunch
4 Cucumbers 
5 bunches of Beetroot's
3 ginger stems 
10 Apples
5 Bunch of cabbage greens 
9 Tomatoes 
1 Coriander pack
1 pineapple 
3 packs of blueberries 
5 bunches of asparagus 
4 bunches of broccoli 
2 pack of spinach 
3 pears


Total cost £40

Tomorrow i will upload my new B.M.I scan, not sure if it will have any changes but that will be my final upload for this blog. 
Its been a fun way to share my experience and maybe it will help some other people along the way. 

Some tips i would like to pass on to you if your thinking about doing this are:
1 - Choose a week you have time to yourself, no weddings, holidays etc. (obvious i guess).
2 - Connect with other people (Twitter has been great for talking to others and seeing how they are feeling, just #juicing and message a few people...they are very friendly and despite maybe feeling alone at home you will have the support network in place and also people to ask questions)  
3 - At the start avoid group meals, nights out with drink. I think the temptation is to great and wont make it fun for you. After day 3 you will not want to let yourself down due to the journey you have taken so wait till after then) 
4 - Write down how your doing as a diary or blog...it will help you process what's going on and also make it feel more worthwhile.
..and dont give up juicing after the week, incorporate it into your day and this detox is good to do a few times a year but lets wait till you have got the first week out the way before talking about any more :) 

Well thanks for reading and i will leave you with a little quote to take as you will. 
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference."  –Robert Frost

Morning After

Right so i've gone and had another B.M.I Scan, unfortunately the body fat measurement was not working but it seems i have lost a fair bit of weight, in fact nearly a stone. My trousers are definitely more loose and i wasnt expecting to lose that amount of weight. I guess having a fairly physical job has pushed that along as well. Chow for now :) 

Day 6 - 4 Juices Left

Day 6 

I cant believe i only have 4 Juices left at the time of writing this. Currently friends are downstairs cooking home-made pizza and i got to tell you the smell is mouthwatering....literally.
People at work have been mentioning how ive lost weight and seem to look a lot more healthy, i should have taken a before and after photo maybe but its always nice to have complements like that, especially when they dont even know your on a juicing detox. Once you explain to them what your doing they tend to listen a bit more as they can actually see a change in you for themselves (this isnt the case at the start)

I think one of the main things ive missed is eating food with my friends, it is still fairly hard sitting next to a friend who is eating some lovely hot food (namely some hot bread today) 

(Ummm hot bread is something i cant wait for) 

I've definitely lost weight as im now a belt hole down, i wasnt really expecting that within 6 days but will check the results on Monday morning when i collect my last B.M.I scan.  

Right im signing out now folks, will put my last post up tomorrow night, thanks for reading this. Sleep well :) 

Day 5 - Up, Up & Up

Day 5

Im going to keep this post short as to be honest its just been another good day.
Energy levels have climbed once again and the overall feel of positivity and focussed thinking is great to have. 
Had to get a few more bits to keep me juicing till Sunday night and its nice to now see the finish line ahead of me, i have to say its so far been a good challenge and one that ive really noticed the difference (even after 5 days) this just proves to me how quickly your body responds to what you put into it and just think of all these people eating fast food daily, not for days but for weeks or months....need i say more.





 

(A typical amount that goes into a pint of juice) 

Day 4 - All Juiced Up!

Day 4 

So i woke up today full of energy which was a brilliant feeling after Day 3's downer. 
Started the day off with half a juiced lemon and some warm water followed by a pint of veg containing a mixtures of greens. 

After work i would honestly say i had more energy left than a day of eating "normal" food. I've also felt a lot more relaxed, focused and positive. 
I even tried to convince a girl on my lunch break to give it a go....i was met with the typical response of "what's the point? its not normal" while she was consuming a large chocolate mousse manufactured in a factory with copious amounts of chemicals and E-Numbers!!! but she did give my juice a try and was surprised by the nice taste. 

The thing people seem to not understand is that is ISNT a fast, im having the equivalent of way more nutrients than the standard person would get from a daily intake of food. Juicing just takes the hard work away from your digestive system for a bit and lets it process the pure good stuff. 
(Not that people really want to know but ive been going to the toilet maybe once every two days so far) but ive been weeing a huge amount more, i drink a lot of green tea and water throughout the day and the headaches are now nearly gone but are a very common side effect from a detox in fact is a sign its working. 

"Specifically, the first few days of detox diets, headaches are very common symptom. In fact, a large percentage of people who go on detox diets believe that they get headaches the first few days are due in part to withdrawal from addictive elements in our diet. The first few days of detox diets are quite dramatic transition for most people and they are going "cold turkey" on many things they are accustomed to eat and drink regularly. Although these foods in many cases are not considered "drugs" is still pulling effect when we are not getting these items in our system you will probably experience a part of the withdrawal effect."

So after work i realised its time to stock up on more vegetables. Half way through day 4 and the box is almost empty so i got enough to take me to Sunday night. 

(Day 4 at 14:00...not a lot left) 

(Day 4 at 14:30.....A refill to last till Sunday) 

Overall today was a very good day, surplus energy and over the halfway mark now.

Much love and Happy Valentines day (For tomorrow)  

Day 3 - Ups & Downs

Day 3 

I had a bit of a late night & only managed to get about 5 hours of sleep so the day was not started on the best foot.
Once i was up i had my pint of juice and set off,  i cycle to work and noticed a big drop in energy from the start. Most people hit a kind of wall between days 2 and 3 (this is the period of time your body is now making adjustments from your change in diet)... today would be this day for me. 

Torturing myself looking at lovely food ideas

Work was very busy and they were giving out free treats, but im finding it a lot more easy to turn away from these now.
Once i got back home i went for a: Green Growler consisting of:

4 Sticks of Celery
1/2 Cucumber
4 bunches of green Kale
3 large cabbage leave
1/2 lemon and Ginger

1 Apple

After 3 days the veg box is almost empty...a resupply will be needed tomorrow

This was really needed as i was feeling hungry and craving food but i knew i would hit this phase so i tell myself to just stay strong and it will pass.

I was supposed to be off on a social excursion tonight but had to cancel due to having a bit of a headache and generally not feeling overly social (sorry buddy)

At 7pm i made up tomorrows juice and headed for an early night. In bed by 9pm and that should make all the difference for tomorrow... i have my fingers crossed it will be a more energetic day :)  

Day 2 - Hunger Strikes

Day 2 

I woke up last night at around midnight with a feeling of deep hunger but managed to fall back asleep fairly quickly, your stomach will shrink due to lack of food over the first few days so this is a very normal feeling. 

Im having 4 pints of juice a day on average:
1 @ Am 
2 @ Midday 
3 @ 3pm 
4 @ 6pm 

Im fairly active during the day so having this amount is recommended, some people opt for 3 but this is very dependent on energy needed. 

I decided to have my Body Mass Index taken this morning, i haven't had it done in a long long time so decided to get a quick overview while im doing this little detox. 
Im not expecting to loose wait and  wouldn't really want to as this is more about a detox than weight loss but if you were looking to take up the juicing challenge for weight loss then you will need to look at 14 days +, any-more than 30 days and you should check with your GP first.

I was happy with the results 

 I will take another reading next Monday but will not expect a lot to change, maybe a fraction from overall weight and body fat. 

During work my energy levels did seem a lot higher from the first day and overall i seemed a bit more alert. Sitting down at lunch with a flask of juice is always a fun time when everyone around you is tucking into chewable food. 

Lunch is served - A beetroot special

 

After getting home i had a super green juice which consisted of:
3 carrots, 5 Asparagus, 8 Sprouts, 3 bunches of kale, 2 handfuls of cabbage greens and half a lemon. This will be my last juice of the day.

Off to the cinema to watch The Wolf Of Wall Street now so sure being surrounded by popcorn and sweets will be most enjoyable. Sleep well all :) 

Day 1 - Mcnulty

So ive decided to name my blender Mcnulty, giving the machine a human character will help me build a relationship and also allow for me to vent during hungry times. 

Meet Mcnulty.

"Hi I'm Mcnulty" 

Day 1 

So its finally time to start the juicing experiment :/ I had to make the morning/lunch juice the night before as to not wake up my house-mate and also allow me to take it to work (no juicing in the workplace). I stored the juice in my flask and kept it inside the fridge but ideally you want to try and 
drink it as soon as its made and not store it as to keep all the nutrients as fresh as possible but im going to be making breakfast/lunch the night 
before on most days and then have late afternoon/evening freshly made. 

As soon as i got to work a colleague was celebrating his birthday and decided to bring in home-made brownie (not a good start) but i did turn down the 
kind offer, i think having temptation in front of me is going to be the hardest part of this. By lunch time i was ready for some food but quickly drank my 
pre-made juice (consisting of carrots, celery, cucumber, kale and ginger) then exited work for a walk around outside. Once i'd had the drink i felt a 
whole deal better and its important to drink lots of water during the day as well (which also take the hunger away). 

Once i got back home i made a trip to the local veg shop and picked up a good supply of veg, im not sure how long this will last but what you see in 
the box cost me £15, it may look like a huge amount but you can see how much is needed to produce a pint glass full, a surprising amount but am 
interested to see how many days i get out of it. 

£15 worth of local veg

All of this....

....into this

18:00 and now really wanting a proper meal, i will hold off a bit for my last pint of juice but I'm told the first 3 days are the hardest but unsure 
how hard they really mean? Most of this week will be mind over matter, after all...if i don't mind then it doesn't matter. 

Overall today was as i expected it to be, a little bit hungry but looking forward to seeing if i can make the week. Energy levels arnt to bad at all 
but feeling of hunger is a constant during the evening. 

Oh and i also got a tweet from Joe Cross (from Fat, Sick & nearly dead) wishing me good luck....great :) 

"Cheers Joe"