Thursday, January 31, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 11

This is getting kind of boring, the not eating thing that is! Ces't la vie? I don't know but whatever. Feeling relatively well again this morning. Yesterday (Day 10) was a new milestone though that I should be excited about. It was my first "ALL WATER" day. No juice. I'm thinking of trying to do a couple of days on just water but am also worried that it might take its toll and run me down which I would rather not do. Not much else to report so far this morning, maybe if I get extra time today, I'll make my list of food and restaurants that I'm wanting to hit. Or, maybe a better idea would be to set up a schedule for exercise for when I'm through but the food thing sounds more exciting!

Weight: 164.0
(it should be noted that my scale weighs in .5 lbs increments -- also, it is interesting that on the two days that I drank mostly water, I had what appeared to be the least weight lost)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 10

Day 9 was a little rough on me. I was feeling flu-like and run down and not happy about it. I had a cup of vegetable broth and a few sips of some carrot juice in the later afternoon to try something different, less sweet. By the end of the day, I was feeling a little better but not quite 100%. 

Day 10 I woke up feeling pretty good again. Reasonable amount of energy, completely alert. Am contemplating setting an end date but not sure what that will be. Yesterday afternoon, I had thought I would end today if I was still feeling really run down. But, now I'm not sure if I want to start the ending with eating fresh fruit for a day or two before the weekend or hold out through the 2 week mark. I guess the first week was one goal, then 10 days and 2 weeks would be the next check in point. So far, I've dropped 11 or 12 pounds which is great and puts me at my first mark as far as weight loss. Another 5 lbs. is the next rung for that goal and then 5 more would have me ecstatic. The weight loss goals should entail 5 or 10 more days of the fast though putting it out as long as 3 weeks (I've read and it is holding true for me that the average weight loss is 1 lb. per day). Again, I'm not sure right now where I'll want to go with this. I would like to be able to enjoy food again and definitely am missing all of the things associated with eating. The social aspect, the tastes, the feeling of anticipation of a good meal, the satisfaction and joy it brings. Some of these things can be unhealthy as well but I do miss it for sure.

If I were to do this again, I would definitely start on a Friday to have a weekend to get through the first few days and be prepared to take Monday off if I hadn't gotten through the first rough patch. I might also simplify the juice thing by finding a few places that sell fresh 100% juice. The pulp is definitely an issue for me so sticking with the Kirkland apple juice is certainly an easy way to go. It would also be easy on the wallet with a budget for a week or two of maybe $10 - $15 (that is all the food and drinks you would need for around $1 a day! -- well, ok not quite but I already had bottled water). 

Weight: 164.5

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 9

I skipped my blog on days 7 and 8. Both went very well. Good energy, feeling pretty normal. The 7th day had started the day helping Kris get the kids lunches together which entailed pouring cup of noodles soups into thermoses. They smelled pretty good but I felt like I was in good control. Attended a get together with people later that afternoon watching a basketball game with various snacks and alcoholic beverages. Was fine being there with any crazy urges and the other people kept the food out of my general area which was extremely nice of them. At the end of the party, they were cooking up a pizza which started to get me really hungry (it was also late in the afternoon around dinner time so that didn't help any). But all in all, was a good day and felt completely fine with my choice to not eat.

Day 8 was good for the most part but started feeling a little run down and took a nap in the late afternoon. Didn't sleep well and woke up in the middle of the night with a short case of diarrhea. Woke up on Day 9 around 9 am feeling pretty run down and feeling like I had an upset stomach. Sort of a flue-like feeling. I had only had a small amount of juice early on day 8 and water the rest of the day. I'm not sure if that was the cause of the feelings or if my body was moving through a more toxic amount of waste. At around noon on Day 9, I'm starting to feel a little better but had been contemplating if any of these are signs to break off the fast. My weight is at 166.0 today and not quite where I would like to be. And, if the body is still going through plenty of toxins, keeping the fast going should be beneficial. I think I'll try to reevaluate at the end of the day.

Weight: 166.0

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 6

Day 5 went very well and woke up today feeling pretty good. I'm not really moving at a fast pace or taking on anything extreme by any means but am able to work effectively and feel good. I did take a short nap yesterday at 5:00 pm. Have a photo shoot today which may be draining but am feeling fine right now. Last night was a new challenge though in dealing with food. Kris (my girlfriend) had left food out at her house after having Mexican take out. I went into the kitchen and was confronted with leftover chips, salsa, sour cream, partially eaten casadias and half of a burrito. WOWWWW. It all looked great. I wasn't sure how to handle it. Should I avert my eyes? Run in horror? Dive to the floor, cover my head and scream until someone came to my rescue?? All reasonable choices but I came up with another idea. I took a big ol' whiff of that burrito. Hmmmmm good. Like to get me some of that! Then I got a glass of juice and left the kitchen. Was good to know that the sight, smell and access to food wouldn't break me down. Well, not on day 5 anyway. I'm making a mental list right now of all of the restaurants and foods I'm going to want to eat when this is over. The burrito is on the list. Not at the top but prominently placed on the list.

Yesterday, I didn't make any fresh juice and relied on my Kirkland apple juice. I'll probably try to make something later today but enjoyed not having the hassle of it all. Am eyeing a goal of 2 weeks which should put me close to 160 lbs. Concerns though now are rising about getting off of the fast and immediately jumping back up in weight 5 or 10 lbs which would be really discouraging. I'm hoping that after this experience, I can prioritize working out and more days of healthy eating to maintain what I feel is an ideal weight for myself.

Weight: 168.5

Friday, January 25, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 5

Woke up feeling great again. Last night went well, still feeling like I had good energy and alertness. Started today with a half of a glass of Kirkland apple juice.

- 8 oz Kirkland apple juice

I'm not thrilled that it is store bought but it is 100% juice (not concentrate) and is much easier to get. Which, while I feel like I have good energy, it makes it nice to not have to put so much effort into a glass of juice (cutting the fruit up, putting together the juicer, processing the fruit, cleaning up all of the juicer parts, emptying the bin, washing the cups, washing the utensils, washing the cutting board etc.). Sounds lazy but whatever.

Am still undecided about my end goals, where I want to finish. I had originally contemplated trying 30 days and / or 25 lbs. I'm not sure I want to take a whole month of this. Although yesterday wasn't that big of a deal to get through, there are a lot of cravings for food when I see it or think about it. And there is probably a good amount of separation anxiety. Feeling like I'm really missing out on something fun I could be doing. Many days, eating is or meal times are the most enjoyable parts of the day. I am resolved to make it through 1 week (2 days left). I think 10 lbs is also my minimum goal as far as weight goes. I would be thrilled with 15 so we'll see where that goes.

Weight: 169.5
Waist: 38

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 4 cont.

Today went really well! Had good energy all day, felt alert and able to concentrate. Hunger is not anywhere near the top of the priority list but any mention of any kind of food sounds GREAT! But, it feels very manageable to keep going. Yesterday was definitely questionable. 

Was able to poop for the first time since day 1 after a glass of juice with a good amount of blueberries. Was getting concerned about being constipated and retaining toxins that should be passing through the colon. Mixed up the following:

-1 cup blueberries
-4 apples

Made about 30 oz which I had 1/2 in the morning and another half in the afternoon. Just now finishing a glass of the Kirkland apples juice. Muscles are still sore, especially my left buttocks. Tried to stretch a little which was hard to do. Have been peeing regularly throughout the day so although I'm concerned about dehydration, I think I'm doing ok.

Juice Fast - Day 4

Woke up feeling pretty good. No hunger at all and feeling reasonably energized. Am a little worried it will be very short lived but it is a nice change from yesterday. Ended yesterday on a glass of Kirkland brand apple juice (16 oz) at about 10:00 pm. It was the first time that day that I felt an urge to drink juice. Otherwise, it didn't sound good at all. Tried to keep water going through the system and peed several times. Notably did not poop on day 2 or 3 which is becoming a concern. Lots of thoughts of things I would like to eat, all of my favorite restaurants etc.

Weight: 170.5

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 3

Went to bed last night with a headache and feeling lethargic and not very sharp. Played a few games of cards before hitting the hay and had a hard time concentrating as well as had a few missed plays that should have been more obvious to me. Today, woke up feeling reasonably good. Then noticed that I was overall pretty achy. Joints and muscles feeling pretty sore as if I had done some heavy exercise. Haven't had any juice yet today and it doesn't really sound appealing at all. Had a couple of cups of herbal tea and have been drinking water. The headache has been pretty persistent as well as very low energy. Muscles and joint aches seem to be getting worse through the day.

Weight: 172.0

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Juice Fast - Day 2

Woke up surprised I didn't feel hungry. Wasn't even in the mood for
juice but thought I should have something with some calories in it.
Mixed up the following:

- 1/2 Cantaloupe
- 2 Slices pineapple
- 1 pear
- 1/2 cup blueberries

Drank about 8 ounces of the above. Had 3 or 4 cups of herbal tea today with a squeeze of honey. The tea seemed to add some quick energy but throughout the day, I was feeling lethargic and run down. Worked from 9am - 3pm and then took a nice nap. Worked a little more after getting back up. Food kept coming up as a distant hunger was felt but not an urgent need to eat. The idea of eating and of consuming time consuming was missed as much if not more than the actual food. Certainly, eating is something I enjoy doing quite a bit. Have a feeling of missing out on a lot of fun (eating) for the fast. Funny that way. Also worried about not being fun to be around for Kris and the girls which I hope isn't too much the case or if it is, that the end results gains make up for the short term losses. Work may also suffer from lower energy -- will see how that works out.

Feeling good at 6:45pm and just mixed a glass of orange juice from:

- 3 oranges

Weight: 173.5*
(weight today measured upon waking - yesterday was after coffee and some water so the weight may have skewed high)

Monday, January 21, 2008

Juice Fast Day 1 cont.

Was somewhat hungry this afternoon but nothing tremendously
distracting. Am thinking that I will miss eating as a source of
comfort. Mixed 16 ounces of juice from:
- 1 apple
- 1 pear
- 1 slice of pineapple
- 1/4 cup of blueberries

It is about 5:00 pm and I'm hoping to be able to make it through
"dinner time" without much discomfort. I'm under the impression that
once the digestive process slows or stops in a day or two that the
hunger will also subside. I'll have to see how that goes. I'm
expecting tomorrow and the next day to be more difficult to get through.

Final note, the juicer seems to waste so much product. When cleaning
it out it felt like I had a good pound or more of the pulp. May need
to look into ways to use that for something besides weighing down my
trash can.

Juice Fast Day 1

Today I started my juice fast. I haven't determined all of the details or rules that I will attempt to follow. I've been contemplating whether coffee or teas should be eliminated and thought that I may enjoy them without "cheating" on the fast. I'll likely add them to the banned-for-now list but started today with a single cup of coffee.

Lunch consisted of my first fresh fruit juices. Since I don't have a strainer yet, I'm also drinking the pulp but will purchase a strainer and a few other necessary supplies tonight or tomorrow. The first blend was:
- 1 apple
- 1 orange (peeled)
- 1 pear
- 2 slices of pineapple
- 1 cup of blueberries

The mix is pretty tasty although from previous juice mixings, I'm anticipating it may end up being too sweet for continued consumption. A good mix for kids though I'm guessing as it has a nice flavor. The above made about 28 ounces of juice.

Weight: 176.5 lbs
Waist: 40"
(waist measured around navel, fully extended -- no sucking it in for this one!)

Juice Fast Overview

I am attempting a juice fast -- and succeeding -- at least for the first part of the first day! I've decided to try a fast for health (mental, physical, spiritual) reasons and am just getting under way. I'm not sure how long I will go and am trying not to set too lofty of goals and focussing on viewing any number of days as a success with no possible failures. My overall goals are to drop 10+ pounds that I've been carrying around for far too long; detoxify my system and remove some or much of the latent toxins that have been stored in 35 years of an unrestricted American diet; refocus in some ways and explore how the removal of food from a diet adjusts perspectives and values. I'm concerned about being able to stay on the fast long enough to have positive impacts on the goals but we'll see how it goes. I may add more information and links to the initial posting that share more information about the process.

Two of the several resources I used to gather information are:

www.falconblanco.com/health/fasting.htm

www.freedomyou.com/level%202/Fasting%20Page%20Guide.htm

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

1964 Honda Superhawk



This is my 1964 Honda project that has been sitting around not getting much attention at all. The bike is running now although there is a grinding noise from the front hub area. Could be the disconnected odometer cable or possibly bearings going out. Am concerned the front wheel could seize though so I need to look into it more.

Whoa Baby



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Monday, January 7, 2008

Schmidt Productions Relaunches Blog

Well, it's been a few years since my blog was initially set up. I've decided that it is time to take advantage of the blog to keep new info on my site and have some fun at the same time. I hope you enjoy!