DAY 12

Still.  No.  Juicer.

Looks like it may be another week too.  The good news is that I'll be headed back up this weekend and will get to enjoy juicing Saturday and Sunday.  We're kinda hoping against the odds that the juicer comes in Saturday... but I seriously doubt it.  Oh well.  Today I began to worry that I wasn't getting enough calories from just the fruits and veggies. As Joe pointed out early in the movie... the benefit to juicing is concentrating the nutrient goodness so that you don't have to eat platters of greens and such.  So to compensate I've upped the fruit intake and started to add some salad in (yes with some light dressing).  The salad has been pretty good.. mixed in Romaine, some other green leafy, baby spinach, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Now I don't feel like I'm just surviving on fruits, carrots, and broccoli... although I do rather enjoy those foods as well.

The downside to all this solid intake is that I can't say I'm juicing anymore, the build-up of solids in my gut is increasing my perceived weight, and I really feel bad that Brian is fully immersed in the "real deal" and here I am eating and chewing solid food again after only a week or so.  It's been somewhat disconcerting as I mentioned in my last post.

I really wish they would finish the gym renovations where I live so at least I can get some exercise in without strolling through the 'hood'.

Weight: 277.5

Consumed:  A few salads, a bowl of mixed fruit chunks/berries, a banana, and some carrots.

Rating: 8/10

DAY 11

Well day 11 has been kinda uncomfortable and counter-productive.  Still no word on the mystery missing juicer Brian was supposed to get weeks ago.  I can't afford to make the drives to his place to juice up.  I also can't keep drinking the bottles at the store that have great ingredients.. but is also pasteurized and filled with concentrated sweet fruit juice.  So For the last two days I've been eating solid food.. which isn't kosher for a juice fast.

I'm still sticking with the raw fruits and veggies... but now with the digestive system back in action I've gained a couple pounds since Sunday and thus am starting to feel somewhat disconcerted.  I'm sure it's mostly just what's being compiled in the digestive track... but not good for the numbers and just means I'll get to go through the no-solids cravings again once I start the juice again.  I really hope Brian gets his juicer soon.  Thanks Bed, Bath, and Beyond....

Weight: 276lbs (unofficial)


Consumed: A small romaine/tomato salad, a head of broccoli, a bowl of mixed fruit, a handful of carrots, and a bottle of bolthouse green juice.

Rating:  7/10

DAY 10

Well today was pretty great!  Had some good supportive comments from the people we work with at my job that noticed my loss.  I do, unfortunately, have some bad news.  I had to break from the strict 'juice only' component of the plan today.  I still haven't gotten the juicer yet and it's a bit much to make the run to Brian's (who's about 20+ miles away) to juice up a new batch.  Not to worry though, I stuck with lots of water, a banana, a head of raw broccoli, a hand juiced grapefruit, a bottle of bolthouse green something, a couple carrots, and I think that was it.

I am really banking on today being the last day of that.  I will probably run on a couple of the above items tomorrow for work in the hopes that I can go pick up the juicer from Brian's (and that he gets his delivered finally).  I am really looking forward to making my own juices here at home soon!

Weight: 274.5 (unofficial)


Consumed: (see above)


Rating: 8.5/10

DAY 9

*******NEW VIDEO UPLOADED********
Link to the right------------>

Day 9 is finally over, been a rather long one and it's actually the start of day 10 as I write this.  I just uploaded our new video which includes some comments from both of us on how the first week went and the official weigh-in.  Today was good with little to no complications... although I feel that I didn't eat enough.  For the next day or so while we expect to get the juicer situation taken care of I may have to resort to some store bought veggie/fruit juice (Naked brand) and some solid food such as a banana as well as what juice I have from tonight. I'm trying to avoid the solids if I can though.

Weight: 284lbs (OFFICIAL) / 274.5 (unofficial)
Cumulative loss: 30lbs

Consumed:  A couple cups of veggie/fruit juice, a bottle of store bought veggie/fruit juice, and some fruit juice at the end of the day.  Not nearly as much as I'm sure I need and what I intended.

Rating: 8.5/10

DAY 8

Great day today... Finally lol.  Little to no pain, no hunger, minimal cravings, and all that jazz.

Brown and I shot a new video today including some remarks on our experiences through this first week and the results of our second official weigh-in.  I should have that video up tomorrow night.

Weight: 284 (official)

Consumed:  A couple original concoctions of juice, grapefruit juice, and plenty of water.

Rating:  8.5/10

DAY 7

Today was decent and I gotta say...each day I am feeling leaner and leaner!  The pains have gotten better and only my back still feels like it did before.  I ended up needing to punch a new hole into my belt and I'm fairly sure my pants won't be wearable but another week!

I was busy yesterday reorganizing my living room and ended up with a sneezing fit.  I just went straight to sleep after that.... hence the delayed post.

Official weigh-in and new video to shoot on Saturday!  Get psyched!

Weight: 279 (unofficial)

Consumed:  New mixed concoction of spinach, romaine, a few fruits, and carrots.  A Naked brand green machine juice.  A spinach, lemon, grapefruit, and banana smoothie.

Rating: 7.5/10

DAY 6

Today was the hardest day yet.  Back pain, abdominal pain, headache, light nausea, and general discontent.  Not sure why, but it's been rather unpleasant.

Weight unknown.

Rating: 4/10

DAY 5

Good day today with very light cravings.  Probably should've had more juice....but oh well lol.  I did have a lot of middle to upper back pain all day for some reason.

Weight:  unknown

Consumed:  Brian's custom carrot blend and a swiss chard and peach blend as well.

Rating:  7.5/10

DAY 4

Pretty good day today.  Hunger has for the most part subsided and I'm clearly able to recognize that my biggest issue is cravings for fast food. 

I also believe that the juice doesn't hold up well for 72 hours.  So...while we continue to wait for the juicer thing to get sorted out...I will avoid storing juice for more than 24-48 hours.  Fresh is much more preferred.

Weight:  I'm away from the scale so weight unknown.

Consumed:  Today, I drank some of the remainder green juice, a new red cabbage blend and Brian's own plum/greens concoction.

Overall rating: 8/10

DAY 3

It's the end of day 3 and I'm pretty hungry... I think I can chop a portion of that up to the neighbors cooking up something that smells real good.

Had to return to work today... and in turn... faced fast food and snacks everywhere!  I held strong though and stuck to the juice!  Tomorrow I'll be finishing off what I have left and heading back to Brian's to juice up another batch to last me until the end of day Friday (or Saturday morning).

Experiencing some general aches and back pain today.  Could be the hunger or just my usual tension and issues.

Still going to call today a success!  Just hoping to get over the hunger soon.

-----------------------

Weight:  283.2 (unofficial)

Consumed:  Green Juice (see jointhereboot.com for recipe listings) and an apple/pear/greens blend of my own concoction.  + Lots of water!

Overall Daily Rating:    5/10

DAY 2

*******VIDEO UPDATE*******  (see link to the right)

Day two is coming to an end.  Pretty hungry... and that urge to just say screw it and run to the Outback for a rack of baby back ribs, cheesy fries, a wallaby darned, and some dessert is really poking at me.

Not to worry.  There's no way I'm doing that any more.

On a sidenote I've noticed that my throat feels somewhat scratchy.  I don't know if it's from the juice, but it started last night.  I'm pretty sure I'm not coming down with something since it subsided this morning and it's better tonight than yesterday.

****Based on my previous weigh-in's (devoid of that heavy clothing - I know TMI) I have already lost a cumulative total of 20 pounds!  Yay!  However, since Brian and I are weighing in (officially) Saturdays at his crib (with all the cloth baggage), those will be our official counts.****

Weight:  284.4 (unofficial)

Consumed:  Green Juice (see jointhereboot.com for recipe listings) and an apple/pear/greens blend of my own concoction.  + Lots of water!

Overall Daily Rating:    7.5/10

DAY 1

Today was officially the first day of the 60-day juice program!  It's had it's up's and downs, but successful none-the-less!

I crashed at Brian's place Friday night and we juiced a batch of this super beet'y juice in preparation for today.  We woke up before 6am and went to do some work for his church that took a couple hours.  I drank my beet drink... but I gotta say... it's not my cup of tea.  I don't think I'll be involving beets again lol.

Afterward we went to the Super H Mart (a local asian market) and collected a few days worth of veggies and fruits for juicing.

Later in the day I had to leave to go to mom's and come to find out that she's got a BBQ going on.

Talk about tough.

I trekked through and kept drinking the green kale fortified juice.  Never even took a taste of the aromatic and no-doubt delicious pork chops and fixings.

We recorded some video today that I will try to edit a bit together and post to YouTube tomorrow night.

Weight:  295.0 (OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN Aug. 20, 2011)

Consumed:  Green Juice (see jointhereboot.com for recipe listings) and an apple/pear/greens blend of my own concoction, as well as Carrot/Kale combo.

Overall Daily Rating:    6.5/10

Day... Well Not Quite Yet... P4

Pretty typical day.  Tomorrow (technically today) will be the final day before the Juice Fast!  I'm excited!


Start of Day Weight:  291.5

End of Day Weight: 290.8 (cumulative loss to date: 13.7lbs)


Overall Daily Rating:    8/10

Day... Well Not Quite Yet... P3

Ugh.. really hating this wait for the juicer.  Creeping some more meat back into the diet until I can get it.  I feel like I've pigged out today, but in reality it's still a fraction of what I was eating before.  Ending the day with a slight headache.  The good news is that the 60-day plan has been officially moved to the 20th and even without the juicer, my buddy and myself will be juicing and storing every few days and I'll be packing several quarts to take home.

Start of Day Weight:  291.0

Consumed:  Not as much water as I know I need, dried pineapple bites, bunch of carrots, couple salads, 3 pork ribs, grilled chicken wrap, 1 banana, and a rather tasty Braeburn apple from Publix.

End of Day Weight: 292.2 (cumulative loss to date: 12.3lbs)


Overall Daily Rating:    8/10

Day... Well Not Quite Yet... P2

Today was pretty good... even though I haven't gotten the juicer yet.  I'm hoping this all serves to rebuild my way of thinking toward food so that once the 'juice fast' is over I don't slip into the old me.  I have also been entertaining the idea of a video blog to add in conjunction with this one.


Start of Day Weight:  289.8

Consumed:  See my 'Sidenotes' blog for what I ate and details: Sidenotes!

End of Day Weight: 290.8 (cumulative loss to date: 13.7lbs)


Overall Daily Rating:    9/10

Day... Well Not Quite Yet...

Ok so it looks like it may be even longer before I can get my juicer. Does that mean I'm going to forego eating healthy until then?  No, of course not!  Instead I will be eating small healthy items keeping my daily caloric intake to a reasonable 500-700 calories.

Today's intake consisted of:


1 Banana (105Cal)
2 Peanut Butter Crackers (~70Cal)
1 Fresco Style Chicken Soft Taco (Taco Bell) (150Cal)
1 Small Side Salad (Wendy's) (~200Cal)

total: ~500 Calories.

I think this was pretty reasonable... and keeps me from starving myself unnecessarily until I can really start my 60-day juicing adventure.  I will be continuing my daily updates as usual.  I have also considered including morning blood-pressure readings as well.

-------------------------------------


Start of Day Weight:  290.8


Consumed:  (see above)

End of Day Weight: 290.2 (cumulative loss to date: 14.3lbs)
Overall Daily Rating:    8.5/10

Preparatory Day 5 of 5

Today went pretty good.  Got out and did some stuff today and wasn't hungry for the most part.  I probably ate more today than I have for the last 5 days.  I suspect it's due to the psychological weight of knowing it's my last bit of solid food for 60-days.


Start of Day Weight:  unknown

Consumed:  Some amount of water, 1 plum, 1 peach, a small bowl of light caesar salad, small bowl of raw baby carrots, and my splurge:  heated up can of diced tomatoes and chilli peppers with some soda crackers.

It wasn't much, but I probably shouldn't have eaten that last bit.  Oh well.
On a side note... unfortunately I wasn't able to get the juicer I was expecting to get this weekend, so hopefully it will become available this week.  In the meantime it will be only be bottled veggie/fruit juice from the organic isle and minimal solid veggies.

End of Day Weight: 291.2 (cumulative loss to date: 13.3lbs)
Overall Daily Rating:    8.5/10

Preparatory Day 4 of 5

Today was pretty good, the hunger is a little better, and I'm feeling fairly good.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to secure the juicer I was expecting to get this weekend... So I may have to pick up some juices from Whole Food next week.

Start of Day Weight:  unknown

Consumed:  70oz of Water (one cup with fiber added), 1 banana, half of a granola bar, cup of carrots, 1 small pickle, and a Taco Bell bean burrito fresco style.

I also had a 30-minute brisk walk this afternoon which felt pretty good.

I splurged for the burrito...and...I'm not sure my stomach was ready for that.  At least I only used half of the wrap right?

«I should note that I'm away from home this weekend so I can't weigh-in until Sunday night.»

End of Day Weight: unknown (cumulative loss to date: 9.5lbs)

Overall Daily Rating:    8.5/10

Preparatory Day 3 of 5.

Been a little hungrier today, continuing to reduce caloric intake. 

Start of Day Weight:  unknown

Consumed:  80oz of Water (one cup with fiber added), 1 banana, 2 dishes of baby carrots with some light ranch, and a few black cherries.

I also took the dogs out for a 30-minute walk... so trying to mix in some more physical activity. 

«I should note that I'm away from home this weekend so I can't weigh-in until Sunday night.»

End of Day Weight: unknown (cumulative loss to date: 9.5lbs)

Overall Daily Rating:    7.5/10

Preparatory Day 2 of 5

Today, much like yesterday was another light day.

Start of Day Weight:  297.6

Consumed:  80oz of Water (one cup with fiber added), 7 carrots, one banana, and a grilled chicken caesar salad.

I think the chicken salad will be the last bit of meat I'll consume prior to the 60 days.  Spent some time pretty hungry today, but have felt pretty satisfied since the chicken salad.  I also plan on working in some walking tomorrow to get myself prepared for the fitness plan I've set for the next 60 days as well.

End of Day Weight: 295.0 (cumulative loss to date: 9.5lbs)

Overall Daily Rating:    8/10

Preparatory Day 1 of 5

Today I began to reduce my caloric intake and increase fluid/raw food intake.

Start of Day Weight: 304.5lbs.

Consumed: 60oz of Water (one cup with fiber added), 2 servings of  'Naked Juice' Green Machine, 1 serving yogurt, 1 banana, 3 carrots, and a grilled chicken caesar salad.

While the salad wasn't optimum (nor in any way organic) as well as sugary yogurt... it's definitely an improvement to my regular diet and a step to adjust to my upcoming juice-only diet.

Feelings and Observations:  I've felt pretty hungry at several points throughout the day, but I feel this is mostly due to the massive change from my regular intake quantity.  Some gas and frequent urination.

End of Day Weight: 297.7

Overall Daily Rating:   8/10   (10 being great and 1 being 'please shoot me right now')

--A GENESIS-- (Aug. 10, 2011)

Dear Blog,

After watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" with my closest friend and fellow overweight compatriot Brian, we've decided to take the same 60-day challenge as Joe Cross in order to 'reboot' and hopefully get the scores of extra poundage off.  We picked Aug. 15th until Oct. 15 for the start/stop dates (yes, I'm aware that's actually 62 days... but the numbers are easier this way).

I've researched a bit and have seen the arguments from both sides of the table regarding the "Juice Fasting" diet that we'll be undertaking.  Both of us were once relatively in-shape, healthy, and even active youngsters involved in various forms of martial arts.  Unfortunately, bad habits and lack of self-discipline got us off-track from healthy living and into the world of obesity.  A place a great number of people find themselves in today.

So... Aug. 15th will mark the end of that chapter and the beginning to one that is healthier; and, the one God intends for all of us to live.

This will serve as my personal chronicle of the journey ahead.