by Steven Prussack
Host of Raw Vegan Radio

I broke my 23 day Power Juice Feast today!  It was an amazing journey and I accomplished my goals.  I am going to share my before/ after picture on this post.  I will share my thoughts, what worked, what didn’t, what I will do next time…and my current transition to a raw food diet.  I hope this blog continues to inspire others who are moving towards a more healthy lifestyle.

The Break

I broke the cleanse with one large organic mango, and it was incredible!  It tasted amazing and felt good to chew again.  The rest of the day consisted of a snack of one apple, an organic mixed greens salad, and an organic kale salad.  After my lunch salad, I immediately felt horrible.  My energy (that has been incredible the majority of the cleanse) dropped significantly.  I became so tired, I actually had to lie down for a nap during the afternoon.  I didn’t make it to the gym, and just felt lethargic.  My stomach has shrunk significantly, as expected, and it was surprising how little food I needed to feel satisfied.  It was a difficult transition back to eating raw foods.  I should have gone much lighter with my food choices today, so this could have been a more gentle transition back had I done things differently.  I will share more in a little bit.  First, here is a better picture of my before/ after.

My starting weight was 182.4 and ending weight is 170. I have gone from a 34 waist size to 32/33.  The best part is, I have better insight into my body and what I need to do moving forward.  I will share those thoughts in the next section of this blog post.

What Worked

• The Juice Feast!  It was gentle, effective, and I would definitely do it again.
• Breaking the cleanse with a fresh organic mango
• Incorporating HealthForce Healing Cleanse Level 3 (this made the cleanse more intense, with deeper cleansing)
• Getting a colonic during the cleanse!  Definitely amazing to clean out on that level.
• Using organic produce (I am blessed to live in California and have access to an incredible variety of produce)
• Being in a supportive relationship (my thanks to my wonderful family, especially my fiance Julie who supported my ups and downs throughout the cleanse)
• The Jay Kordich PowerGrind Juicer Pro (I was using the Hurom juicer at the beginning, and found the brand-new Jay Kordich PowerGrind Juicer Pro is the BEST juicer I have ever used.  It extracted an incredible amount of juice and the clean-up was easy)
• Scraping my tongue daily (I was able to track my body as it got cleaner, noticing less mucous on the tongue scraper as the cleanse went on)
• Advice from David Rain, the mastermind behind “Juice Feasting”
• Deciding to end before my family vacation (what a relief that I don’t have to figure out how I will juice and what might happen as I am skiing down a mountain!)
• Doing a cleanse during the holiday season (great insight into human nature, how people bond over food, and a true test of how the mind could overcome temptations)
• Reading inspiring books, such as Paul Bragg’s “Fasting” and basically the whole library of Norman Walker (favorite)
• Using intuition to choose produce and what juice combinations to make (I had a lot of comments on how creative my juice choices were…they were all picked using intuition, including how much to put in of each fruit or vegetable)
• Not using a Juicing book to choose recipes (intuition is key)
• Making my own juices, instead of having them made at restaurants (just so much better when you make it yourself)

What Didn’t Work

• Neglecting to do an enema, even though I had everything set and ready (It took so much time to juice, I just couldn’t find the time)
• Using the recommended Flax Seed Oil for Juice Feasting (I found my body cleansed more without using oil and fats during the program)
• Going to restaurants and watching people eat favorite foods (not recommended.  It was great to bond with family, but hard to watch people eating some of the foods I love)
• Working full time without much breaks (my schedule is crazy and it would have been nice to have more relaxation time during the cleanse)
• Having too many fats when breaking the cleanse (I was fine with the mango.  My other meals contained some raw fats, and this made for decreased energy and stomach pains)

What I’ll Do Next Time

• Enemas
• More colonics
• Less Juice (I found that a gallon was too much.  I did fine drinking 3 quarts a day when combined with the HealthForce Healing Cleanse.  However, without the supplements one gallon worked fine)
• More exercise (I made it to the gym much less than I thought.  My body is ready to build muscle since it is more lean.  I would like to work out much more next time.  This would include yoga, rebounding, and light weight training)
• Less work

Moving Forward

Like I said, the benefits have been remarkable.  Since I have gained great insight into my body and previous habits, I feel entirely rebooted (as Joe Cross from “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” says).  My taste buds are sensitive to every taste.  I crave only healthy, raw organic simple foods.  I notice the difference between being hungry and eating for comfort.  I gave up habits such as green tea with caffeine and will not go back again.  I gave up unhealthy snacking at night.  I am drinking more water throughout the day.

In moving forward, I am going to continue my transition to a raw food diet.  I feel best when the foods I eat are living and full of enzymes.  I will continue to blog about this journey and look forward to sharing recipe ideas.  I am also going to make it a habit of fasting one time a week on distilled water.  I know this will keep me aligned with my new healthier lifestyle.

Thanks again for all your comments during this journey.  I would love to hear what you have in mind to align yourself with the healthiest life possible as we prepare our transition towards 2012.

With love,

Steve Prussack