Things I have learned during my juice fast.

Starting day 3 with only juice.  This is todays menu.  Starting to look all the same isn't it?  I can be pretty sure that I will be drinking red or green juice!  Yesterday was a good juice day.  I liked all of them.  I am not a huge fan of green lemonade but made it through.  I didn't find myself physically hungry but I started to get emotionally hungry.  Do you know the difference?  

• Physical hunger is hunger that happens below the neck.  Your belly growls and is ready for nourishment.
• Emotional hunger is hunger that happens above the neck.  (craving for certain foods)
• Physical hunger comes on gradually while Emotional hunger comes on suddenly.
• Emotional hunger leaves guilt in it's wake while physical hunger does not.

I bought some sweet and salty cliff bars for my daughter's tennis teams lunches.  I accidently bought one too many and it is sitting on my kitchen table.  It is full of peanutty goodness.  It looks like dreamy goodness!  I stare at it.  It stares at me.  I walk away and it calls my name.  Stupid cliff bar!  How did it know my name?!

I didn't eat it!  I didn't.  I am hoping my daughter took it to school today.  Have you ever thrown good food away just so you won't eat it.  Yeah, me too.

Just in case you are thinking of doing a juice fast, here are some things I learned so far.

• I have to go to the grocery store every two days.
• I only walk over to the produce section and then to the registers.  I never visit any other part of the store.
• Meijers has the best selection of the produce and fresh herbs that are not available anywhere else.
• Aldies has the cheapest produce available but they don't carry everything I need.
• I eat A LOT of spinach and kale.
• Fennel bulbs smell and taste like licorice.
• Coconut water is expensive and hard to find.  Mejer or Health food store.  
• The "Mean Green Juice" taste just like fresh cut grass.
• Pears do not last.  Juice them within a day of buying them.
• If it goes in one color- it might come out the same color.
• Who knew you could juice four cups of parsley.
• Hot tea does help my coffee craving.
• I LOVE coconut!  I heart it  on everything, in everything and around everything but I do NOT love coconut water.  It reminds me of snot.
• Best to cut the fruit or veggie to fit through the juicer rather than thinking "it will fit".
• A little ginger goes a loooooonnnnnnnnng way!!!!!!!!
• I don't drink nearly as much water as I normally do.
• I pee A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Better to keep the "pusher" in place because fruits and veggies do jump out and try to escape.
• Cleaning the juicer isn't hard but it is time consuming.
• My side by side fridge is not nearly big enough to store two days worth of produce.
• Produce that does not fit in fridge go in a cooler.
• My energy level has NOT fallen!!!!
• Celery wilts fast if not used.
• Regular carrots taste better than baby carrots.
• Juicing costs about 20 dollars a day.
• I feel empowered with all the fresh produce around.
• Who knew you could juice a sweet potato.
• My tummy feels flat!!  
• When rushing to pee, one must make sure toilet lid is all the way up.
• Kale does not like to be juiced.
• It is time consuming to make shop, clean,  cut, dice, juice everything.
• It is worth it.

I am headed into the weekend of only drinking juice.  I will be headed to Fort Wayne tomorrow.  Someone told me, "There are a lot of great restaurants in Fort Wayne!"  Yeah well, I won't be able to discover that.  It's ok though.  I can do this!

Have a beautiful, blessed, positive day friends!

Love j