My Juicecapades

Since I started on my journey of weight loss and health gain last year, there have been many changes in my life.  With the help of Plexus Slim and a few of Plexus' other wonderful products, I have kept my blood sugar in balance and quite effortlessly lost 60 lbs.  I am now about 20 lbs. below my lowest weight I ever achieved after undergoing drastic gastric bypass surgery in 2002.  Try saying "drastic gastric" three times quickly, LOL; I even had trouble typing it!

All this to say, I am physically in a much better condition than I was when I began in March, 2014.  When I've lost weight in the past, there's always been the dread of, "What will happen to me when I go back to normal eating?"  But you know what?  I believe this time I have actually changed what is normal eating for me.  This is nothing less than miraculous. 

I do not want to come across as someone who has "arrived" at "Perfect Health Nirvana" as far as my eating habits go, but I must confess I have made a lot of little changes that have added up to some pretty substantial shifts in my outlook, attitude and philosophy in general.  So what are some of those steps I've taken?

The first one I took is I began juicing.  Juicing vegetables and fruits.  A while ago (1.5 to 2 years ago maybe) a doctor recommended a couple of documentary videos to me.  One of those was FAT, SICK AND NEARLY DEAD.  I'll tell you about the other one in a future post.  If you've never seen this video, it is not all doom and gloom as the title may convey.  And even though the video cover is a bit silly looking, it's a very moving tale.  It's the personal story of a guy named Joe Cross (an Australian) who decided to address his health problems by embarking on a 60-day doctor-supervised veg/fruit juice fast, what he quaintly calls a "reboot" for his system. 
He did this as he traveled across the USA, and the video simply chronicles his journey and the people he met along the way.  The film is incredibly uplifting and inspiring.  I think he did this simply because he had the $$$ to do it, and thought it might help a few people out.  At the end of FSND, he says he's "not planning on making any more films in the future."  Obviously when Joe made this little documentary, I don't think he had any idea the impact it would make around the world.
But it did.  Joe has started an awareness and a movement of the best kind, and I am now one of his fans, followers, groupies or however you want to characterize it.  I know he's not a health professional (he's the first to point that out); he's just a regular guy who wanted to get his health back.  He's inspired so many of us to do the same.  He now sponsors a website where juicers from all over the world come together for support, encouragement and just plain fellowship.  He's since made a second movie (aptly titled FAT, SICK AND NEARLY DEAD 2) that highlights just a few of the people around the world whom Joe has inspired to take charge of their own health, using the vehicle of veg/fruit juicing.  His website about the videos is http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/ and the juicing community that has sprung up can be found at http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/ . 
Joe and his story are what got me started on really contemplating what I put in my mouth, and how I literally AM WHAT I EAT.  We've heard this all our lives, but it all finally started to click in my brain and make sense.  Another film that inspired me to take the plunge into juicing is called HUNGRY FOR CHANGE.  It covers several ways to incorporate healthier food choices, and one of the things it emphasizes is veg/fruit juicing.
But as with all change, nothing happened overnight.  I went out and bought a juicer.  It sat on my counter for a few weeks, waiting for me.  Then I bought a juicing book full of recipes.  Mmmmm, those sound good I thought.  And still my juicer sat on the counter.  To be fair to myself, I was also going through a move as a result of my divorce, so I was a bit distracted.  Then I finally went out and actually purchased a little produce, and tried a few of those juicing recipes.  Wow, this stuff tastes really great! 

Micronutrients Most Abundant!

The juicing book I purchased is The Healthy Juicer's Bible by Farnoosh Brock.  It can be found on Amazon.com.  Ms. Brock's philosophy is: don't make any juice that you personally don't think tastes good.  And I highly agree!  Although that juice you made of kale, spinach, celery, cilantro and a cucumber may contain lots of micronutrients, if you don't care for the taste, chances are you're never going to make it (or drink it) again.  So toss in an orange, a few carrots, a little pineapple or a Granny Smith apple to that juice!  Taste better?  Yes, I thought so.  That's the juice you're more likely to make (and drink) again and again.  Avid, experienced veg/fruit juicers strive for a goal of 80/20 -- 80% vegetables to 20% fruit in their juice.  I don't always hit that mark, but it's a helpful guideline  to keep in mind.

So far in my juicapades I was making a juice here and there throughout my week, whenever I could squeeze it in.  The thing about fresh veg/fruit juicing is you really should drink it as soon as possible after it's juiced, or otherwise the nutritional value starts to fall.  So making several gallons at once and storing in the fridge is not the optimal way to go.  That was my excuse for not juicing very often.  So while I was in this "juice-when-I-can-fit-it-in" mode I was getting new blasts of micronutrients into my body which was great, but I wasn't experiencing any noticeable differences in how I felt.

Produce Ready for Juicing!

So then I took that next step, the step that took a bit of planning, and a bit more commitment.  I decided to start juicing daily, trying to get at least one serving of veg/fruit juice in my bod every day. I also ate regular meals; sometimes my juicing would replace or supplement my lunch.  And of course I continued my Plexus products (Slim, Probio5 and BioCleanse).  And wow, after the first week, I began to feel the difference.  Energy, vibrancy; it's hard to put into words until you have all those micronutrients infused into all the cells of your body on a daily basis.  I could definitely tell the difference between casual juicing-when-I-feel-like-it and a committed daily juice.


Juice Featuring Beet & Broccoli
Among Other Things!

I was so excited about this new revelation and easy way to get some healthy nutrients, I enthusiastically shared it with all my family when I went home this summer for family and high school class reunions.  One of my nephews & his wife graciously offered me their masticating juicer to use while I was staying with my brother.  On the 4th of July I made a little "juicing is so awesome" speech to everyone and passed out little sample cups of a juice I whipped up.  As I expected, it was met with mixed reviews, but at least most everyone was polite and tried it.


Have I juiced every single day since I started this experiment?  No, sorry to say I have not.  But it's convinced me that juicing daily is something I continue to plan on and strive for.  A goal to keep in front of me towards more healthy living.

I look at juicing as just plain fun.  With a lot of nutritional rewards in the package.  If you'd like to get inspired by the health benefits other people have enjoyed by veg/fruit juicing, I encourage you to check out the Success Stories section of Joe Cross's website.  Here's a direct link:  http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/reboot-success-stories/   Although lots of these stories are about weight loss, several talk about many other health benefits such as help with inflammation, allergies, and many other conditions.


So what about you?  Let me know if you're a fan of juicing (or blending and making smoothies....it's all good).  Let me know what led you to try out this super easy way to infuse your body with micronutrients.  And if you haven't tried it, I invite you to take the plunge into the wonderful world of juicing!



Until next time,
~Robinsky~