I had lost pretty much most of my motivation to go to the gym, because poor sleeping isn’t exactly a new thing for me. I’m a terrible sleeper, such a light sleeper that the newspaper getting tossed on the front porch at 4:30am can wake me up. I even use a white noise machine in the kids’ rooms and in mine.
However, I decided to go do my favorite class on a Tuesday morning at 24 Hour Fitness here in Burbank, it’s the Body Pump Class by Les Mills. Love it. I needed it despite not wanting to go.
As I was leaving, I ran into a dear friend. We briefly chatted about how terrible and unmotivated we both felt as busy mothers. The last thing she said to me before I left was, “You have to watch this documentary I just watched this week with my husband, it’s called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.”
I laughed at the title and took no offense to what she might have been trying to say to me.
Juicing always looks so pretty. (http://yoganonymous.com/)
I was inspired.
The gist of it is, this Australian man, Joe Cross is overweight and suffers form a terrible auto-immune disease that has caused him to take Predisone for the past 9 years. After trying almost everything else to stay healthy and treat his disease, he decided to try a radical juice fast, I mean radical. 60 days, nothing but fruit and veggie juice.
The results are crazy and the people he inspires along the way have just as amazing results as he does. I won’t tell you much more because I think you should watch it.
I am not a fan of diets. Don’t like them. I don’t like restrictions on food at all, which is why I may have a problem to begin with, because restrictions on food make me want it even more. Not much else is like this in life for me, just food.
I made a list of the reasons I could think of to try juicing.
Here’s my list:
- I am 50 (5-0) pounds overweight since the birth of my third child.
- I do not sleep well, ever. Never really have. 4 hours in a row and then hourly waking after that is normal for me.
- I drink way too much coffee. I love coffee, but I drink coffee all day long to combat the tiredness I feel and in return, I believe it affects the way I sleep (See list item above this one)
- I feel miserable, somewhat depressed and short fused on a regular basis. I snap at my kids and husband and blame it on my lack of sleep (which isn’t entirely untrue, right?)
- My mother died of breast cancer. Not sure I need to elaborate on this one. Although I don’t carry the breast cancer gene (I’ve been tested) there is still a history and research shows that the more weight you carry, you increase your chances of developing cancer.
- I had Gestational Diabetes with baby number three. I was on a restricted diet for the last 3 1/2 months of that pregnancy and felt amazing. I looked amazing and my third was the smallest baby at 7 pounds. However, this puts me at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, if I don’t keep the weight down. And needless to say, I fell off the wagon after her birth.
- And last, but not least, the most important item on this list…..I am addicted to sugar. Sugar for me isn’t just an occasional dessert throughout the week. Sugar for me is my best friend and enemy at the same time. I am an addict. I binge on it. I use it. I abuse it. I substitute it for normal meals. I eat food with every emotion, happiness, sadness, stress, excitement, frustration…you name it. I need to break up with sugar.
A friend did have one I could borrow, but I was so determined, I went to Costco and found one on sale..so, I took it home.
I stopped at Sprouts to get all of the essential fruits and veggies I would need to create my mixes for this amazing 10 day juice fast I was about to embark on.
I was all set to go the next morning….and I did.
Stay tuned for the results of days 1-3, coming later this week!
You can find more information about Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead HERE….
Hi, just an FYI, I go through phases juicing. I’ve had several different juicers (over the past 20+ years). I have never been able to keep up with it. Mainly because juicing just took too long (and you’re supposed to drink it right away) and the cleanup.
UNTIL!
Now I just use my Vitamix & a nut milk bag. I blend everything up with water then squeeze it through a nut milk bag. Then I wash out the bag & Vitamix. The entire thing takes maybe 8 minutes. HIGHLY recommend.
You can get a nut milk bag for really cheap on Amazon. Plus, it’s really fun to say & type “nut milk bag.”
I like your site and I eagerly await your juicing blog.
Thanks Jess!
I do have a vitamix as well and thought about this process. I decided to try the juicer…not sure why. So far it’s going great. I am loving adding these juices to my daily diet and it’s good to know that if the juicer becomes too much of a hassle, the vitamix might be an easier alternative. I did put up my second post on juicing, check it out on the homepage! Scroll down a few. Thanks for reading!