Juice Feasting - Day 11 (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Juice Feasting - Day 11

[RRR]

In the early evening I had a 75-minute phone interview. Fortunately my emotional stability and energy levels returned to semi-normal within the last half-hour before the call, and the interview went just fine. I certainly can’t attribute any feelings of stress to the interview. I’ve done numerous phone interviews since my book came out, sometimes as many as three in a day, and I typically look forward to them and enjoy them.

I felt mostly okay for a few hours after the interview, and by 8pm I was feeling pretty good, nearly back to my normal happy self. However, by 9pm I started feeling mildly stressed again. That feeling of stress has been gradually increasing ever since.

I think you are feeling stressed because you are lonely and detoxing. You started to feel better right before you were going to talk to someone. That feeling remained for a while after talking to them, then went away.

It’s about 11pm now as I type this, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep typing because I’m experiencing this mounting feeling of dread that comes in waves. All I’m doing is sitting in my home office blogging, something I’ve done hundreds of times before, and my body is producing feelings verging on panic.

Logically I know I’m in no real danger, but my adrenals apparently feel otherwise.

Maybe it comes back to communion? Do you feel disconnected blogging? You don't get to watch us read, explain in person, make juice with everyone here, laugh, and meet new friends in person. Could you be experiencing abandonment danger? (Is there an innate level of fear we all feel while alone as a species? And now you are able to feel that?)

I'd try spending more time with people, maybe expand your group and have more adults and friends around while you are detoxing. Or maybe its time to let Emily teach you more about playing ? Could you produce a great work of art from this sadness? (Maybe the follow your heartbreak principle can be expanded).

I hope you feel better Steve. I hope you get lots of love to help you through.

[BalancedExistence]

Just a thought I had - have you still been making up juice in one big batch? Vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help the body to break down and deal with the sugar in juice (which there is a lot of depending on what you're juicing) may have deteriorated by the time you get to drinking the juice later on in the day.

Also if you're drinking the juice in big batches instead of spreading it out that could explain the blood sugar drop.

Obviously I don't know all that much about how you're going about it. Just some thoughts.


Stephen

[Jon]

Steve, I'm not sure how tall you are, but your weight seems to be more or less in order. If you weigh roughly 176 pounds now, do you really expect to lose 30 and end up weighing an unhealthy 150?

I wonder how many of those who lost 30 pounds were obese prior to starting the juice feast

I think the better indicator of your progress would be body fat measurements. Muscle is heavier than fat, so body weight only tells half the story and only paints a vague picture of your fitness. I heard that muscle building doesn't start until later in the program, so I'm looking forward to reading about your results in that area.

[JJH]

Steve,

I've not posted here the entire year, but this post brought me "out of retirement" to contribute to this thread.

I really appreciated your honesty about what you went through today and how you felt about it.

What you described is very similar to the chaos/reorganization that happens when someone advances to a higher level of consciousness. Its a "psychic" purge that goes along with the physical changes that you are implementing. Things might not make sense emotionally tomorrow, the next week, or maybe you'll be fine tomorrow. But the chances are that when you come out the other side, you'll have climbed to a "higher spot on the mountain," where you will have a higher, more inclusive perspective.

Congratulations, and keep going!

[Jeff Lilly]

We're all here pullin' for ya, Steve! I hope you feel like a million bucks this morning!

I feel like a million bucks myself. I also feel like a glass of wine and a long hot bath. ;-)

If you aren't over the hump: have you asked your guides about exactly what emotional detox you're working with? That always helps me out.

[Monique7nuns]

I empathize with your discomfort.. sounds very similar to what I experience on a regular basis w/out juice feasting. Welcome to my world..

[jayh]

Hang in there - if it helps, you're certainly inspiring me to try it! On that subject, what is everyone's general opinion of V-8 juice? I just bought a jar of V-8 fusion which is supposedly lower in sodium, but I still hear rumors that it might have MSG hidden in the "natural flavors". Any thoughts?

[Savage]

V-8 juice is pasteurized, so it's dead and devitalized... not to mention that even the low sodium kind is overloaded with salt. You're much better off with fresh juice if you can afford the time/cost.

[Savage]

Unfortunately I woke up still feeling stressed this morning. It keeps coming in waves. Sometimes I'll get close to feeling normal, and then a new wave of panic sets in. I think I'll just have to ride it out.

My mind and physiology seem totally out of sync right now. Mentally I'm very optimistic, and I certainly haven't been lonely or disconnected. But emotionally I feel terrible. If I'm going through some kind of dark night of the soul, it isn't happening at the level of conscious awareness. Maybe there is a spiritual element to this, but right now I can't see past the physical/emotional part.

On the bright side, my weight hit a new low of 175.2 this morning -- down 3.8 pounds since starting the juice feast.

I really appreciate all the support and encouragement.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Steve, that sounds uncomfortable. It will pass in time. You only have 81 days to go. About 11.5 weeks. How much weight are you looking to lose? I wouldn't want to see you come out of the juice fast at 150 or lower, but I guess that's why you're doing a feast and not a fast. Good luck.

[munish]

Day2 was ok.

Went for a long walk at 5.00 a.m.

Tried apple, carrots, radish,ginger,lemon,orange,sweet lime,spinach,sugar cane,Cabbage juice.

Emotions seems to be ok.But body requires more rest.

Thanks.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lilly

I also feel like a glass of wine and a long hot bath.

My first thought on reading this was - Steve can't take a hot bath! He's raw!! Funny how my mind works sometimes. It took me a second to see - oh, he wouldn't be cooking himself!

If you'd like for me to send you some distance reiki, Steve, I'd be glad to. My feeling is what you're experiencing IS past gunked-up stuff that's on the way to clearing out. I know you said you're not aware of a spiritual aspect; I think it's beyond anything you've experienced before, so you're just seeing the physical and emotional sides. That's OK - it's happening anyway!

[appifanie]

steve - i hope you start feeling better soon!

hehe @ carenkh

[Savage]

Distance reiki is always appreciated.

Right now I'm starting to feel euphorically happy for no reason I can fathom, so this emotional roller coaster is a pretty strange ride.

[standgale]

Originally Posted by jayh

Hang in there - if it helps, you're certainly inspiring me to try it! On that subject, what is everyone's general opinion of V-8 juice? I just bought a jar of V-8 fusion which is supposedly lower in sodium, but I still hear rumors that it might have MSG hidden in the "natural flavors". Any thoughts?

Like Steve said, V-8 is really high in salt, even the low salt stuff - it's weird, because it's made out of flavourful veges, why would it need so much salt? I don't actually like vege juice much, but my husband does, so I buy it for him sometimes, and I like to look at ingredients lists.

MSG occurs naturally in many things, not just the seaweed it is commonly extracted from, but also meat, cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes and various other things. So, you can extract MSG, which is natural, and add it to other things. You can also manufacture it so that it is chemically identical to natural MSG, but some people might consider that somehow different anyway.
I, however, don't like high-MSG foods regardless of whether it's added or naturally present. Well, actually I DO like it, because, like salt, it is a flavour enhancer and makes things taste yummy (and salt and MSG actually work even better together than separately to enhance flavour, ie. the whole is more that the sum of its parts) but I think it makes me feel a bit ill, to be overloaded on so much strong tasting food - but I don't know whether it is the chemical MSG causing it or I just prefer blander foods overall.

Even if V-8 doesn't have any added MSG (extracted or manufactured), it will still have a fair amount because of the amount of tomato juice in it.

[standgale]

Comment on a different topic. One of the things that puts me off the idea of trying any of these healthy food trials the most, is the emotional roller-coaster thing. Given that it sounds a bit like my normal life, a trial like this might send me into full-blown depression, or something worse The reason I'd like to try one is to get rid of these problems, but the intermediate stage could be a disaster. And if I did get rid of these problems, it's unlikely I'd ever want to do some kind of detox that would make them come back, even temporarily. I just can't see how that would be good.
Does anyone have any comments/experience on this?

[Holistic Star]

Steve,

I posted on a different juice thread, but you might have missed it.

Coffee enemas make your emotions go kittywompas! (I think I used the k word in the right context).

Seriously, after any coffee enema I have done, I have been in pieces emotionally. Sobbing in the street and not caring that anyone can see!

You're handling it much better than me!

Coffee enemas are excellent at emotional detox. maybe a little too good and I do recommend them, but only with a warning label.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Holistic Star

Steve,

I posted on a different juice thread, but you might have missed it.

Coffee enemas make your emotions go kittywompas! (I think I used the k word in the right context).

Seriously, after any coffee enema I have done, I have been in pieces emotionally. Sobbing in the street and not caring that anyone can see!

You're handling it much better than me!

Coffee enemas are excellent at emotional detox. maybe a little too good and I do recommend them, but only with a warning label.

Really? I wonder why that is..

[Holistic Star]

Hi Dan,

I'm not sure why, I think they make the liver and gallbladder flush though huge amounts of bile and it forces cells to purge stored up emotions.
My understanding is that unprocessed emotions are physically stored in our cells.

But then I'm not a biologist. I'm just talking from personal experience here and also having supported other people through the emotional fallout after doing a coffee enema.

Like I said I think they are a very useful detox tool. I'm lucky to have a great support network around me that can offer healing if I get overwhelmed.

btw - meant to say Steve, hope you feel better soon

[Monique7nuns]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

Really? I wonder why that is..

Did you watch the Rozalind Gruben Social and Emotional Aspects of Eating lecture from youtube? Even though I'm firmly on the fence with the whole veg, vegan, raw, etc. way of life, I thought the first part of this talk was a very interesting and possibly enlightening explaination of the issue. To me, given the depth of Steve's detox, what he's experiencing is likely to be expected.

Have others who've done this experienced something similar? I think you have to buy a book to find out about Angela Stokes' juice feast from a year or so ago.

[Angela]

Sending you lots of lovin' good green vibrations, Steve. Enjoy the ride, if you can!

[Jesse Edmunds]

Steve I am worried about you! I hope you will stop the juice feast if you continue to get negative results. We wouldn't want to lose you or your health in the name of discipline.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by BalancedExistence

Just a thought I had - have you still been making up juice in one big batch? Vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help the body to break down and deal with the sugar in juice (which there is a lot of depending on what you're juicing) may have deteriorated by the time you get to drinking the juice later on in the day.

Also if you're drinking the juice in big batches instead of spreading it out that could explain the blood sugar drop.

Obviously I don't know all that much about how you're going about it. Just some thoughts.

Stephen

It looks like Steve might have started making juice in batches on Day 8:

Originally Posted by Day 8 Blog Post

I made all my juices in advance this morning instead of making new juices throughout the day. That took a long time — about 2 hours total including prep and clean-up.

Maybe it would be a good idea to go back to making the juice fresh, whenever it's needed.

Steve, I hope you feel better, and won't hesitate to stop the juice feast if things get worse, or even if things don't seem to get worse.

The "detox" symptoms sound reminiscent of the symptoms I get when I simply don't eat enough for too long a period of time, due to my sometimes poor appetite.

Emotional ups and downs, intense anxiety and dread, tremendous sadness, excessive happiness, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, feeling tired and not wanting to do anything, feeling on the verge of passing out, etc. (I never saw an apparition, fortunately... that would have really scared me).

Those symptoms all go away if I simply am careful to consistently eat enough nutritious food. (Though by the time I reach the point of feeling seriously bad, I have to start out with foods that are very easy on my stomach, like yogurt, fruits, vegetables, soup, etc.)

Best wishes,
Apollia

[AlexWeber]

Steve, you sounded great on the interview, and it was really cool for me to bring your knowledge to a new audience. I'll post here when your interview is going up. Thanks again!