10 days of juice... day 1: so it begins

The Mean Green Juice: 6 kale leaves, 4 celery stalks, 1/2 lemon
2 green apples, thumb of ginger, 1 cucumber.

So... for better or for worse (but hopefully, for better) I've decided to juice. And only juice. For 10 days. Ten whole days. Still with me? Ok, good. So yes, you read correctly - only juice for ten whole days. And no, I'm not crazy. And no, I'm not a fanatic. Truthfully, I'm pretty ordinary (except for the stuff that makes me extraordinary), but even this is one for the books.


Honestly, if you had told me a year ago I'd be juicing, I would laugh in your face and then eat another krispy kreme. But a few months ago, when a few women I'm friends with in an online natural hair group were bouncing around their positive experiences and health benefits from juicing, it caught my attention. One, because for as long as I can remember I've suffered from chronic migraines and two, because like almost every other woman in America, I want to lose weight. So after asking a billion questions, researching recipes and online communities, and finally watching the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," which I highly recommend for the information alone, I decided to go all in... for ten.

And so here we are at the end of day one of my juice fast. I can't lie - I could go for a cheeseburger right now... but I won't. I'm actually not (really) hungry - I'm not full, but not hungry. The first juice of the day was a little rough, but not as bad as I envisioned. However, my friend Tiffany who has agreed to fast with me, added extra kale to the second batch and after tasting it I was about ready to call the whole thing off! But by the third, with a tad bit more ginger (and less kale), I felt reassured that yes, I can do this. I even managed to do a 1.5 mile run this evening with my running group and survive. I will admit I do have a slight headache at the moment, which I'm not sure whether to thank my juice or my run for, but it's minor and I can sleep with it. I know a detox like this comes with side effects the first few days, so I'm not worried. Overall, I think day 1 was a success - I didn't get a krispy kreme, and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow.

We'll see how I feel in the morning...