Day 1

So, this a blog about my experience doing a 30 day juice fast as a chef, a gourmet, a gourmand, and an all around food-oriented guy.
I've been thinking about doing this type of a fast for a while. I have 3 friends who have had some experience with juice fasts, all of whom I trust, and all of whom have had life-changing or affirming or altering or at least big, crazy experiences during their fasts. So, I decided that since I don't have a job right now (that may change in the midst of this fast which could alter my plans) and since fruit and vegetables are peaking here in the Bay Area right now and since I have almost no travel or adventure or dining plans this month, now is as good a time as any. Not to mention the fact that I just got engaged and losing 30 lbs (many people claim to lose as much as a pound a day on this diet) wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
I've been doing a little reading on this diet (I only really decided to do it yesterday). So far the best info seems to be on a site www.juicefasting.org although it seems a little new-age, hoaxy, cure-all, end-all for my taste. Lots of the info that I may throw out on this blog comes from that site so if its wrong, don't blame me. Anyway, one of the things I like about this site is that its not trying to sell me any supplements, support groups, colonics, or vitamins to help me through the experience. I guess I'm the skeptical type that doesn't tend to like anything that can't be summarized in a sentence or two. If I need some sort of man-made chemical, even if its based in nature, that I can only buy here online at this very special price, its not my type of party, so to speak. It also includes some actual useful information like about how much juice to drink a day (32-64 ounces or 4-8 cups) and what to expect as far as the stages a body goes through during different periods of the fast.
Anyway, the point of this blog is for me to monitor the effect this fast has on me and my body and to track exactly what I eat, what I weigh, and what I feel.

Day 1
Carrot-Ginger-Peach Juice - approx 1 cup
Tomato-Cucumber-Basil-Romaine Juice - approx 2 cups
Carrot-Ginger-Apple-Plum Juice - approx 2 1/2 cups

Starting Weight 205 lbs (wow, thats as much as Reggie Bush)

I had my first juice at about 9:30 this morning. I don't usually eat breakfast so the lack of a morning meal didn't have much effect. The lack of the morning coffee, on the other hand, did. I usually drink at least one or two cups of very strong coffee in the morning. Then I have another in the afternoon half the time. I think the sugar from the juice gave me a little buzz til about noon, but by 12:30 I was hungry and had a headache. I had a job interview at 1 during which I was slightly less than fully alert and functional. After the interview, around 2:30pm, I began to feel slightly weak and headed directly home for more juice. While making my second cup of juice I noticed that my nose was very sensitive to an off-smell on the cutting board. I don't know if that is just self-preservation based on the fact that I am starting to only eat raw fruits and vegetables or what. Anyway, I pretty much chugged my second juice feeling starving and anxious. I think I am a little nervous about this whole process. Afterwards I felt much better, even a little buzzy. I took a copious and clear pee and had about an hour of motivated energy time. I then crashed again, feeling suddenly drawn to the couch and the TV and an afternoon nap. I am not saying that that might not happen anyway. I am a believer in the afternoon nap as a natural human state of being (I heard that as hunter and gatherers, humans used to sleep twice a day rather than once). By 5:30p, I was ready for another juice. I managed to gather enough steam to make myself another round, consciously trying to avoid any citrus as I could already taste my stomach acid in my burps. After washing the juicer for the third time today (couldn't they have made a self-cleaning juicer, or at least one that was easier to wash?), I started this post. I feel pretty good. Maybe slightly more alert than usual, but nothing dramatic.
More tomorrow...