A Month Later

I can't tell you how many times I began writing a post about how my juicing journey was going, only to be distracted by something that prevented me from finishing it. I guess that's life though, but the month of juicing is complete and here's how it went.

• Energy levels increased
• I slept better
• I ran a total of 25.72 miles total, at an average pace of 16.5 min./mile
• Monthly grocery cost decreased by $45!
• I lost a total of 10 pounds!!!!

Would I do it again? I don't know if I would do something as severe as I did this past month again where I'm replacing several meals with juice, but juicing will become a part of my daily life.  I did have a few problems along the way. I had planned on doing juice for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and eating one solid meal of primarily vegetables. I discovered I was getting things like leg cramps while running, and at night whether I had worked out that day or not, my feet were swelling. I attributed this to either the lack of meat proteins, or the fact that I hadn't stopped eating them gradually and my body was going through withdraws.  I decided to add lean proteins such as poultry into my one solid meal, and the issues seemed to correct. Having not thought about it at the time though, I could have tried adding protein powder to my juices to see if that would have solved it, and may do so if I ever do this again.

Some good things to note that I discovered along the way. Consumption of many beets can turn your urine red, which is freaky at first, lol.  Juicing seemed to ease my period symptoms, as well as shorten my cycle.  Urine production increases A LOT!!! There were a few times I had to run to the 7-Eleven on my runs because I wasn't going to get home fast enough!  I have no idea if there's a coloration, but I did have an eczema rash on my leg before I began juicing I was having trouble clearing up that did disappear during the time I was juicing so it is possible it helped.  But also remember that you are isolating yourself if you chose to do this. There were a few times I was with friends throughout the month that I had to test my will power not to have the food that they were enjoying!  Also the juice doesn't replace water, you still have to hydrate with your 8-10 glasses of water a day. This can be really hard when you are already drinking everything.

As I said, this isn't something I think I will be doing again to this degree, at least for a while. I'm curious to see how long the weight stays off, or as I begin to eat solid meals again if it will gain back.  I do know for certain that I felt better while juicing, and I also know I did increase my fruit and vegetable intake last month. Because of these reasons I will be trying to have at least one juice a day from now on.