Giving up food for juice: Day 1 of my 10-day juice fast

Today, just before lunchtime, I started craving a blueberry muffin. When my colleague opened a bag of chips at the desk next to mine, I wanted them.

These relatively unexceptional desires may be normal for most people, but not for me. I haven’t had a muffin in years and potato chips -- I’d just as soon dip my fingers in oil and salt and snack on that.

No, I’m not pregnant. I’m on a juice fast, and the idea that I won’t consume solid food for the next 10 days is just making me want it more and more and … I’m only on the first day.

My roommate and I decided to take on the challenge after I watched the documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and interviewed its creator, Joe Cross. Since filming the documentary, in which Cross travels across the United States while on a 60-day juice fast to transform his health, Cross has continued to educate the public on the benefits of juicing and offers a wealth of information and guides to juice fasting on his website.

I’m always amazed by what the human body can do and how food affects it so this was a no-brainer. Cross calls the process a “reboot” not a juice fast because he describes it as a way to reboot your system, rid it of junk and infuse it with a burst of nutrients. I was hooked.

So after we gave ourselves the Fourth of July to pig out, my roommate and I went food shopping yesterday and brought back about $120 worth of fresh fruits and veggies – all headed for the juicer (a pretty expensive piece of equipment itself, which we borrowed from a family member).

On Day 1 alone there were already ups and downs. Up: Juicing is fun. It was strangely therapeutic to grind whole vegetables down to a pulp. Up: Our morning juice – carrots, apple and lemon – was delicious. Down: Lunch -- a green juice, mostly kale -- was a little bit harder to swallow. Down: Though I’m not physically hungry, I just keep thinking about food!

Have you ever tried a juice fast or experienced benefits from juicing? Let me know in the comments. If you have questions about what I’m doing or tips for getting through the next 10 days, feel free to email me.

I’ll be tweeting about my experience and updating this blog at my midway point and when the fast is over on July 18.