Day 80 - It's Q & A day

Hello everyone. It's day 80! I can honestly see the finish-line in the distance. It's unreal that this journey is soon coming to an end. There is a part of me that will miss juice feasting... probably more than I care to admit it. I remember (when I first heard about juice feasting last year and read Angela's blog in its entirety) reading about she actually wanted to KEEP ON juice feasting. I didn't get it. I kind of get it now in a way... but I don't have that desire. I'm definitely ready for solid foods.

On that note... I've received a few questions lately and I wanted to take this opportunity to answer them.

Mish asked: How many times did you wanna quit?

I'm sure, unconsciously, several times per day. I'm sure every time I had a craving for pesto, there was a part of me that wanted to throw in the towel. That being said, I didn't feel an overwhelming need or "want" to quit. Those daily 'wanting to quit' moments were maybe a "2" on a scale of 1 to 10. I did have a few moments that were "8"s or "9"s though. Maybe 2 or 3. I remember wanting to quit around day 3-4 when I kept getting really intense pains in my stomach... but the desire to heal was stronger. I will definitely say that something weird tends to happen between day 30-50... there was a period there that I honestly was secretly ready to quit but decided I would make it to day 50 to prove one of my friends wrong (who told me I wouldn't make it past day 50)... once at day 50 I decided I would go to at least day 60. At day 60 it got a lot easier. That second month is killer though... I can see why many people chose to end their feast during the second month; you've already accomplished so much and yet the finish line seems so far away still. All I have to say is David's wise advice kept me sane on my most challenging days: everyone juice feasts for just one day: today. This became my mantra. Just focus on today. Don't look towards the finish line... just get through today. This is the same advice they give alcoholics at AA ("one day at a time") and it works:

In the first few rocky days of recovery, just abstaining for that moment, hour, etc. is truly all we can do. If we can't do that, there's no point in worrying about tomorrow, or next week, or whenever. The One Day at a Time philosophy has benefits far beyond the early days in recovery. It can keep us grounded in the present – that Holy Instant that is so easy to miss in a busy and productive life.

My coworker Eileen asked me a really neat question: Have you decided what your "last juice" will be?

Now... I was quick to point out that there is no such thing as a 'last juice'. Juicing will continue to be a life practice that I will embrace for the rest of my life. Now, she of course knew this... but what she meant was... did I plan on celebrating my last juice feasting day (day 92) by having a special juice to end that day. I never gave this that much thought... but she's right... that day is as important as the pivotal "soaked prunes day". I think I will definitely try to have the ingredients on hand to make some "Ben's orgasmic 69" juice (see day 69).

I also got the following question from an anonymous user: Ben, do you think you'll be strictly raw vegan now? or go back to some cooked?

This is a question I've asked myself several times before and during the juice feast. I still don't have a firm answer. I have come to a few conclusions, however. I believe that the true path for me is raw-veganism and I will definitely happily and willingly embark once again on the raw-bandwagon. I did realize that the pitfall of my previous attempt at going raw was adopting an 'all or nothing' attitude. The night on which I put an end to my last raw attempt, I binged on an entire butternut squash I had cooked in the oven... I felt so inherently guilty... like a weight-watchers champ would feel after caving an eating an entire box of Krispie Kreme doughnuts. But really... there are WORST things out there than cooked butternut squash. With that in mind, I'm going to be 'easy on myself'. My goal will be 100% raw... but if I so choose to have the occasional steamed artichoke or steamed butternut squash... I'm not going to run to the raw-confessional and do 10 hail-Wigmores. I'm definitely going to try my best to not ever have wheat products again... but I fear that the addiction to wheat is stronger than we realize it is. I do feel that through juice feasting though, I have been able to detox myself of most of my addictions to cooked foods (for the exception of artichokes and butternut squash... for whatever reason, I really want those!). I also have a strong craving for the Quiznos veggie sub but alas, I think that's one craving that I'll have to live without in my post-feast life. I'm toying with the idea of having a "cooked day" once per month where I allow myself to have cooked foods (as long as they be whole-foods and wheat-free) in a completely guilt-free setting. I also feel that when going to restaurants, I may allow myself to have some cooked whole foods in much the same manner. But to wrap this up and quit rambling... yes... the goal is 100% raw... with some occasional guilt-free flexibility.

I'm actually really excited about salad and greens... as much as I'm a bit apathetic towards green juices at the moment... I must admit, I can't wait to be getting in MORE greens in my diet in the form of SALADS! :) I also can't wait to have my morning cilantro smoothies and some green soups. I'll definitely become a fan of the 'four means to get your greens' methodology. :)

Penni didn't know it... but she inadvertently asked a question that I want to answer: I can't wait to eat vicariously through you once you are back on whole foods. I know you'll have some really good stuff for all of us, won't you?

Yes! Tons of good stuff. I'll feel bad to torture you poor juice feasters that I leave behind, as I transition back to solids but... I love being in the kitchen and conjuring up recipes and you can bet your mason jars I'll be creating raw-delights and posting them on a raw-vegan blog that I'm already working on. I had a vegan (cooked) recipe blog for a while (see left-hand link column) and I plan on creating one with raw recipes too.

Lisa asked: Are you going to keep blogging???

You bet your Vitamix, I am! I will most likely stop blogging on THIS specific blog so that people can quickly reference my juice feast without having to skim through tons of additional stuff. I plan on creating two new blogs:

"A healthy conspiracy" will document my daily activities, what I eat, how my healing is progressing, etc...

"A crunchy conspiracy" will be my raw recipe blog where I plan to post recipes and LOTS of raw-food porn. :)

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I think that covers all the questions. If I've ever missed a questions of yours, by all means, ask me on this post. If you have any more questions... now's the time. I'll do another Q & A post come day 90 if I get enough questions... otherwise I'll just answer your question personally. :)

Today I had :

1.25L water+msm+lemon
1.25L celery/red chard/cilantro/parsley+E3live+kelp+Hsalt
3L watermelon juice
1.5L apple-kiwi
1.5L berry berry good juice
(blood orange/grape/strawberry/blackberry/acai berry)
10 parasite pills
Enzymes
2Tbsp bee pollen+agave
dipped into the honey ... :(

Today I did:

Acupeds
Zapper
Skin brushing
6.5 KM (4 miles) bike ride to work (so out of shape!!)
Chiropractic adjustment

Actually.. about the bike ride to work... biking with 5 litres of juice in a backpack is HARD WORK. Holy moly! Maybe I'm not so out of shape hahaha. :)

My chiropractor keeps saying how smooth the skin on my face is. :) I'm still annoyed at that red spot on my nose which my chiro said is barely noticeable. She mentioned that although, yes, that spot is linked to the small intestine... that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to do with the intestines as much as it has to do with absorption... it was cryptic but I'm happy I'm taking enzymes again because I liked how I felt while I was taking those. Mmmm Enzymes! :)

- Ben