Converted - Now to transform. 1st Juice Fast.

[Simple Living]

Hi folks. As a writer, this is guaranteed to be a very long post if I don't bullet point most of the facts. Forgive me for the clinical approach but I don't want to take up so much of your time!


46 year old male.
30lbs overweight.
Mostly healthy - minor skin issues and acid reflux complaints.
L O W energy
Feeling depression coming on.
Standard American Diet
Immensely fast-paced, frantic and stressful job that I hate. I'm exhausted all the time.
Been sick a lot (colds and infections) in the last two years.
No desire to exercise.
I love coffee. I currently have too much blood in my caffeine system.


Can you see now how long all that would have taken in conversation format?! (You're welcome!)

I need to make real changes. I'm re-examining my entire life and will be doing a total life re-boot. I'm fairly well-educated in the raw foods lifestyle and decided to make the wise choice.

So, I'm doing a juice fast. I spent a month researching juicers and finally have a great one. I'll be starting on Sunday, April 8th (Easter). Why then? Because my 46th birthday is the day after (the 9th) and I'm taking nine days of vacation time so I can not worry about the early detoxing effects. My main goal isn't even to lose weight (that will happen naturally). I just want to be at my healthiest.

So, with that in mind, I hope you folks won't mind helping with some questions I have?


In these three weeks before I begin, how should I prepare? I'm stopping the coffee and will be eating a healthy diet so as to not instantly shock my system with the detox. I'll also incorporate a glass of fresh juice once a day to prepare my body as well. Anything else you can think of? As for a doctor's check-up, I know I'm good to go.

I will be doing the juice fast for 10 days, initially. I'll stretch it out as long as I feel I'm benefiting from it. I want a full body detox and cleanse. I know to "juice the rainbow" and concentrate mostly on dark, rich green juices. How do I learn what the best juice recipes are to accomplish this? I see so many juice recipes that are good for the liver, colon, kidneys, etc., I don't want to leave any of them out of the process but I also don't want to stress out about it. How do you decide what to juice?

Who do you trust in the raw food movement? I'm just a normal guy who enjoys living very simply. I'm not into gurus who promote their own products. When I attempted the raw food/juicing switch a few years ago, I really learned how to listen to what my body was saying and asking for. But still, it's nice to have a mentor to turn to who puts what they know out there because they truly want to help others. I'm not against trying to make a buck, but I'm not interested in buying this and that supplement that some guru has specifically designed.


Well, if you read this far, I thank you. You're either a saint or sincerely interested in helping folks. I look forward to hearing everything you have to say. No need to sugar coat anything. I'm not precious or thin-skinned.

--Jack

[Living Food]

Jack, glad to see you on board a raw diet! Welcome!

1. Having a glass of fresh juice a day is a great idea, you can also ease into the fast by starting to replace a meal a day with a smoothie, then two meals a day, etc, until you are consuming all of your meals as smoothies just before you start the fast. This is not necessary, but it might help you make the transition.

2. I think its better to juice fewer items at a time, so I'm not that big on recipes...as to how I decide what to juice, however, that's an easy one. I grow lots of sprouts (alfalfa, sunflower greens, pea shoots, wheatgrass) and juice them all daily. Green sprouts are by far the most nutritious things you can eat,they're far superior to even dark green leafy vegetables. Definitely buy some alfalfa seed and sprout (loads of) that and juice it. If you're feeling adventurous, grow some sunflower greens and wheatgrass on soil and juice them too. They might not taste so good at first, but they're the most potent things you can put into you're body...so potent that you should start of only drinking 1-2 oz of wheatgrass juice at a time and sip it very slowly (it'll detox you like nothing else). Grow as many green sprouts as you can manage and juice 'em all, top it off with a wide variety of colored veggies (preferably from a farmer's market so they'll be fresher) and you'll do great.

3. You'll doubtless get loads of different opinions on this one, and I don't want to be in the middle of an argument, so I think I'll sit this one out :D

Other unsolicited advice:

Buy a mini-trampoline (rebounder) and use it for as long as possible every day; the only form of exercise known to man to benefit every cell in your body, and it's great for moving the lymph fluid and helping you detox.

Look into colon and liver cleanses - in conjunction with a juice fast, they are the fastest way to detoxify. Consider colonics/enemas if you can stomach them.

And finally, have fun!

[Living Food]

One more thing


Mostly healthy


L O W energy
Feeling depression coming on.
Standard American Diet
Immensely fast-paced, frantic and stressful job that I hate. I'm exhausted all the time.
Been sick a lot (colds and infections) in the last two years.
No desire to exercise.
I love coffee. I currently have too much blood in my caffeine system.

I see a discrepancy here, do you? :D

After your juice fast, try eating a diet high in sprouts to fix your energy problem - long story, but sprouts are a very high-energy food (the highest) that transfer that energy to you when you eat them. All raw foods do that to some extent, but those that have been sitting in a store for weeks have already lost most of it. Many raw fooders eat "green" smoothies with lots of fruit - I eat sprout smoothies with sprouted legumes/grains and loads of green sprouts. I don't feel there's any comparison, but you'll have to decide what path to follow for yourself.

And yes, low energy can be due to very many problems, and a juice fast could very well fix it by detoxifying you...but why not eat the best diet anyway?

[Simple Living]

Hi Living Food, thanks for responding.

I really appreciate your advice. You bring up a good point about keeping the juice recipes simple. How many different ingredients are too many? Can they enhance/negate the nutrition each of them offers? Something to look into.

I'm open to sprouting. My apartment doesn't get much sun, though. Just a couple of hours in the morning. Is that okay? As for the smoothies, I think that's a really good idea. I hadn't thought of that. You have good ideas to help ease into the juice fast.

As for the colon and liver cleanses -- will the nutrition from the juice fast do that or did you have specific treatments in mind? Speaking of treatments, I'm interested in trying a colonic but we'll have to see. I looked into them before and couldn't believe the expense! Also, the places that offer them kept talking about how to get the most benefit out of them by having a series of them. Of course.

As for the mentors people trust, I certainly don't want to start any arguments. Certainly people are allowed to have their own opinions, which are going to vary. I would hope people can discuss them without coming to blows!


And finally, have fun! Absolutely. This is one of the changes I'm making in my life!

[Simple Living]

I see a discrepancy here, do you?
Touché! I just meant that I'm not, thank God, battling any major diseases/conditions or on any medications.

[Living Food]

really appreciate your advice. You bring up a good point about keeping the juice recipes simple. How many different ingredients are too many? Can they enhance/negate the nutrition each of them offers? Something to look into.


Lots of different theories on this, but I feel that throwing too many ingreients in at on time interferes with your digestion so you don't get the maximum nutrition out of the juice. I also think that mixing fruits and greens is a poor choice, but I'm sure many here will disagree with me - frankly, not many people are willing to get their taste buds used to pure green/veggie juices.


I'm open to sprouting. My apartment doesn't get much sun, though. Just a couple of hours in the morning. Is that okay?

Yeah, you can still sprout with very little sun, and if you need to then you can just green them up with the lights in your apartment.

Check out this thread, it's got all the information you need to get started sprouting:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?64973-Sprouting!&highlight=sprouting%21


As for the colon and liver cleanses -- will the nutrition from the juice fast do that or did you have specific treatments in mind?

I was talking about specific treatments - I think that the products and protocols offered by Dr Richard Schulze are good, if you want to look into it. There are plenty of good ones out there, and I have no financial motivation for recommending the ones that I did, but there are plenty of bado nes out there too, and I know that Dr. Schulze's are effective. Colon and Liver cleansing aren't strictly necessary if you don'y have any major illnesses/diseases, but they will definitely speed up the detox process...you can detox more in a few weeks if you do these then you might on a few years of raw eating alone.

[Living Food]

I'm interested in trying a colonic but we'll have to see. I looked into them before and couldn't believe the expense! Also, the places that offer them kept talking about how to get the most benefit out of them by having a series of them. Of course.

They are quite expensive, and you do have to do multiple sessions to get the most benefit - one won't do much by itself. Enemas are far cheaper and can be self-administered, but the drawback is that they're not as effective.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Since you have a plan to start later, may i suggest to you to incorporate green smoothie, to help with your juicing. It would be nice to have quit coffee before but you do what feels right to you. Green smoothie heals addiction and with the fiber it will help to cool down any detox. Also, introduce your body to fruits. Meaning, be sure to have an empty stomach and don't eat too soon after eating them, they could lead to gas. Keep in mind that our body needs sugar and every cell of it. So fresh ripe fruits are the way to go. I love them as a breakfast.

Once you start your juicing period, just try different combination that taste good to you. You can also consider to get the dvd from Dan MacDonald about juicing. I find it expensive but it is very motivating and he shares very simple recipe. Many interesting herbs helps with kidney and liver. Such dandelion, plantain, parsley and others. I find that juicing the bitter herbs with apple and a citrus SUCH an orange, can neutralize the taste and make it lovely.

You will heal with juicing so much because you are giving a brake to your digestive system. It would be nice to introduce your body gently to raw food before. You don't need to go religious with it, but to just introduce it.

Dan Macdonald is very evolved and seem to help others more then making money. Just google his name and you will find his youtube.

[Mary Kay]

Simple Living,

Just found this thread. Sounds like you received some great advice. How's it going?

Mary Kay