OK, so I realize that this week's picture isn't very good. I am having a bad hair day and I just can't get that bright colored picture like I did last week. I must have taken a billion pictures and this is the best. Sorry about that. I don't know what to do. I mean, I only have my phone so that's as good as it gets.
This week the biggest change to the juice feast was removing all fruit. I have felt like it was something I should do for a very long time and I was always too afraid to do it. I felt like just having juice was enough of an adjustment but if I had to take all the fruit out it would be torture!
I found Go Wonderwoman and I was inspired by her journey into a raw diet with no fruit. She is not juicefeasting but I figured if she can do it then I can too (ha ha, I just went to her site to get the link and she is eating cooked food to make it through the no sugar stage. I am glad I read that after I started my no sugar juice feast). I have to tell you it hasn't been that bad. I think if I had started out like this I would have probably never been able to stick with it but because I was already juicing for so many days, my taste buds have changed and some of the vegetable juices taste much sweeter to me now. It has been quite easy.
I have noticed that my energy level has slumped over the last couple of days and it could be the lack of fruit and it could be the fact that I have gone into a deeper detox without the sugar feeding my candida. I don't know. I will continue to monitor how I feel.
I lost 1 lb this week. It is good that I am still losing. It seems I go up and down with this. I will hit a plateau and then drop some weight and then hit a plateau. I believe this is normal because the body goes through cleaning out stages and rebuilding stages. All together I have lost 16 1/2 lbs and I am happy with that.
I am feeling much more centered lately. I never understood what that meant when I heard people say it and now I understand. I feel stronger with myself, with who I am and not looking outward to find my answers. I am more calm, more solid - like a mountain. It feels good.
I am also happier and smiling more. I find myself being able to resist the gossip and complaining trap of my friends and family. I find I am able to observe more instead of reacting to situations. I feel like my mind is beginning to unwind a bit and I am slowing down. Mmmmm, it's good.
I had a few questions this week so I thought I would answer them now.
Brandi asked if my whole family was adopting my way of eating and sadly the answer is no. My husband has been doing all of the cooking since I have started juice feasting (I know, he is a saint) and I have let him. His idea of cooking isn't what mine would be although I have found myself feeding my kids "the easy way" in the past.
My husband has been on his own quest to change his eating habits and he has adopted some raw food. He has been having spinach smoothies in the mornings and a salad for lunch. His dinner will be whatever he makes for the kids and he will still eat whatever is offered when we go out. He has cut out sugar and stopped drinking beer except for the occasional get together where he will have a couple. He has lost a lot of weight and is feeling much better.
Since he has been making the switch it has been easier for me to talk to him about what the kids are eating. He stopped buying all the snacks that he was giving them and has decided that they can only have ice cream once a week instead of every night like before.
After that long answer I guess the answer is; it's a process and it is getting better and better. I am trying to focus on myself right now and I think the rest will come. I realize as I type this that it sounds rather selfish...I don't think it is. How many times have we heard people say that we need to take care of ourselves before we can help anyone else. In a perfect world I would have figured all of this out before I had kids but I didn't so I go forward and do my best.
Penni asked about the thyroid and juicing. She asked if I had a problem with my thyroid. No, I have always tested within range for my thyroid. I am not sure if it is accurate because I do have some symptoms of hypothyroidism. I think my adrenal gland has some fatigue (I had to think a while before I typed that. I don't want to own it).
The funny thing is that I just happened upon Allison's blog this morning right before you left your comment, Penni. She is beginning a modified juice feast and was talking about hypothyroidism and foods that can cause problems and foods that can help. She said that hypothyroidism can be linked to low levels of zinc and selenium. She said spinach, kale and broccoli can make it worse and radishes can help. I think her blog will be a great resource for you.
I found this website that talks about mineral content in fruits, vegetables and nuts. Selenium can be found in Lima Beans, Peas, Mushrooms, Kale, Corn, Sweet potato, Potatoes, Squash - winter Onions, Squash - summer and Spinach. Zinc can be found in Peas, Lima Beans, Squash - summer Potatoes, Corn, and Sweet potato.
Since most of these aren't ideal for juicing I wondered where we are getting our zinc from. I looked at kelp and while it has iodine and is said to be good for the thyroid there wasn't any zinc. I looked at my bottle of spirulina and it didn't have zinc listed on it. My chlorella has .8 mg or 6%. Bee pollen is said to have high levels of zinc but my bottle didn't have any information on it.
Because I am not taking anything except the kelp because of my stomach I will have to research this further.
I found this website that has the symptoms of zinc deficiency and I have many of them. I think I will try posting this question on the Juice Feasting forum and see if I get any answers. I will keep you posted.
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