Juicing Detox, Day 3 and 4

Here we are, the end of day 4, and we are still going strong.

If you have not been following along these past few days, my husband and I are in the midst of a juicing detox. In this challenge, are only allowed to drink pure fruit and vegetable juice, no food, just juice. We decided that we would spend 3 days doing the detox, and reassess. If we felt good, we would continue for a few more days. If we were struggling, we would see if we need to make some modifications.

First, its not been easy, at all. I never realized how much time and effort I spent either eating, preparing, and thinking about my meals. A significant portion of my day is spent cooking, eating, and cleaning up after meals. Now that we are not sitting down to eat, the mornings are much slower, and the nights are longer.

Second, I never realized how much I snacked throughout the day. This detox is making me much more mindful of what I put in my body.  Even though many of my snacks were healthy, I still ate without thinking about it. For me, I think I spent a lot of time eating out of habit, boredom, or as a form of entertainment. I very rarely asked myself, "Am I actually hungry?"

For me, day 3 was extremely hard. I had to drink some juices that I did not enjoy at all, and they were a bit tough to stomach. There were two drinks during the day that were majority kale, and they did not go down easily. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and had a headache. I ended up going to bed before 8:00PM because I didn't feel well.

Day 4, (Thursday) has been much easier for me. I had 2 more kale juices today, but they were not quite as bad as day 3. I've found that I just have to chug them down quickly rather than sip them. As much as I detest the kale drinks, I cannot deny that after I drink them, I get a huge burst of energy for a few hours.

For my husband, day 4 has been a challenge. The newness of the challenge has worn off, and now we know what to expect from what we drink. He was already laying on the couch when I came home from work, so I know he's been struggling today.

There have been a few bright spots these past 2 days. We added spinach to our juice for the first time, and I didn't mind it at all. I wouldn't say it was good, but I would say it was much better than kale.

I've also found that I can stomach the harder, heavier juices in the middle of the day. Most days my stomach is a bit off in the mornings, so I need something light. Plus, I have found that I enjoy having a pure fruit juice in the evening as a treat, which encourages me to drink the harder, greener juices during the middle of the day.

Things are good here in the house o' juice. We have struggled a bit, but are staying strong. We both know this is for our own good, for our own health, and that when we are done, our bodies will be stronger, healthier, and better.