Juice-ly 8th: "...so I ate something."

Hard to say no when faced with this kind of temptation, right?

Good news: I’m back to posting daily going forward. This is more of an exercise of personal discipline than it is for any of you readers (although I definitely appreciate it when you read what I write), so I know I have to keep it up as a part of the program. Here goes…

Even good-er news: Week Two begins! Since you're definitely wondering, I didn’t break the juice fast and eat any solid food (certainly not the burger pictured to the left). The quote will make sense at the end of this post. I know you’re all “Whew!” and thanks for your concern. Sorry to say that there hasn’t been all that much suspense on that front. My hunger switch now appears to be set to “off,” and I’m even transitioning this week to all veggie juices, which should reduce my daily sugar intake dramatically. My subconscious even gave up on tempting me with food dreams, for now.

Quick update on the fast: I know I originally said I was doing a 47-day fast, which would have taken me all the way up to my 40^th birthday (which is a Sunday), but apparently my wife is planning some sort of gathering the day before. So I’m officially cutting the fast to 44 and a half days, which I will round up to 45 for the rest of my days. I hope you understand.

On to business. I’m a part of a few different groups on Facebook that are designed to be a means of support for people who are at various stages in their weight loss/juicing journeys, and they’ve all been such an amazing help to me through my first two extended juice fasts. Lately, quite a few people have joined me in starting over in this, the second week of the second half of the calendar year.

I have seen some posters in the first few days of a fast write words to the effect of, “I juiced the first part of the day today but I felt weak/sick/dizzy/nauseous/had a headache, so I ate something and now I’m going to start over again tomorrow.” Sure, it happens. One of my friends actually had to cut her juice fast a little short because the juice actually made her hurl live chunks. If that ever happened to me, I'd be like, "Check please!" And off to Whole Foods' hot bar for some basmati rice and tofu. Short of what is known in the competitive eating world as a "reversal," if I ever said that it would be an excuse, not an actual thing. Whenever I read those plaintive posts, I can’t help but feel sad for the people who have basically compromised the juice fast, rather than enduring what amounts to withdrawal from their drug of choice, food.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not judging anyone else. Personally, I have started and stopped ten thousand different things in my life, and more of those things than I want to admit to myself have to do with eating. Like Elijah on the run from Jezebel, I have experienced amazing victories over my addiction, only to fall short in situations when I should have remembered how God helped me through those struggles before. I’ve been on half a dozen juice fasts before I figured out that eating a whole food, plant-based diet was the key for me to unlock a lifetime of health. My sadness comes in recognizing my own decades of struggle in theirs. A big part of me wants to do whatever I can to help them to avoid years of yo-yo dieting and anything less than an abundant, healthy life.

Today I had the first of probably many “…so I ate something.” moments. It’s always kind of a dicey proposition to work out with any intensity at all while juicing, and I have two additional factors working against me: first, I sweat like NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing on an outdoor basketball court in late July. Which is to say, quite a bit.

The Great, Sweaty One.

When all you’re feeding your body is liquid, you run even more of a risk of dehydration. Second, I haven’t been on the treadmill nearly as diligently this summer as I was in the spring. And by “nearly as diligently,” I mean “I can count the times I’ve been to the gym since May on two hands.” So I knew I would struggle as I tried to find a comfort zone.

And I wasn’t wrong. I actually ended up staying on the treadmill for a full 45 minutes, but fell far short of any sort of personal best. I’m not at all disappointed about today’s results, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that I’m no longer in the running shape I had gotten myself into before the summer hit. All water under the bridge now, though.

This is not a stock treadmill, it's today's workout.

Per usual, I capped off my session with a brief stay in the sauna, just to maximize the sweat I got from my workout. Predictably, this is when it started to hit me. I tend to feel a bit lightheaded after hitting the sauna, but this time I had to sit down in front of my locker and gather my wits before showering. Dizzy, weak, and tired only begin to describe how I felt.

It really started to hit me on the walk back to the office. My gym bag felt like it weighed about a hundred pounds, and the dizziness increased in intensity. I was only a few steps from the door to my building, but I had to sit down and get it together for a few minutes. I must not have looked all that great, because a lady passing by noticed that I had dropped my ID when I was pulling my headphones out of the pocket of my shorts. Which is fine, but after she pointed it out, she actually went behind the bench and picked it up for me.

I knew from prior experiences with summer sports practices that I was dehydrated at that point, so I sipped on some water and resolved to sit there until the feeling had passed. A few minutes became nearly half an hour before I could pry myself off the iron bench. At this point, I don’t think a single one of my readers would have been at all disappointed with me if I had rushed to the nearest shop to eat something or other that would re-hydrate me. Sugar water, a candy bar, a sandwich, whatever. But that thought never seriously crossed my mind. I finished my Camelbak of water and wobbled my way to the office. It took about another hour for me to feel 100 percent back to normal. I’ve had a couple of 24-ounce Mason jars of juice since then, and another Camelbak of water, and everything feels great.

Two lessons from today: one, dial back on the workouts during a juice fast, especially when I’m trying to get back into shape; and two, stay hydrated. This is something I’ve always struggled with during workouts, but if I’m going to keep this up then it’s a must. Maybe the third lesson is to stay out of the sauna during a juice fast? We’ll see.

Multiply the (veggie) burgers by two (or three) and the tots by a bazillion, and you're getting warm...

I wasn’t out of the woods, however, when I came home. Tonight was Veggie Burgers and Tater Tots Night, completely unbeknownst to me. The intoxicating smell emanating from the oven assaulted three of my five senses at once when I opened the door. (If you’re wondering which three, they were smell, taste, and touch, for some reason.) A big part of this night in the recent past has been my preparation of a very simple, but very tasty, all purpose sauce from organic ketchup, yellow mustard, and sriracha. My mouth actually watered in anticipation as I typed that last sentence!

Anyway, I realized very soon after I entered the house that I have developed a nearly involuntary defense mechanism: breathing through my mouth instead of my nose. That technique helped me to avoid a mini-crisis and also allowed me to reflect on my recent VB/TT nights, when I have eaten no fewer than four veggie burgers (and often six), and what can only be described as “a whole mess o’ tots.” In the midst of a fast, tied to the mast and unable to do much but rationalize my hunger away, I committed to some portion limits for future VB/TT nights. Specifically, two burgers and twelve tots. The more people I tell about this, the more people I can count on to hold me accountable. Thanks in advance for doing just that!