Fast!

7 days.  168 hours.  10,080 minutes.

That's how long I will be "juicing" starting today until the morning of Thanksgiving next, aw, come on, do I have to say Thursday?  You must be from Canada if you didn't know that!  But I love you anyway.

Since my amazing and perfect race at Winthrop (what, I can languish in my marathon PR day for awhile), my nutrition has been less than stellar.  Picture a college dorm room.  Not the one you see in the brochures depicting the Honor Society students studiously studying statistics (that's alliteration in case you were wondering).  Instead, it is the one with a study group filled with average GPA students who are cramming for a final exam, living off stale pizza, pop, artificial orange puffs and anything else that doesn't require preparation time...or nutrients for that matter!  I have been one of the imaginary students.  Yup.  A 41 year old, pop inducing, chip dipping, chocolate hoarder for the some of October and November

Leading up to Winthrop, I had my nutrition nailed down and was feeling like a rock star without the drugs and alcohol.  I was happily ingesting the proper ratio of nutrients and physically seeing and feeling positive results.  I have been leading 3 week groups on Facebook that focus on exercise and nutrition. We work together for accountability and motivation as we face our own demons, whether that's an obsession with sugar in all it's saccharine  forms or having an urge to buy a salt lick from the local feed store. We use the 3 weeks to get back some self-control, increase our activity level and eliminate or reduce certain foods.  After the 3 weeks, each individual chooses what they will incorporate into their daily lives.  Some choose to continue eliminating certain foods as they've found they are instigators of bloat, headaches, etc.

After watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead on my instant Netflix, I decided to take a week to get back some self-control and clean out the late-night popcorn and sugary treats that had been a mainstay for these past few weeks.  I'm not one to promote a gimmicky "diet" for weight loss.  I know from first-hand experience as well as studies that if it's not sustainable, it's going to be another lose weight, gain more weight situations.  My goal is to reset my taste buds and clean out my system.  Since the Seattle Marathon is the Sunday following Thanksgiving, my running mileage will be decreased, leaving this week to be ideal for attempting a short fast.  Plus I'll get to eat on Thanksgiving!

My plan:

• Start Thursday, November 17 and end Thursday morning, Thanksgiving.
• Limit coffee to one cup a day.  
• Shakeology will be included, up to 2 shakes a day.
• Shakeology, juice (that I make), water and tea are allowed.  
• If I'm lacking energy for a workout, I will allow myself a banana.

My juice fast started TODAY!  I bought a juicer from Fred Meyer yesterday for $99.99 and it came with a $20 gift card which made it an even better deal.  I would have loved to buy a VitaMix juicer, but at $649, it's not in our budget.

I tried my first juice recipe today, Apple, Beet, Carrot Juice found here Juice Recipes.  I've never used a juicer and was hesitant about what to include and read that you can include small seeds, rind, leaves, etc.  This could get interesting.

First discovery while making this particular juice:  use a plastic mat under the juicer as the beet juice is unforgiving on the kitchen counter.  A pair of kitchen gloves may be necessary to keep the stains off my skin as well.  After processing the ingredients, a burgandy liquid stared at me and I was questioning my sanity.

The pulp it produced seemed massive and I need to figure out if it is edible in any form for recipes.  I hate to waste perfectly good food.  The crimson concoction tasted...beety and rooty.  I don't know if that's a good thing.  I finished off my juice with occasional facial expressions only found in funny Hallmark cards.

I'm not giving up.  I've read that adding more apple may help with some of the bitterness.  I see a shopping trip to Costco in the very near future.  There are a lot of vegetables and fruits in juicing.  Shakeology is definitely a cost saver when you consider the ingredients packed into the product.

I will be weighing in today and the last day, along with measurements.  I don't know if I'll share the numbers but I am willing to share if my numbers change.  A girl has to keep some secrets.