Day 20

20 days, can you believe it?!!!

This morning I learned a little lesson: Make sure the top to your high speed blender is on good and tight before you hit start. Ha ha, oops. Isn't it funny how the simplest lessons are sometimes learned the hardest ways?

It has been a challenging few days. I guess what I have going on here is a good ol lung, kidney and liver detox all happening simultaneously. The nausea has been pretty bad still, today when I was making juice I thought I might throw up. I’ve just managed to drink 1/2 quart of quite green juice this morning. I had a really restless sleep last night, partly because I had to get up and pee 5 or 6 times. I went through a series of bad bladder infections in university, so maybe the remnants are working their way out of my body. My lungs are quite congested and sore as well. I also had a really bad lung infection in third year where I coughed for a month until I broke my rib. Why did I go to university again?

So you're probably wondering why, with all this discomfort, I am trudging on forward? Because this will be worth it!!! I am creating vibrant shining health for myself and doing it with the knowledge that sometimes things must get worse before they get better. I am keeping the faith, trying to drink juice as much as I can, and riding the waves of emotion that are probably also linked to this big liver let go. One second I feel great, the next irritable, head-achy, angry, sad...all kinds of things.

I’ve also been experiencing strong cravings for comfort cooked food...emotional cravings, because as I’m craving I’m also feeling nauseous and not hungry. Lemon water is still good going down, so I'm going to keep drinking a lot of that and trying to get in as much juice as possible. Also coconut water is ok, but I know it’s super sweet so I don’t want to overdo that. Other sweet fruits like pineapple and oranges are also making me feel sick, all in all I’m a bit fatigued of the juice. I’ve been putting a lot of ginger in and drinking ginger tea. I also bought fresh mint to juice and mint tea has helped the nausea as well.

One benefit of feeling so low is I have been reading a lot. Yesterday I finished David Wolf’s book Sunfood Success System. And I have been catching up on my Juice Feasting website reading. I've started reading Napoleon Hill's book: Think and Grow Rich (ie: the Secret). Keeping inspired really helps me stay on track.

Ok folks. That's it for now. Happy Saturday to you all!

"For every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward."
-Jim Rohn, success philosopher

Day 19

Well it's been a rougher couple of days. It seems I am truly experiencing what experts call a cleansing reaction. Headaches, nausea, fever, sore lungs, aches, all that fun stuff. Yesterday I was pretty much in bed or on the couch because I felt dizzy and feverish. Today the fever was less but I have absolutely no appetite. I drank a liter of master cleanser in the morning, somehow lemon water I can stomach, and this afternoon got in a half a gallon of juice, but that's all I can manage. I've been reading a lot of inspirational writing to keep myself feeling up and trying to just breathe deep and appreciate this for what it is, my body letting go of years of built up illnesses. Some moments are easier than others. For example, when my family is sitting down to a yummy homemade supper of seafood stew and salad and it's all cozy and comforting looking...well it's definitely a test of my strength to not feel a little overwhelmed by craving and dislocation. Then the next moment I feel great again. So it's all about riding the waves.

Short but sweet today lovelies. Have a good night!

Day 18

What Goes Up, Must Come Down?

I guess that's the title for today's blog. The past couple of days I have felt great, so full of energy. Then last night I got feverish and flu-ee feeling. This morning that feeling continues, no worse, but also no better. There has been this awful flu going around that everyone has been getting. But my hunch is that I may be having a cleansing reaction. This is not uncommon and also not surprising considering I have spent a huge portion of my life in sick. Lucky for me I am without things I must do and so I'm planning on spending the day resting, drinking my juices and catching up on health readings. I've read a couple of articles on cleansing reactions and there is this law that states: healing takes place in reverse order to how you got sick, from the inside out and the top down. That's why people's faces often start to look better the soonest. This means that yucky stuff stored inside is bound to come out eventually. I've also read that cleansing reactions are usually preceded by a day of feeling great, then last for maximum 3 days. We'll see how it goes, but I'm confident that my newly supported immune system will be able to clear this out, maybe once and for all. If I could let go of my history of annual strep throat that would be a HUGE accomplishment!

Are you all holding your breath in anticipation of the results of our Blend-Off 2008?? Well Heather, Zev and I put our two machines to the test: The Vitamix Vita Prep 3 and the Jack Lalanne Health Master 100. After carefully recording the data here is what we have come up with:

-The bodies and motors are about the same size.
-The Vitamix containter is a little bigger, but not much.
-The Vitamix seems to be a bit better quality in make, as far as the weight of the plastic, etc. but not hugely different.
-The knobs and speeds are fairly close and similar in their ease of use
-After blending a few different things we found that they both did the exact same job at blending
-Both have been used in commercial raw food establishments and have done their jobs well. That means they can both stand up to a lot of use!

Since the Jack Lalanne comes in at $350 cheaper than the Vitamix, even if it doesn't last as long I'd say it's close enough to be a damn good deal! Oh and Jack has a 100 year warranty on the motor so that at least should last forever.

Here's a video of the soon to be famous BLENDOFF 2008!!!




I think today I might try a psyllium bentonite shake and see if that doesn't assist relieving my cleansing reaction symptoms. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Meantime I'm off to drink coconut water and learn about all the wonderful healing properties of coconuts.

Happy day to you all!

-I'll leave you with a portrait of my new friend Jack surrounded by a day's worth of goodies

Day 15

Two week mark!

Hello all you lovelies. How is everyone? I hope you're all well. I'm doing really well. How about that?!

Still up and down of course, but all in all things are noticeably improved. Want an example? Well two days ago I went for a brisk walk near my house and as I was strolling along something suddenly occurred to me...I was walking without fatigue. For the first time in over a year I had a bounce and energy in my step that had been missing.

I feel like...myself again. Tonight I met a friend for a movie date and she said that lately every time she sees me I look more and more like myself. That's the best description I've heard. The soft padding of all the sickness, fatigue, sadness and depression is washing away, literally and figuratively.

Oh the news to share!

1. The Jack Lalanne (now christened "Jack") blender finally arrived! I had pretty much given up hope, especially after a phone conversation this morning with a rep who said it might take up to a month. Then this afternoon there was that knock at the door and the postman was there carrying a huge box. I bet he'd never seen anyone so excited about a blender before. I've used it twice and it's definitely powerful. Noisy too. But WAY faster the the Osterizer. I'll do a comparison with my friend's Vitamix soon and let you all know.

2. Life feels good

3. I lost a few more pounds this week, but mostly I shed deeply stored emotions, big waves of old grief and anger came out and floated away. Very similar to my experience at Vipassana. Imagine combining juice feasting with a Vipassana retreat...oh my!

4. My immune system feels darn strong! All around me people are falling prey to this awful flu bug. It's turning into bronchitis and pneumonia and all kinds of ghastly things. But I have continued on my merry juicy way with only a day or two of fighting it off, but no real sickness. For a girl who's record is three doses on antibiotics in three months, that's damn good!

5. Sense of smell and taste. So strong! I can smell people now, which is really strange. Some people have this sour, stale odor...it's kind of gross, but interesting at the same time.

What else?...

Oh I thought I would share some informative tidbits.
Some of you have been writing that you're inspired to juice so here are some of the unusual and delicious juice combos I have been favoring:

1: orange, grapefruit, ginger, bee pollen (I know I mentioned this one already, but you really have to try it!)

2: grapefruit, celery, garlic (sounds weird, I got this from David and Katrina, but give it a chance. Usually I don't like raw garlic, but this is good)

3: spinach, kiwi, lemon, cucumber (the best breakfast drink ever)

4: spinach, mint, apple, lemon (mint with greens, yum!)

5. cilantro, lettuce, chard, tomato, red pepper, garlic (it's like salsa in a drink, and is surprisingly good.)

One funny thing is I never liked cilantro before now and suddenly I'm loving it in my juice. I think my senses are shifting.

Today I came upon a cute blog that some of you might want to check out. It's a darn good endorsement for the beauty of raw living: www.rawmodelcom.blogspot.com
That is one beeeeautiful man!

Ok, finally. Since it is a Monday, it's time for stats:

This week I lost 2-3 pounds, now weighing in about 142. Which is just fine. Normal for that to slow down after the first week or so. My skin cleared for a bit, then broke out again (detox). The puffiness around my face is vastly cleared. Energy is up. Exercise possible. Spirits high. I'm feeling proud of my own strength and I'm inspired to continue this big adventure as long as it takes to reach my goal of vibrant health.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. All my love to each one of you!


"Do the thing and you shall have the power."
- Emerson