OJ Feast

[yoga cat]

Starting OJ Feast from Garden Diet. OJ and water for 14 days. Already becoming a little mad. Headache already. Past experience only with a two day fruit fast. I am wondering if I am crazy for thinking I can do this.

I am attempting to jump start my path back to health. A major life upheaval caused me to revert back to old food behaviors and gain 30 pounds in 3.5 months. I am miserable and have some major physical and emotional detoxing to accomplish.

[ReneeH]

Hey, Yoga Cat!

Be sure to visit the Fasting thread!!! Some GR8 support there!!! And, GR8 information!!!! There is also a detox "venting" thread floating around! You'll find these helpful as you fast!

Wishing you a successful journey! :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

oj fast... not something i would ever do. really high in sugar and hard on the tummy. i would suggest (if it's a mono fast you are after) that you choose something like an apple juice fast. much easier on the tummy and better sugar-wise.

of course, you could just go for it and do a juice fast and allow yourself a variety of tastes and produce... that's my personal favourite. allow my body to choose what i'll gift it rather than me sticking to someone else's ideals of what i should consume. ;) it's up to you... it's your body!

[yoga cat]

thank you! i hear you about the oj, and wondered myself about that. i fear all fruit may be too much for me. i do have blood sugar issues. i have really been struggling with food addiction this past three months after almost three years of incredible health. i need a detox, but honestly, with as much effort as it takes for me to juice fast, a priority is for me to lose weight. it is suggested on the oj fast to take six glasses of four oranges per day. that is over what i would be taking in for calories in a normal day. it's tricky. so yesterday i only had two juices of three oranges each. and that most likely is not sustainable for me. i am considering added veggies. i don't have a juicer (but considering one), but do have a vitamix. it is difficult to trust myself without a plan right now because of the food addiction. i really need a break from the mental battle about what i am going to eat next, later, ect.

[snoops]

I believe if you have blood sugar issues you should really be adding greens to your juices to balance the sugars in the fruits.

[Aleesha Sattva]

you can totally use a vita-mix to make juice.

add water... blend... strain. :) you have juice!!!

sounds like you need to do a LOT of research before embarking on a fast. i would recommend you stop... research and come from a place of knowledge instead of blind ignorance.

your health is worth the effort! (((hugs)))

[JennaHoneyBear]

oj fast... not something i would ever do. really high in sugar and hard on the tummy. i would suggest (if it's a mono fast you are after) that you choose something like an apple juice fast. much easier on the tummy and better sugar-wise.



I did an OJ fast from a recommendation by Jinjee. I wouldn't do it again, I was miserable the entire time. my hunger pangs never went away, and I really didn't lose any weight like I wanted. i wanted to do 14 days but only made it to 10 because i was so hungry, and i was drinking a lot of oj every day

[yoga cat]

oh man, thank you so much for this post. honestly, i am very disappointed to have paid $20 for only a few pages of the oj ebook and the oj fast forum that has been empty these first two days, but worse yet, i am coming to realize from my own research and this forum, that the oj fast was not a good idea to begin with!

i did run the calories out, and i would be consuming more than typical if i drank all rec'd. so this past two days i have gone on two glasses per day made with three oranges each. from a calorie standpoint, i much would have rather had two big salads. and honestly, i am attempting to get a jump on weight loss. so i am very glad to hear this early on that it didn't work for that, so i can revise tomorrow. ten days is many to suffer so. yeah, i am miserable. i tried to go to bed, but insomnia is an unexpected side effect. now i am up, and starved! is insomnia a typical side effect with all fasting?

so grateful for this forum.

[nadien alexandra]

if you have insomnia, you are not drinking ENOUGH.

irregular sleeping patterns and insomnia is usually linked to a change in diet, eating (or drinking) too late into the evening, not meeting your caloric needs, or a symptom of detox-and-repair.

you might have to deal, stick through it.

but i agree with aleesha. apple fasting is less harsh. oranges are very cleansing, and perhaps too much so. It's ALL happening at ONCE. and you might want to take it a bit SLOWER.

I have done an apple fast in the past, and it was not even half as harsh as my lemon water fast.

good luck, and whatever you do, DO NOT go back to the SAD world and repeat the sad cycle of self-abuse.

[Aleesha Sattva]

hmmm i've never heard that insomnia in fasting means you aren't drinking enough. can you enlighten me please nadien... do you remember where you found that info?

i find (personally) that insomnia - which is often is really my body saying it's had enough rest in only a few hours - happens here and there while i'm fasting depending on the fast i'm doing. i sleep in very short periods while water fasting for example. but there have been many nights where i get up for the day around 3:30am and function fine all day long with no nap while juice fasting...

and i definitely drink enough while juice fasting. so that wouldn't be an issue.

but if it's true insomnia - you are tired and cannot fall asleep - that you are talking about... often things come up while fasting and they run around in your mind. i find meditation is a great way to quiet the mind and assist it to rest at night.

[Aleesha Sattva]

k i found this (http://www.insomniacs.co.uk/dehydration-insomnia.html):


Symptoms of Dehydration
Dehydration can affect sleep in a variety of ways. Chronic dehydration can disrupt the body's natural rhythms so that you don't feel tired when you should, and it can also create the kind of fatigue that triggers exhaustion yet leaves you unable to sleep. This is because your body is unable to flush out toxins that build up in your blood.
Dehydration also commonly results in skin, eye and mouth problems. When these bodily surfaces stop receiving adequate lubrication, you'll often feel sore or itchy and you'll be more vulnerable to minor infections, all factors that can lead to sleep trouble. As membranes around the brain become too dry, you may also experience headaches.

Finally, dehydration can lead to melatonin deficiency, another leading cause of insomnia.

An easy way to tell if you might be dehydrated is to examine the colour of your urine. If it is very pale yellow or colourless, you are probably alright. If it is very dark in colour (throughout the day), you may need to consume significantly more fluid.

[beckyh]

you can totally use a vita-mix to make juice.

add water... blend... strain. :) you have juice!!!

sounds like you need to do a LOT of research before embarking on a fast. i would recommend you stop... research and come from a place of knowledge instead of blind ignorance.

your health is worth the effort! (((hugs)))

Alessha,
I am interested about using a vitmix for juice. I have a juicer, but it is just such a pain to juice and then empty and clean out all the parts, I have a jack lalane juicer. so i liked what you said about you add water, blend and strain. how much water do i add, and do i strain through a nut mylk bag, and that is it? i will get the same nutrients that i would if i juiced? I think this is also why i don't do a lot of jucing because it is such a pain, and i have to cut everything up to make sure it will fit through the shoot.

[Dimond]

You can healthily do an orange juice fast as long as you balance it with greens or mineral supplements. Any juice fast should have a high amount of greens in it anyhow regardless of what fruit you use.

Juice doesn't taste as delicious in a vitamix, otherwise I would always make juice that way. But some find it easier. I found it much more time consuming trying to squeeze out every last drop of juice as well as cleaning the strainer bag. You can get a very inexpensive (under $20) citrus juicer if you make a lot of it and don't want to be bothered with the big juicer.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i liked what you said about you add water, blend and strain. how much water do i add, and do i strain through a nut mylk bag, and that is it? i will get the same nutrients that i would if i juiced?

add just the amount of water you need to get it to blend completely. then use a nut mylk bag (or paint strainer bag from the hardware store) and drink.

many people do this. nutrients would be the same... you aren't doing anything to it other than removing the juice from the fibre...

i have my own opinions on whether or not greens are needed during a fast. i've done many days on cantaloupe juice (although i do love to add mint which is a green) and done great. i guess it's what you want from a fast and most importantly... what you've gleaned from the research you've done as to what you choose to juice. ;)

i let my body lead... if it wants greens... it gets greens. if it wants coconut water... it gets coconut water etc. doesn't make me right... just makes me right for me and my body. everyone has to decide for themselves.

[nadien alexandra]

hmm, aleesha.

I haven't read this fact anywhere. I have only experienced it myself.

when i haven't consumed enough liquids in a day, I find it very hard to get to sleep.

[yoga cat]

excellent info, thanks all!

i made it three days drinking two glasses of oj a day. and that was enough for me. i would not have been able to carry on for the holidays (three kids) with all the weakness and spaciness. i am really shocked that i made it three days, frankly. it was so good for me psychologically in addition to physically. i am planning on incorporating a one day juice fast every week, but this time use greens other fruit.

it was very surprising to me also that my hunger never got worse than a day that i was eating normally and was overdue to eat. i thought going in that my hunger would be exponentially worse. it was delightfully coming back to food, i must say. after a banana, i was happy to get up and do laundry and dishes. a few hours later however, my digestion is answering me. it is waking up even only in this few short days, and i hear the need to come back slow.

[EternityRider]

Love & Kindness to you all this holiday Season.

[Aleesha Sattva]

nadien... that's the best kinda research... living it! ;)

[MOTH]

I was feasting on nothing but OJ for weeks over the summer when I lived in California and it did not do well for me. I noticed myself becoming increasingly more prone to irritability and exhaustion. I eventually concluded that drinking OJ like that spiked and dropped my blood sugar in an uncomfortable way (and I'm a strict frugivore so I love fruit sugar, but this was too much) so I stopped the OJ and started eating my fruits whole again and felt better. My body just needs the fiber when I am consuming nutrients.

[beckyh]

[QUOTE=Aleesha;638786]add just the amount of water you need to get it to blend completely. then use a nut mylk bag (or paint strainer bag from the hardware store) and drink.

many people do this. nutrients would be the same... you aren't doing anything to it other than removing the juice from the fibre...

Thanks Aleesha! I am going to try it the next time I do a juice!

[Aleesha Sattva]

just wash the bag out well and hang it to dry. ;)