Reflection of 5 day juice fast

I broke my juice fast with some good friends to a meal at Red Lobster.  I felt seafood would be a good protein to start consuming and I knew I could get some vegetables.  Those delicious cheddar biscuits were no longer so delicious.  I remember being able to eat a whole basket and want more.  Now I didn't even eat a whole biscuit.  The coconut shrimp was probably the food I enjoyed the most.  The salad was also very satisfying.  Typically on a juice fast most people say the crave vegetables more, which I believe is more subconscious than anything else.  I have always enjoyed vegetables for the most part, but would say I enjoy them even more now.  Particular the crisp fresh taste of a slice of cucumber, that really made the salad great for me.

The rest of the weekend I had a few servings of juice per day and enjoyed a few things I could not have throughout the week.  I had a burger and some fries (twice actually) and homemade pizza.  The burgers were really good and I truly enjoyed them, but my appetite had definitely changed in terms of quantity.  I am not just talking about capacity (ie shrinking stomach) but satiety too.  Same goes for the fries, I didn't eat them all, where usually I would usually want a second serving or steal some from someone else.

Overall, I would recommend a juice fast to most people.  It resets the taste buds a bit and helps to re-prioritize food.  Of course, there are the other benefits of juicing, as in the increased amount of nutrients to repair and heal the body.

Cheers!

PS. I lost 5 lbs too, which was a nice benefit.

Day 4 of Juice Fast

Still going strong for my week juice fast.  I wouldn't say that I have any cravings, but I definitely have appreciation for some foods I cannot have.  I know a week is not even that long, but long enough I suppose.  Today I made two juices, one for breakfast and another for the work.

Breakfast: 2 oranges, 1 carrot, big handful spinach
Day Juice: few limes, 4 kale, 8 carrots, 4 handfuls of spinach

I plan to break my fast with a fish dinner with some veggies.  Then go to a more paleo approach.  I will also incorporate a cheat or free day.  Some people really have issues with the cheat since in connotes negative or wrong feelings.  Personally, calling it a cheat day is fine by me.  What that means to me is that 6 days a week I will eat lots of high quality meat, vegetables, fruit and dairy.  One day a week I can indulge in some grains and starches that are high quality as well.  I lean towards organic whenever possible and also try to get as much grass fed/free range meats and dairy too.  If people only knew or were aware, those who are anti red meat are really anti corn fed red meat and don't even know it.

Juice Fast

First day of my juice fast.  Originally I had a progression of goals to do a week, then two weeks and then a month; all with the assumption that the previous time period was without too much complication.  I have ratified those goals to simply do a week reboot.  Maybe I'll change again, but probably not.  At the end of the week I will be switching to a slow-carb/paleo approach.

Likewise I have been experimenting with fiber supplements.  Konsyl powder was the first one I tried.  While I feel it works to a point, I never thought it was great.  The taste is not bad, but I did not enjoy it, this can make it hard to drink.  So now I am trying organic chia seed.  I am not sure if organic matters, but the price was not ridiculous, so good quality is always a good thing.  Chia seed has an oatmeal like flavor and quasi-oatmeal like texture, which I find pleasant.  The end results I find improved over the konsyl as well.

*The juice fast and reboot idea came from the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (available on Netflix streaming).  Not necessarily a revolutionary movie it terms of new knowledge, but definitely a great case study on the benefits of increased consumption of fresh produce.  Also, a very excellent success story towards the end of someone who changed their life due to the movie.

**Slow-carb and paleo come from a variety of sources that I have read and watched; some of these medias include: Tim Ferriss' book the 4 Hour Body, the documentary Fathead, Cross Fit, Mark's Daily Apple and a few others.

UGI vs Medicine Ball

 

Been thinking about getting a medicine ball for a while.  However, too much equipment leaves some not used.  No use buying things to be dust collectors.  Then I stumbled upon the UGI ball.  It is essentially a big medicine ball that has a soft shell.  But I then stumbled upon soft-shell medicine balls. So now what?!?

Well, the UGI costs close to $200, so that pretty much cancels that idea for me.  No doubt it is a great well constructed product, but too much for my budget.  Soft shell medicine ball did not seem big enough for a UGI wannabe.

So I decided to make my own.  Spaceyguy19 has some instructions which I will follow pretty closely.  When I have it finished, I will post again my thoughts on the process and end-product.