I started a diet today called Juice Feasting (well, I’ve actually been on it 3 days with some experimentation, but I want to be rigorous). Essentially, it involves drinking “unlimited” quantities (3-4 quarts a day) of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. People do it for as much as 90 days, and report healing all kinds of illnesses as well as extraordinary feelings of happiness, connection, energy, clarity and focus. The testimonials on the website are pretty compelling, and after just 3 days, I believe every word of it. I am feeling incredible. I am extremely happy but also more calm and focused than I’ve been in a very long time – maybe ever.
I started this diet to get my coffee addiction handled, and it worked beautifully for that, but very quickly I realized the consequences were much more far-reaching, even life-transforming. My plan is to stick to it for two weeks, then start adding solid food, but weighted towards raw food, and maybe only one meal a day of solid food, plus occasional animal or whey protein. Most of what I have read on the topic of animal protein (including my food guru Annemarie Colbin in her classic “Food and Healing”, and the New York-based Institute for Integrative Nutrition) talks about how people have varying needs for it (which may be none). Meat is a highly contractive (yang) food which, when taken appropriately, can serve to balance more expansive (yin) foods like fruits and most vegetables, and promotes focus and concentration. I will write more about this later, just to note that I am in a very expanded state right now, which is delicious, but probably not sustainable given the need to earn a living 
. Even so, I am far more grounded than I ever was when I was drinking coffee.
The thought that a modified juice feast could be a permanent lifestyle change is also very exciting. One of the great things about it is that it’s extremely easy. It takes about an hour a day, which is about the same as most people spend cooking and eating anyway.
In my next article I am going to talk about some of the other extraordinary changes that have been happening to me in the last few months, that have led up to this. But for now and without further ado, here is how it works:
The Juice Feasting Diet
I first learned about this through Steve Pavlina’s blog (I love Steve Pavlina, I want to be like him when I grow up). Steve went for 30 days, and then gave up because it made him too expanded (as mentioned above). The best reference is the Juice Feasting website. It’s got a lot of material so I am giving a summary below. Note: the site is a bit confusing, all this info is in the “Juice Feasting / Spectrum Intro” pull-down, but make sure your browser is maximized to see the sub-menus.
What you need
There are three kinds of juicers: centrifugal (the normal store type), impeller (like Champion juicers) and high-power blenders (Vitamix). Ordinary centrifugal juicers are probably not adequate to produce the 4 quarts needed daily. I have an old Champion and it works well but a bit slow. With a Vitamix, you blend the vegetables and strain them. It’s the fastest way but perhaps not as good as an impeller juicer because the food gets oxidized. This article has all the details.
Food to buy
First you need to determine the correct proportion of fruits in the juice for your metabolism. More fruits = more sugar = more expansive. You can take a fasting blood sugar test using a blood glucose monitor (about $20 at the pharmacy) to determine this (or else use common sense and your body’s reaction). In general you should juice at least 2 pounds of green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, romaine, parsley) every day, a celery bunch, a cucumber, and a few lbs of carrots if you like them. I buy big bags of spinach and romaine at Costco (not organic – I haven’t figured that out yet). From this base, add fruits, particularly apples, but anything goes (watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, orange). Right now its costing me about $10-15/day.
How it works
I juice 4 quarts in the morning. It takes me about an hour. I store them in 1-quart mason jars and bring them to work. They say its best to drink “meals” rather than to sip all day. There are some recommended supplements but I haven’t gotten into that yet.
That’s it! If you do give it a try, please drop-me a mail or comment. I think if you even try it for 2 days, you will get hooked (like me).
A note about fasting and dieting in general – Master Cleanse, HCG Diet, and Isagenix
I have often read that a 7-10 day fast should be done at least once a year for optimal health. Unfortunately, ordinary fasts don’t work for me. After a couple of days on a straight water-fast or a Master Cleanse I get quite spaced-out and a bit nauseous. Also, if you know me, my goal is to gain weight, not lose. Even losing 10 lbs would not be good for me (I might float away . Simply eating more doesn’t work for me either – I just feel bloated and eventually go back to my regular diet (and I eat quite a lot and never gain weight).
The Master Cleanse needs more said. It’s a lemon-juice and maple-syrup fast, so it is slightly caloric, and has many benefits including healing illness, detoxifying the body and redefining one’s relationship to food and to food addictions. However, it is not intended for long-term weight loss. Rebekah did it twice for 10 days. It was a great experience for her.
In general, as most of us know, diets don’t work well for weight loss. Those that do work are either not very healthy or else not long-term sustainable (ie Pritikin and other high-protein diets). Rebekah has recently had great success with the HCG Protocol. She lost over 50 lbs in 4 months and has kept it off with hardly any effort at all. She looks fabulous and feels great. The HCG diet changes your metabolism permanently. Rebekah and I are thinking about writing a website for it, as its an incredible diet.
Aside from this, I also have friends and family that are huge fans of Isagenix, which is a liquid fast consisting primarily (as I understand it) of high-quality dairy protein and green foods. I intend to try it at some point. But, it’s still processed & dried food, it’s not cheap, and it’s not a permanent lifestyle change. I like the fact that all I need to juice feast is a trip to my local grocery store .
