Prep: Part 3 - Plan of Attack

bye bye yummy chocolate :(

I think it's obvious that if you want to succeed at changing your lifestyle and doing something like a juice fast, which goes against what you're accustomed to on a day to day basis, you need to be prepared!

First I gave my parents any of the perishable items in the fridge that I could not eat during the juice fast.  I even gave them a couple of non-perishable snack items that I knew would serve as temptations.

With the temptations gone, I set to work.  I browsed The Juice Lady's Guide to Juicing for Health first and paid special attention to MS and Candidiasis Albicans (post on this coming soon!).  I noted a few important things:

1. I shouldn't go to heavy on the fruits (even if this is recommended for overall health in the general population)
2. If I do include fruits, I should focus on berries
3. Emphasize Omegas - good for everyone but really important for repairing myelin in MS
4. Include garlic & wheatgrass in my juicing regimen as antifungals (I love garlic so that's easy!  But there are plenty of people who don't, and there are other options for antifungals that you might like)
5. Be sure to cleanse - juicing will be more effective when the organs have been cleansed

With these points in mind I jumped over to Juicing, Fasting, & Detoxing For Life.  From this book I basically developed my adapted plan of Attack:

- First 5 days - Colon Cleanse

- Next 5 days - Liver/Gallblader Cleanse

- Next 5 days - Kidney Cleanse

- Lastly, see how I feel - if I want more days, and feel I need then keep juicing!  If I feel great and have accomplished my goals and am dying for something to chew, then we're done. 

*Calbom outlines cleanse diets that utilizes both juicing and solid greens with a little protein.  Since I want to do the juice fast, I plan to do the cleanses on solely juice.  I am going to substitute the meals with juices that include similar items as the meals. 

Other components to my Plan of Attack:

• Fiber! Increase fiber as much as possible  - I purchased ground flax seed so that I get my fiber and Omegas in one step, and just mix it with water in the morning and evening.  Calbom recommends her personal recipe for a fiber shake.  If I feel like I need more fiber then I will upgrade to her fiber shake but we'll see how it goes at first.
• Exercise!   I know from past experience and from these books that exercising is really important for cleansing and general health.  As I am cleansing, it will important to exercise to sweat out toxins, and to do plenty of yoga which will provide a nice massage and release for specific organs.  
• Always be prepared!  If I have juice ready in the fridge at all times, or at least have the produce in order to juice, then when I can always manage my hunger.  This will increase my chances of sticking to it.
• Oh and BLOG, duh!  Even though I originally thought this would be a great way to motivate others who are facing illness to take control of their health, there is another very important reason for the blog.  To hold myself accountable!  I might still end up disappointing but I'm much less likely to give up when I know I need to check in here every day!

Plan of Attack is in place!  Let's start juicing!