6-Month Post-Fast Update (Before and After Pictures)

EDIT: Please read my Nearly 3 Years Later: 3 Broken Bones & 200+ Pounds - The Long-Term Effects of Juice Fasting update before considering juice fasting.  I hope that my experience will provide you with real-world information about long-term juicing.



Hi there!

It's been almost six months since I ended my last 40-day juice fast, so I figured I would stop by to let you all know how it's been going.

First, I started lifting weights - heavy weights.  I learned from reading New Rules of Lifting for Women that low weights/high reps doesn't work.  The more research I do, the more I learn that the only way to really burn fat on a consistent basis is to build muscle since it's the muscle that metabolizes the fat.  Sure there are many more variables and this is a blanket statement, but let me show you what has happened since ending the fast - especially since I have been promising you before and after pictures.

The first picture is of me in June of 2011. I think I was ~165-170lbs.

The second picture is one month or so after my fast.  I was ~145-150lbs.

The third picture is of me last month, mid-August 2012, which was about 5 months after the second picture was taken.  I was ~155lbs.  Yes, 10 pounds heavier!  But as you can see I am more toned and less squishy, though I wish those thighs would go away first.  

I have had some incredible (and hot) women take me under their wings and are guiding me through the weightlifting/ body building process.  No, I am not trying to bulk, but I am trying to build muscle, which leads to burning fat.  It also leads to bones that are more dense as well as a better heart not that there was anything wrong with my heart.  Also, I had to come to terms with the fact that getting the body that I really want will take a minimum of two years.  Yes, years.  It's like my friend's personal trainer told her when she asked how long it would take her to look like a Baywatch babe, "How long did it take you to get where you are now?"

One of the major things that I am learning is how to EAT.  It took a few weeks, but I am finally up to 2000 - 2200 calories a day with the right macros (30% protein, 30% fats, 40% carbs).  I recently purchased Schuler and Cosgrove's latest lifting book, The New Rules of Lifting for Abs.  Let me stop here and say it is not a book on how to get 6-pack abs.  Rather it is a book on the importance of strengthening your core while lifting.  This is super important for me since my physical therapist found that my leg injury was due to a weak core last year. 

The biggest success I have had is that I am no longer weighing myself daily.  With muscle weighing more than fat, it was really messing with my head.  Other benefits include being able to actually do push ups.  After my fast I could not do one.  I had no idea I was so weak.  Now, not only can I do them, but I can do them while my lower legs are on the swiss exercise ball.  And I just did 44 of those swiss ball push ups the other day! From 0 to 44.  Amazing.

Regarding hair loss, I had another round of it.  This is only the second time going through this process, but I suspect it is because this was the second 40-day fast that I did 100% correctly.  My hair just stopped falling out last week, and it was falling out for ~6 weeks.  It was not as horrible as the first time.  It will be interesting to see what happens next.

I have enjoyed receiving your feedback and insight.  For example, some have sent me new information about the kombucha teas that I didn't have while fasting.  Those posts were updated with the new information.  Thank you!

I am glad that I finished the fast, because once again it wiped the slate clean for me.  My head is clear and I feel great.  And now that I am lifting, I am stronger than ever.  

Liver Gallbladder Flushes

EDIT: Please read my Nearly 3 Years Later: 3 Broken Bones & 200+ Pounds - The Long-Term Effects of Juice Fasting update before considering juice fasting.  I hope that my experience will provide you with real-world information about long-term juicing.



Liver/gallbladder flushes are one of the hottest trends for those who do detoxes, and I must admit that I tried it.  Yes, I did expel what looked like "stones".  However, since I never leave a stone unturned (tacky, I know), I used a tool to place one onto something to examine it.  I used the tool to press it, and what do you know?  It completely disintegrated and was very oily.

Here's what I know: The Epsom salt flush was a horrendous experience for me.  My kidneys took a beating and they were sore for a day or two.  Do not do this "flush"!

For a more scientific explanation of this trendy flush, read Why You Should Never Do a Liver Flush.

Day 2: I survived the first day...and it wasn't that bad

EDIT: Please read my Nearly 3 Years Later: 3 Broken Bones & 200+ Pounds - The Long-Term Effects of Juice Fasting update before considering juice fasting.  I hope that my experience will provide you with real-world information about long-term juicing.


Stats:
Weight: 163.6lb
BMI: 36.3%
Metabolic age: 50

I think the 4-pound drop is pretty normal during the first few days; plus my body is still recovering from the crazy southern food that I indulged in while in Savannah last week.  The hunger pangs aren't terrible since I simply drink my juice whenever I am hungry. I had a lull of a headache yesterday and slept pretty hard despite not being to get to sleep initially.

Work and school are both stressing me out.  I wish I could be done with both.  Hopefully this juice will help my moods to level out.  I had to report an ethics violation on my boss last week since she instructed us to change the color of certain monies so that she is not connected with a certain company and can work for them.  A former sponsor of a program that I worked on has been indited doing something very similar and a lot of my former employees have been subpoenaed to testify.  I am trying to keep my nose clean while waiting for it to hit the fan.

My significant other and I talked last night about my weight.  His point was that he loved me as a person.  My point was I loathed myself being fat and am very unhappy.   He had once told me about Gwyneth Paltrow complaining about how poorly she was treated when she was in her fat suit.  I explained that when I lost the weight for the first time, suddenly people were treating me well and with respect; however things are going back to the way they were as my weight crept back up.  I told him that this is the first time I have normal social relationships and have had friends...and it's slipping through my fingers again.  I know my friends aren't shallow, but I end up in this abyss of depression and won't allow anyone to be near me.

I remember one of the doctor shows talking about that belly fat is known for absorbing hormones and causing mood swings and depression, so there is some level of physiological explanation for this phenomenon.

All in all, the first day was generally positive.

Day 1: I cannot believe I let myself go to this extent

EDIT: Please read my Nearly 3 Years Later: 3 Broken Bones & 200+ Pounds - The Long-Term Effects of Juice Fasting update before considering juice fasting.  I hope that my experience will provide you with real-world information about long-term juicing.



Stats:
Weight: 167.5lb
BMI: 37.5%
Metabolic age: 50
Waist: 33"
Belly: 42"
Hips: 44.5"
Chest: 43"
R Thigh: 26"
L Thigh: 25.5"
R Upper Arm: 13"
L Upper Arm: 12.5"

I just weighed myself this morning for the first time in almost a year.  167.5 pounds!!!  How could that have happened???  And then I start getting angry - angry at myself and angry at my significant other.  He is also overweight.  I have begged and begged for him to not bring certain foods into the house, and yet he continues to do so.

Why is that when someone puts alcohol in front of a former alcoholic, the person is chastised and looked down upon as being an evil tempter?  And yet, when someone puts rich foods in front of someone who is a former fatty, the former fatty is looked down upon for having "no self control"???

When I finished my first juice fast, I had lost 20 pounds.  I began eating well and lost another 50 pounds.  As soon as I started dating my significant other, I started gaining and gaining and gaining.  I begged and begged him to not bring cheese into the house, wine, etc.  I have a weakness for it. He would always pull the "Oh just one time won't hurt you," over and over again until it became all of the time. I cannot live like this.

Last Week
Last week I spent a week in Savannah for a business meeting.   Since I was going to start juicing today, Savannah ended up becoming my Mardi Gras.  I drank a lot, ate a lot, etc.

It was amazingly horrifying.  I try to eat whole foods and control what I eat.  In fact, I rarely eat in restaurants.  By the end of the week, my ankles were so swollen that they looked like I was wearing a fat suit.  My legs were throbbing and I was going through boughts of mood swings.  The mood swings were induced by the alcohol, which has been a known issue for me. 

I am terrified that once I am done with this fast that I am just going to go right back to where I started without the support or team work of my significant other.  And that's just depressing.