that time we went crazy & started a juice diet...
Limes, anyone? A little while ago Nate and I finished a seven day juice cleanse, during which the most common thought in my mind was 'what have I done?!' Seven days of eating (drinking, actually) nothing but fruits and veggies. Crazy, right? I'm pretty sure I ate more spinach during that seven-day period than I ever have in my life. But we didn't start this diet just for the fun of it. No, there was a method to our madness. . .
Over a year ago Nate began experiencing pains in his wrists and finger joints after a summer interning with the U.S. Open of Surfing and spending a week on the beach photographing surfers. We assumed his pain was only a strain caused from days of supporting giant lenses, but when it didn't go away after a few months we became a little concerned. He's visited multiple doctors on multiple occasions. He tested for arthritis, tendonitis, and a few other "itis'", with no solution. I had begun thinking that there was really nothing we could do about it besides avoiding using a computer keyboard, talking on the phone, using a pen/pencil/tablet, and basically anything that requires the use of hands to operate. Obviously that wasn't going to last for very long. Then I started hearing more about these juicing cleanses.
I've heard about juice cleanses before. I have a few friends who have done them, but I never thought that they might help Nate's wrists until I recently heard about it helping others with more serious issues, such as arthritis or high blood pressure. So I thought it over for a while, going over the pros and cons (food, no food), deciding whether it would be worth it and, if it was, was it something that I was willing to commit to? And I knew that I couldn't suggest it to Nate without being willing to go through it with him. So one night I brought it up to Nate while driving home from my parents house. I built up a good argument because I was sure that it would take a bit of convincing since he can be pretty skeptical about things like this, (again, food or no food?) but, to my surprise, he liked the idea and wanted to get started right away. He even thought it was permanent! Ha! No way, dude.
To be honest, when we started the diet we initially said ten days, but by day seven, we were both famished, and lacking the strength or resolve to empower ourselves to continue. Besides, lots of people only do the diet for seven days, right? Right. We're good.
We had juice for breakfast, juice for lunch, and juice -- sometimes juices -- for dinner. Nate was always hungry, but he was always hungry before. I felt pretty well sustained by the juices for the most part. I'm a little person with a littler stomach. Although what I didn't expect was how much I would miss the food! I missed the actual act of eating. Of biting into it, chewing, savoring the taste, the smell. Eating is very satisfying. With juice, if it's tasty, it takes all of a minute for it to be gone. If it's not good then you wish that was the case because there is no joy in the consuming of a glass filled with spinach, carrot, celery, and cucumber juice.
Anyway, enough with the complaining. I felt really good while I was juicing! I woke up in the morning feeling energized, and I kept that energy throughout the day. I thought that being at work would really be exhausting without my usual nutrients for lunch, but actually my simple juice had a lot more vitamins and nutrients than my typical sandwich and apple did. I lost the little bit of excess fat I had built up on my tummy and legs (amazing!), and I felt really healthy. For Nate, the pains he has notably subsided and he was able to do his job with much more ease.
So, for anyone wondering if you should participate in a juice diet, I say go for it! The benefits are obvious. I'm thinking that we'll do one maybe two or three times a year. That's the thing, if you want the benefits to stick then you have to stick with it. One cleanse is great, but if you start doing it every few months then you'll be great! And hopefully it will get easier after we've done a few.
While on our diet we didn't really follow any recipes, we just mixed what sounded good together. I got a few ideas from a blog I follow, Our Lovely Lives. Also, watch the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead if you're interested in trying a juice cleanse. Whether you do a seven day cleanse, ten days or more, I think that you will really enjoy the results.
To be honest, when we started the diet we initially said ten days, but by day seven, we were both famished, and lacking the strength or resolve to empower ourselves to continue. Besides, lots of people only do the diet for seven days, right? Right. We're good.
We had juice for breakfast, juice for lunch, and juice -- sometimes juices -- for dinner. Nate was always hungry, but he was always hungry before. I felt pretty well sustained by the juices for the most part. I'm a little person with a littler stomach. Although what I didn't expect was how much I would miss the food! I missed the actual act of eating. Of biting into it, chewing, savoring the taste, the smell. Eating is very satisfying. With juice, if it's tasty, it takes all of a minute for it to be gone. If it's not good then you wish that was the case because there is no joy in the consuming of a glass filled with spinach, carrot, celery, and cucumber juice.
Anyway, enough with the complaining. I felt really good while I was juicing! I woke up in the morning feeling energized, and I kept that energy throughout the day. I thought that being at work would really be exhausting without my usual nutrients for lunch, but actually my simple juice had a lot more vitamins and nutrients than my typical sandwich and apple did. I lost the little bit of excess fat I had built up on my tummy and legs (amazing!), and I felt really healthy. For Nate, the pains he has notably subsided and he was able to do his job with much more ease.
So, for anyone wondering if you should participate in a juice diet, I say go for it! The benefits are obvious. I'm thinking that we'll do one maybe two or three times a year. That's the thing, if you want the benefits to stick then you have to stick with it. One cleanse is great, but if you start doing it every few months then you'll be great! And hopefully it will get easier after we've done a few.
While on our diet we didn't really follow any recipes, we just mixed what sounded good together. I got a few ideas from a blog I follow, Our Lovely Lives. Also, watch the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead if you're interested in trying a juice cleanse. Whether you do a seven day cleanse, ten days or more, I think that you will really enjoy the results.
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