Home Stretch

We just passed the eight-week mark in the Newlyweds on a Budget 10 pound challenge.  That means we have just four weeks left to find out who is in the running for the prizes!  I'm really curious to see how everyone else is doing, and I also have something pleasant to report.  Despite the fact that I've been unable to do my favorite exercise (running) for the duration of this competition due to a muscle tear, I've actually lost five pounds.  Unfortunately, I suspect that a lot of those pounds are muscle.  I'm feeling a bit soft these days, but I've also been challenging myself to find other exercises that I can do pain-free and without risk of re-injuring myself.

Thankfully, I've been able to ride my bike quite a bit, and I even went to my first spin class, which was so fun!  I was so jacked up on endorphins when I came home that I convinced myself I'd be able to go running.  That was a mistake. I made it about one mile, and was in agony the next day  So now, I'm just focused on healing, moving when I can and eating less.

Do you spin?  I totally recommend it.

I also watched a movie the other day, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (streaming on netflix), which is a documentary about a guy with an autoimmune disorder, who goes on a 60-day juice fast, loses a ton of weight, basically cures his disorder, and then inspires another very unhealthy man to do the same.  It sounds a bit hokey, but is actually really, really interesting.  I've had friends in the past who have done juice fasts and the Master Cleanse where you drink a mix of maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water, and I've always been curious about that kind of thing.  Problem was, on any kind of a fast, I wouldn't be taking in enough calories to support my running training, and I was always training.

Now that I've been sidelined, it might be time to try this out.

My plan now is to see if I can make juice without spending $150 on a juicer.  I have a recipe, and I'm going to attempt to make it using my wand blender and some kind of straining cloth.  If it's not disgusting, I might just be fasting soon.  If it is disgusting, I might try a new recipe.

Has anyone ever done a fast?  What did you think of it?