Juice Fast DAY 2

Hi,

I feel better after a good night's sleep. I was up a couple of times in the night getting rid of lots of liquid if you know what I mean. I checked my morning blood sugar and it was 111!! Yippee

Then I tried a mostly fruit juice made of cantaloupe, pineapple, lime, and parsley. This one made a lot of juice. I just checked my blood sugar and it was 143 -- oh no!! Too much fruit. I guess I got cocky and thought I could chance it because the blood sugar was so good to start off. This is the confirmation (again) that I need to really limit the fruit. I used about half of a cantaloupe and an eighth of a pineapple, half of a lime (skinned) and four or five sprigs of parsley. I'm not going to reminisce about this, I'm going to reduce the juice. I should not have done that... I guess I just like to push the envelope. Always testing. I am grateful for blood sugar monitors. What a blessing!

I think I have figured out what the bar in the middle of the "fruit chute" on the juicer is for. As I was doing the cantaloupe I noticed that the sliver of fruit (peel and all) would spin and slip around until it hit the bar and then it would stand there while I pushed it down to the rotating blade for juicing. The bar kind of adds stability to the process and makes it more efficient.

I really do feel better today than I did at the end of the day yesterday. Even my sinuses seem to be in better shape than they were yesterday morning.

I've been praying and realize that I cannot do this without His help. He is so good to me. I already feel His help at hand. Thank you Jesus!

My back is still bothering me some. It is not so much pain as it is stiffness. I think it is because of the chair I sat in at church when I had my "last meal" before the juice fast. They are those common steel chairs with no padding and I always suffer from having sat in one for more than five minutes. And my feet are still hurting so I'm not walking normally with the heel/toe gait. It is more like a shuffle with short steps -- think "Tim Conway." You have to be mature to understand that one!! (Tim Conway used to mimic how an old man walks on the Carol Burnett Show. He would use many fast short steps to motivate himself and his posture would change. He would just transform himself into an old man. I hope that now he is an old man, that he does not have to walk like that. LOL)

I just realized that I ranted about eating fresh pineapple on one of my previous posts and here I am juicing it today. Let me explain: eating a slice of fresh pineapple is a nuisance to me because there is so much preparation and work, and so little to eat for the work -- and the effect on my mouth is kind of harsh, too. Fresh pineapple is hard for me to eat. But... when you simply cut off the pineapple top, and then slice off a portion from the side, rind and all, and throw it into a juicer with other items it is simple, fast, and not a problem for the mouth. You don't have to deal with cutting off all the rind and preparing the whole pineapple for slicing, and then only consume one slice. When juicing you just put the rest of the undisturbed pineapple in a bag and toss it in the fridge until next time. So that is why I don't mind juicing it, but don't like eating only one slice of it.

I want to share a quote with you from the foreword of the book "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" (yes there is a DVD and a book) which was written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D who wrote the best selling book titled "Eat to Live; The Revolutionary Plan for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss" (which I think I am going to find and read). Here is what he said:

"In many areas, moderation is a good thing. However, when it comes to how much of our diets should be made up of processed foods, junk food, and fast foods. I take a more extreme view: I believe that these things should be removed from our diets entirely. I do not approve of moderation in cancer-causing habits such as smoking or eating cancer-causing foods."

Amen. I think one of the reasons that I was having so much trouble losing weight is that I did not totally eliminate ALL processed foods, ALL junk food, and ALL fast food. They were not my entire diet, but I ate enough of them to keep me off balance.

Why should I continue to eat things that keep me off balance? Hello-o! Man! The addiction to processed and refined foods is hard to kick. If you have done it already, I admire you completely. I am facing making a radical change and I am using a radical method to begin. That statement about "moderation in all things" really hit me, because that had been the foundation of my inner beliefs. Another "truth" shot down. The Bible does not advocate "moderation" it advocates a much stricter code of living than that: complete faith in God, and a complete renewing of man (or woman, as the case may be). It advocates complete abstinence from harmful things. OK. I finally get it and I hope it lasts...

I've been searching for so long. I believe I have found the right path with the juicing and then later I intend to eat the same things I am juicing now, plus raw nuts and seeds. I believe I shall add a little chicken and fish, too, but I might change my mind later. That is not written in stone, just yet. I'm not going to worry about what I do later. I am completely focused on the juice fast for now. I am committed to ten days, but am hoping I go on from there, just like Joe and Phil did in the documentary movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."

On the day that Joe came to help Phil get started juicing (in the movie), Joe gave Phil a special T-shirt from Australia. When he handed it to Phil he told him to look at the size which was a 2XL and asked Phil what size he wore now. Phil said he wears a 5X, but the shirt he had on was a 6X. Phil says he sees it as a challenge. Joe says it is a target. If you notice throughout the movie the T-shirt is in the background. Phil wears it draped on his shoulder as he walks into the market to buy fresh vegetables. Sometimes it is in his hand as he talks and shares about his dreams and intentions. The shirt is significant to Phil. It is a tangible representation of his dream. Something real. Something physical that he holds on to and touches and uses to bring up the dream. Something that directs his focus to his goal. It serves to help keep him on track and not quit.

I think I am going to go shopping for a piece of clothing that I would like to fit into and do the same thing. I will take it with me when I go places and I will keep it in my hand to remind me of what I am doing and why I am doing it. I will touch it when I need a reminder of what I really want. I really want to be a normal size. I really want to be healthy and fit again. I need a physical reminder. I want a representation of my dream.

The shirt is not significant. It is the fact that Phil used it in a significant way. It meant something important to him. Phil is quite a guy. I really like Phil and am really amazed at the transformation that takes place in him. He went from being a very depressed, very ill, and grey looking old man who weighed four hundred and twenty-nine point six pounds to being a young father tossing a ball with his son. Pretty amazing. In one of the last scenes in the movie you see Phil running down the street wearing the T-shirt and guess what? It is too big for him!! What you eat really does make a difference. Way to go Phil! Way to go Joe! Thanks for the inspiration.

Be back soon,

Marcia