One week before I begin my fast

Hello bloggers! My name is Haley! Welcome to my blog. This is my very first blog, so go easy on me. I decided to created this blog to share with the world my juice/smoothie fast journey. After watching some health documentaries I decided that it is past time to make a healthy change in my life. It's time for me to gain a little confidence and feel great about myself. My journey will begin July 1, 2013 and end August 29, 2013.

(I'm waiting until next Monday to being, because Tuesday is my 21st birthday, and I'd like to celebrate with a nice meal and some drinks!!)

Let me share a little bit about myself with you. Like I said above I'm just about 21 years young. I'm currently studying to be a nurse. I have a large loving family. I have an incredible man in my life that is very supportive of me. Up until around age 16 I was fairly small in size. It seams after that I just started to gain and gain and gain! (Before my fast begins I will share photos and my exact weight). I'm not happy in these shoes; how could anyone be happy when they aren't feeding their bodies appropriately? My mother and sister have been diagnosed with celiacs disease, and just one month ago, we discovered that I most likely have it too! For those of you unaware of what celiacs disease it; it's a gluten (wheat, barley, rye) intolerance. The body is unable to properly digest gluten. While being gluten free is not easy (or fun), I know that it's better for me and that keeps me somewhat sane. Thankfully, all fruits and veggies are gluten free! That means no more reading labels for me for at least 60 days!! Woohoo!!

This juice and smoothie fast will be a "reboot" to my entire body. It will reboot my way of life and hopefully my happiness. In the coming week I will begin to prepare myself for my fast. I'll slowly ease off meats, processed foods, sugars, and starches. I have a vita-mix blender  that I'll use to make my smoothies. I'm going to need to invest in a juicer! I need to check out a few local farmers markets and healthy/organic grocery stores.

During my fast I will be doing some light exercise; walking/yoga/jogging. I'll also be posting probably weekly pictures and weight loss updates. I'll be blogging frequently about how I feel and any changes that I've noticed with my body. I expect the first few days to be extremely difficult and to feel fatigued. This will be due to a withdrawal of my normal diet. After that I'm expecting to start craving my juices and smoothies due to the way they make my body feel. NOTE: I HATE fruits and veggies. I ALWAYS have, so this will NOT be easy. I suppose in doing this fast that my taste buds will adjust and learn to love fruits and veggies. That's the goal anyways.

My goals: during my fast I'd like to lose 30 lbs or more. I'd like to feel better and more confident in my own skin. I want to go every single day with only juices and smoothies. I want to wear a certain pair of shorts (I'll post a photo of them) that I haven't been able to wear in a few years. I want to prove to my friends and family that I can do this.

I'm going to need some love and support! I can do this!

Until next time,
Xo Hay

6/24/13 

I wanted to add a couple of thoughts that I may have forgotten above. First off; any negative thoughts or comments can be taken elsewhere. I will not tolerate that on my blog or in my life at all. No one needs to agree with what I'm doing, that's not what I'm looking to accomplish here. All I ask for is love and support while I begin my journey. I am not doing this just to be thin. I'm not doing this for anyone else. I'm doing this to be the very best me I can be. Healthy, lean, and fit. 

Once my fast is over my diet from there out will consist of 90% fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. So, please don't tell me that I'm going to gain my weight back. That's discouraging and negative. I need a support system who will believe in me and not drag me down. I have done my research, so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. Don't disregard that. 

If you have a desire to learn more on juice and smoothie fasts please watch the documentary, "Fat Sick & Nearly Dead". It will change your life. There are other similar documentaries such as, "Forks Over Knives" "Food Fight" and "Vegucated". These can all be found on Netflix. 

Tah-tah for now, 

Xo Hay