Day 6

It's been an interesting day! Andrew and I really struggled last night, because we weren't hungry at dinner time and so we didn't really want to juice. But we figured we should still give our bodies the fuel to burn. Andrew just halved the recipe, but I went the full 30 ounces.

Today Andrew and I did some research online and discovered we might actually be drinking too MUCH juice. Found all this stuff saying about 60 ounces of juice a day is great, with a TON of water in there, too. And that makes sense, because after two of the 30 ounce drinks in a day we are often not hungry for the third 30 ounce drink. So we're going to cut out a juice, and just drink those two 30 ounce drinks all throughout the day, with plenty of water in between. Andrew weighed himself and still hadn't lost more than the 19 pounds in a few days, so we figured we're getting too full on juice. So we're going to trim it back a little and see how we feel.

Today was much better for both of us. I had a huge potluck at work that smelled SO GOOD!!!! And everyone was like, "I couldn't do that, how are you able to be here and not eat????" and I just felt so proud of myself that I looked at that food and the heaping, overflowing plates people were eating and thought, "Ew." Not for the taste, but for how much food was being consumed. Some people were going back for seconds and thirds. And I just sat there going, "No wonder I gained weight, I used to pile my plate and go back for seconds on certain things." So I was able to answer them that I was actually doing just fine, that everything smelled and looked fantastic, but that I was okay.

And on the way home, I found myself really wanting to eat apples. APPLES. This was after looking over at a guy eating Jack in the Box curly fries while he was driving. I thought, "Those look good...I want an apple." My drinks taste predominantly apple, and so I really want one, hahaha.

I'm still not weighing myself until tomorrow. But I just am so happy at what this process is doing for my MIND, just as much as what it will do for my body. Looking around now, almost everyone I see makes me cringe at the things they are putting into their bodies. And they don't have medical issues and are thin a lot of the times and think that it's all good. But the amount of processed, unhealthy food they are taking in...knowing what I PHYSICALLY know now about how that stuff affects the body, it makes me wish more people had the willpower to eat more fruits and veggies. We all "know" that it's "good for you", but I just never knew the extent to which that was true until now.

After some other research, we discovered that Joe Cross (the guy from "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead") ate nothing but fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds for FIVE MONTHS when he came off of his 60 day juice thing. I don't think we'll be that extreme, but I think that would be a great way to wean back into food, by starting off eating foods that are rich in micronutrients for a couple of weeks, and then bringing in other things (fish, chicken, etc) sparingly at first. Joe says he himself doesn't eat a lot of chicken, or even fish as much. He likes tuna and shrimp. I may try tuna again, see if my taste has changed for it. If not, then I'm eating fish and chicken, hahaha. We found a local vendor at the Dallas Farmer's Market that sells chicken so we don't have to eat the cruddy grocery store processed stuff. I plan on eating a lot of veggie-packed salads and fruits. And I will probably always juice for breakfast, moving onto fruit ones and all sorts of different recipes once the 60 days are over. I love the energy it gives me early on in the day.

The fact that I'd probably pick an apple over pizza today is astounding, and SO encouraging, to me. Andrew had food in at his work, and he had similar thoughts of "it isn't even worth what that would do to my body". The fact that our brains were that influenced by the foods we were eating really is a weird and powerful thing. Our pizza in the future will probably almost always be homemade by Andrew so we know what is going into it and can control the calories and ingredients. Luckily Andrew is a good cook and likes it, because I have a feeling he will be making healthy versions of all of our favorite foods from now on, hahaha.

Several people have told me and Andrew that they are inspired and want to do a version of this themselves. Juicers have already been ordered. It just amazes me to think of the chain this has gone through. Juicing has obviously been around for awhile, but Joe Cross's documentary specifically has affected so many lives, of people who had never even thought of the concept much, other than knowing it used to be that infomercial with Jack Lalane (and no one takes those seriously). But I think Joe put it in simple terms, showed his journey from beginning to end, and he feels passionately about helping people. I found out today through watching interviews that he PAID for Phil to do this with him. Paid for the cabin by the lake for ten days, and for people to follow Phil around and for the juicer he used. There was no big production company footing the bill. Joe had to stop paying after Phil did 60 days because he couldn't afford it anymore. But he was so glad to have helped, he gave people his personal number on the journey and said: "Call me, if you want some help on it, I'm there!" And he said only Phil called him. The Lord has worked through Joe to heal and help SO MANY people out there, and it's truly amazing to think of the chain of events, of how many people are connected between me and Joe. Joe started and just a few people had heard of this at first. Then by word of mouth (and a whole lot of people) it reached Troy in Indiana, who posted on Facebook at just the right time in Andrew's and my life to do this. And we have people taking it for themselves and passing it onto others. It's just a beautiful thing, and it makes me realize that doing this isn't isn't just about me and Andrew, it's knowing that we might inspire someone to make a life-saving change. I am just so thankful the Lord brought us to this, and is bringing others to it through us.

I came across Proverbs 3:5-6 recently and I've just been reflecting on it a LOT lately:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths."

**Sidenote, I found this verse on a day when I was sad and had been looking up verses suggested to me by a girl in my home group to reflect on. I closed the Bible, and thought I was still needing more words. So I took the advice my Uncle Scott gave my dad once, to just open the Bible to a random page and begin reading. Sure enough, this was exactly what I needed to be reminded of on that day, and it's been in my mind since.**

He made my path straight, and I don't yet know all of the blessings that it will bring, that HE will bring. I am trusting in Him and going where He guides me. He's not going to lead me down the wrong path, and ALL I HAVE TO DO is have faith and trust and love our Father. I've been fighting that, thinking I need to control what happens to me: how foolish that is!! Letting go and trusting Him to lay out His plans for me feels so much better than "being in control" did.

My head is so much clearer than it was. I just wish you all could do a Freaky Friday thing for a few minutes and feel how WONDERFUL I feel. You'll just have to take my word for it!! =)

Tomorrow is day seven: a whole week. I'm anxious to keep going, I am LOVING this!!!