30-Day Juice Fast Journal- Day 1

I was inspired by the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" to do a 30-day Juice Fast. I will be blogging periodically (no, not every day, but when I get a second here or there) about it to create some accountability and also hopefully inspire others to give it a try.

First, a little background on me: This isn't my first juice fast. I grew up the middle, short, chubby kid out of 3 brothers. I was always pretty athletic and coordinated and did okay in sports, but I just carried too much weight. I grew up eating way too many burgers, pizza, fried chicken, fried everything, huge quantities, cokes, very little water. Even when I worked out every day and played sports, I still carried at least 30 pounds unnecessarily. My brothers are the opposite of me and can eat unlimited food it seems and still have six-pack abs. I on the other hand developed hypoglycemia (I eventually overcame this condition) and struggled with blood sugar and diet. My brothers and I have very different metabolisms and genetics it seems, but I take full responsibility for me being out of shape. 

Everything changed in the fall of 2002. My sophomore year of college, I was on an internship in Hereford, TX and started learning about juice fasting. I had tried to fast before on just water, but could never make it a single day without having a blood sugar crash, getting shaky, and needing to eat by dinner time. I read a book called "Juice Fasting and Detoxification" by Steve Meyerowitz, and finally got the courage to give juice fasting a try. My first successful juice fast was 42 days. It was an incredible physical and spiritual experience. I was never healthier than during my long juice fast, and came out of it a new person. I started at a robust 200+ pounds, and 42 days later recorded my lowest weight since a pre-teen of 154. You immediately gain about 7 pounds once you have food in your digestive system again, then I gained back some muscle and stabilized at a healthy 165-175 (pretty much my ideal weight range) and was able to stay trim and fit for 5-6 years after that. This was the only span of my life where I was not chubby. I fell in love with my wife Melissa in 2006, got married in 2007, and we had our first daughter in 2008. As my happiness and comfort grew, I got a good-paying desk job and slowly gained about a pound a month the last three years and settled into a more sedentary lifestyle. Now I'm back over 200, and don't like what I've become physically. I feel like I've put back on the shell of my old, inferior-self, and this isn't who I'm supposed to be anymore. I refuse to live a life with only a few fleeting years of fitness.

My plan now is to do another reboot of my body. Today, September 1st, was day 1 of a planned 30 days. This month I will only have water and fresh-juiced fruits and veggies. 

As I go through this journey, I will be sharing recipes, tips, pictures, triumphs and struggles and hope to give insight into the amazing world of juice fasting.

It's 10PM on day one. So far so good. I'm hungry and have a dull headache. My stomach is growling. I've had three cups of juice today and was able to have a pretty productive day at work. The first few days are the toughest. I stopped drinking soda and coffee about 5 days ago and am still having caffeine withdrawals. I'm looking forward to getting some sleep, so I'm going to turn in for the night and pick this journal back up later.

Day 1 Pictures @207lbs (I will take pics in the same spot with the same now-too-tight-shirt throughout the fast)

 And here's me at a fit 165 circa 2003 for comparison's sake.