So on the 12th of September I decided to go on a juice fast cleanse. I was inspired to do this by many raw food teachers on youtube, friends and books and blogs of others i've read about fasting. I wouldn't technically call it a fast in a way as you still get a lot of calories. It Just gives your digestive system a huge break. As the house mates had gone to Greece for two weeks I was left with plenty of time and space to juice all day and relax, This would also be down time on the climbing and vigorous activity. I made sure to stock up on essentials like grapes, water melons, apples, celery cucumbers and greens etc.As I was without a car I had to cycle to Sunseed Organics every morning and pile my bag up with as much stuff possible!
Anyway the it went really well, I only struggled the first few days, and had mild detox symptoms and cravings. I was very surprised that cravings were not that bad. If I wanted food, I would make a juice and It would be surprisingly satiating and leave me with no hunger. On average I would get through 4-5L of juice a day and that kept me feeling very perky. In fact I decided to go for some climbing sessions after ten days in and to my surprise I felt very strong, managing a few font 7b and above boulders in one session!
Even in 20 days I noticed my skin is a lot smoother, the dark bits under my eyes have faded slightly and the clarity in my mind is awesome. With so much blood being free'd up from the GI tract it is surprising how much more conscious you can feel throughout the day. It also free's up a lot of energy to go into healing various organs in the body, essentially getting things like adrenals to perk up, kidneys to filter better, circulation increases, moving the lymphatic system and dissolving toxins.
I also lost over half a stone, mostly in the first week which then levelled off, and i actually increased a few kilos in weight again after 15 days. This is probably due to a lot of food being moved through the stools, but also absorption goes up a lot after a week juice fasting, meaning weight can actually come back on, especially if you're drinking as much as I was! I also noticed my body fat dropped and I got a lot more lean and my skin was a lot more vascular. I'll be sticking to raw foods from now on and will be investing in a masticating juicer to get the most out of the produce with as little oxidisation as possible. The magimix duo XL has served well but does struggle with the leafy greens!
I've also gone and got a vegan tattoo, something i've been thinking about for a long time. Mike used Kumo Sumi and other vegan friendly tattoo inks, and the aftercare I'm using is also made of essential oils. Veganism Is something I like talking about with people who show positive genuine curiosity towards it. In fact after one day I've already had a few people noticing it and a few newly turned vegans asking me about it. It's good to see there are more people finding benefits from a diet rich in high quality plant food free of dead animal tissues and dairy.
I've just finished reading Finding Ultra and Eat and Run, both books on vegan super endurance athletes at the top of their game. Both well worth a read for inspiration. I'll lend them to anyone interested.
Rich Roll's blog (Finding Ultra)
Scott Jurek (eat and Run).
And another great athlete, all raw and fruitarian is Mike Arnstein http://www.thefruitarian.com/ - proving simple sugars are the best for endurance running multi day ultra marathons.
I would recommend people to read through The Detox Miracle Source Book before doing any kind of fast. It is probably one of the best references you can go to for all food types, alkaline and acid, organ functions and how it is all interlinked and affected by one another. Dr Robert Morse has over 40 years of experience in the field curing many toxic human problems like 'diseases' and cancers through his tissue detox and regeneration clinic. Have a look at his youtube page for many of his lectures and videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertmorsend
I also had a few people asking me what I brush my teeth with. I have been using Earthpaste, a natural rehydrated clay with essential oils, xylatol and sea salt. It's got a great flavour, is flouride, SLS and Glycerin free and edible! Also good to use on the skin and hair if you want. For all the images on the page, click to enlarge and also have a look at my flickr (link on the right of you're screen on this blog page) for more photos!
Anyway the it went really well, I only struggled the first few days, and had mild detox symptoms and cravings. I was very surprised that cravings were not that bad. If I wanted food, I would make a juice and It would be surprisingly satiating and leave me with no hunger. On average I would get through 4-5L of juice a day and that kept me feeling very perky. In fact I decided to go for some climbing sessions after ten days in and to my surprise I felt very strong, managing a few font 7b and above boulders in one session!
Even in 20 days I noticed my skin is a lot smoother, the dark bits under my eyes have faded slightly and the clarity in my mind is awesome. With so much blood being free'd up from the GI tract it is surprising how much more conscious you can feel throughout the day. It also free's up a lot of energy to go into healing various organs in the body, essentially getting things like adrenals to perk up, kidneys to filter better, circulation increases, moving the lymphatic system and dissolving toxins.
I also lost over half a stone, mostly in the first week which then levelled off, and i actually increased a few kilos in weight again after 15 days. This is probably due to a lot of food being moved through the stools, but also absorption goes up a lot after a week juice fasting, meaning weight can actually come back on, especially if you're drinking as much as I was! I also noticed my body fat dropped and I got a lot more lean and my skin was a lot more vascular. I'll be sticking to raw foods from now on and will be investing in a masticating juicer to get the most out of the produce with as little oxidisation as possible. The magimix duo XL has served well but does struggle with the leafy greens!
I've also gone and got a vegan tattoo, something i've been thinking about for a long time. Mike used Kumo Sumi and other vegan friendly tattoo inks, and the aftercare I'm using is also made of essential oils. Veganism Is something I like talking about with people who show positive genuine curiosity towards it. In fact after one day I've already had a few people noticing it and a few newly turned vegans asking me about it. It's good to see there are more people finding benefits from a diet rich in high quality plant food free of dead animal tissues and dairy.
I've just finished reading Finding Ultra and Eat and Run, both books on vegan super endurance athletes at the top of their game. Both well worth a read for inspiration. I'll lend them to anyone interested.Rich Roll's blog (Finding Ultra)
Scott Jurek (eat and Run).
And another great athlete, all raw and fruitarian is Mike Arnstein http://www.thefruitarian.com/ - proving simple sugars are the best for endurance running multi day ultra marathons.
http://www.youtube.com/user/robertmorsend
I also had a few people asking me what I brush my teeth with. I have been using Earthpaste, a natural rehydrated clay with essential oils, xylatol and sea salt. It's got a great flavour, is flouride, SLS and Glycerin free and edible! Also good to use on the skin and hair if you want. For all the images on the page, click to enlarge and also have a look at my flickr (link on the right of you're screen on this blog page) for more photos!
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