Day 30

So, I made it! 30 days without a bit of food, not even a nibble. No caffeine, no alcohol, no supplements (other than psyllium caps and a daily men's vitamin), no colonics and no suppositories. Yeeeehaw.

It definitely crossed my mind to cheat a little at the end to make the transition back to regular food easier. A friend convinced me that it wasn't worth it. The sense of accomplishment I would have, doing the whole thing without an infraction would be so strong and satisfying that it was worth the wait. And it was. Although, I guess if I perforate my colon in the next two days I know who to holler at.
Anyway, I'm really proud of myself and really happy to be done. The last few days definitely got pretty hard. My tongue has been thickly coated with this white paste. It makes it fairly hard to sleep because my mouth gets so dry and it actually makes it feel like there is always some food residual or something stuck in my mouth. I have also had a scratchy throat which has resulted in one of those annoying frog in the neck kind of coughs.

I also have been pretty exhausted the last few nights. Part of the exhaustion has been starting a new job where I am working 10-14 hours a day in a really busy, high volume kitchen. The smell and touch and sight of food all day has definitely been wearing on me. As well as the heaving of large pots and lexans full of product. Yesterday I made chicken stock with 270 pounds of bones, 6 cases of chicken backs and breast bones! That is 10 times the size of the stocks we made at Laiola. Additionally, there is a Chinese chef making some pretty incredible-looking family meals. Yesterday's, for example, involved a smoked pig's head and napa cabbage soup; a roasted duck and taro porridge; braised lettuce and chinese broccoli with shaoxing wine. Pretty serious stuff. He is also teaching me how to manipulate the massive banquet wok which can can serve like 100 people at a time.

Meredith and I did manage to have one big night on the town last Saturday night, out dancing (she more than I) til 3AM. I have to admit that I did get in a two hour nap that day, but I also went to a wine tasting in Sonoma (spitting out my wine throughout) on a very hot afternoon.

Anyway, needless to say, this has made it really hard not to think about food and eating. Unfortunately, I gotta start kind of slow. Rumor has it that coming off a diet this strong is really important and that you have to be super gentle and delicate while, as Meredith likes to say, refeeding. I think my first meal back might involve a piece or two of fruit and maybe a bowl of oatmeal. I do have a wedding to go to starting tomorrow where the couple are big foodies. Its gonna be a challenge since the groom has been talking to me about his wedding food plans every time I've seen or heard from him for the last 6 months. But, small, small, well chewed bites and miniscule little portions should get me through. At least I can taste things.

One of the biggest take-aways from this diet is the sense of being able to accomplish whatever I set my mind to. This was a really big challenge for me as a person so deeply committed to and related to food in everything I do. I am really proud of myself for having finished what I started and for having endured through the hard times as well as the smooth sailing. For me, its my own version of a triathlon or AIDS ride to Los Angeles or even starting a business (all three of which I hope to accomplish as well in the next few years). I guess it didn't take as much pre-planning and training, but it was a pretty difficult and lengthy feat which took discipline, focus, strength, and perseverance.

I hate to sound totally trite and like a football player in a post Superbowl press conference, but I do have to thank my family, friends and especially Meredith, who have been so super supportive, caring, interested and helpful throughout this experience.

And now the final numbers:

Current Weight: 173 lbs (down 32lbs in 30 days)

A Few Notes on Juices:

I have really been throwing in everything (mostly fruit) but the kitchen sink recently. Thinking that I may get more vitamins and nutrients through a more complex array of ingredients I have been juicing everything from peaches, plums, nectarines, and pluots, to beet greens, pea sprouts and dino kale from my yard. I have started to include tropical fruit, mango, papaya and pineapple, which although not local, do seem to add great flavor, nice balance, and a thick viscous texture to my drinks. I picked up a big selection of tiny young tart apples and pears from the farmer's market, as well as a carrots from purplish red to light yellow and as knobby and funky-looking as they wanna be. There are also tons and tons of great local berries just finishing their season. Wild blackberries, tiny little blueberries, dry-farmed strawberries, and even a few olallieberries have made it in the mix.

I've gotten into juicing by color. Some mornings I wake up and do some red carrots, a braeburn apple, a couple of bulls blood beets, strawberries, blueberries and black berries for a powerful purple drink. Another day I'll start with yellow carrots, a green apple, a mango, a few green calmyra figs, ginger, and beet greens for something more in the light greenish-yellow tones. The other day I had a juice of pure charentais melon. It was the ugliest fruit I could find on the shelves at Rainbow Grocery, and could not have been more fragrant or exotic tasting or delicious. Not to say that I would have minded a piece of proscuitto thrown over the top, but it made a pretty wicked juice.

I did finally have a retail juice that I didn't hate last week. I tried a beet, apple, lemon, cucumber, and celery juice down at a raw organic restaurant in Santa Cruz, Cafe La Vie, that was quite nice. Each flavor was well-balanced and discernible on its own. Props to them for making it fresh, filling a glass 16 oz pint without too much foam, serving it before it separated and paying enough attention to recipe so that the drink actually tasted good. It ain't easy finding high quality restaurant juices these days.

Overall, I don't think I ever quite made it to seeing dragons and riding on the carpet of love for 15 days of straight. I had some really "up" times when I was full of energy and super functional, but most nights, I got fell into bed pretty early. I have managed to ride my bike to and from work every day and continued to make it to the gym. As much as the jogging has gotten easier, the lack of protien does seem to hinder the weight-lifting side of working out. I definitely notice the lack of extra baggage in everything I do. From riding my bike, to sleeping in my bed more comfortably, to sitting in a chair without my back aching. That part feels really really great. And I hope I can take with me some aspects of this diet to keep my weight at a reasonable and manageable level. One thing I have learned about dieting is that the harder it is for you to diet, the more weight you will lose, faster. Take out the things you love the most and the weight comes pouring off. For me there are no miracles... just eating less, trying not to eat late at night, smaller portions, more fruits and veggies.