Day One - Fun in the Sun.

Hello!  AJ here, starting a blog to document my adventures on a 60 juice fast.  But first, a bit of background.

I was diagnosed with severe, diffuse ulcerative colitis exactly one year ago.  In that year, I have been on many strong drugs, including predisone, 6-MP, and several others.  During that time, my doctor advised me to start on a low-residue diet and gradually add more foods over time.  That diet, and those drugs, made me fat, and made me look and feel sick, though I was technically in remission, and not flaring.

I have always been interested in vegetarianism, in healthy eating, and in a more sports-oriented lifestyle...but I have never lived those for long, not really.  When I dabbled in healthy vegetarian/vegan eating I felt great, but I was not committed.  I feel as though my life clock is ticking now, and at 42 years old, I need to get a handle on my health.  My father died a terrible, painful death to stage four colon cancer.  My risk is 40% greater, just because of that family history coupled with my disease.

That's where the 60 day juice fast comes in.

I watched a documentary about a man, Joe Cross, who also has an autoimmune disease and was tethered to drugs to keep him 'healthy' while he slowly killed himself with bad food and a sedentary lifestyle.  I saw myself in that man.  And he decided that he was going to juice for 60 days, JUST JUICE, and see how it healed is body.

The results are incredible.  I urge you to watch.

So today I broke out my Breville juicer and jumped in.  After a trip to whole foods, where I picked up some organic produce and some coconut water, I made a delicious juice of pineapple, melon, and orange, with some spinach too.  I learned that it takes a TON of greens to get any juice.  But the taste was fantastic and I am already looking forward to lunch.

I do feel hungry, and I am drinking some seltzer.  I am also already in the bathroom a lot, so I know the detox process has begun.  After I drank the juice, I felt almost high, like my vision was clearer, but my head was foggy.  I know that too, will get better over the first week as my body cleans out and adjusts.

I am not going off my meds yet, but I admit it is my goal to be med-free in the coming year.

I invite you to follow me on my journey, and I hope that you are encouraged to make changes with me.