DAY 22: 1.2 Pds Lost/20 Total!!!/ Feeling Great

I am psyched that I hit the 20 pound weight loss.  My mood is high, even though today was a stressful day filled with appointments. My glee may be because of a last minute comedy show offered to me for next Friday evening.  The last night of my fast I will not be worrying about being able to stay on the plan until the stroke of midnight.  Instead, I will be worrying about making people laugh.  Trust me on this. Comedy is hard, but juicing is harder.

I like doing these last minute shows.  It's kind of like the entertainment committee couldn't make up their mind between paying for another cheese tray or hiring a comic.  I don't feel as pressured to be funny, because I haven't had months to mull the upcoming show over.  Many of my performance contracts are a year in advance.  For a chronic worrier, that is hell.

I think my worrying was one of the reasons I gained so much weight.  I needed something to ease the anxiety I was always feeling.  Even as a young child, I fretted and feared. I didn't need a horror story to scare me. I scared me.  But one of the things that I have liked about this juice fasting is that I am not worried at all about my weight loss.  I know it will happen.  Just like I knew as a kid not to go into the basement.

Day 21:  juicing with a smile/ Lost 1.2 /total loss 20 pds

Quote for the day:  "Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it." Maura Stuard, Age 8

Pat Dennis
Corporate entertainer and author:
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 

The Silence of the Loons

Resort To Murder

Once Upon a Crime Anthology and more

Day 21: Zero weight Loss/Too blase' to care/18.8pds total lost

I could have invented the phrase, "whatever".  I often found myself shutting down emotionally while lifting up my hand in the air and muttering that term even before it became popular.  Today my ultra-bored dismissal and wrist-waving concerns my plateau.


There's nothing I can do about it.  If I decide to beat up the person that is "doing it to me" then I would be beating up my own body.  Complaining about it would take too much energy.  And even I am tired of my blog at times, and its constant emphasis on my juice fast and the progress I have made. 


My juice fast ends in "two garbage days" from now. Garbage day is a big deal in this house.  Our trash is picked up every Friday morning at 7:30 a.m.  Twenty-five percent of the time, we forget to put it out.  At 7:28 a.m., when we hear the rumble of the truck heading our way, one of us rushes outside and rolls the can down our long driveway, swearing the entire time.  Our garbage men have seen me in my nightie  more than the men I dated in college.


Afterwards,when we watch the truck pull away  my spouse and I always exclaim, "Garbage day comes so quickly."


Right now, with this juicing, I need all the help I can get to make me think it will end soon.  And "two garbage days" works for me.


Day 20:  still living on juice/ stayed the same/total loss 18.8

Quote for the day:  "Help Us Accept The Things The Salon Cannot Change"  Naughty Betty, writer of greeting cards, etc.

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 
and more

Day 20: 1 pd loss/18.8 pds total lost/ Laughing vs Eating

Today I decided I needed to have fun, so I met with my friend Todd Jay, a  buddy and a great comedian.  Todd is single and lives in the swinging part of the city.  Trust me, except for our friendship, he has little interest in being dragged to the suburbs to go to Costco.  But going grocery shopping alone is getting more strenuous day by day, without being able to buy or taste any of the tantalizing products I see.  Once again I brought a proxy eater, Todd.  I graciously offered to buy him lunch, knowing full well it wouldn't cost over 3 bucks.  It didn't.  A humongous slice of pizza and a 20 oz coke came in at $2.77 cents.  I sat there watching him eat, sipping on my juice that I smuggled into the store.


After that we roamed the aisles, and Todd ate every sample that I demanded he eat.  The best part of the day?  When we walked by a sample lady who yelled at us, "Dried fruit and nuts?"  After we stopped laughing, we almost answered "Why yes, we are." Todd is gay, I am aging and drying up, and frankly, we're both a little nuts.  


It was fun being in a social situation where I controlled my eating.  And I found I could focus on the other person, not on what was on my plate or what was being served next.   Plus, I wasn't tempted to eat a single bite mainly because I was laughing too hard.  


Maybe that's what we all need when any addiction starts.  A good friend that makes you laugh, and will  listen to you when you need to cry.


Day 19:  still living on juice/ .1 pound loss/total loss 18.8

Quote for the day:  "It always seems impossible until it is done." Nelson Mandela

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 
and more

Day 19: Up 1/4 pd - Struggled today to stay on track

I seem to be okay now, but today was a struggle from the moment I woke up.  Wanting to quit this 30 day juice fast had nothing to do with my weight gain.  I'm wise enough to know that it just my body adjusting.  Or Mrs. Feeley (my scale) teaching me a lesson in patience again.

I just want to crunch something something besides chipped ice.  Or I'd like to bite into something spongy like an Angel Food Cake.  How great would that be?  And the thing is, when I am not fasting and I can eat anything I want, I've never bought or made an Angel Food Cake on my own.  Right now it's all I can think about.

I just want to stop being the good girl, following the rules and believing in what I have been told about juicing.  Being a good girl is not easy for me.  Except for being a semi-good wife, it's not something I am use to being.  I have always been a rebel, needing to make up my own mind about every single thing.  I set my own rules.  And like the history of attempts to diet, that has rarely been successful and often filled with regrets. Yet, by now I know that I am just being me.

Maybe that is why this plan is working for me.  I decided to set me aside, and listen completely to someone else.  I owe both Joe Cross and Phil Staples from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead big time. I became such a fan of both men, that I allowed myself to actually listen for a change.  I'd  heard about juice fasting for a long time.  We've owned a Champion juicer for 20 years and a Breville juicer for three.  We used each about once a year.  But I needed to watch someone achieve spectacular results from juicing. For me, seeing is believing.

And now amazingly, I believe in myself. Even on the rough days with a gain.

Day 18: juicing like a political independent/ .2 pound gain/ 17 .8 pounds lost

Quote for the day:  "Before you quit, try." Ernest Hemingway.

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 
and more

Day 18: Down 1 1/4 - Total Loss 18 pds Tips for Staying on Track

Happy New Year!!!!!

Nope, no new resolutions for me. I'm still dealing with last year's resolutions.  Actually, I've accomplished quite a few of them.  You know, the basic lose weight, exercise more, write everyday, be nicer - the same things I'd put on my list for this year, if I needed to.  But by now, they're part of my daily life.  Habit makes a habit. I'll leave perfection for the other person.  I am just happy with doing something, after so many years of not doing anything.

I wanted to share a few things I learned along the way when I am living on juice only.

1)  I always strain my juice at least three times.  I use a fine mess kitchen strainer.  I like the taste a lot better, and I find it easier to swallow.
2)  I always sip it through a straw.  It brings out the kid in me.
3)  I always serve it over ice or chilled.
4)  When my husband sits next to me, like in a movie or while watching TV, he is not allowed to eat.  I told him if  he doesn't want to follow my juicing rules, that's fine.  He could find a new wife. Preferably a slim one, one who wouldn't be on a juice fast.  And yes, we're still married.
5)  If something is uncomfortable, I stop.  I turn off the TV if the food commercials are getting to me. I  click off the internet if I've surfed for food porn long enough that I am beginning to salivate over a dried-looking casserole. I distance myself from social situations if not eating is becoming unbearable.
6)  I drink a variety of herbal teas, everything from blueberry to chai.
7)  If juicing becomes really unbearable, I stop whatever I am doing and do something else.  Just that simple act of changing my focus will usually help to stop me from thinking about breaking the fast.
8) And if all else fails, I will pick up a good book to read.  Something like The Orchard by my friend Theresa Weir or a young adult novel like The Secret diary of Adrian Mole.  Like using a straw, reading a YA novel brings out the kid in me.  The same kid who thought everything was possible.
9)  When I am cleaning now, or putzing around the house, I wear a wireless headset that feeds off my computer.  Instead of being bored while scrubbing and reaching for a snack, I listen to BBC 4 or an audio book from Audible.com.  Nothing will make you feel more guilty about overeating than listening to The Hunger Games.
10) Like Joe did in the movie, I constantly remind myself that I have had a minimum of 68, 985 meals in my lifetime, and skipping 90 of them won't make a difference.  Wait a minute.  I take that back. It will make a big difference.  I will be happier, slimmer, healthier and proud of myself for being focused. Something that before seeing Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, I hadn't been in a long, long time.

Day 16:  Totally juicing/ 1 1.4 pound gain / 18 pounds total loss

Quote for the day:  "You aren't going to get the butt you want by sitting on the one you have."  Unknown

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 
and more

Day 17: Gained .4 pounds! And guess what? No big deal

It really isn't.  During my previous JF I had several days when I gained weight, and many days when I platued.  My body is just adjusting and for some reason decided to maintain some of the 84 ounces of juice I drink daily.  The amount I consume is pretty darn close to a gallon of liquid, which weighs 8 pounds. I am just happy the scale didn't register more.

I have not alway been this rational about a weight gain, especially while dieting.  Normally, I'd take it as a sign that the diet isn't working. Especially if I'd been on it as long as say, 24 hours.  Even a 2 ounce gain would move me to tears. I would start sputtering on the unfairness of life, why is it that other people can eat whatever they want, and yada, yada, yada.

What happens when I am not on any sort of a weight loss program?  I'd often be thrilled with only a  2 ounce gain when I'd finally found the courage to step on the scale. Or even if it were a three or four pound gain, I'd be relieved it wasn't more. In fact, I would be so relieved, I wouldn't bother to do anything about the weight gain.  In fact, I'd usually celebrate by going out to eat.

Maybe I am just too old now to create drama around my weight issues.  Or maybe at this late age, I have finally grown up.  Whatever the reason, I am so glad I am not freaking out over a couple of crummy ounces.  They will be gone, soon enough.  And the last time I checked my mailbox Playboy hadn't written, asking me to pose.  Besides, tomorrow is not only a new day but a new year.  It doesn't get better than that.

Day 16:  Totally juicing/ .4 pound gain / 16.6 total loss

Quote for the day:  "Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself."  George Bernard Shaw

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
Anne Frasier's Deadly Treats 
and more

Day 16: Lost .6 -Total Loss of 17 pounds so far

If you copy and paste the following link in your web browser - you will a photo and recipe of a dish I have been salivating over for two days ...

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html

Yep, that's what juice fasting  reduces  you to...a craving for roasted broccoli and baked sweet potato fries.  I am noticing that, unlike the last fast, I am searching the web for healthy recipes.  When I do allow myself to think about food, I think how nice it would be to have a steaming bowl of squash soup. Or a salad of spinach topped with fresh strawberries.  When my  latest order from Amazon arrived today - a Wilton Nonstick 6-cavity Donut pan for baking donuts, not frying them - I  squealed in delight when the UPS driver handed the package to me.  And tonight, after finishing the blog, I will start to collect recipes for making sugar-free, fat-free, baked donuts.  Sure, they won't taste like the real thing, but they'll look like the real thing.  And sometimes that's good enough.

For instance, I'd love to have a big diamond ring, but I'd lose it.  I lose everything (except weight for most of my life). There's not a day that goes by that I don't spend at least a half-hour looking for something.  If I ever write a memoir, it will be titled "A Life Spent Looking for Car Keys", not very catchy but totally accurate.  So instead of a massive diamond, I have an even bigger zirconia  When I look at it, it makes me smile. I feel like the poor man's Elizabeth Taylor. But more important, I don't have to worry about it.  I am sure I will have the same reaction to the baked donut.  It may not be the real thing, but I won't have to worry about eating it.

And for a compulsive overeater - stress free eating  is better than anything fried.

Day 15:  Still managing to juice fast but hanging on by a poorly painted fingernail:  17 pounds lost.

Quote for the day:  "We are constantly invited to be what we are..." Henry David Thoreau

Pat Dennis
Author
Hotdish To Die For
Hotdish Haiku
Who Died In Here?
Stand-Up and Die
and more