Day #3 of Juice Fast

Today I feel a zillion times better than I did on the first two days of my fast.  Last night I, again, had a terrible headache and went to bed early (7:30ish).  Unfortunately, my neighbor chose that time to mow the lawn---this is one of the downsides of long summer days and a neighbor who obsesses over the lawn (upside being access to their awesome vegetable garden).  I appreciate that my neighbors are so passionate about making the exterior of the house look so stupendous. Last night, however, I didn't appreciate it at all.  No fucking way.

I crashed almost immediately after the clamor of the lawn mower ceased.  And, again, I slept like a baby.  I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep.  Then it occurred to me that I didn't want to.  I felt damn good.  No headache.

I made my morning juice (blueberries, a cucumber, apple, orange and ginger) and started my day.  So far, I feel pretty good although I've had moments where the headache recurs only for a brief period and then disappears again.  I also have had moments where I experience pangs of hunger.  Supposedly this will go away soon. I'm a wee bit fatigued but then I have bursts of energy.  It's all so strange.

I close my eyes sometimes and feel waves of energy moving around inside of me-- reminiscent of the days when I'd focus on my kundalini in meditation.  And there have been moments where I feel that it's much easier to breathe.

Right now I have no headache and I feel fucking awesome.  In an hour, though, that could all change.  I've had 2 juices since my morning juice and they're seriously heavy on the greens.  Supposedly leafy greens are one of the healthiest things one can juice.  Unfortunately, my Champion juicer doesn't do the best job at juicing leafy greens.  It takes a lot longer to juice something that's leafy green intensive than it would be to juice more solid fruits/veggies (apples, carrots, beets, etc.).  During one of my hunger moments, I really felt like devouring some kale that I was juicing.  Willpower, Willpower, Willpower is my new mantra.

Supposedly the worst is over.  Everything I've read about juice fasting is that the first couple of days are the worse.  For me, that was accurate.  Day 1 was awful.  It was like one of those horrible NYC hangovers where I couldn't move without a jolt of pain zapping through my head.  Back in the days of NYC, I partied so much, I wonder just how many of those toxins are still stored in my body...

Supposedly the hunger pains will disappear by tomorrow.  I hope so.  

I read a really interesting article on the stages of juice fasting.  There are apparently 5 stages:

Stage 1 - First two days which I've surpassed. Yay!
Stage 2 - Days 3 to 7.
Stage 3 - Days 8 to 15
Stage 4 - Days 16 to 30
Stage 5 is breaking the fast.

So, according to this, my 7 day fast won't even take me to the 3rd stage.  While I'd love to be all gung ho and extend it to 10 or even 15 or (gasp) 20 (or maybe 30?), I don't want to commit to it just yet.  What I will do is continue the fast and monitor my progress daily.  I really want to get to Stage 4.  This is the excerpt I read from that article which sparked my interest and hunger to truly heal my body via the fast (pun intended):

Stage 4 (Day 16 to Day 30)

The body is completely adapted to the fasting process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue is pink and the breath is fresh. The healing work of the organs is being completed. After the detoxification mechanisms have removed the causative agent or render it harmless, the body works at maximum capacity in tissue proliferation to replace damaged tissue. While a short fast will reduce the symptoms, a longer fast can completely heal. Homeostatic balance is at optimum levels. The lymphatic system is clean except for a rare discharge of mucus through the nose or throat. After day 20, the mind is affected. Heightened clarity and emotional balance are felt at this time. Memory and concentration improve.

The last two sentences are what make me want to continue.  Years of drug and alcohol abuse have impaired my cognitive senses and growing up in such a violently dysfunctional home didn't help my emotional well-being.  To purge myself of all the damage that's been done over the year is inviting... but 30 days?  Wow.  That's quite a commitment and one I'm not ready to make right now.  I can always move the bar.  I initially wanted to start with a 10 day fast but decided to do 7 days because I didn't want to over-commit.   I've read too many testimonials from people who committed to a 30 day fast and stopped at 5.  I'm being realistic.  Baby steps.

Right now I have committed to 7 days.  If, by the 7th day, I feel fanfuckingtastic, then I will extend it to 10...