30 Day Juice Fast Journal- Day 8

Overcoming Trials and Temptations

Morning of Day 8. Feeling good, but I haven't lost any weight the last 2-3 days, so that's kind of weird.

I faced some great temptation and discouragement the last 2 days between now and my morning of the 6th post.

My babies have been sick which is adding extra stress to the household. The night of the 6th I was feeling very down and hungry. I watched the kids for a couple hours that night to let Melissa escape out of the house for a little bit. I was feeding my 1-year old a tuna fish sandwich, tearing it up into little bits with my hands, and without thinking I licked my fingers... I was already wanting this sandwich, but when the little bit on my finger hit my taste buds, I nearly snapped. That's when it's hardest... nobody watching... tired... down... you can almost hear the little devil on your shoulder saying, "Just take a bite. Nobody will know! It won't hurt anything!" I'm convinced I would have fallen to this temptation if it wasn't for another friend of mine also juice fasting this month I knew I'd have to answer to, and my blog. Thankfully my friend gave me some encouragement by saying, "if you fail... I will fail too" and I stayed the path.

Accountability goes a long way. I've tried to do a few 30-day juice fasts the last 2 years, but I always seem to quit sometime in the day 3-10 window, but they were always pretty secret so I could quit without shame or accountability. I believe I will succeed this time.

Here are some tips for overcoming trials and temptations during a juice fast:

1) Fast with a close friend or spouse. Then you can push each other through the difficult moments.

2) Know when you feel like crap, it's only brief and temporary. Drink some juice, and go do something else. Don't dwell on it. Your mind will convince you this is how it's going to feel 24/7 till the end and you'll want to quit. That's a lie. You'll feel fine 90+ percent of the time you're fasting.

3) Know up front you will be offered free, delicious food EVERY DAY YOU FAST. It's just some crazy cosmic rule, but I've fasted many days and never had a single day where free, delicious food wasn't offered to me. So just smile and laugh at the cosmic joke, don't let it make you mad or frustrated. The free food offers will stop, as soon you stop fasting. =)

4) Don't chew gum, and don't go shoving your nose into food trying to inhale the smells and get some satisfaction. Don't give your body hope that it's going to eat. This will only keep your digestive system on longer. You'll feel best once your digestive system shuts down and gives up.

5) Pray. Pray often.

6) Read the Bible. Read books. There's more to the Word of God being called the Bread of Life than you think. It does have a magical way of being able to satisfy, even your physical body. Try it.

7) Think of your juice as your food. That way it's less awkward when you go to restaurants or talk to people who don't know you're fasting. That way, if you've juiced earlier, you can honestly just say, "No thanks, I already ate. I'll just have a water." and don't have to go into the whole juice fasting explanation spiel with everyone.

8) Find other social activities that don't revolve around food. Eating is our #1 social activity, so you get very socially isolated when you fast.