Terilynn's Photo Shoot

Here are a few of my favorite pixs I took for my husband's birthday.

His was very surprised and enjoyed the photos very much.

Taking these pictures made me realize how much fun being in front of the camera is. It has been a long time coming. I'm happy to be back.

Speaking of being back. Melissa (of Raw Baby Alex) has returned to the blog world.

Visit her at Raising Alex or Raw Mom-Raw Love

Welcome back Melissa!

Being Aware on Day 66 of My Juice Feast

photo by Leo Reynolds

Secretly, I have been pushing this topic away. I haven't wanted to think about it. I still had time. I had all the time in the world. But alas, my time is running out.

I fear this might be the reason why I want to extend the feast. Because I'm afraid to deal with the issue of eating. Life is very simple now. Drink your green juice and move on with your day. As much as I love preparing raw foods on a daily basis (which I am not doing) I would rather consume juice for the rest of my life just to keep life simple.

I am discovering more and more the reason behind my emotion troubles on this juice feast. It is giving me the opportunity to stop running away from what is bugging me and face my conflicts head on. I can no longer run and hide from this issue. I am aware now.

I have 26 more days of this juice feast and I have to start thinking about how am I going to eat.

What!?! You're not going to eat 100% raw foods? I don't know. I honestly don't know.

photo by dina 11

I do know that I don't want to poison my system with animal proteins. But I don't know about cooked vegan foods. I know that on a daily basis my life will include only fresh fruits and vegetables and juices, especially juices. I've got to have my juices. Not too many nuts and seeds and maybe some cooked grains, once in a blue moon.

I would love to follow suit with Melissa and Jinjee but I'm not sure how realistic a 100% raw diet is for my family at this time.

The plan in the back of my mind is to get the family off animal proteins (except honey) and refined sugars. I have informed them that when I do start eating solids again those two items will no longer be welcomed in my house.

I can say how I choose to eat will be thought out, I will no longer eat at random based on emotions or without being aware of what is going into my body. I am very aware of the foods (in this case juices) with my body needs. This is a gift the juice feast has presented me and if that is all I got out of it, than I appreciate it.

I have lost a lot of weight. I don't know the pounds (yet) but I do know that I wore a XL in my favorite NY & Company pants before feasting; I bought a size medium (on Saturday) and they were too big.

I know I will gain weight back, that makes sense. I gained weight over a period of 8 years (through 3 pregnancies) and I took that weight off in 92 days, but of course, I don't want to gain all of it back, that would kind of piss me off.

I have a bit of an investment in what I do with the body now. I'm going to take my time, be mindful and be aware of the things I put into my body.

photo by Photo.Nokia

Do you get the Raw Food World Newsletter?

Matt Monarch discusses how weight gain happens after a 92-day juice feasting even on a 100% raw diet. Fortunately, I believe in everything he has to say. It makes sense to me.

It makes sense to everyone eating raw or not.

The energy you receive compared to the energy you spend. I plan to take in only the energy (food) my body tells me to thrive and burn (exercise) the energy.

Like never before I am aware of that.

WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY:

1 quart lemon water with MSM

2 quarts kale/celery/carrot/tomato/onion/jalapeno/garlic

2 quarts orange/grapefruit/MSM/Alfafa

2 quarts water

Having Value on Day 62

photo by Alastair Bird

Do you ever have those moments when a light bulb turns on in your head? And you think, "My goodness, I get it!"

I would like to share something that Katrina sent me to help me cope with my occasional emotional breakdowns.

"...emotions are just so much more accessible when not buried under layers of toxic food medication. One thing that has really helped me is to think of what Ecart Tolle calls the "pain body" We all have it. It is strong, and it doesn't like to be ignored, and when it feels threatened by something like non-causal joy, bliss, self-love, pouring over of the heart love cup, it rises up nice and strong and says "please don't forget me!"

Word for word, that pretty much sums it up.

Thank you, Katrina and a special thank you to Melissa who talked me through yesterday. She is someone I am so grateful for. I am so very blessed that she has entered my life.

I will be reading the words of Eckhart Tolle very soon.

From time to time I read blogs where people want to embark on a Juice Feasting journey and they are doing so without their friends' or families' knowledge for fear of what they will think.

That is unfortunate. If anything, this whole process has made me realize the importance of having some sort of support during Juice Feasting. Whether it be a fellow feaster, the forums at Juicefeasting.com or with your sister (Love you Mo)

I don't know if I have mentioned this before but this is my second juice feasting opportunity in a year's time.

The first go around I juice feasted 28 wonderful days. I realize now I stopped for the very actions that are plaguing me now. I was too fearful of my own greatness. A part of me didn't feel of value, not worthy. I didn't understand what was happening to me so I took the easy way out and stopped.

But it was all good, because it wasn't my time. Now is.

The only difference (beside drinking more green juices than fruit) between the two feasts is having the support like never before.

If you have any notion to participate in a Juice Feast, I would encourage you to do so. You are will be doing it at a time where the support (like the juices) is in abundance. Especially if you do it in March with the Global Juice Feast 2008. That would be a perfect time to start.

Juice Feasting has been the hardest and most challenging thing I have ever did in my life. It has forced me to pay attention to me (and what my body needs) in ways I have never done before.

And I'm totally worth it!

photo by Usokchoe

WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY:

1 quart lemon water with MSM

2 quarts red and green cabbage/celery/carrots/lemon

2 quarts grapefruit/blood orange juice/MSM

2 quarts water

16 oz tea with Break stone

Day 61 Recap

photo by UsokChoe
Okay for those who would like to know how the rest of day 61 of my juice feast went, imagine this.

Terilynn in the parking lot of Sunflower Farmer's Market crying her heart out while her two youngest children sleep peacefully in the back of the Suzuki.

Melissa returning Terilynn's phone call and talking her off the ledge. Melissa summed it up beautifully. If you are trying to figure out the source of the unexplained turmoil than you are holding on to it. Terilynn doesn't want to hold on to this crap. That's why she's juice feasting.

Why in the world am I discussing my despair in the third person? Because it feels (my gracious, THAT word again) as if it didn't happen. At least not to me. It's surreal, just as quickly as those emotions surfaced, they dissipated.

I never imagined that when I went on this juice feasting adventure that I would have to deal with emotional detoxing more than physical. It's some scary sh**.

WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY:
1 quart lemon water with MSM
2 quarts kale/celery/bell pepper/carrot/cayenne
1 quarts grapefruit/orange/MSM/Alfafa powder

1 quart water
16 oz tea with Breakstone tea

Exercise- Day 55 of Juice Feast

photo by OHoTos

WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY:

1 quart lemon water with MSM

2 quarts parsley/tomato/celery/jalapeno/hemp oil

2 quarts grapefruit/orange/Alfafa Powder

16 oz chamomile/Valerium tea with Break Stone

2 quarts water

I have never really discussed how (or if) I exercise and Juice Feasting. So today is the day.

I do try to exercise every other day or so. Nothing major. I usually do a session or two of something for about 30-45 minutes. The first 30 days I was very consistent in running on my treadmill but it has since broke so now I rebound alot.

photo by wreford

Which is fun, I jump while watching tv. I actually have been watching American Idol. I have never watched that show. How long do those audition shows run? When do they start the actual competition portion? Inquiring minds want to know.

Melissa has me intrigued with Tibetan Rites, so I do that every morning. I also do pilates and yoga and at times I have some fun exercise DVDs the kids and I do together.

photo by alex_e14

I bring up exercise now because, soon very soon, I will start incorporating weight training into the mix. Which is good because I feel like I'm getting kind of flabby in parts. Fortunately, I build muscle rather nicely so I have no doubt I will firm up pretty well.

I had to finally break down and purchase a few pairs of jeans because even with belts my pants were swimming on me. I still have no clue of how much weight I have lost. It isn't the focus of my juice feast.

Day 33 of Juice Feast

photo by Moe





WHAT I CONSUMED TODAY:
1 quart lemon water with MSM
1 quart cabbage/
cucumber/apple/carrot
1 quart mustard greens
/celery/bell pepper/tomato
/jalapeno/hemp oil
1 quart grapefruit/OJ
/MSM/wheatgrass
10 oz coconut water with liquid chlorophyll
3 quarts water

Not only is my friend Melissa feasting with me, but for the next three days my husband is coming along for the ride. He has decided to go raw again and to slowly re-establish the raw life for our children. Yeah!

READERS QUESTIONS:
"I read your blog and I must say it is WONDERFUL. I am trying to go raw and do a juice feast, but I am BROKE...HOW can I still go on a juice feast with a LOW budget? What are something's that I can juice that taste great but low budget? Any advise would help. Thanks." -Tai-Kiah Carter

Thanks alot Tai-Kiah for your beautiful comment and your important question. I totally understand being on a tight budget, believe me. I am living proof that it's possible to do it.

My biggest tip is to shop the grocery ads. Whatever is on sale at my favorite food market is what I'm juicing. I will state that not everything I purchase will be organic but it will be cost effective for my budget.

Celery, cucumbers, parsley, apples, oranges and carrots are the only "staples" I buy on a regular basis no matter the cost. The first two are must haves for the feast and the rest are just my favorites for the juice combinations I enjoy. They all have been fairly priced for my budget thus far.

My greens are likely to change with whatever is on sale.

Also, establish how much you can spend and don't stray from that. I would love to get Spirulina but wheatgrass powder is in my budget right now.

Another piece of advice is know what you're going to purchase BEFORE you go to the store. Write it down and avoid impulse buying.

I hope this helps.

And remember, don't let anything get in your way to achieve the health you desire.

Wow! Good for you that you are on this journey again. Have you lost any weight? -anonymous

Yes, I have lost weight. How much I have not clue. One of my goals on my To-Do List has been NOT to weigh myself during this feast. I did weigh myself at the start and I will weigh at the end but that's about it.

With this juice feast I didn't want that to be an issue. I don't want any mental pressures and I think for me watching the scale could trip me up. I will say I have dropped two dress sizes.