The end of December I decided it was time to push the restart button on my life.  I recently discovered a couple of great documentaries showing people who had changed their lives with food.

The First was the feature film Forks over Knives which examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.  http://www.forksoverknives.com/about/synopsis/

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, Chronicles the journey of Joe Cross, who is 100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, he is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn’t end well— with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn’t far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe’s personal mission to regain his health. http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

After viewing these two inspiring and informative movies my husband and I decided to make a few changes starting with an extended juice fast.  He had never done one before and has always struggled to keep a healthy weight.   Michael is 6 ft 4 inches and for the first 15 years of our marriage he was seriously under weight, tipping the scales around 137 pounds with his clothes on.  After some serious Bowel Cleansing and Liver flushing in the late 1990’s he began putting on weight.  By 2002 he was tipping the scales at 170 pounds.

We both felt the need to hit the restart button on our bodies.  Michael was looking for an energy boost and I want to drop a few pounds.  We began our juice fast on December 31^st.  Michael managed four good days and gained two pounds.  This was amazing to me as I drank a lot more juice than he did and lost 14 pounds over the same four days.  This only proves again that our bodies know what they need to do and will do it if we will provide the proper nutrition and then get out of the way.

I plan to continue juice fasting for an extended period.  I was concerned I would not be satisfied with only juicing to continue for any length of time but have found the following routine to be very satisfying.

Each morning I begin my day with a hot cup of Echinacea tea followed by my Superfood in 16 ounces of fresh fruit juice.

My morning juice is a combination of:

• ½ Cantaloupe
• ¼ Honey dew Mellon
• 2 Apples
• 2 Pears
• 2 to 4 cups  Dark Leafy Greens (Chard or Kale)

For Lunch I make the following Vegetable Juice:

• 4 Tomatoes
• 2 bunches of Parsley
• ¼ Red Onion
• 1 Large Cucumber
• 2 stalks Celery
• 1 Bell Pepper
• 1 Green Hot Pepper (Optional)
• 1 Lime

Throughout the day I enjoy my regular herbal teas and additional glasses of the juices above.  If I feel hungry or weak I slowly sip a glass of juice for an almost instant energy pick-up.