ron rothman.ron rothman
selectively conformist

The Hunger, I Can Take… But *Somebody Get Me a Hamburger*

Well, we did it again; another juice fast. This time, for 10 days… er, not counting the unfortunate hot dog I had to eat on Day 6. We timed it to coincide with Sara’s wisdom tooth extraction, since she’d have to be on soft foods for several days anyway.

Our food log is below. It’s comprehensive–nothing that entered my body is omitted (except for copious amounts of water). Vegetables listed below were local or organic (in that order), where possible.

Most memorable moment? Day 2: Sara passing out on the bathroom floor in front of me.

I was hungry for the first couple of days, but by the second half of the fast, I felt hunger only in very short (5 minutes) tolerable bursts, just once or twice a day. Surprisingly easy to bear. The cravings, on the other hand, were harder to bear. I just missed the taste of certain foods; oddly enough, they were mostly meats. Not a single craving for ice cream (my perennial favorite), but I was seeing lamb chops in my sleep.

Most memorable moment? Day 2: Sara passing out on the bathroom floor in front of me. Had I not been there to catch her, she very well could have smashed her head on the sink/toilet/floor. Ugh. (Note to all juice fast detractors: she more than likely fainted due to her strong pain killers and dehydration, not due to the juice fast.)

Without further ado, I present my food log:

Sunday – Transition In (Day 0)

  • lunch: guacamole boats in endive, stir fried veggies (cabbage, mushroom, broccoli, onion)
  • dinner: sauteed veggies (corn, zucchini, tomato), broiled sweet potato
  • juice: carrot, celery, cucumber, kale, ginger, parsley

Monday (Day 1)

  • juice: carrot, cucumber, kale, sweet potato, ginger, parsley
  • juice: watermelon, grape, strawberry
  • juice: celery, cucumber, dandelion, green cabbage, broccoli, turnip, carrot
  • vegetable broth: parsnip, green cabbage, broccoli, garlic, barley, corn, cayenne
  • herb tea

Tuesday (Day 2)

  • juice: carrot, kale, dandelion, cucumber, ginger
  • juice: apple, pear
  • Odwalla juice
  • juice: carrot, celery, dandelion, yellow squash, cucumber, tomato, green cabbage, broccoli, parsley, garlic, turnip
  • vegetable broth: from tonight’s juice pulp, plus onion, barley, additional summer squash, additional dandelion, sea salt, turmeric
  • juice: orange
  • herb tea

Wednesday (Day 3)

  • juice: orange
  • juice: dried apricot and raisin broth
  • juice: carrot, parsley, dandelion green, green bean, celery, beet, garlic
  • vegetable broth: same batch as last night
  • juice: watermelon, peach, grape
  • vegetable broth: from tonight’s juice pulp, plus onion, mushroom, sea salt, turmeric, cayenne
  • juice: papaya, pineapple (discarded because it was too pulpy)

Thursday (Day 4)

  • juice: orange, grapefruit
  • juice: carrot, celery, green cabbage, radish (root plus greens), kale
  • juice: watermelon, peach, grape
  • fresh ginger tea (with honey)
  • vegetable broth: same batch as last night
  • juice: carrot cucumber, celery, red cabbage, beet, garlic, parsley

Friday (Day 5)

  • juice: apple, pear, peach
  • juice: carrot, cucumber, celery, red cabbage, beet, garlic, parsley
  • herb tea
  • juice: carrot, broccoli, kale, celery, radish, ginger
  • juice: carrot, cucumber, sweet potato, red cabbage, celery, garlic
  • dandelion root tea (sweetened with dried apricot and raisin juice)
  • 1 apple, whole (in preparation for tomorrow)

Saturday – BBQ Detour (Day 6)

  • 1 whole-grain waffle with maple syrup
  • juice: carrot, parsley, ginger
  • bbq: watermelon, pineapple, shepherd’s salad, 1/3 of a hot dog with bun, 1/3 ear corn, grilled chicken drumstick, grilled salmon, lemon tart
  • juice: carrot, cucumber, celery, broccoli, garlic
  • vegetable broth: pulp from tonight’s juice, plus swiss chard, parsley root, onion, garlic

Sunday (Day 7)

  • juice: carrot, parsley root, red cabbage, beet, dandelion green
  • Odwalla juice
  • juice: orange, grapefruit
  • Knudsen’s Peach Spritzer
  • juice: carrot, watercress, celery, radish, cucumber, parsley
  • vegetable broth: same batch as last night
  • juice: apple, pear, grape

Monday (Day 8)

  • juice: apple, pear, grape, orange
  • juice: carrot, celery, dandelion green, parsley root, ginger
  • juice: watermelon, peach
  • juice: carrot, celery, beet, parsley, garlic, green cabbage, spinach
  • Knudsen’s Peach Spritzer
  • herb tea

Tuesday (Day 9)

  • juice: carrot, spinach, green cabbage, kohlrabi
  • juice: watermelon, peach
  • juice: carrot, celery, parsley root, parsley, collard green
  • vegetable broth: pulp from tonight’s juice, plus corn, zucchini, onion, barley
  • juice: pineapple, orange, grapefruit

Wednesday (Day 10)

  • juice: pineapple
  • juice: carrot, cucumber, parsley, beet
  • vegetable broth: same batch as last night
  • juice: pear, apple
  • juice: carrot, celery, cucumber, parsley, collard green, garlic

Thursday – Transition Out (Day 11)

  • juice: peach, orange
  • lunch: salad
  • grapes
  • dinner: sauteed veggies (corn, zucchini, onion), broiled sweet potato
  • yogurt

Friday – Depurification Begins (Day 12)

  • 2 whole-grain waffle with maple syrup (pure, dark, grade B, of course)
  • several hot dogs
  • …you don’t even wanna know the rest

11 Responses to “The Hunger, I Can Take… But *Somebody Get Me a Hamburger*” [Leave yours »]

  1. once again, i’m impressed. i’m not saying i would do this, i’m just saying i’m impressed. glad to know that you are both healthy enough, on all accounts, to do this.
    but my question/comment is this. leftovers are a tricky buisness. chinese food and good chicken soup taste good a day later. but day old broth? how does that work?

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  2. Tyrone R tracked back:

    I’m recently married and my wife and I tried our first fast together. We started our fast as a seven day juice fast but only lasted for two days. We then had to change our fast to complete the seven days of fasting. Since then I’ve been drinking vegetable juice regularly. I’ve noticed a difference in my energy level and I feel a lot cleaner. A down side about the fasting was I had a bad reaction to carrot, apple juice. It gave me asthma.

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  3. Ron [author of post] tracked back:

    i’m glad to hear that you’re drinking juice daily; i wish we had the discipline to juice every day (when we’re not fasting, that is).

    i’ve never heard of carrot/apple juice giving anyone asthma–what a bummer. are you sure it wasn’t chemicals on the apple peel? i only ask because some pesticides (e.g., pyrethrin/pyrethrum) are known to produce asthmatic effects in some people (including me).

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  4. Eating friendly food to challenge eczema…

    When my son was about a month old, in the middle of a typically hot Melbourne summer, he developed a heat rash on his face. Rather than fading after a few hours, the rash spread to his chest the next…

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  5. Juicetopia – The Aftermath…

    eeeeeeeu      eeeeeez    eeD     Xe   eeeeeeeee  e
    e      ee   ee      ee   eeee&…

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  6. Ianthejuicer tracked back:

    When you said Sara passed out on the floor there are a couple of reasons this could have happened. First and foremost one should NEVER fast when taking prescription or non-prescription drugs, part of the reason to fast is to cleanse the body why bother if you are putting more toxin in while trying to cleanse? Anyway that is bad but what probably did her in is a very low blood pressure, low BMR (base metabolic rate), and low heart rate…COMBINED with a pain killer which most likely compounded the problem. The first couple days of fasting are always the toughest because the body slows down the system (sort of like hibernating) before it can convert from the food to energy system to the fat and muscle stores system for energy. Anyway, I always fast on water for the first week and finish out the last 20 or so days on juicing.

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  7. lolo341 tracked back:

    Overall this sounds like a good plan, even eating tiny portion such as on the Day 6 can undo a lot of the healing taking place. I’m not chastizing–just point it out. It’s also true that one should not take medications while fasting. If the medications are necessary, then whole idea of fasting should either be set aside entirely or monitored by a professional. This sounded really nice: dried apricot and raisin juice. I’d never thought to do that and must try it sometime. Most of the combinations sound really nice, though I do also wonder if pesticides were not the cause of the asthma. I know you were using local or organic produce, but one never really truly knows, and I’m not sure why carrots and apples would cause such a dramatic reaction. Anyway, thanks for sharing. Very inspiring!

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  8. why did you do this?

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  9. Ron [author of post] tracked back:

    people who juice fast typically do it to cleanse their bodies of toxins.

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  10. So i noticed you used radish and radish greens… I belong to a CSA and just got radish greens. Any other uses you know of besides juicing? (although it sounds interesting)

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  11. Ron [author of post] tracked back:

    MLO, i don’t have any substantial experience with radish greens, but you might try using them in soup. also, i might try lightly sauteeing them with in a little olive oil and salt. these are just guesses, though; let us know if you find a good recipe!

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