2 ON THE SHIFT

Mary here… I’ve noticed today that it’s actually more bearable these days to be still juicing. I was really wondering at one point if I would be able to make it through the 60 days, but something has definitely shifted for me. Although, I’m still losing the weight very slowly..not sure what that’s about. But I feel good, have been keeping up with the coffee enemas each day and have gotten back to the elliptical machine. I was away from it a bit due to my cough and cold. It feels good to bre exercising again. I really want to get back into cycling. I was riding my bike long distances some time ago, and got away from it when I was back in New York taking care of my brother who was dying from liver disease. He did die, which was so sad for me as we were very close, and no one else from my family seemed to care enough about him to show up during his last days. I think I never quite recovered from that trip, which was just this past December. Once I returned home to LA, I started to gain the weight and had absolutely no interest in biking or exercise. Maybe I was grieving the loss? So the interesting thing is, once we started this juice fast, I’ve started to have those healthy cravings for exercise and doing outdoor sports activities. I’m also feeling the urge to return to tennis, which I haven’t felt in quite some time. I know once I add back in exercise to my daily life, the weight is going to really fly off.

Christine here…Mary and I went to see our chiropractor Dr. Stan this morning. I ALWAYS feel great after leaving his office. Kept up the usual workout, 40 minutes on the elliptical machine and then a coffee enema or “coffee break” as Dr. Rogers calls it. I feel good. Ready to move on to the next phase and I’ve been thinking about that a lot. Mary and I will be traveling to see my parents for their 50th anniversary three days after we break our fast. I’m going to bring the juicer and stick to as many fruits and veggies and raw foods as I can. Mom’s already asking me what she should buy for us. I’m almost afraid to tell her how many heads of romaine lettuce, apples and carrots we’ll need! We’ll be making some soups while we’re there, that should make it easier. I think it’s so important to have somewhat of a plan so I’ll be thinking about it for the next two weeks! Yummy food!

Mary here… Yes, today was my follow-up visit with Dr. Stan Henderson. Dr. Stan is a 3rd generation chiropractor who utilizes the Pettibon System in his practice. The link to Pettibon is here on the right. Dr. Stan’s expertise is a beautiful blend of traditional chiropractic, alternative and at-home exercises for his clients to continue the work and really get in touch with what a ‘normal’ spine should begin to feel like. Most of us do not realize that our spines are out of alignment and that we can actually participate in bringing our bodies back into alignment. Think about it..if we come into alignment, then we don’t need to keep going back to the chiropractor. That’s what Dr. Stan encourages…a guy who truly cares about people. It’s amazing what results his clients have been getting. I’ve seen people of all ages improve their posture under his care. Last week when I went to Dr. Stan, I was in the ‘pre-cough’ stage. After I got home, I had three days of ‘hell’…wicked headache, and cough that kept me and my entire neighborhood up for three days! Here’s today’s visit where Dr. Stan explains how having a chiropractic session can actually help you through a health crisis…

Christine here…As of today we have only 2 weeks left of our juice fast. I’m so excited! It’s getting so close! Feeling so good today and still noticing the subtle changes in my body. I’m recognizing myself emerging and realizing that I had no idea just how much I covered up the real me with weight. This transformation has been coming for a long time and it feels like the result of the accumulation of my “waking up” spiritually which is now reflected in my physical being.

Christine here…Another early Sunday morning at the farmers’ market! Woke up wishing I could stay in bed longer, but there is no way I’m going to mess up our juice fast for some extra sleep. I am committed and actually excited to keep going all the way to day 60 and beyond. I already know I’ll be juicing as a daily nutritional supplement long after the fast comes to an end. I want to continue to experience all the health benefits that I am experiencing now. Today was an easy day for me. We got 3 juices in before 2PM, which makes all the difference as far as feeling satisfied. We tried a new juice today, watermelon, grape, plum. It was actually very refreshing! I have to say though that the whole seedless thing worries me cause I’m sure that means GMO. One thing we have to do is stop Monsanto from hijacking our food! That’s a topic for another vlog…

Mary Here… We were interrupted by the doorbell, so continued our discussion a few hours later…

Christine here…I’m really feeling the changes to my body. I’m 22.5 pounds down. I haven’t weighed this little since college. It feels really great when my friends and people I haven’t seen in a while notice the change. Now I’m only afraid I’m going to have to get rid of all my clothes and start over. There’s not much in my closet that fits now. I guess that’s not such a terrible problem to have. It’s really like a miracle to me and I would love to be the example that it really is possible to lose the weight that you’ve been carrying for years and be as slim as you were at one time in your life. It’s also possible to be vibrantly healthy at any age.

Mary here…  I agree. Plus it feels so good to be lighter! The other night when we were walking the dogs, I was aware of how much easier it felt to whip through the 1 mile walk. When we got home, I had to remind myself that we had even done the walk! I have to stay focussed on these positive things, as I’m having a difficult time these days. I’m very hungry, and I have to admit, I’m getting sick of the juices. I don’t want to discourage anyone wanting to do this. On a deep fast like this, everyone will have their own personal experiences. I think this is just the home stretch blues. 🙂

Mary Here… It’s 5:30am..woke up several times last night with coughing fits. But at least the headache has subsided. I’m having my usual hot water with lemon, and it feels sooo good. I also had bought a ton of Vitamin C tabs yesterday (1000 mg), and took 6,000 last night. Most people don’t realize this, but massive doses of Vitamin C really heals. In fact, the renowned Linus Pauling (link on right), used mega doses to cure deadly diseases. Yep, folks this is true and it does work. Some people out there would have us believe otherwise. I will prove it to you. I bet that this wicked flu/cough is gone in a few days, from my taking 9,000-10,000 mgs of Vitamin C today and tomorrow. It cannot hurt you…your body will get rid of any excess C it does not need. I will be the testament to the power of mega doses of Vitamin C!

Mary here… Wow… so since traveling so intensely for the past several days, I’m now fighting a wicked cold and cough. I would have thought that with all these nutrients going into my body, that I could not get sick. Well, I have, and this is a wicked one. The other bummer is I can’t take anything that might help, such as Advil or Tylenol for my headache, which I’ve had since leaving Florida on Saturday. Maybe this happened because we were not able to consistently get fresh, organic juices while we were away? Not sure, but I’m wiped out. It’s so tempting to discontinue the juice fast and get some food into me, but Christine is really encouraging me to continue. Thank God for her. This is why it is so important to do a lengthy fast like this with someone else. The other person can provide ongoing support, plus they are most likely having similar experiences, so you don’t feel alone. I’m going to lie down and try to sleep, and hopefully this will run its course faster than ever before. That’s my intention.

Christine here…I feel so bad for Mary. She is really sick! I’m guessing it was the recirculated air on those stale airplanes. There were so many people, the planes were packed. Who knows what viruses are being circulated through those ventilation systems! The good news is that I didn’t get sick too. I really believe that continuing to get lots of fresh juices in will help arrest whatever is going on in Mary’s body. Today is day 40 and were two thirds of the way there, so we can’t let anything stop us now!

Mary here… We’ve had a very busy day, working on a new project. Christine took care of getting us back on track with all our juices, since we’ve returned from traveling. Tomorrow we will be 2/3 of the way there! I can’t wait to be eating again. I lost a few more pounds, so feel great about that, but I’m tired of the juices…am really desiring food. I’m also fighting a cold, but have noticed that it’s moving through me really fast..must be related to the juices. I’m still so amazed at how powerful this fast is for my body. It’s definitely worth doing.

Christine here…Today is our first day back to juicing after traveling for three days. I have never been happier to be juicing!!! We started out early this morning at the Farmers’ Market and then to Francisco’s Fruit stand. I’m so grateful for all the locally grown produce that we have such easy access to…and for our fantastic juicer. I’m really appreciating it after being away and literally not knowing where our next juice was coming from. My advice, stay close to home while on a juice fast (I’m sure I’ve said that already).

Christine here…Well we’re back from our business trip and boy was it difficult to be without our juicer! We were actually able to find fresh squeezed grapefruit and orange juices at the airports during our layovers, and we found a vitamin shop in Port St. Lucie, where our meeting was, where we could get carrot juice, and a vegan restaurant for a green juice. But the places were not always convenient to our location or schedule so we were not juicing consistently the way we are used to. We tried to drink a lot of water to compensate for the lack of juices. Also, the morning was the toughest as our hotel did not serve fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, but the pasteurized kind that comes in a container. Strange for being in Florida! We did drink those in the morning, but could really taste and feel the difference between fresh juice with live enzymes and the packaged kind. The conclusion…don’t travel during a juice fast if you can help it!