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| I had one really cranky, cravin' food kinda day - about 4 days into the fast. I had a few sips of this and it instantly had an amazing, calming effect on me! Just as important, one small glass was incredibly filling. This one's a keeper!! |
On January 1st, we set out to do a two week Juice Feast- and we made it! Today marks day 14 of consuming only fresh fruit and vegetable juice.
The BIGGEST challenge has NOT been HUNGER. Yes, of course we have dealt with our fair share of hunger pangs, but since we are getting all of our daily caloric requirements, we recognize that it wasn't true hunger we were feeling most of the time - but just cravings. In fact, we each only felt real hunger 2 or 3 days out of the 14 - and this was usually when we had done a lot of activity or waited too long between drinking juices. So no, the biggest challenge wasn't not eating. The biggest challenge was finding new ways to stimulate ourselves that didn't involve food.
This time has given us a great opportunity to step back and realize just how much of our lives we spend eating for pleasure. Besides our 2 or 3 regular meals a day (we're often breakfast skippers), we frequently eat both when we're bored AND when we're having a good time (watching movies, hanging with friends, etc.). I know we're not alone in this. So many people have social lives that seem to revolve, or at least heavily involve, eating. One of our goals in this juicing experience is to change our habits so we are not just eating because it's time to eat or because - "hey, why not?". Yes, we still love eating, but we really wanted to create the space to give ourselves other things that give us pleasure.
So what have we done to fill up our time during this Juice Feast?
We've gone hiking at a few different parks, walking around our neighborhood, done yoga, played card games, and watched a few documentaries and comedies. We even did a bit of work for our business: New Family Naturals.
We've both done a good deal of reading - usually several hours a day. Engin has started blogging on his new Turkish-language blog. At my request, he's also making me an awesome copper wind chime, tuned to a popular middle eastern scale (giddy with excitement over that one :).
All-in-all, it's been pretty low key - and we wouldn't have had it any other way. We've really enjoyed our time to relax and just hang with each other.
I thought I'd end this post with the recipe to the drink pic posted above.
Calming Cantaloupe Juice - 2 servings
1 cantaloupe, seeded and skin removed.
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
Put cantaloupe and dash of each spice in blender. Blend until smooth and strain through cheesecloth or nut milk bag.
Pour in 2 glasses and enjoy with a loved one!
All the best,
Toya
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