Juice Fasting

13 years ago, I gave up work and had my third and final baby. Happy though I was, I piled on the pounds. Here is not the place to confess my previous weight. I took the bull by the horns, joined Slimming World, got a dog, and after 6 months I managed to get my weight down to around 11 stone. My goal weight was 10 stone, but I plateaued and after another 3 months I got discouraged and gave up. Then I started home educating, and suddenly I had no free time! My morning jog with the dog went first, and gradually I moved around less and snacked more. I put over a stone back on. In the last 5 years I have tried, to no avail, to get rid of the this extra stone and lose the original stone to get to my goal weight of 10 stone. It never works. I get to 11 stone 2lb EVERY TIME and then my weight loss stops. I get discouraged and bored, and my weight creeps back up again.
A few people have said to me, “maybe 11 stone 2lb is your body’s ideal weight/natural weight/set point. Your not that fat, you don’t need to lose weight. Just accept it.” NO! If this were true, then why did my natural weight used to be 10 stone? I was 10 stone until I turned 27, and this is the weight I felt comfortable and confident at. Why am I not naturally this weight anymore? My perception of my weight is more important than your perception of my weight, and I refuse to accept it.
But I was tired of menu planning, and calorie counting, and restricting what I ate. So in January I started the 5:2 fast diet.  
The 5:2 Diet Book: Feast for 5 Days a Week and Fast for 2 to Lose Weight, Boost Your Brain and Transform Your Health

When I started I was around the 12 stone mark (again). After steadily losing 1lb a week for four months I was – you guessed – 11 stone 2lb. Don’t get me wrong, it came off nice and easily, I had more energy than I’d had with other diets, and my body seemed to have remodelled itself slightly. My permanent muffin top was gone. Great! But here I am again, stuck at 11 stone 2lb. Some weeks I gain a couple of pounds, the following week I lose them again. So at the beginning of June I bought The Gabriel Method.
The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary DIET-FREE Way to Totally Transform Your Body
What a fantastic book! My weight loss problems suddenly made complete sense! It completely explained why I keep getting stuck. So I downloaded Jon Gabriel’s evening meditation, and I’ve listened to it every night for a month. Jon suggests adding in some extra protein and omega 3 to your diet, which I’ve incorporated. I stopped weighing myself every day. I started juicing at breakfast, and on my fast days to cram in extra nutrients. This book has really helped shift my attitude towards food. I’m definitely eating healthier without really trying.
Now the weather is hot though, I just don’t wanna eat, and don’t wanna cook! I’m also feeling sluggish, like I need a good detox, something I used to do regularly, but haven’t embraced for over a decade. I would also like to see if I can break through the 11 stone 2lb barrier. Today is the 1st day of my 14 day juice ‘fast’. It is not a fast in the strictest sense of the word, as I’m not bonkers enough to enjoy drinking juice for 14 days straight. I’ve cobbled together my own plan from the book ‘Juicing for Life’.
Juicing for Life: A Guide to the Benefits of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juicing
I’m juicing 6 times a day for the first 5 days and allowing myself a light supper in the evening if I feel I need it. Then I’ll try and do another 11 days juicing 4 times a day, with a normal breakfast and dinner. I’m also going to weigh myself every morning, just for the sake of curiosity.
Starting weight on the dodgy bathroom scales: 11 stone 6lb.
I’ve gained 4lb since the beginning of June. The first day has been ok, with the exception of having green pee, which apparently isn’t that unusual. I had a small portion of homemade lasagne at dinner time – I am ridiculously hungry, yet feel simultaneously nauseous. Also I have a headache and I’m tired. Pretty much what I expected from my first day, so okay so far.

Part 2

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