Friday Juicing update. Fixing deez guts!

I'm falling in love with juice. I actually crave certain mixtures. I have found that over the past week I get in about 60 ounces per day. Still NO MORE gut pain. Significantly less gas. MORE poop and its still green. I'm drinking about 2 cups coffee,  and eating 1/4 cup oats, salad with 4 oz meat, salad with fruit. I don't care what the calories are, I feel better. I can't say for certain that juicing is the absolute answer but the results don't lie. I'm staying with the 80/20 mix because it keeps the sugars low and the phytochemicals higher. Here's a list of fruit/veg that I'm drinking DAILY.

Kale - usually 1 huge bunch or an extra large bag per mix.

Cucumbers - at least 2 a day

Ginger - bought a giant stalk from the Fresh Market, I use about a thumb size piece in each mix.

Celery - about 4 ribs per mix.

Apples - Green or Red, 1 per mix.

Orange or Red Peppers - my favorite. 2 whole peppers per mix.

Parsley - it's strong. About a handful of flat leaf per mix.

Lemons - 1 whole per mix

Green Beans - LOVE. About 2 handfuls per mix.

Carrots - contain sugar. I use peeled baby carrots sparingly. Maybe 1 handful per mix.

All of that in ONE days worth of juicing. I could NEVER eat all of that! AND because my guts are altered ( less absorption of nutrients ) this allows the micro-nutrients to be absorbed easier. 
These aren't the only veg/fruit I use. I try to alternate with whatever looks good.

Romaine lettuce
Mustard greens ( not advised) EW!
Parsnips
oranges
Swiss Chard

Well, I'm going to continue to experiment. It seems to be working so I hope to be steadily getting back to my old healthy self. If you are considering starting to juice, just keep a few things in mind:
1. It's kind of expensive 2. You need a good juicer ( I bought a top of the line Breville but there are good moderately priced ones too) 3. It's time consuming. 4. Clean up SUCKS......feels like I'm scrubbing the damn juicer 20 X a day.  And finally 5. It's not going to taste like one of those concoctions you get at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. It's going to taste.......like organic matter. You get used to it and even grow to like it. I'm a purist and add nothing to mine......but I'm also looking for a specific result. Salt, sugar, fat, oil, dairy, gluten, etc will not help me so I try to limit them. Do what works for you. 

Ongoing Juicing

What a learning experience. Not just learning the ins and outs of what tastes good together but what my body can handle. I tried to do an all juice fast but it just wasn't enough. I need more calorie-wise. I haven't given up though. I continue to drink juice at least 3 times a day. And I have seen a difference in several ways. My stomach pain is GONE. It's too early to contribute this fully to the juicing though, I think this is a 'time will tell' thing. Less intestinal noise and far less bloating. TMI: poop info. Green and so different in consistency. More often as well. This is a good thing. Trust me.

My reactive hypo has come up a couple of times. I think it was brought on by too many fruit sugars. I've cut back to just 1 apple per mix and so far that seems to be good. I'm using an eclectic mixture of 80/20 that ranges from swiss chard, kale, spinach, greens of any kind and also cukes, lemons, ginger, celery, yellow peppers ( my fave) and a leafy green like parsley or cilantro. Use sparingly because both are very strong in juice form. I've had to choke down a few mixtures that were way too strong. lol.

I'm going to continue adding as much juice as I can to my daily diet. I'm not counting calories, I'm just kind of doing it free-style. I'm trying to limit my solid foods to salad, eggs and oatmeal. I'm taking a multi-fit and a calcium twice a day. 

Overall, I feel pretty good. I hope I can get myself back to feeling great.

Day 1

Weight: 142 lbs.
I'm feeling blah this morning and like I got too much sleep. My son decided he's going to try the juice fast too. So this morning we juiced : 1 bunch of curly kale, 1 english cucumber, 1/2 lemon, 4 stalks celery, 10 baby carrots, bunch flat leaf parsley, 2 green apples, thumb size piece of ginger. 16 oz each over ice. It's good but I have to drink it slowly...my stomach is clenchy. Alex sucked his down in a second. Grrrr. Coffee headache.

Made a second batch for 'snack time' which will be around 9 am I guess. That one was 2 heads romaine, 1 red apple, 1 lemon, cilantro, parsley. The snack will be about 12 oz. I want to drink my lunch before we go out today so I'll buy some veg this morning and make it up for around noon. I also have to remember to drink at least 40 oz of water today in between juices. Gah, so much peeing!

Day 2

Day 2

I was so sick yesterday. I don't know what it was. Maybe the combination of stopping everything at once or the strength of the juice? Unknown. I just know by 5 pm, I was ready for some solid calories. So, I broke down and had 2 eggs and a small salad with gluten free dressing. I'm not going to kick myself too much, I did 3/4 of the day juicing, that's a good start.

This morning I had 1/4 cup of oats. No coffee. My head still aches. I'm supposed to see my bariatric doc today. I'm hoping for some answers. Fingers crossed. I'll add in 2 - 20 oz of juice today with some low cal regular protein and veg. I'm thinking this might help with that sick feeling.

My insides are BROKEN. Step 1 ........

Hi. My name is Michelle and I am a gastric bypass patient. Along with this surgery, I have had a grand total of 13 invasive surgeries on my guts. It's a mess in there. I've abused this body to its breaking point and now, I'm paying for it. 

So, I'm going to run another experiment on myself. I'm a sciencey-type so this is a way of trying to sort out what exactly is causing my problems. Last summer I did something similar, cut out all gluten, dairy, caffeine, and sugar. The first week was murder but something wondrous happened after that, I felt GREAT. The thing that de-railed me? A 2 week trip to NYC on vacation.....because...well, FOOD everywhere and sooooo good. And vacation. You understand.

Once back home I just couldn't get back on that wagon. It wasn't for lack of trying. I don't know, it wasn't the same. So, I continued to eat a 'normal' diet and workout. In Oct. 2013 I ran the Spartan Super at Wintergreen. It was an ordeal, but that's another story. This story starts there. Post-race my gastro wasn't the same. I can't put my finger on it. But I've been suffering since then with pain, internal and external. I had my vitamin levels checked a month ago and I'm anemic ( which I knew ) and so I just beefed up my vitamins. Finally, in desperation, I made an appointment with a bariatric doc. Not my original, because he has long retired. Feels funny running back to these people, I don't even know if they will be able to help me. 

I'm a researcher. And just plain curious. Cancer, diverticulitis, IBS, Crohn's, etc. People who are diagnosed with these diseases will try anything for relief. How do you heal the inside? How do you bolster your immune system? What do your cells crave? Your intestinal tract works HARD, that's a huge expenditure of energy, which taxes the whole system. What if we give that system a break? Allow it to expel the harmful toxins like refined sugar and caffeine completely and focus on what it is supposed to be doing, sucking in those micronutrients. I'm at the point where I feel compelled to give it a try.

Today I bought a very expensive juicer. I bought organic produce. Starting tomorrow morning I will begin a 10 day juice fast. No solids. It will consist of 5 or 6 drinks per day ( up to 20 oz a piece) and lots of water in between. The mixtures will depend on what I have a taste for but will remain 80% vegetable and 20% fruit. I will take 1000 mg Vitamin D along with it. 

This morning I weighed 142 lbs. I feel bloated and sluggish. I crave 'sweet' and 'salt'. I am sad that there will be no coffee tomorrow. I expect to feel very bad for a few days but am hopeful that by day 4-5 I will be better. I will try to log all of my mixtures and daily status here because I just don't want to clog up Facebook. Some people don't really give a shit what you're eating. LOL.

Day 3. The first week of any change is always the hardest. I have re-framed what will be "acceptable" because the other plan was going to be a big, fat failure. Finding foods that are within the "limits" ( no wheat gluten and no dairy in any form) are pretty much the guns I'm sticking to for now. I added back my one cup of coffee in the morning ( oh my jesus I HAD to) and whereas having absolutely NO sugar or salt for the rest of my life sounds great in theory, it just won't work. Sooooo, I'm doing what I gotta do. I know that my biggest problems are my addiction to wheat and the terrible intolerance I have for lactose....and by cutting off those chickens heads, eventually the animal dies and I no longer crave. Yay me. It's not quitting that is the bitch, it's the staying quitted. Hehe, the daily 'seeing' and 'coveting' and 'ohmygawdthatlooksahmayzing'. Emotional shit too cause I will eat a feeling in a nanosecond fee sure. Here's my eating for the day.

7:30 am - Tall blonde soy mist with 2 splenda ( on the way to get my son)
8:40 am - Creamy brown rice farina with almonds and raisins (new food....tasted like ass)
Noon - Broiled squash, eggplant, peppers in grape seed oil and herbs with 2 oz chicken
2:00 pm - A few cold broiled veg
5:00 pm - Mexican. ( small amount of polenta, beans, homemade salsa and kale/lettuce)

I also experimented with brownies today. Made 2 batches of black bean brownies. Not bad. Had one. And just now 7:02 ate 1/4 cup raisins.

I'm not counting calories anymore. I inherently know how much each thing is worth. I'm looking to feel better, not drop weight. I might have another brownie later. lol.

Day 1. And I've already backslid on the high ideal that I wanted to uphold. I really need to relax a little. But I know ME. Give a mouse a cookie, and he'll want a glass of milk. I cannot give myself leeway, at least not in the beginning. I have to be Nazi militant in my dedication. Holy Balls Of Headache!!! I wake up with a screamer and my husband is making a huge pot of coffee. "Have a cup", he smirks, "it aint gonna kill you." Fahk. My brain grows an arm and before I realize what has happened, there is a cup of coffee in my hand. I use almond milk and 1 splenda, it tastes like CRAP. So I drink half and dump the rest. Take Advil. Eat my 1/4 cup oats with almonds and raisins. Banana at 9am. Lunch is 3 oz chicken, polenta, black beans, avocado, red pepper and lettuce. Stuffed. 1/4 cup raisins at 2pm with 2 oz chicken. My head is still not good. And I itch. Why? No clue. Making a gluten-free meatloaf and kale salad for dinner. I hate this part. De-tox makes me all kinds of evil. Gah.