Juice Diet 101

 Years ago I bought a relatively good juicer so that I could lose weight, detox, and basically keep up with all those fancy schancy folks who were juicing on TV and talking about it at work. I thought there had to be something about it, something worth looking into, heck so many people were all about it. Turns out the money I spent for the juicer was well worth the hype.  I didn't go overboard with it because I wasn't quite sure if I could even make the thing crank out good juices. There are about 7 different parts to the thing. I watched YouTube videos, used Pinterest to find recipes, and basically I just followed the leaders online and did what they did. I do remember writing down that a Gala apple was more frothy than a Granny Smith. If I don't remember anything else, I do remember that.  That memory has served me well.

    This week, after years of being away from it, I found the juicer in a closet! I was proud of myself for not throwing it out, and I couldn't for the life of me remember why I stopped using it in the first place. I think I moved! I think when I moved to this apartment I just boxed it up and never unboxed it. If I had to guess that would be it; who knows. I found it, and I washed it, and I have successfully created a few of my old time favorites. I don't know what everyone else calls them, but I just call them what they are. I put a few things together, write it down, call it a name like "Carrots, Apples, and Cranberry" and I go with that. I know I usually add something like ginger root or mint to it. I do that from time to time too. I think I'm going to start looking up other people's recipes and trying those out. I bet they have much cooler names and everything.  There are juices for detoxing, juices for weight losing, juices for energy, juices for sensory gain. There are juices for no reason whatsoever other than just getting their goodness into your body!

    Most of my internet searches regarding juicing had to do with losing weight. I'm forever trying to get this fat off my body. I look up old ways, new ways, ways of the East, the West, the people of the Southlands. I look up Yankee recipes from time to time, and believe it or not, I don't recall one of them being all that bad really. That's actually saying something coming from a Southerner. I will add that we don't put biscuits and gravy in our juicers down this way, and we don't typically add sweet tea to the mix either -- despite what my Northern cousins may tell ya! It's strictly veggies and fruit for me, and yeah, the occasional root. I do roots. I especially love a good beet -- "Bloody Murder" would be a great name for a beet based recipe; one with peppers and lemon juice. Now, I'm thinkin'.  (Maybe I should patent that)

    This weekend (starting tomorrow) I've decided to do what all the other cool kids did back in the day. I'm going to do a three-day juice fast. It's not really a fast if you're drinking stuff, but I am giving up solid food for three days to see if I can jump start the metabolism and get about 4-5 pounds off the body for the time being. Once it comes off it won't be going back on my body. These past few months have been stagnant in terms of losing. I've hit another plateau, and the more weight I tend to drop the more stubborn these plateaus have become. This one is going on it's 3rd month and dang it, I'm just not a happy camper. It was a really good thing I found this juicer when I did. I'm hoping that it will do more than just change up my intake from solid foods to juice, but I'm hoping to kick my gears into overdrive for the next few days to banish weight and build muscle where I need it. 

    I won't stop exercising while I'm juicing, but I will lay off the heavier more dense exercises. I'll stick to the heavy rope jumping, yoga, stretching, weight lifting on the vibration plate (10-15 pounds during squats) and I'll walk a little since the weather will be nice. I can get 12,000 steps a day in for sure, and yes, I can still drink over 100 ounces of lemon water. That should be enough to flush the living tar out of me...literally.  I am doing one thing that is super upper duper fun and cool. I'm drinking Kombucha! If you've not done it, do it. I say that, be careful, ask your doctor, then do it. Kombucha is a fermented tea that has a gazillion living probiotic with good bacteria. It's a new old thing of course, one that every diet exert in the world is pushing, but I found it at the grocer without any fanfare. I didn't know what it was, but Aldi was selling it so I tried it, and yeah, it's weirdly oddly refreshing in a strong sort of fizzy vinegar tart way.  It's going a good job on the gut I know that. I feel it going down into the tubes!

    Basically, my recipes consist of about 4 or 5 small carrots, cranberries, Kombucha (3 Oz) and an apple. I throw in mint or parsley for the goodness and drink to my heart's desire. I save the silt and throw it in the next protein shake I make.  You can't (or shouldn't) waste good veggie/fruit silt. The fiber lives in the casing you know. Never lose sight of the skin of an apple or a carrot. Revamp. Think of ways to boost your protein shakes and save your fiber. It's a win-win.  OK, so that's it. I'm going to keep you posted on what if anything occurs. I'll be thinking about solid food I'm sure, but thinking and dreaming will have to take a backseat to juicing and blending this weekend. Only juice and water, no milk, and all the veggies I can muster -- poured over pineapples of course. Of course. Most people lose 3-5 pounds with this three day diet - - let's see if I'm normal. I don't count my chickens on that one.

Photo Credit: Cleveland Clinic