Welcome to Day 4 of the Healthista.com teams live juicing blog – find out what happened to make Anna wake up with a puffy face!
THE SKEPTIC
Anna says:
Today must be my lowest low point yet. I am hungry, cranky and because my default position is to become emotional, feeling overwhelmed by the tiniest things, like answering the phone. An empty tummy will do that to you. It’s the liquid really that I am tired of, the taste of it, the watery feel of swallowing it. I want to chew something. I really could murder a nice crunchy red apple. I’m certainly glad it’s only seven days and right now, wishing it was only four.
The evening didn’t go too well. Even fully fed I am the coldest person on earth and can’t do low temperatures (am a Greek Australian for heaven’s sakes!) at the best of times. Fasting is making me so much colder than normal that when I got home last night that coldness had seeped into my bones and I couldn’t fathom having another cold drink. So I used my Vitamix Blender
. Now one of the reasons this machine costs over £500 (and why I worship at its altar most days) is because you can put raw vegetables in it, set it to ‘soup’ and then it blends it all into a hot, cooked perfection. I know!
So I put a bag of kale, some collard greens and spinach into the blender with hot stock. Then I added one of my big weaknesses – salt. I know that’s a real no-no on a juice fast but it tasted a bit like bland pond water before and was bearable after. I felt better after having it but – get this – I woke up with the puffiest face I have had in ages. Look at the picture above! Beauty therapists such as skin guru Ada Oi have been telling me that salt is the enemy of skin if puffiness is your problem and this seems to prove her point. I haven’t had a puffy face all week before this so it’s definitely the salt that’s the issue.
How I’m feeling: Hungry. Cranky. Irritated. Repeat.
What I learned: That if you think day 1 is bad, wait for day 4. That the recipes in Joe Cross’s book make way more than most people consider one serving! That having salty food at night makes you wake up with a puffy face.
On today’s menu:
Breakfast: Morning Green Glory, recipe from Joe Cross: 6 Romaine lettuce leaves, six celery stalks, two red apples, one lemon, one cucumber – blended with a handful collard greens and a handful kale (I then added two oranges to the mix as it was kind of bland).
Mid-morning: small glass coconut water, miso soup and three rooibos teas with milk (sorry)
Lunch: Rainbow Bright Green by Joe Cross, (but slightly altered). 12 kale leaves, 8 carrots, 6 apples (to feed four) but we also added 1 large orange and 1 and a half lemons. It didn’t turn out green but maybe that’s because we didn’t have celery.
Mid-afternoon: miso soup, two rooibos tea with milk
Dinner: One bag of kale, a handful of collard greens, a handful of spinach, 500 ml stock and two large pinches of sea salt (served 2)
THE CONVERT
Christina says:
My general physical wellbeing is improving but my social life is completely on hold, in the evening I just want to be at home in order to avoid temptations. But today was the first day when I didn’t feel like drinking juice. For lunch I barely had any juice because just the thought of it made me sick. I have been craving banana the entire day and really miss my nuts. Having done a juice fast before I know that I can’t just start eating again normally when it’s done. So, have decided to use Saturday and Sunday to start adding raw fruits and vegetables back into my diet. This will prevent my stomach to go completely crazy on me once I do start eating normally again.
How I’m feeling:
I am feeling good because I know we are more than half way through the fast. I realised that the dry skin on my feet is starting to soften which obviously makes me super happy. I am sick of juice and the thought of eating a banana has been stuck in my head all day. So, in the evening I blended my juice with a banana which gave it a slightly thicker texture – JuSmoothies are the way to go!
What I learned:
I learned that using yellow beets is much less messy than using red ones and tastes just as nice.
On today’s menu:
Breakfast: Breakfast-Delight – 3 kale leaves, 1/4 of a pineapple, 1 apple, 1 pear, 1/2 cucumber, one lemon, ginger, 1 yellow beet and 2 celery stalks.
Lunch: Since I wasn’t really in the mood for juice I had a miso soup and only had a little taste of the Rainbow Bright.
Dinner: JuSmoothie (find out what JuSmoothie is here) – to stop my banana craving I made a juice and blended it with a banana. The juice was for two people and contained: 1 pear, 3 kale leaves, 2 celery sticks, 1/3 cucumber, two apples, 2 oranges, handful of broccoli, 1/2 a lime and some ginger.
THE VIRGIN
Cassie says: Today’s been good. I’ve hardly thought about food and haven’t been feeling as hungry as the other days. I am getting sick of seeing my juicer every morning and I want to consume something that’s not cold or in a glass. Also, everyone kept warning me (and making jokes) about needing to go number two more often (or too much, if you catch my drift?) but I haven’t come across this issue. I don’t know if this is a good or bad sign?
How I’m feeling:
Although it took me a while to get out of bed, I feel refreshed and a lot more awake today and hunger isn’t so much of an issue.
What I learned:
Perseverance is key.
On today’s menu:
Breakfast: Mean Green – Recipe by Joe Cross: 1 cucumber, 4 celery stalks, 2 apples, 6-8 leaves kale, 1/2 lemon and 1 tbsp ginger (I used raw ginger). I loved this!
Mid-morning: Blackcurrant herbal tea
Lunch: Rainbow Bright Green by Joe Cross, (but slightly altered).
12 kale leaves, 8 carrots, 6 apples (to feed four) but we also added 1 large orange and 1 and a half lemons. It didn’t turn out green but maybe that’s because we didn’t have celery.
Mid-Afternoon: Remainder of last night’s juice. (I’ve read that you’re not meant to keep a juice for too long because it starts fermenting but hey, I made too much and thought I’d chance it).
Dinner: My own invention – Juice Soup – I juiced one sweet potatoe, three carrots, two cherry tomatoes, 1/4 red pepper and 1/4 butternut squash and a slice of juicer. I then heated this concoction up on the hob and added some chilli, pepper and garlic.
It was actually a relief to actually sit down at the table and `eat` something with a spoon. It’s the simple things that make a difference in this fast.
However, although I made two bowlfuls, I couldn’t finish the second one and later on at night, I felt a bit sick. I’m not sure if it’s down the juice being warmed up or adding all the herbs or just the juice fast in general.
Anna and Cassie are using the Phlips Viva Compact Juicer, see a review here
Christina is using the Sage Nutri Juicer by Heston Bluemnthal (right) – see a review here
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