Day 40

It’s been an interesting forty days to say the least.  Last week, I started transitioning to regular food.  Every text that I read indicated the importance of transitioning slowly for a few days after a fast.  And although I did transition slowly, I definitely didn’t transition with the proper type of food, so I’m not quite patting myself on the back.  Transitioning started Tuesday of last week.  The plan was to continue juicing while eating a small portion of fruits and veggies.  Well, instead of eating a small portion of fruits and veggies, I allowed myself a 280-calorie bag of Lays potato chips.  I would feel ashamed, but unfortunately, for me, I seldom feel guilt.  The first bag I ate last Tuesday actually made me feel great!  I think it’s because my diet has generally been lacking in fat, oil, and sodium- substances that our bodies do need in limited amounts.  Not to say that Lays potato chips are ideal sources of fat, oil, and sodium (as they most definitely are not), but I do believe that a diet devoid of these issues is problematic.  I chewed the chips very well because after the pizza incident, I didn’t want to be sick.  I didn’t become sick so I had one bag of 280-calorie Lays chips on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday too.  On Saturday morning, I ate a fast food hamburger and I just looked up the nutritional content on the website- 1063ca.  Wow!  That’s all I ate on Saturday.  On Sunday morning after midnight I ate a burrito, had a cup of orange juice later in the day, and had a salad and a soy Sharma wrap from a vegan restaurant (probably way too many calories on Sunday).   On Monday I ate a burrito and the infamous 280-calorie bag of chips.  Tuesday, I ate a burrito and a few tortilla chips.  And today is Wednesday.  I wonder if you can guess what my favorite food is…yup burritos!

The interesting thing about eating after the fast is that I don’t feel hardly as hungry as I once did.  Eating once a day for me is more than sufficient and I don’t feel hunger.  Thus, I have decided that since I’ve had such fabulous results, for the month of April, I am going to continue with my fast, but with several modifications: 

Firstly, I am going to gravitate from fruit juices to vegetable juice.  I have had sinus and mucous problems for many years, which I believe may be a result of too much sugar. Additionally, vegetable juice is ideal over fruit juice any day of the week.  Thus, I’ve started reading another text: Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life.  I’m using this great text for all of my April recipes.  

 Next, I’ve decided that I will consume two raw garlic cloves finely minced daily.  Garlic will be featured in my next veggie profile of the week.  It’s just great for a multitude of reasons.

Third, I will allow myself to consume five small nutritious meals and one not so nutritious meal weekly.  One of the grips that I have about juicing is that there is so much left over pulp from juicing.  I plan to use this pulp in  soups and have a salad for my nutritious meals.  This way, I'll have fiber in my system and I don’t have to be burdened with doing the enemas that I told myself I would do regularly, but never really did.

Exercise.  Although I have been walking more, I don’t have a solid routine.  So within the next 72 hours I’m going to purchase a pedometer and set a goal of walking a minimum of 6,000 steps daily (recommended for optimal health) and 10,000 steps (recommended for weight reduction) at least three times weekly.  

Education.  I will continue to read books to educate myself about proper nutrition.  I've recently started reading a text called The China Study: Startling Implications for Diet, Weight-loss and Long-Term Health.   THIS BOOK IS AMAZING.  I didn't actually buy it, I checked it out from my local library.  Highly recommend you read it.  At the very least, read the reviews about this text from amazon.com.

Tomorrow I will do an official weigh-in so that I can say that after 40 days, I have lost x amount of weight.  Stay tuned…