This compact Breville juicer is a Christmas gift to myself.
For the past 5 months I have experienced the following:
*Extreme exhaustion that ceases to diminish with sleep or caffeine use
*Daily headaches
*Bouts of nausea
*Loss of motivation to engage in physical activity such as running which use to be a favored stress buster and hobby of mine
*Low tolerance to physical activity meaning when I do work out or spend most of the day on my feet, my body tires quickly and becomes sore.
*Mild depression, a loss of interest in doing things I usually enjoy. I have been spending a lot more time watching movies instead of spending time with friends, reading, or writing.
*Frequent colds and sore throats
*Frequent stomachaches
*Random unexplainable pain in different parts of my body
*Frequent bouts of irritability
*Laziness
*Clouded thinking and loss of concentration
I believe these are symptoms of poor nutrition for the following reasons:
*For the past year my junk food consumption has increased from an occasional once a week treat to daily intake. At work I am constantly offered candy, chips, cookies, cakes, and donuts. When I first began working there I was able to defer my temptation but as time went on I found myself resisting less and less.
*My soda consumption has increased from 0 intake to only on the weekends, to a daily can, and is now up to 2-3 cans a day.
*In addition to my soda consumption I am also drinking 2 cups of coffee a day with 1 cup usually purchased from DD or Starbucks with a ton of added sugar as I usually get some type of specialty flavored latte.
*Major increase in fast-food consumption during the past year. Due to being busy with work and school, laziness, convenience, and stress.
*My dairy intake has become ridiculous, having turned into a bit of a cheese junkie with cheese being a part of at least 3 out of the 4 meals I consume a day.
I have learned enough about nutrition to know that if I continue these habits I will not only continue to experience a poor quality of life, but will also increase my odds of developing a number of serious health conditions including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
The Plan/Cure:
I plan to prepare over the next week for a juice-only diet. I will limit my caffeine consumption, avoid fast food, decrease dairy intake, and restrict my sugar intake. I will also drink 1 juiced drink per day to prepare my taste buds and my intestines.
Afterwards, I plan to juice for 7 days and if I am successful and I haven't harmed anyone due to lack of caffeine, cheese, or sugar then I will set another goal and continue the juicing. I have decided to keep this blog for support, motivation, accountability, and to record my experiences to determine how effective or non-effective this experiment is.
I should also probably add a little disclaimer: I do not recommend that anybody else follow my lead unless they have received approval from their doctor.
