This was it. The last day of my 30 day juice fast. This is the final report I gave to the great folks at
Juice Press:
"I decided to try the Juice Press 30 day juice cleanse on the recommendation of Juice Press founder and CEO, Marcus Antebi. The suggestion came out of the blue and was something of a surprise to me, as I’m really pretty healthy: I’m a retired professional fighter who still trains regularly, my job as a gym owner and muay thai trainer keeps me active, I’m pretty lean and I’ve been following a healthy, plant-based diet for decades. But Marcus claimed that I would experience very real positive benefits from the experience. I’ve known Marcus a long time — he’s been training with me for many years — and I trust his judgement. And, honestly, I also wanted to see if I could do the 30 day fast.
The first thing I noticed on the cleanse was that I never felt as if I was starving or deprived. I’m used to cutting weight — I fought for years and it’s part of the game. But this was different: you’re drinking a juice every couple of hours and they really do make you feel satisfied. The second pleasant surprise was that I never felt tired or drawn; in fact, I had more energy, and was in a better mood. My work and training days are long (usually 12-14 hours) and I’d gotten used to drinking 6-8 cups of coffee per day, and still being tired from waking up until falling asleep at night. After only a few days on the juice fast I found that not only didn’t I need the coffee, I didn’t even want it, and I had energy from the time I woke up until I went to sleep at night. Perhaps the biggest surprise on the cleanse was that my training didn’t suffer. I fully expected to have to cut back on training intensity. It simply didn’t happen. In fact, throughout the 30 day period I made continuous gains in both strength and endurance. There were some other odd but pleasant surprises along the way, as well: circulation in my fingers and toes, which is always a big problem for me in the cold months, improved; the night sweats I’d been having for months subsided; and I received multiple comments on how I basically seemed to be glowing with good health. I didn’t set out to lose weight — getting too thin and weak was actually a little bit of a concern for me. I’m 5’11" and started the cleanse at a lean 154 lbs. I finished at 147 lbs, which is a little thinner than I would like to be, but I was never hungry or weak.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed all of the juices on the cleanse. For the first few weeks I followed the three options laid out for the juice fast (basic, alternate and winter solstice), rotating them daily. it kept me from getting bored and provided a lot of variety. In the final weeks I started experimenting a bit, mixing the selections and picking some alternates, as well. I have always liked spicy foods, so really enjoyed the selections with some bite. I thought Spicy Citrus and Ginger Fireball were it until I discovered the Volcano. It’s invigorating! And for those times when I wanted something a little sweeter, Juice Press has that covered, too: Fountain of Youth is like a berry dessert, but in my book, the Lait de Coconut can’t be beat. I also noticed that my palate got more sensitive as the fast progressed. The green juices -- which were decent enough at the beginning -- really became something to look forward to as I started to pick up on the the individual elements in the mix. I’d have to say that by the end of the cleanse, my absolute favorite was Doctor Green Juice. It’s just really, really refreshing.
Finishing the cleanse was something of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I really enjoyed how I felt the entire time. On the other, I found that I missed the act of eating. My plan is to get the best of both of those worlds. My diet has already been vegan for decades; I’m going to try to keep it as raw as possible going forward. And I think I’ll throw a 3 day juice fast in once a month, just to keep the momentum going."
thanks to my fellow juice-faster, fighter and long-time training partner Emily Bearden for this awesome pic of my dog, Forest
Juice Selection:
Spicy Citrus,
Dr. Green Juice,
MILF,
Lucky 7,
The Meal
Training:
Strength Training: another day of increases in the weight I'm loading
Turkish Get Ups: 1 x 5 left/5 right with 28 kg kettlebell
Zercher Squats: 2 x 5 with 135 lb barbell
Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 32 kg bells
Ab Work: 2 x 10, ab wheel
Skill Training:
Strong First Mobility Drills
Easy run to cool down
Bag Work, 20 minutes non-stop
Skip rope, 10 minutes to cool down
this was me at the beginning of the juice fast:
and me at the end:
SO in addition to the strength and endurance gains and overall feeling of well-being, I definitely added some muscle and lost some fat during the fast, which is pretty cool.
#juicepress #fivepointsnyc #juicefast #fivepointsacademy
