Juice Fast
Juice Feasting

Our 10 day juice fast was amazing, juicing for health is something we will do for the rest of our lives.  Read on for all the details of what we did.

You say Juice Fast I say Juice Feast

These are both the same thing.

I prefer to use the word feast rather than fast because;

• the word feast carries with it connotations of abundance and joy whereas the word fast carries with it connotations of deprivation and discipline.
• we are feasting on juice not fasting from juice (a fast literally means you are abstaining - fasting - from juice.  For these 10 days we feasted abundantly on juice.  What we fasted from was solid food.

This is really just a matter of semantics but I have come to know that the words we choose carry an energy that is very strong and our words do affect much.  I believe it is very important to always choose words carefully and consciously. 

I choose the term JUICE FEAST as I love the feelings and energy that come with that.

But because people may not yet be too familiar with that term I will still use the word fast here and there throughout this page.

What is Juice Feasting?

Juice feasting (or doing a juice fast) means to drink only fresh made green juices for a period of time.

During this time no solid meals are ingested.

Low glycemic fruits and vegetables that are organic, ripe and in season are used to make the juices.

Coconut water and herbal teas (fresh, no additives) can also be had as well as vegetable broth soup, chia drinks and even some healthy fats (coconut oil for example).

Juice feasting is a type of detox cleanse.  It is a time of retreat for your entire being.  It is a time to allow your physical and emotional body to heal, recover, repair and/or release what it can at this time.

When you are juicing for health like this, it is important to support yourself as much as possible;

• schedule in as much quiet / meditative time as possible
• do your juice fast with someone (the support of another can make it easier)
• get plenty of rest
  
• don't overdo exercise but rather engage in yoga, walking, rebounding, tai chi, chi gung, etc.
  
• avoid chemicals in body care products
• engage in inspiring and uplifting activities
• avoid violent/aggressive people, tv shows, internet sites, movies, etc.

It also helps to:

• Scrape your tongue as needed
• Keep your teeth clean, you may be amazed at how much your body pushes out through your teeth!
  
• Dry skin brush daily
• Do oil pulling every morning
  

How to Juice Fast

What I will share with you is what we did, this may not be the best recipe for you but it is what worked well for us this time.

This is what our fridge looked like on Day One of our juice feast;

The more prepared you are the easier this will be.  We shopped mostly at our local Farmers Market and stocked up the night before Day One and then re-stocked as needed as the feast went on.

What We Had Each Day

We did our juice fast for 10 days and this was basically what we had each day (per person);

• 3 green juices a day (7:30am, 12:30pm, 5:30pm).  Large green juice about 20oz each made with a mixture of greens.
  
• 2 coconut waters mixed with citrus juice a day (mid morning & mid afternoon).  Water from one coconut mixed with the juice from 3-5 grapefruits and/or oranges [* although this has worked great for us in the past, I now don't do these coconut water/citrus juices any longer as I don't want that much sugar going in my body.  Instead, if I want this flavour I will dilute it down with water or add chia seeds in - about a tablespoons of chia seeds mixed into a big glass of half coconut water/citrus & half water.]
  
• Lemon juice from 2 lemons once a day (sipped throughout the morning) or added in to my drinking water.
• water, herb teas as wanted (we didn't have a whole lot).
• small shot of Master Tonic most days.

Since writing this page, I have added in the following on subsequent juice feasts / juice fasts / cleansing fasts:

• Vegetable broth soup (I make a huge pot of this at the beginning of the cleanse)
• Sips or small shots of sauerkraut juice
  
• Chia seeds (as mentioned above)
• Fat in the form of a little coconut oil or grass fed butter/ghee blended into either my broth or my herbal teas (every cleanse is different, on some my body wants more of this on others, not so much)
  

What it Cost

On average, our 10 juice feast costs us less than $14/day per person.

This juice fast was done in America, so keep in mind that costs may be different depending on where you are in the world.  In most tropical parts of the world these costs would be much less. 

If you shop in expensive grocery stores or order lots from juice bars, your costs will be much more.

I provide this information to give you an idea that you can work with.  Here is a detailed account of what we bought and the costs.

This is for 2 people doing 10 days of juicing (in US dollars) in 2013:

• 8 heads of Romaine ($8)
  
• 8 heads of Chard ($8)
  
• 10 heads of Kale ($11)
  
• 4 Fennel ($6)
  
• 2 bunches Cilantro ($2)
  
• 4 bunches Parsley ($4)
  
• 5 bunches Celery ($10)
  
• 1/2 case of Carrots ($18)
  
• 1/2 case of Beets ($18)
  
• 1 case Apples ($20)
  
• 2 cases mixed Citrus (Oranges/Grapefruits) ($48)
  
• 1/2 case Lemons ($16)
  
• 36 Coconuts ($57)

SUB-TOTAL = $226

From a Juice Bar (the few times we didn't make at home):

• 4 large Green Juices ($39.80)
  
• 2 Coconut Waters ($5.98)
  
• 1 large Orange Juice ($4.25)

SUB-TOTAL = $50.03

GRAND TOTAL = $276.03 ($13.80 per day per person)

Tips to keeping your costs down;

1. Buy things by the case.
2. Buy from Farmers Markets.
3. Grow your own food.
4. Avoid expensive juice bars - make your juices at home.
   
5. Know which stores have better prices.
6. Forage for food - wild harvest food if possible.

Tools, Equipment Needed

This is what we used during our juice fast:

• Juicer - click to read about our juicer
  
• Manual Citrus Juicer - for lemons, oranges and grapefruits
• Big Knife - for opening coconuts
• Smaller Knives - for cutting produce
  
• Cutting Board

How We Felt

In a word - AMAZING!!

Before the juice feast I was tired a lot and often couldn't get myself motivated to do all the things I wanted to do.

By Day 5 I had oodles of energy (and still do now 3 days into eating again).  I felt and still feel more focused and much more productive. 

I felt satisfied during the feast, not hungry and no cravings.  The trick here is to make sure you are giving yourself enough juice, spaced out throughout the day so as to not get hungry and start craving for food.

I would recommend doing a pre-cleanse before starting and the length of your pre-cleanse is determined by how toxic your diet and lifestyle is.  The reason for the pre-cleanse is to stave off ill and/or uncomfortable feelings (headaches, nausea, flu-like symptoms, etc.) during your juice feast.  Click here to read more about what happens when your body is in cleanse mode and how you may feel.

You can do some colon cleansing (enemas, colemas or colonics) while juice feasting but we didn't find that necessary this time.  We felt great and our bowels moved well during the entire feast ... if that is not the case for you, consider cleansing your colon to assist in removal of toxins.

Speaking of the colon; I had a solid elimination on Day One and thereafter my bowels moved often but always liquid.  This will be different for each person and can be different for the same person during subsequent feasts or detox cleanses.

I didn't lose much weight during the feast and neither did John.  Maybe a few pounds each.  We weren't juicing for weight loss, we were juicing for health so we certainly weren't focused on weight loss being our goal.    

I truly believe that our bodies are innately wise - during a feast such as this your body will only release what it is able to at this time.  For some, that may be lots of weight, for others it may be some old emotional baggage, it may be a physical healing or perhaps a combination.

Each time I do a retreat like this, I simply put things in place (within and around me) to support my retreat experience and then let my body get on with whatever it most needs to attend to during that time.

Eating Again

Introducing solid foods back into your days is a very important part of any detox cleanse, including juice feasting.

Your digestive system hasn't broken down any solid matter for 10 days and it needs time to slowly adjust back to digesting solid and more complex foods. 

This is, in many ways, the most important part of doing any sort of cleanse or juice fast. 

Doing a juice feast or any cleansing fast is important but, more important is how you break your fast and the diet and lifestyle choices you make in between your cleanses.

During your first few days of eating, it is very important to do the following;

• keep up your intake of liquids (drink on empty stomach not with food).
• chew your food very well (chewing helps to break down food and also signals your brain to send digestive enzymes to your stomach).
• eat high water content fruits and vegetables only, for the first days and then SLOWLY begin to add in more complex foods.
• avoid anything processed, junky or refined for the first few days and limit or avoid as you move forward
• avoid cooked foods for the first few days and enjoy high water content fruits and vegetables.

Our first meals consisted of lots of cucumbers and tomatoes.  As you move forward keep in mind proper food combining rules (tips for better digestion) when planning your meals.

I also prepared kale chips, coconut jerky, pesto sauce and tomato basil coconut wraps for us to have as the days moved forward.

Final Thoughts

Every time we had a juice we were flooding our body and every cell of our body with high quality and easily absorbable nutrients.

Since we were only doing juice our, usually overworked, digestive system was at rest which freed up energy to heal, repair, recover, release and grow in whatever capacity we could.

This 10 day juice feast was a priceless gift we gave ourselves.  We will continue to do juice fasts like this for the rest of our lives.  And, in between, we still make a fresh green juice every morning and make the best diet and lifestyle choices we can each day.

Our bodies have an immense capacity for healing - anything!!  Our job is simply to provide the right environment for our body to do what it innately knows how to do. 

Leave 'Juice Fast', return to 'Detox Cleanse'

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You may also like;

Why to Cleanse

Green Juice

Juicing Questions

Best Juicer

Benefits of Coconut Water

My 10th Day of Green Juice Fast (from a reader)

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