It’s been just over a week since I ended my 10 day juice fast, and so far, so good. I’m enjoying eating with the family again, hell, I’m enjoying eating again, a lot! Lol… But you know, it’s what I’m eating this time around (post fast) that I am enjoying the most…
MORE Greens, greens and more greens:
- Kale
- Romaine
- Spinach
- Bok Choy – my 1st time trying Bok Choy, it’s good!
- Arugula
- Broccoli
I feel like I’m eating more greens now that my juice fast is over, but that just couldn’t be possible… The inside of my refrigerator looks like I do. I like it though, I like it much.
Vegetables of all kinds with lots of onions, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes…
Berries and Beans (about a cups worth a day of either or)
A variety of fruits (about 2 servings a day)
Nuts and Seeds (so good on salads)
Some lean protein such as fish, turkey or chicken breast usually with dinner, except Mondays. It’s meatless on Mondays you know. 
I’ve been eating very little bread, pasta, and such. Well, to be honest, I’ve had almost none since I ended the juice fast. I did finally have a few pretzel chips that I was whining for while juice fasting…they didn’t live up to my hype though. That made me pretty happy. 
Amazingly, I’ve eaten almost NO dairy since my juice fast – my Veggie Queen neighbor next door swears that she feels great consuming almost no dairy, and it isn’t as hard as it seems to avoid. She was right. Now, that’s saying something from a Wisconsin raised girl… Truly, I don’t really miss it much. I even made a whole grain super veggie pizza without cheese! I’ll be honest; it was ok but not to die for, lol… OH and I tried almond milk too (thanks again to the Veggie Queen). Almond milk was quite good!
And as far as fats and oils go, I’ve used just smidgens of olive oil here or there while cooking…
It’s not been anything fancy, my menu this past week. I have not counted any calories or portions. I’ve just been eating all the above to satisfy the rumbly in my tumbly. Interestingly enough, I’ve lost another half-pound and have only had 1 work out thus yet.
I’ve heard that many people gain a few pounds back almost immediately following a juice fast. I did after I ended my first fast. It seems odd that I’m continuing to lose weight while eating more food than I did before I began my juice fast… Well, I guess looking at what I’ve been eating, maybe it isn’t so odd…interesting is more like it, interesting and appealing…
I mentioned in my previous juice fast posts that I’d been reading Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I’m still reading it actually…kids and life keeps my allowed reading time to a minimum for now. Anyway, I’ve been following his advice on what’s good to feed our bodies and using his food pyramid to base my meals. It hasn’t been that hard and has thus far been a pretty good route for me, even Randy too. It compliments his plan for natural weight loss nicely.
Dr. Fuhrman has come up with an equation for good overall health. It’s the key in Eat to Live:
health = nutrients / calories.
“H = N/C is a concept I call the nutrient density of your diet. Food supplies us with both nutrients and calories (energy). All calories come from only three elements: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Nutrients are derived from noncaloric food factors – including vitamins, minerals, fibers, and phytochemicals. These noncaloric nutrients are vitally important for health. Your key to permanent weight loss is to eat predominately those foods that have a high proportion of nutrients (noncaloric food factors) to calories (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins). In physics a key formula is Einstein’s E = mc squared. In nutrition the key formula is H = N/C. – Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat to Live, page 7.
Dr. Fuhrman asserts that by following this equation and learning what foods have high nutrient density compared to calories, we will find the path to “life-long weight control and improved health.” That right there is exactly what I’d like to achieve post juice fast, to maintain my healthy weight and improved health…maybe even better health! I could be super Nana! Lol… Well, maybe I could.
Consequently, this past week’s menu has been filled with all kinds of nutrient rich foods. For example, my breakfasts have been, surprisingly, salads, and not boring rabbit food salads as some folks I know are thinking, lol… I’ve enjoyed flavorful, filling salads made with a variety of greens, fruits, nuts and berries. Most salads I don’t even need to add dressing to, because the fruit is juicy enough. Weird? Salads for breakfast?
I have had a tall fresh fruit juice with a tablespoon of organic goji powder mixed in – that was very good too. But, I like the salads better. Funny, I haven’t wanted much for cereals, toast, or even oatmeal. Oatmeal I like and will work in here and there. For now, though, I’m going to keep trying new salad mixes with fruit.
In my morning salad yesterday, I had finely sliced greens of kale and bok choy with shredded carrot and purple cabbage (leftovers from the night before – I keep a bowl of greens sliced and ready). Then I topped it all with 1 sliced pear and an ounce of chopped walnuts…blueberries on the side to share with the baby. I love that our little guy prefers Mommy’s food to his own. He eats almost everything with exception to some of the greens – he has a bit of trouble chewing them.
For lunch, generally I eat what leftovers we have from the night before, or I make a different salad. Yesterday, I wanted to use up the rest of my kale and bok choy, so I topped it with mixed beans: pinto, kidney, and black beans. I added some diced tomato and a squeeze of lime, a little drizzle of yogurt based ranch dressing and voila, a good hearty lunch is served. Yes, I cheated and had a V-8 vs. juicing fresh juice, lol… It happens. That sounds bizarre, saying I cheated with a V-8… Right, onto dinner…
Dinner has been good, really good. My first dinner post juice fast was made of baked fish and greens. I baked some mushrooms and onion on the side too. We had sauteed chicken with bok choy the next night– this recipe I enjoyed very, very much. Randy said it needed a little salt and pepper, maybe a little something else, but still very good. I baked our low-fat chicken tenders one night, but instead of mashed potatoes served beans alongside some steamed broccoli and carrots. You already know about my cheese-less attempt at pizza, lol, and last night we had tacos: whole grain shells, stuffed with seasoned, lean ground turkey and topped with all kinds of things like broccoli, onion, romaine, arugula, tomatoes, peppers, etc… It’s not like we don’t have an abundance of veggies in the fridge. And what’s funny, I completely forgot to put cheese on my taco! Lol… Oh who cares right?
Anyway, it’s been kind of cool and not so strange to my taste buds to follow a more plant based diet. I will admit, I am fuller for longer and am really not craving any sweets or chips, crackers and such… It’s only been a bit more than a week since my juice fast, so maybe my lack of cravings haven’t had enough time to kick in yet. We’ll see. It is impressive, though, that I could be this full without much heavy fats or breads or potatoes etc… Maybe my body is just better nourished?
Time will tell all. Until then, I’m going to keep reading, learning, and trying new things. I’m excited to write about a few new foods I’ve been into like raw bee pollen, chia, and hemp! Lol… Randy’s eyebrows raised when he saw the bag of hemp seeds on the counter… LOL… Ahh the old and crazier dayzzz.
Peace out for now juice fast peeps,
Amy –Fully juiced, happy and healthy
PS. If your looking for healthy, more plant based recipes do check out www.whfoods.org. I’ve had a lot of luck finding good eats here and they provide a wealth of health information about each recipe = extremely helpful.
Hi there,
How weird ( although I think it’s called synchronicity!), I had been thinking that I ought to do some sort of juice fast to wean myself of cakes, sugar and bread and such like, when I hear about this film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Googling it to find out more I came across your husband’s blog and then yours.
Both very inspiring thank you. Funnily enough I already have a Green Life juicer collecting dust (must have last used it about five years ago) so all I need now are the vegetables and the will power. As I’m a stay at home Mum (in England) and around food all day I’m going to give it a go when my husband is off for a week and he can be in charge of the family meals – that might motivate me in itself – a week OUT of the kitchen!
Anyway, sorry long winded comment but I really wanted to ask you roughly how often you drank juice in the day and what sort of quantities. Many thanks again
This IS weird!
I’m gearing up for a 10 day juice fast reboot beginning this Monday. A lot of people have asked how much juice I drink and what kinds, and honestly, I never kept track. I was mighty afraid too really… I’m a very detailed by nature type person and was worried that doing so would stress me out and consequently be counter productive to my fasting.
This up coming fast, though, I feel much more comfortable with what to expect and how to deal with troubles, so I planned on writing down my meals and snacks (how much and what flavors) to share with our readers. Soooo funny that you just commented and asked this, since I just decided to do so a few hours ago. It was meant to be, ha ha!
If you like, you can check my posts beginning either late Monday night or Tuesday morning. I keep a daily journal on the blog while fasting to share, vent, and get support… I’ll be listing my juice count each day. Maybe that will give you a better idea of what will suit you..
OH and a week out of the kitchen sounds like a very wonderful holiday indeed! I would fast for that as well.
Hi again,
Thanks for your lovely reply. I’ve bookmarked you so will definately follow your progress from Monday. I’m tempted to rush in there and get on with it but actually just planning it and seeing what you have been doing will be much better – I’m then less likely to fail then. The hubby is off on 21st April and the weather is much warmer here now – so let’s see!
Good luck and once again thank you. You have both been VERY inspiring. xx
My heart’s with you.
I love “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.” It resonates, yeah? I just wanted to reply to your comment about being surprised that you feel fuller longer even without eating as many breads and potatoes. (Not that they’re entirely bad always, just that many of us eat them to a fault… 
Hope all continues well for ya!
You said “Maybe my body is just better nourished.” I believe that is the exact truth. I heard a while back that a diet of junk food and empty calories leaves a person “starving” for nutrients and causes them to be hungrier in general. Amazing how it all works together huh? I’m not sure how you feel, but I can’t help but think there is an amazing Creator behind it all too…
Thanks for sharing such positive thoughts! It definitely encourages me to do a bit more research and try out the 10-day j.f. myself.
Hi Amy,
Due to my budget I simply CANNOT afford a good juicer at this time. Even if I were to purchase a less expensive not- so- good juicer I have heard it takes twice and even three times the amount of vegetables and fruit to get the amount a good juicer would get…hence again the budget and buying even more fruits/veggies. However, I do have a blender. How would using a blender instead of a juicer affect my results on this cleanse?
Thanks!
Amie
Hi Aime,
Gosh, I would so love to tell you that blending your vegetables would give you the same results, but… It just isn’t the same and really probably wouldn’t be as effective. The idea is to get as many plant nutrients into your body as possible without the work of digestion (as I’ve learned from commentors). If you blend the veggies, you will still have to digest them some, and you won’t be able to squeeze as many micro-nutrients in as you would if you juiced them. All those blended veggies will fill up your tummmy fast. But juicing them, you can juice A LOT of veggies into one glass, drink it,and they will almost instantly soak into your cells which makes juicing so effective for healing your body.
You know, our son Tony did a 20 day juice fast on his extremely tight budget. All he could afford was the Juiceman JM1000M, Juiceman Express Junior Silver Metallic Juice Extractor and Food Processor for $80 he found at Wal Mart. Actually, he did not have that much waste like you describe. Maybe a little more than what Randy and I have from our Breville BJE510XL – $199.99. Sooo, maybe you could use a less expensive juicer? I don’t think it would be that much wasteful really, and I know a few others that have commented on the juice fast recipes post, have used much less expensive juicers with good results…
I sure hope this helps a bit,
Good luck
I’m finding that I do better with whole, raw veggies than the juices. I still juice of course, but they don’t fill me up like the raw. I got so involved with eating salads this week that I left a bottle of juice set too long. Have you ever tasted vegetable juice that bubbles like champagne? Yuk! Ptooy! and other gag sounds—not pleasant. *^&@!! fibromyalgia carb cravings are a tough nut to crack but I’m slowly getting a handle on it. I haven’t indulged as much this week as I did last week. The only chocolate I have in the house are the Cocoa beans that I love. Thank you for getting me started on them. Now I just have to convince Gpa to cook healthier when he does the cooking. He still loves his starchy meals. Last night was homemade pizza. Had lots of veggies but also had a ton of cheese, pepperoni, and sausage. Back to the veggies today again.
Ahhhhh we all love Gpa though, he’s great for cooking too isn’t he? I’m liking those cacao nibs too, yummy
See you all tomorrow for cake, tiny slivers of cake! Lol… I just don’t think I can have a birthday party in the house and not have cake…
Amy,
I really have enjoyed following along with your juicefast, during and post. I actually did a 5-day juicefast for the first time ever on January 2nd. I seemed to have experienced a lot of similar experiences, especially on day 3 (DREADED DAY 3). Once done with the juicefast, I continued to juice my fruit in the morning and then ate extremely healthy throughout the day, with little meals and snacks throughout. It has been almost a month now and I am still going at this healthy lifestyle fullforce. Most everything I eat now is fresh (fruits and vegetables), with no alcohol (except on two occasions), no more desserts, no sodas, so fake sugars, little to no dairy, and little to no breads and pastas. I never would have thought I could cut out dairy, cheese, bread and pastas but I think once your body is weaned off those things it really does start to crave the good stuff again. I have lost 10 pounds, but I have also gotten back into running so I can tell some fat is being converted into muscle. My figure looks soooooo much better, as if I had lost 20 pounds, and the best part is I FEEL GREAT!!! Thank you for continuing to keep us updated on your incredible journey!
Isn’t it amazing how you can look like you’ve lost 20 lbs. and actually only lost 10? All thanks to muscle? I love that sooo much. Awesome for you, woo hoo! I agree too, I think that I’m actually starting to crave “the good stuff” like you. I really am not missing simple carbs or cheese or sweet treats much. I think the more we eat healthy, we’re not left “looking” for something you know? So far anyway so good anyway..
Tomorrow will be interesting for Randy and I. We’re having our grandson’s 6th birthday party here…lots of treats and goodies to navigate through
Thanks for reading and sharing too!