Juice Fast: Transition Back to Food

I've been away for a few days - attending to life.

I had an old friend come to town on Monday. We met for drinks and dinner. It was the first meal I'd had since the week before so, my selection was a Spinach Salad with Apples, Tomatoes, Walnuts and Cranberries. It was very satisfying. I washed it down with some Bud Light - my other favorite juice!

Tuesday I started my exit from fasting. I have lost 15 pounds total on this fast. I have 15 more to go. I will do another fast in a couple of weeks. I need to keep my body guessing to keep my metabolism up and also allow it to catch up to the rapid weight loss.

The Transition
Everyone probably has their own way of transitioning back to whole food. Mine works for me and helped me keep off almost all of the 23 pounds I lost last year.

Some thoughts for the transition:

1. Continue to drink a lot of water. Sometimes I add Lemons to my water. Lemon is a natural internal antiseptic which helps remove free radicals and toxins.
2. Continue to have juice for a couple meals per day (meal replace). Choose a meal (I usually do dinner) that you add in food. After a couple of days, add in a second meal - until you're completely transitioned back.
3. You have been drinking fruits and vegetables for "X" amount of days... start adding those fruits and vegetables as food, not juice.
4. Find some recipes that utilize beans (black, pink, red, white). Beans are a great source of protein and make you feel full when mixed in with vegetables and a starch.
5. Try to stay away from meat for the first few days. If you must, have a piece of chicken, turkey or fish (preferably baked or broiled) - no larger than a deck of cards.
6. Portion control. Don't let your mind trick you into thinking that you've been deprived. On the contrary, your body has been getting everything it needs. Your mind controls a lot of what you put in your mouth. Win that battle.
7. Don't get into a routine (this is my personal struggle). It's easy to go back to your old ways - because it's more than likely your old ways were easy. Make the effort to make fresh juice. Make the effort to prepare your food from scratch. This is just disciplining yourself to take care of yourself.
8. Stay away from processed and fast food. No explanation needed.

Everyone is on a journey. We may be on different paths but inevitably most of us have the same goal to live a happy rewarding life. Getting there is all about balance. You can't eat cookies and chips everyday without adding in more healthy choices to balance it out. You are what you eat and food like products generally don't come from the earth, they come from a science lab. Don't be a science project.

I think (on a food perspective) if we get back to a simpler time before fast food restaurants and boxed foods - we'll all start to see some of the chronic illnesses that are crippling our society, reverse themselves.

I truly believe that.