100% Juicy-Juice

This post will be about juice.  Wonderful, healthy, delicious, juice.  And what this wonderful juice has done for me.

Some may know, others may not, but the last 3 years have proven to be rather challenging for me.  Don't worry, I won't go in to all of that too much.  Suffice it to say it's been difficult.  Like molasses up-hill in January, difficult.  

But one of the many, MANY things I learned this year was the importance of taking care of my body.  I learned I am a steward of this body.  A loving Heavenly Father gave it to me, and I need to take care of it and respect it.  However, doing this has not always been easy for me. I have always struggled with exercising regularly (as in, I never did it).  And over the last few years I have developed quite a taste for uh....how you say....unhealthy food (a.k.a. Mexican food).  And as a result of these things (in connection with my uncooperative hormones post-pardum), I have been struggling to lose the 60+ pounds I gained during the last trimester of my pregnancy.  I never expected it would take this long to ditch those pounds that have gone waaaaay past pesky.  

I had heard from my brother about juicing and have tried it on and off, but last weekend I realized that if I was going to break my unhealthy eating habits I needed to "reset" my system.  I finally watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and got the motivation I had previously lacked.  I was going to do a 2-week-long juice fast.  Tonight ends day 5 and here's how it has gone so far:

Day 1:  HOW CAN A PERSON BE THIS HUNGRY AND NOT BE STARVING TO DEATH????!?!?!?!?!?!  I NEED SOMETHING TO CHEW!!!!!!!!
Day 2:  Holy.  Fuh-reak.  Tired, tired, NEED something to chew, tired.  Head feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls.
Day 3:  Okay.  Seriously.  Thank goodness for this gum.  Ahhh.  Chewing.  Also, tired.  Feel like I'm not quite awake yet.  Realized I was still craving enchiladas.  Said a prayer and asked that my desire for unhealthy food would diminish as I did this.  
Day 4:  Prayers answered.  More energy.  Hardly any headache at all.  When was the last time that was the case??!  Probably High School.  
Day 5:  LOTS more energy.   My mind feels clearer than it has in years.  I went to sleep so quickly last night and slept better than I have in years.  I don't think I've slept this deeply since the mission.  I also woke up more quickly than I think I EVER have.  My head barely hurts at all, I feel happier, and more optimistic than I have in a loooong time.  


I have been praying for a long time to be able to love who I am, and how I look.  I have been wanting to be healthier for a long time and the time was finally right for me to do this.  The Lord has been THE essential part of this process and I would have never made it past the first day without His support and blessing.  


Here are the ingredients to my 2 favorite juices so far:

Green Goodness (I have this one 2-3 times a day)
3 cups spinach leaves 
3 cups kale  
2 carrots
1 apple (I prefer Granny Smith)
1/2 of a lemon (including the peel)
1/2 of an average sized cucumber

Orange Berry Deliciousness (I like this for breakfast)
2 oranges
2 cups mixed berries  (I have blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)