What a week! Hurricane Sandy wiped out most of Southern Rhode Island on Monday, which was Day 15 of my juice fast. What a long, antsy day for me! Luckily my condo never blew over or lost power, and I was able to watch the news all day with my condo-mates, until the cable/internet went down at 8:00 p.m. I juiced fruit in the morning, and blended the glowing green smoothie at night. The excitement of the storm kept my appetite at bay. All afternoon I listened to sirens and wind howling through the windows, and watched large tree branches and swarms of leaves blow across the back lawn and front parking lot. It was sensationally epic, until I considered all the damage and aftermath. Also, the schools in my town were closed all week, which meant all three girls I babysit would be home when I returned to work the next day. Mrs. D had given me Monday off due to Sandy. She stayed home with her girls and they hunkered down, and ended up losing power at 2:00. Three days later, as I write this, they still haven't gotten power back.
On Tuesday (Day 16), I returned to work and exhausted myself with playdates, games, a trip to the park, and dinner at Rhody Joe's with the girls. I had a little cheat meal at Rhody Joe's, which was a steamed veggie side order of turnip/carrot/squash medley. It was delicious. Otherwise, I juiced fruits in the morning (apples and grapes, which was ridiculously sugary!) and the glowing green smoothie in the afternoon.
On Day 17, Wednesday, I celebrated Halloween. I have Wednesdays off every week, so it was very convenient that Halloween fell on a Wednesday and I could help prepare for a costume party. The theme of the party was Alice in Wonderland. I dressed as the Queen of Hearts, and five other people took the roles of Alice, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Caterpillar, and White Rabbit.
We set up my friend's living room as the tea party scene, with two long tables decorated with children's tea set toys I smuggled from work. We all brainstormed a scenario and performed it for each group of trick-or-treat'ers that came in. It was awesome!
As soon as kids came to the door, the white rabbit ran across the deck saying "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! Where are my gloves Mary Ann? Come, children, hurry!" And Alice then took the lead to bring kids inside and have them sit at the table. The mad hatter and march hare then engaged the kids with some silly dancing and live piano music, then yelled at them to move down and make more room at the table. At this point, the caterpillar (who was dressed and painted entirely in green, with a green light over her head, atop the kitchen island we made into a mushroom house, with a fog machine hidden behind curtains on either side of and behind her - and she was blowing bubbles - while someone else was shooting silly string - oh god it was awesome), well she said very loudly "whoooooo arrrrrrrrre youuuuuuuu." And then I, the queen of hearts, popped out from my red lighted hallway with my croquet stick and screamed, "Where is she! Off with her head!" And I proceeded to chase Alice and the white rabbit out the door and around the house and back in a separate door. We ran two circles like this while the mad hatter and march hare told the kids to take an unbirthday gift (we'd wrapped over 60 full-sized candy bars in wrapping paper), and rushed the kids out the door as quickly as they'd been rushed inside moments earlier. It was great! By the end of the night, we'd performed for nearly 50 people (some adults came, too) and we were dancing and being goofy and enjoying pure synergy long after the last group of trick-or-treat'ers left. It was such a good time!
Today is Day 18 of my juice fast (Thursday), and I returned to my babysitting job at 6:30 a.m. The kids were very grumpy when they woke up. With clenched teeth, they told me at breakfast that the governor or mayor or somebody cancelled Halloween. Technically, I know that families in my town were encouraged to postpone trick-or-treating until Saturday. But the girls used the word "cancelled" with such ferocity, it scared me. I tried to explain that it was probably dangerous to trick-or-treat with downed trees and power lines all over, and most people (including them) still without power. I also explained that some people's homes floated out into the ocean. But the kids had no sympathy for other people or the worn terrain. So I eventually accepted their stance, that life was completely unfair and meaningless, and the governor or mayor or somebody, very dumb and insensitive.
I struggled with my diet today, probably due to fatigue, but I didn't cheat. Yet. I ate cantaloupe for breakfast, then made two carrot/apple/ginger/grape/celery juices during the late morning. I ate an avocado during the early afternoon, and indulged in two shots of Fire Cider. I'm hoping that will be enough to hold me over until bedtime.
I'm down to 128 lbs, and I've hit a plateau. I haven't really lost any weight since a week ago. Actually, last week I staggered between 129-130, and this week I'm staggering between 128-129. Only 1 lb down! Kind of frustrating! Weight loss isn't the goal of this juice fast, but it's still hugely important to me. I'd like to see a 125 on the scale just for kicks. Or a 120 for a walk down memory lane (I got down to 112.5 lbs the summer after my freshman year of college but I had used amphetamines, starvation, and occasional binge/purge tactics. I'll save that discussion for another blog).
Anyways, I guess I should have a specific weight loss goal, though my goal of feeling better has already been reached. I don't get groggy, even when I'm tired. It's weird. It's like I'm mentally sharp and focused all the time. I'm calm and in the moment, like a true Yogi or Zen master. But I'd like the scale to reflect some of my Gandhi-like efforts. Okay. I'm going for it. I'm going to set a goal to get down to 120 lbs by the end of this fast. That's 8 lbs in the next 12 days. Oh wait, that's unrealistic and unhealthy. I'll say 124 lbs. That would still be cool.
I've also started to think about what I'll eat on Day 31. I can't really taste food, and it made me feel awful when I cheated and ate pizza on Day 7, and the only foods I've enjoyed in cheats since then are roasted veggies. So I think I'll incorporate cooked veggies after this fast ends, but I can't imagine ever going back to meat or dairy, or bread for that matter. I'll make an exception for small portions of unhealthy but highly flavored foods, like sushi with ginger and wasabi, or green tofu curry at the local Thai restaurant - anything with lots of herbs and fresh flavors and spices. Calamari with olives/banana peppers/capers/garlic. This is stuff I can taste, and the thought of it is making me salivate immensely. I need to stop here.
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